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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
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David McLean

Amazing Edinburgh footage shows Little Marcos party in full swing in 1991

If you were an Edinburgh kid growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, then there's every chance you attended a birthday party at Little Marcos.

From its huge ball pit, bouncy castle, twin red slides and mini racing circuit, we all adored the Grove Street soft play centre and would push our parents to take us as often as possible.

Opening its doors in 1980 as Scotland's first soft play area, the iconic attraction, which was run by Edinburgh's Demarco family, is said to have welcomed one million children over the years.

READ MORE: 10 pictures that'll give anyone who grew up in '90s Edinburgh intense nostalgia

But with the original centre closing down in the 2000s, not to mention the fact we are all now grown up and greying, the legendary party venue as it was is sadly gone for good.

Now, thanks to the wonders of the internet, a snippet of '90s camcorder footage has been made available that takes us right back to those carefree days.#

Suitably titled Steven's 7th Birthday Party Little Marcos, the 11-minute-long YouTube video whisks us back more than 30 years to September 1991 and let's us be a fly on the wall at a genuine nineties Edinburgh kids' birthday party.

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While the attractions on offer look admittedly dated by today's standards, all the fun of Little Marcos as it was in the '90s is on show here (well done Steven's parents, or whoever was holding the camcorder). Ball pit? Check. Bouncy castle? Check. Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe slide? Check.

There are even little details that this writer had long forgotten - such as the giant inflatable Pepsi cans that formed the pillars of the bouncy castle, and those swirly paper caps that us '90s kids used to wear at birthday parties and at holiday parks.

Towards the end of the video, we are treated to the moment everyone at the party will have eagerly waiting for - the blowing out of the candles on Steven's birthday cake and the appearance of Little Marcos' legendary mascot, Marco the Bear.

Wow, does this bring back memories.

The footage ends with the children throwing shapes to '90s kids party favourite Agadoo by Black Lace. What else?

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