Keeping little ones amused in Summer

Wonderful Wonderland Telford Review

 

Disclaimer: This review is based on a trip we took to Wonderland in August 2014. This review is not endorsed and I paid for the tickets from my own pocket.

 

Fairytales; a place you escaped to as a child. A place that was not only magical but a safe haven from the harsh world of being a child with strict parents who wouldn’t let you stay out late, you weren’t allowed unlimited amounts of fizzy pop like your friends. It was a place you wanted to go. You wanted to climb into the book and sit and watch the dwarfs sing their way to the mines. But as you grew up that world was pushed to the back of your mind as other thoughts started to develop. Nursery rhymes no longer appeal as your musical tastes morph quickly.

 

Your world became cluttered with make up, boy bands, latest fashion trends and gossip from the playground and later college canteen. Sometimes though when the world became a daunting place some of us wanted to escape to that place in the Fairytales. The place where the woodlands were full of small cottages, Rapunzel lived up a tower and Snow White spent her days cleaning and cooking for her 7 little friends. As I became an adult my love of Fairytales never faded.

 

I still love Disney movies and believe it or not I believe in the type of love Rapunzel shares with Eugene in Tangled. The love that makes you fuzzy. I also believe in a love that is pure-the love that a Mother feels for her newborn; the feeling that never ever goes away.

 

So fast forward to be being a parent of a 3 year old. A three year old that owns a lot of glittery pink princess like stuff-dolls, books, fancy dress costumes...crowns everything. Little one happily lives in a world where Mother Gothel lives in the castle near us (the castle being a church). Her dresses come from the same shop as where the princesses would shop-in her world she is a Princess in training. So what would be the best thing ever for a child who loves Princesses and Fairytales? Well that was the question and we decided to look into a place called Wonderland.

 

Which way; this way. That way.

 

 

 

Wonderland Telford is a place where Snow white lives in the woods and you can pan for gold. The Mad Hatter can be seen wondering around. Alice can be seen wondering around in between tea parties. It’s a place where Fairytales are brought to life. Yes you read that correctly-Fairytales come to life.

 

After a bit of research I came across a Groupon offer for Wonderland and started planning our visit. The idea of brushing shoulders with fairies and characters out of world famous Fairytales had me giddy; and when I explained to little one where we were going I no longer had a child I could persuade to calm down. We planned the trip as I always do; packed the bags, bought the snacks/food supplies and we got the car ready to make the hour long journey to Telford.

 

After reading varying reviews I was hoping that the magical appeal would outweigh the old, battered and tired venue I was picturing. I hoped my 3 and a half year old would run into enough of her Fairytale friends to be excited about being at Wonderland.

 

When we got to Wonderland we found the car park which is currently experiencing some work. It was quite packed to say the least; possibly because it was free parking on the day and Telford Town park is also quite close by. After five minutes we managed to find a slot. We parked up, got the pushchair in order and loaded on the supplies for the day.

 

　

 

The first member of staff we came across was a young man at the main who was very cheerful and friendly. Clearly he liked his job; he chatted away to little one who explained she was here to see the fairies. We exchanged our voucher for our admission stickers and away we went. The first thing I noticed was the venue wasn’t noisy; there was a genuine happy buzz of children laughing in the air.

The park was clean with ample bins dotted about to help keep Wonderland clean. Little one became memorised instantly as we walked around.

She came across the Giant who she wanted to ask if he’d seen Jack lately. Quickly she joined a queue to go on the white rabbit ride and became excited at having a cart to herself. Queuing time was less than five minutes and soon we were walking around Wonderland discovering the world of Fairytales through the eyes of a child. There wasn’t just exploring to do and cottages and houses to find; there were also rides (yes rides) to experience. And like any good attraction aimed at families of young ones these rides were suitable for little one.

The idea of being in the woods and seeing Snow Whites house for the first time was magical. Little one was not aware of the fact that Mama found the robotic movements of Snow White extremely scary; she was more concerned about the fact the dwarfs were not opening the door. And as we manoeuvred around Wonderland we came across:

 

• The Gingerbread Mans House
• Humpty Dumpty & the Kings Soldiers
• The Mat Hatter
•  Alice (from Alice in Wonderland)
•  Woodland Fairy (we kept calling her Tinkerbell)
•  Snow White-who in my opinion suited the role so well
•  The Gold Mine where the dwarfs work (and you can pan for gold and even buy gems for a couple of quid. But you will need to find a couple of white pieces of *gold* whilst panning for gold too).
•  Little Red Riding Hood
•  Goldilocks and the Three Bears  
• The Three Little Pigs-plus Mr Fox who was preparing to cook the pigs
• The Shoe House-complete with lots of children
• The crooked house-with the little old man having a cup of tea 
• Ben 10 (yes I accept that is fairly random. What is intriguing is he was hanging out with Alice)
• Santa's Cottage-but he was on Holiday
• Dinosaurs

 

Before anyone points out that Humpty Dumpty is from a Nursery Rhyme I know. Wonderland also features Nursery Rhyme characters but they didn't really appeal to a 3 year old obsessed with Fairytales.

 

We also noticed a Maze but didn’t get the chance to try it as oldest became very tired.

 

And there was also Crazy Golf-again we didn’t get the chance to try this although my two don’t really understand the concept of golf; yet.

 

Indoor soft play-which I think was enjoyed more by the youngest. It was a small-ish area however was well maintained and clean.

 

And the excitement didn’t stop there. Oh no. There were rides to try.

 

Our favourites included:

 

• The Mad Hatters Tea Party (both bambinos loved this ride) 
• White Rabbit Ride
• Santa’s Sleigh (both children went on with an adult)
• The carousel (which both children loved)
• Alice’s Bouncy Castle-not sure if there are many 3 year olds who don’t like bouncy castles?
• The Fairy Disco-yes it's not a ride but it kept little ones amused with games for around 30 minutes!

 

So as you can see there was plenty to keep little ones amused. Then at PM a disco started. Yes a disco with games. And the children were more than willing to dance and sing along.

 

Food:

 

We bought our picnic from a Supermarket as I was pushed for time. We noticed plenty of clean places to enjoy our picnic. If the weather is good and you can fit a picnic blanket in the grassy area which hosts the stage and maypole would be a great place to enjoy your food. You may find insects hovering about as there are trees dotted about.

 

We didn’t use the food facilities so in all honesty cannot review them.

 

First Aid:

 

We didn’t need to use this facility but as always I was carrying a small First Aid kit.

 

Merchandise:

 

Little one was so tired that we didn’t actually get to go in the gift shop.

 

Toilets:

 

The toilets were actually clean. No horrid smells. No puddles of mysterious liquids. Plenty of soap and taps that work-hooray! I like the idea that there are signs promoting hygiene in the baby changing facilities. You are asked to spray the changing mat and wipe it after use-great stuff. I did notice that they had run out of blue towels by PM.

 

Ticket pricing:

 

I used a Groupon voucher which we purchased for £12.00 for a family of four. Considering that I found this day out as a bargain as both children enjoyed it. There were plenty of photo opportunities as the characters were more than happy to stop and pose for a photo or two.

 

Under two’s are free to enter Wonderland.

 

Standard prices are:

 

Adults £7.45

 

Children £7.95

 

OAP: £6.45

 

Now I know a lot of parents will be up in arms about the price but please keep in mind that you are getting an outdoor adventure, rides, soft play and even a disco for the price. If you look at it like that the price is fabulous. I pay around £4.00 for just soft play so an extra £3.95 seems a bargain to me. So even at full price Wonderland is simply wonderful.

 

What to pack:

 

The usual really.

 

• Food if you plan to take your own picnic.
• Picnic blanket
• Nappy changing bag-with supplies
• Bottles/formula/baby food  
• Mini first aid kit 
• Spare clothes
• Raincoats, wellies and other weather appropriate clothing
• Camera

 

　

Would I go again?

 

It’s about the little ones-and they loved it. Yes the park does look a bit dated and some of the paths seem to have seen better days. However finding an attraction that is stroller friendly and caters for the needs of little ones can sometimes prove impossible. Plus the park wasn’t full bursting at the seems-even in summer holidays which is a blessing. The staff were friendly, the park was clean. There was more than enough to keep little ones amused.

 

There’s a Pirates and Princesses event on the August Bank Holiday Monday (25th). I may go back-you never know. Maybe Wonderland will want us to come back and try the Maze and Crazy Golf?! We will return to the enchanted woodland of Wonderland.

The hype was the best bit-a review and rant about Cbeebies Land @ Alton Towers

Disclaimer: This review expresses my own personal views and is not endorsed by a third party. These opinions are based on my visit to Cbeebies Land on the 2nd of June 2014. The Merlin passes we own as a family were bought with our own hard earned money.

Alton Towers how I used to love thee. Then a magical change happened in 2010 and I became a parent. At first I wondered if I would ever love theme parks the way I loved them before. Then I discovered that those rides which I thought were a waste of precious theme park space were actually for little people-game on!

Fast forward to 2014 and I now have two bambinos. The little one who is under 1 clearly at this stage doesn’t understand the delights and thrill of the theme park setting whereas the three and half year old does. And team her understanding with the Merlin adverts for ‘Cbeebies land’ that is hard to avoid on channels such as Nick Junior and a day at Alton Towers is an instant smash hit-or so it would seem.

We planned our visit with military precision. I have a list of items I take on day trips which includes a spare set of clothes per child, plasters, more than enough spare nappies and healthy nibbles. I checked the weather and with a chance of rain I packed my little ones wellies. Sun cream was slapped on, kids strapped in. Pushchair tyres checked. Everyone present. Merlin Passes packed. It was time to go (of course my husbands check list for a day out consists of: having car washed, mini valet and topping up fuel).

The excitement built up the closer we got to Postman Pat and friends. Our little one kept asking if we were there yet. Saying that though she actually asked that before we pulled out of our street.

We got to Alton Towers and hit a bit of a queue on the way in. No biggie I thought. Maybe they are families with teenagers. But as he got closer to a car parking space it dawned on me that a lot of parents had the same idea as me-they brought their children to cbeebies land the first day Schools were open again to make the most of the park. After all under 4’s maybe free however parents/guardians pay nearly £50.00 for the joy of tagging along to the place where the magical allegedly never ends.

We were still extremely excited. We ended up joining a very long queue for the Monorail to the park (really who in the right mind would want to walk with toddlers/preschoolers for 15/20 to get to the park?).

After getting to the pay kiosks the queues dispersed as people filtered themselves to the queues with less customers. We still queued as we needed a ticket for little one and we also wanted to get our car parking ticket on the way in rather than later when the park exists would be very busy. As usual there were people attempting to sell tickets to the park by the kiosks at a heavily discount price.

Parking is £6.00 which personally I think is a lot when you think your car is left at it’s own risk. Has anyone ever seen any security on the car parks? No, neither have I. I do think Merlin Pass holders should be offered a discount on parking-but that’s a different rant I shall save for later.

We went through the turn stalls and were officially in the park. We quickly made our way to Cbeebies land. And as soon as we got there my disappointment started. There were no ‘characters’ to be seen anywhere. Cbeebies related music and sounds were being blasted. Yes the area is covered with familiar looking images but it had the feel of a fairground. Cheap. Almost tacky. But our little ones were excited so we played along. We found a seat for my husband to wait with the little one whilst I took the older one on some rides. Now please prepare yourselves as I am about to shout:

A 70 MINUTE WAIT TO GET ON THE POSTMAN PAT RIDE AND It’S NOT EVEN SCHOOL HOLIDAY?!

Sorry the shouting isn’t over:

DO YOU REALLY EXPECT A 3 YEAR OLD TO WAIT IN A QUEUE THAT IS OVER AN HOUR LONG?!

Nope I’m not done guys:

It’S AN ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPTABLE to believe 3 year olds or 4 year olds will wait for 70 minutes to get on a ride! Who came up with limited number of rides in Cbeebies Land should face the axe (okay so I'm getting a bit emotional-still someone needs to look at the problem here).

Oh and instead of doing something logical to keep children entertained they were selling their BBC theme balloons for £5.00! Blimey Merlin empty out parents before home time won’t you? And for a fiver you could get your face painted outside of Cbeebies land however the stall was chained up. Plenty of vendors were offering ice-cream. The cheapest I noticed was the Walls ‘feet’ ice cream lollies from the 80’s at £1.50 each in Cbeebies land and at the ice-cream van situated outside of Cbeebies land towards Mutiny Bay.

Ice-cream near Wobble World is in my opinion over priced. £1.95 for one scoop of carte dor ice cream?

Listen up Alton Towers bosses-you need to soften the blow of shocking long waits. How’s about the following:

Balloon modeling (and give the balloons to children waiting in the queues).

Face painters-you shockingly charge £5-7.00 for this service. You need to offer quick face painting at a reduced price if not free to children in the queues. Also where are the characters? Surely kids will be able to meet postman pat? That adds to the atmosphere. May a photo opportunity can help kids in the queues too. And lastly BUBBLES! Bubbles distract children like no ones business.

What about general entertainers? Entertainers to keep children happy. How about jugglers? Actually I think I have given you enough ideas for free.

Also-the parent and toddler ticket should also be offered in Summer. Parents with little ones are highly unlikely to tackle the bigger rides when they are visiting with children so please be reasonable and offer a ticket price that is affordable for this audience.

Please someone tell me the bosses at Alton Towers have young children and they understand how they work?!

Okay so there were 70 minutes queues to go on the Postman Pat Ride. So we couldn’t get on. Then there was a 70 minute queue to get on the in the night garden boat right. And then there was an 45 minute wait to get into Justin’s pie making factory. Okay Merlin. Let’s talk. These rides I assume as targeted at Cbeebies viewers-yes? How many of these viewers do you think will wait in excess of an hour to get on a ride?

So I know Alton Towers will say queues are the fairest way to get people onto rides; I agree. However I think you need to take a look at this system whereby no ride has a queue that’s longer than say 30 minutes. Maybe the ride queue can be ‘closed’ at the 30 minute mark and reopened once it gets to 3 minutes? And rides that are less busy should be ‘pushed’ by the staff. Other areas of the park should also be ‘highlighted’ for those who do have children who are able to go on a small selection of other rides. More needs to be done about these queues in Cbeebies Land.

We managed to get onto the Numtums ride (10 minute wait-acceptable for a pre-schooler). And Charlie and Lola’s house which little one loved. It’s awfully small though. We loved the projected ‘sea’ with ‘fish fingers’ swimming in it. Once little one set food on the water the fish swam away and ripples formed. Good entertainment for crawling babies too.

The queues spoiled the day. My husband was intrigued by where the older children came from (‘don’t they go School?’). There was sadly no way our little one would be able to queue that long. So we made our way to Mutiny Bay for a bit to eat at Eastern Spice.

The mini review on this place is the prices are reasonable and of course as I was looking for somewhere that did burgers (as little one requested one at 8 in the morning) the only halal place at Alton Towers is this. We have chicken burgers and chips which were £4.99 per person. Burgers are served in a pitta. Chips are chunky. Nothing to write home about however I do have some suggestions for these guys:

How’s about a dressing on the lettuce in the burger?

And is the possible to have some seasoning on the chips? I mean yes you have salt and vinegar. I’m talking something spicier.

Also summers here. How’s about something lighter? Chaats (Indo/Pak salads) are filling and great in summer.

The prices for the food in my opinion were reasonable. £2.00 for a bottle of diet coke was a bit too much though. But I guess that’s what you pay across the park and businesses need to break even.

After dinner we headed to cloud cuckoo land as there were a few rides we felt little one would love to go on and hopefully the queues would be less too. After a lovely journey via the sky ride we managed to go on the carousel, driving school, wobbleworld (which is a giant bouncy castle.

It was bloody good however I wasn’t allowed on-actually no parents were allowed on) and our little ones favourite the froghopper. The queues were almost non-existent in this part of the park-there was a slight wait for Ice Age-4D however I put that down to people wanting an easy ride after lunch.

I do have a bone to pick in regards to the cost of the ‘driving licence’ which is an optional extra you can purchase after you’ve attended the driving school. It cost £10.00 for a piece of card placed in a cover. Okay yes, it’s nice and pink for little girls however there’s no discount for Merlin pass holders. That doesn’t seem fair considering it does contain a photo which are discounted via the pass. But £10.00? Seriously I think the price would be better at £5.00 per child. What if you have two or three children wanting licence?

We headed back to Cbeebies land and found queues were still around but were now at 45 minutes .That is still a long wait. Little one went on the numtums ride again and wanted to go see Charlie and Lola too. According to the staff the rides should have closed at PM but were extended to 5:30. Alton Towers bosses that simply isn’t enough!

More needs to be put in place to make this Cbeebies land a hit as it should be. I’m not a person that constantly complains-however I am fully aware that if enough customers complain that the service being offered is simply not acceptable something will need to be done. I am not saying boycott the venue-I’m saying let Merlin/Alton Towers know the service being offered via Cbeebies land is a shambles. I’m sorry to keep repeating this but the idea of a 3/4 year old waiting 70 minutes to get on a ride is flawed. Someone needs to go back to the drawing board. It doesn’t bare thinking about what the queues will be like in August. Shudder at the thought of those queues.

Will I be going back? Well we have Merlin passes so actually I will be going back to see if Alton Towers have wised up to the fact they have possible misunderstood their clientele for Cbeebies Land. Will I review Alton Towers again? Yes, as I do hope they buckle up soon.

I think realistically though you need a lot of spending money because there are too many 'extras' aimed at little ones. To keep costs down you could take a picnic in disposable containers so you wouldn't need to carry the empty items around. Ice-cream prices start at £1.50 so depending on the heat you may purchase two during the day per child. Then there are balloons. Oh and don't get me started on the games you 'could win' a minion on. Plus photos. Oh and 'driving licences' at £10.00 a pop. Balloons at £5.00 each. Face painting at £5-7.00. Shocking prices make a very expensive day out. You could be frugal but you would need to get your children on side before you go and explain the situation. My three year old is a bit too young to understand how items in Alton Towers are more expensive then elsewhere as it's about making money. But hey, if you do manage to get your kids on board with the idea of a frugal trip to Cbeebies Land and beyond I say kudos to you.

Let’s hope Alton Towers take note and something is done about bedlam that is Cbeebies Land. In the meantime my little one thinks Postman Pat is poorly and Justin’s factory was closed due to Monster being naughty. Those are the lies I told which I plan to stick to Alton Towers! I won’t let my little one cry because a load of bigwigs didn’t quite understand the mentality of their target audience.

Do I think Cbeebies Land is a value for money day out? Absolutely not-sorry Alton Towers. Under 4’s maybe free but just think of the cost of the parents/guardians. Then there's the various cleverly placed 'extras' children want and parents usually give into pressure as it's a day out for their children.

　
As I write this I am thinking about this weekend coming. We are off to Gulliver’s World for a Teddy Bears Picnic and to meet Ben and Holly and if their service is not up to scratch I will let you know.

　

　

End of rant...I mean review.