Chessington and Legoland binned - any recommendations for days out?

[CrispieCake]

We've recently had shit days out at both Chessington and Legoland. Just dreadful from start to finish. I have a fairly hyperactive 7yo and the expectation that young children will queue quietly for hours for rides that last a couple of minutes max is just unbelievable. DC is a bit of a wuss too so a couple of times we waited in line and then he decided when we got to the front that he didn't want to do the ride. So we paid a fortune to... queue. I would rather have a wisdom tooth extracted than spend another minute in places like this.

We're not badly off, but like many other families feeling the pinch a bit. We're not doing an abroad holiday this year, just a few days seaside break and day trips. I can't afford to spend £150+ for my DC to have a shit time and to come home feeling stressed and mugged.

Any recommendations for days out? Any places that you'd blacklist/put in the bin? Useful to know the ages of your DC too.

Based south-east but happy to travel/camp.

I'll start.

Bin
Legoland
Chessington
Thorpe Park

Recommend
Hobbledown
Bocketts Farm
Roarr! (Norfolk)

I'd rather not have to plan a military campaign in order to have a decent day out at a destination I'm already paying £££ for

Unfortunately planning and throwing £££ at it is the only way to have a good time. yes, its shit. Running theme park is costly. If a place were decent, good Value and uncrowded it wouldn't be a particularly profitable business.

Late stage capitalism innit.

If you're ever in York the railway museum is fab if you're a train person. I went not expecting to enjoy it and actually had a great day.

Shrek adventures in London is good if you want something a bit more entertainment than a farm/zoo. You book a time slot and then it's a guided walk through thing so not much waiting

Adventure Island at Southend

Zoos/animal places always a good option for kids that aren't keen on queuing as they keep moving. If you buy a pass most do 1 visit per year to other ones too, and only need to use 2/3 times to get money back.

We've done the theme parks and while it really annoys me having to pay extra for a fast pass it does make the whole experience much better (and can usually do it all in a day so no need for a return visit so possibly actually could be cost effective)

Also have you looked at places like Butlins? You get entertainment and swimming included, we go regularly and spend very little while there so actually not too expensive compared to day trips, plus its a holiday so kids fel like they've done more even if you don't do much the before and after as it were.

Hampton Court and Tower of London - good value with annual RHP pass

Go Ape (not a full day out but mine love it)

Box Hill or Wisley if yours can get interested in nature. Rolling down the hills is popular

Funfairs and circuses - look out for any coming near you - often timed with school holidays

Just exploring London or any town - look up Treasure Trails for a ready made itinerary/treasure hunt. Eg Chinatown & Leicester Square (lego shop) & Covt Garden is generally a hit with kids. Or Skygarden, climb Monument. Take a riverboat.

For South East (Sussex direction so maybe not quite the right area) we have enjoyed the weald and downland open air museum, the bluebell railway, Amberley chalk pits and chartwell as well as various others already mentioned.

Someone was asking about East Midlands. Twin lakes is a good day out as a small theme park, great for kids up to about 11, no queues and not too expensive. There's also wheelgate and sundown adventure land on a similar theme. And Bolsover Castle near Chesterfield sometimes has good themed weekends with jousting, falconry and medieval activities.

I will come back if I think of any others but National trust type days out have always been a good option for us- just let the kids run around outside with big sticks seems to work!

Greenwood Parc in Wales. Theme parks not somewhere we'd regularly seek out, but that was really good.

And the Enginuity Museum in Ironbridge. Not all are amazing for kids, but many of the museums there are worth an annual pass and have loads of holiday activities and extras to do. Lovely Youth hostel too, although I have only eaten there so far rather than stayed.

Thank you to everyone who has posted. So many fantastic recommendations here that I think we could stay busy all summer!

London Transport museum is meant to be great for kids; no one-way system (my DC hate those as we found out at the Sea Life Centre) plus they can climb on / get into the vehicles.

Hampton court is a favourite for us. We also have had fab days at Kew Gardens, science/natural history museum. For a fun couple of hours Ninja Warrior in Guildford is good. We are also fans of both Hobbledowns, if you’ve only been to one it’s worth trying the other as the soft plays are quite different and the Hounslow one also has a net park (But it’s an extra charge).

I'd definitely recommend Knockhatch near Hailsham (south east). It's not too pricey and you can definitely make a day of it. Not huge and no big rides etc but they have farm animals with a farm walk, owls, meerkats etc. Caterpillar quad bike ride is always popular as well as a pretty big play area, padding pool area, jumping pillows etc.
Drusillas is good too although pricier than Knockhatch. Again, animals and a zoolympics where children can challenge themselves. Nice outdoor play area and indoor soft play.
We always had good days out at Fishers Farm Park but I haven't been there for quite some time. Maybe not for your little one but they always make a big deal during Halloween.
Knockhatch and Drusillas are only a short drive from the coast if all else fails!

I'd also add Tilgate Park near Gatwick. It has a small zoo, big lake and decent play park, plus a Go Ape.

And Wakehurst. There is a nice natural play area and they usually do holiday activities for kids.

Science museum - it's fun and interactive at least it used to be I haven't been in about 18 years my brother and sister would have been similar ages to your son. I believe it's free to get in.
History museum too though that's a lot of information but it's still pretty cool.

Just maybe for a future year, we've just done a cheap city break to Verona on Ryanair. Easy quick connection to Lake Garda where you have Gardaland and Movieland theme parks beside each other and a waterpark too. We went to Movieland and walked on and off every ride, zero queues. Food was tasty and reasonable and the shows were entertaining (even in Italian).

Take a day trip to Isle of Wight, my kids (albeit a bit older than yours) enjoyed the ferry ride and the hiking. Nice beach and boat rides.

RAF museum in London is really good and engaging. My kids love it.

Recently went to Chester Zoo, and although it rained all day, and was a long drive, it was an excellent day. Really vast amount of space and things to see. The gardens and walks are beautiful. Probably a bit out of your way if you’re in London.

That's what we do - use inset days for things like this

I'm not such a fan of attractions, partly for the reasons you have listed.

But we have had lots of family adventures doing things like
-indoor skydiving

• ice skating
• riding lessons/sailing lessons
• stand up paddle boarding /giant SUP/ kayaking /katakanu
• ferry ride to isle of wight
• ski lessons (indoor places like xcscape)
• karting
• Go Ape

All of these have provided fab memories and are similar price or cheaper than a theme park

We also just had a great day out at Butlins (bognor), there are traditional fairground rides, arcades and the swimming pool is excellent lots of slides etc. my children said it was the best day ever (and they have been to.eurodisney/ Legoland Denmark etc 🤣)

My DC favourite day out when younger was the runway viewing park at Manchester airport. Take a picnic and stay all day. Completely free.

Fishers farm and knock hatch

Southend adventure island! Never any Qs and you just pay for those who want to ride! Seaside, arcades, fish and chips - can't beat it!

Great thread OP. One thing I’m finding with a lot of the activity farms now is they often have annoying music being piped out everywhere. It’s a nightmare for DD who is autistic. And yes I know they often have one hour slots for ND children but how about just making the whole place more accessible?

I think you must be roughly in the same area as me!

On the off chance you and your family have seen Ghosts on BBC, West Horsely Place (where they filmed it) is amazing for a visit and they often have open days, activities days etc in the holidays. You can have a picnic there too or there's a cafe. It's about half way between Epsom and Guildford.

Our son is 2 so gets hauled wherever we want to go, but I always see older kids having a really nice time whenever we go :)

https://www.westhorsleyplace.org/

Someone once said to me to try and go on a Monday if possible .Quieter than other days as many people have visited over the WE

Stockeld park is a winner 👍

Try Swanley Park if you are near Kent. It's jam-packed with attractions and things to do, hardly any queuing beyond 5 mins, everything is super affordable and you can take a picnic.
https://www.swanleypark.co.uk/

Knock hatch is a good day out