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)

Hi, first MN reply despite reading loads! Myself and 4 Yr old have done Butlins weeks a lot. It's cheap and offers the variety of activities mostly for free so it doesn't matter if they back out! Even if you weren't doing the week you could book a couple of nights at a nearby budget hotel and get a day pass to test the limits? I'm agreed with not taking out of school so understand the dilemma of paying loads in school hols for something they may not even take to! 🤦🏽‍♀️

Another vote for Paultons. I’ve been quite a few times and the queues are short to non-existent. Also, it’s fantastic for rides for smaller children.

Paultons Park is great, we’ve been a couple of times and only had to queue for short times (however do avoid the Peppa Pig area unless your DC is an avid fan- the rides are tiny & have large queues)

Also in the New Forest area, Moors Valley Country park is brilliant. You only have to pay for parking (they have Go Ape & other payable activities but these are optional). There is a huge woodland play trail and a separate play park- all free of charge. Also a miniature train which is payable but not much.

Cotswold Wildlife Park is a great day out. Huge range of animals (including the ‘big’ ones: lions, rhinos, giraffes). Great outdoor play park as well, and a nice lawn for picnic s.

Have you ever been to paultons park? We’ve only been to Peppa pig world there because our kids are young but walking through the main park looks brilliant and hardly ever big queues for anything

I reckon Bewilderwood is a good call, we did the Norfolk one when our kids were 5 and 7 and everyone had fun. The other thing my kids enjoy is treetop nets, sort of like bouncy trampolines in the trees. Zipworld own the sites in Manchester and Windermere these days, but GoApe have it in Slough, Bournemouth and Nottingham. The junior high ropes courses at GoApe is also fun and not too scary. Same concept but independently owned enterprises are often cheaper, there is one at Holkham in Norfolk that we did and Raven tree adventures is local to us. Paultons is a great themepark, we've been twice and queues have always been max 15 mins when we've visited (even in August), but many of the rides outside of Peppa pig land may be a bit hardcore for a slightly fearful 7 year old. It's very dependent on the child, my youngest went on velociraptor and flight of the pterosaur age 5, but he's a thrill seeker and to be honest on our second visit Edge nearly killed me off and I wouldn't get on cyclonator under any circumstances. Flamingoland in Yorkshire has both rides, plenty catering to more timid kids, and a zoo, and queues were fine when we went on a Saturday in September.

I’m a member of KidsPass and they usually have takeover days at theme parks every so often where it’s strictly restricted to members only, which limits the queues. We recently did Drayton Manor and yes it was only the smaller rides that were open but in 5 hours DC went on about 15 rides.

They have loads of other offers too … could be worth a check?

Broadstairs beach is lovely for a day out. Who needs overpricedparks and attractions?

I hated chessington - we still call it chessington world of hell... and Lego land was so much queueing, it really put me off going again.

Windsor great park is lovely and they have an amazing treetop adventure playground which is quite new. See the website... The parking is expensive as is the food. But it is a lovey day out. There is also savil gardens within the park which is really nice and not too busy and there is the lake to walk around. You could easily spend a whole day there

We used to live around Surrey and only went to Chessington in the winter. The zoo is open, the monorail and a couple of rides. Much cheaper and very quiet.

We recently had a day out at Fishers farm. It was fab. There's soft play, jumping pillows, mini golf, slides, a ghost train, quad bikes (which are super slow but the kids still loved them), farm animals and loads of stuff we didn't even get time for. Most things are included in the entrance price but a few things cost tokens (which you buy in there) like pony rides and tractor rides.

Would thoroughly recommend

fishersfarmpark.co.uk/

We love Gullivers. It's very old fashioned & a little shabby. But, short queues, rides are not scary but they are still thrilling for under 10s. Not very expensive either. There are a few different sites around England, we tend to go once a year, our teen is still happy to go 'for her siblings'.

We have Merlin passes so we do Legoland a lot (did Chessington a few times last year but neither our cars are ULEZ compliant so it’s not easy to go anymore! Annoyingly both diesels registered in 2015 but not after sept 2015!)

We didn’t do too badly with queuing last year but sometimes it was horrid and by the end of the day our nerves were shot as my son has ADHD and ASD and queuing sets him off massively, even at school. Since we got his official diagnosis in August we applied for a ride access pass for him so we can do virtual queuing which helps. I think the fast passes are very expensive otherwise and most people wouldn’t be able to afford to buy them on top of ticket prices!

Whipsnade Zoo is a fab day out, it’s huge. We have membership as it’s not too far from us and we go loads and aren’t bored yet! The Alton towers waterpark is also good but better in summer when the outdoor slides are open as they aren’t as busy and even my two year old was loving those last year! Alice Holt Forest is also good.

Op I agree with your bin list and also rate hobble down on your keep.

One year I was pricing up Disney Paris and I was asking on here until someone mentioned "efteling" " then loads of other people did also.

That was our first year of not going aboard, it was a little cheaper then but we a manged 4 nights, 1 night in bruges and 3 nights in the park. I would save up for that op, tesco vouchers used to pay for ferry, drive, etc.

If you like cars/vehicles then Brooklands in Surrey is a fab day out.

Chatham historic dockyards is good, one ticket gets you in all year, DS was beside himself too go on an actual military submarine and the staff/guides are lovely. Lots of interactive bits as well as museumy bits too
In terms of theme parks it's more than a day trip but look at efteling the rides are great, we stay on the park in a house but there's a eurocamp just up the road. If you live in the south it's a 5/6 hour drive, no different to Cornwall and you can pay for your Eurotunnel with clubcard vouchers!

If you end up heading to the Dorset area for Paultons Park, then Moors Valley Country Park is a great place to go too. You pay to park but the forest has a trail of great play areas all in the woods and each with a different theme. Very popular with my kids.

Totally agree re Legoland - we did it a couple of years ago, on a cold day in February (so apparently not busy season) and we still spent the majority of our day queuing - every bloody thing had huge queues. Absolutely not worth the money.

Paulton's was good, biggest queues were Peppa Pig Land - but everything else was pretty much walk on

I live nearby Bewilderwood and Roarr in Norfolk, both recommended

Mine were bored at the Hawk Conservancy at that age - depends on your DC though.

Local skate park (or play park with a few skateboard humps) if he has a little bike or scooter? Mine used to love that but I had twins - might be more fun with a friend?

Are there any local rivers with shallow bits where you can picnic and swim/paddle?

It's not close for you but mine always loved Longleat (we're local) - maybe you could get a B&B nearby for a couple of days? Turn up as soon as it opens at 10 am (you want to pre book) and do the safari bit first, then you have the rest of the day doing all the rest. The boat trip feeding the sealions is fab, might have to queue slightly for that.

It's not as great as pre covid as the bat cave and hall of mirrors are closed - but a great day out any time of year. If you have Tesco clubcard vouchers you can get in half price.

I'm with you about legoland etc - now mine are older they keep on about Alton Towers but I'm putting it off as best as I can......

@CrispieCake if you’re going to do Legoland or Chessington, time it carefully. We used to go for the afternoon and at the end of the day when the park is starting to empty out we’d whizz around the park and go on all the rides. No queuing necessary.

I was going to say this too,,National trust isn’t a bad shout either. Free parking, good picnic spots, Good treks and usually some type of playground available. I found when mine were little they love the climbing areas and there’s usually some wildlife. We’re up north and have amazing NT venues so can’t say what they’re like down south I’m afraid. (Just take you’re own lunch as the cafes are SPENNNNNY)
my friend always buys a Scottish NT pass as it’s cheaper and you can get into to English sites x

Hastings in the summer has plenty to do for kids as well

Haven’t RTFT but these are my suggestions in the SE/ SW. not sure how old your DC are? These are some of the ones we have enjoyed the most over the last 10 years.

• Windsor - castle is pricy but amazing, river and Erin to visit, as well as Great Park and the town.
• Watts Artist Gallery, they do special days and activities for kids.
• Longleat
• Bath
• Brookwood motor museum plus Mercedes World next door.
• Bird world, Farnham. I would recommend eating in the garden centre next door and not the cafe on site.

There’s a place near me in the East Mids called ‘Sundown Adventureland’ it’s reasonably priced and is specifically for under 10s. It has a few rides and lots of areas to explore, little houses, a Wild West ‘town’, a farm, an indoor play area if it’s raining etc. it’s amazing. My children had annual passes growing up and they absolutely loved it.
they now have lodges there I think so you can stay on the park. It’s truly a little gem!

We had a similar experience recently with Legoland but did have the virtual queue passes for 2 of us to make it slightly less queuing.

We live in West Wales and there are loads of great attractions that would make a brilliant holiday. Folly farm is a lovely day out, there is also a dinosaur park, oakwood (theme park), beaches.

We went on holiday to South Devon last year and loads to do there. Woodlands is brilliant for kids of all ages (and adults)- so much so that we are planning to go again this year.

Regarding the peppa pig world area of Paultons- I’ve found the trick is to go towards the end of the day.