UPDATE
We went yesterday. DD spotted a v expensive ornament in a window which I refused to buy, then 3 kids eating ice cream and I refused to buy one, then she had an epic tantrum outside Jorvik which definitely referenced the ornament and ice cream but also included themes such as I Hate It Here and I Want To Go Home. I had actually bought an open return but lied and said we couldn't leave until the afternoon so might as well go in.
Not impressed with Jorvik. Whoever said it was crap, you were right. I think I remembered the Blue Peter episode from 1990 and had wanted to go ever since. It seems like it hasn't really been updated much 😬despite having booked a slot we still had to wait around for half an hour. Nothing really interactive to do. And then we got on the ride - where you couldn't turn down the volume of the audio - and the fun really started. DD was shit scared, of the dark, the noise and the models. She cried, clung to me, and begged to leave all the way round. Tbf, the models are creepy as. We left immediately after and I had to fork out a fiver for DD to bounce her trauma away on the bungee trampoline thing outside.
Things picked up after this. I got slightly lost and we ended up at Tower Hill, ate our picnic in the sunshine and only spotted the Keep Off The Bank sign after DD had spent a happy half hour climbing it 😬😬
Walked back over to the National Railway Museum. DD enjoyed spotting boats and geese by the river, then the diggers near the museum. We were both a bit hot and tired on arrival but the lovely woman at the entrance directed us to the cafe for ice cream, where they also were very nice about refilling our water bottle.
DD LOVED the NRM. She doesn't just want to go back, she has been telling everyone she meets about it, and wants us to move to York. We did Wonderlab - she would still be there now if she could be. (My favourite was the sand table where you try to get a train and road system to work and the display adjusts in real time as you move the sand around - it's really beautiful) Apparently quite a lot is closed at the minute, and we didn't even see everything that was open. We were there 3 hours. The Explainer in Wonderlab was fab too - 4 yo DD has learned the word "kinetic" and now wants to be a scientist 😀
Thank you everyone for your input - will definitely be asking the MN hive mind before booking anything in future!