AIBU to ask you about Butlins?

[Mannersmakethwoman]

Going to just for tots next week at Butlins.
Never been before were a family of 4 2 adults a 1 yo and a 3 yo.
We have dinner bed and breakfast but we're wondering how much spending money we need to take? What's included and what do we need to pay for? Any tips from people who have been would be amazing!! Is the premium dining plan like eat all you want buffet or order meals and they're cooked fresh?
Thankyou from a clueless mum!!

The food is an all you can eat buffet type thing.

But the premium stuff is much better quality!

You will need money for dinner/snacks, and then obviously money if you want to buy toys and things like it. Most parents buy light up things and bubble things for the evening shows

The arcades are a big spender too.

I loved just for tots with my two

Aw fab thankyou were quite looking forward to it!

Which one are you going to?

Skegness

That’s my local one and the one I took my two kids to

On the way home from Butlin’s Skegness now!

We go self catering, but got an evening meal in the dining area (complimentary as the oven door fell off half way through cooking). Kids loved the all you can eat buffet - didn’t really enjoy it as an adult as it was mass catering on a grand scale and things like Chinese and Indian foods were obviously sauces out of jars (this is not how we eat at home).

Accommodation was looking tired by was largely clean and functional.

My kids are slightly older. Remember to book activities you want to do well in advance. While a lot is free actually a lot of the activities they want to do need to be booked and paid for - football training, aerial high wires and bowling etc.

You can buy lunches - budget a minimum of £5 per head or make these yourself - the onsite shop is not as expensive as I thought it would be.

Check whether your package includes towels.

Bring swimming stuff.

You can do Butlins relatively cheaply but there is pressure to spend more at almost every turn.

Have a good time!

I didn't have the meal plan but some tips from when we went. Snacks for the queues for the shows. Take some with you like crisps, oat bars etc as the ones on site are limited and expensive. Bubble guns are a must but we got one home and it no longer works :( other does. The unicorn one is loud!!

I took a 3 and a one year old. The one year old could only go on 2/3 rides in the fairground area so we split them up and youngest enjoyed crafts / playdough while older went on rides.

Money we took water bottles and refilled them. The Costa and other places are just a little bit more than normal so depending on if you want a drink that can add up.

We took one photo opportunity and we got the photos for about £25 I think which was a good package and I didn't feel ripped off but we only did the one.

Obviously plan the day around the shows, we did a half-day at the beach just outside which was welcome relief for all.

Arcades again just take what you are prepared to spend. We just did the 2p machines and a few others you could spend a lot!

It's exhausting but they so enjoy it. Have a lovely time

If you’re looking for something different too, you can get the coast hopper bus to either Skegness town centre, or Ingoldmells.

Ingoldmells has the uks biggest outdoor market (most of which are knock offs) but it’s fun to walk round.

There are also plenty more rides there too though the wrist bands can be a bit pricey

Thankyou all fab advice!! Definitely want to have a look around the market too!

I love Butlin’s. My kids are young - 2 and 5. We go for premium breakfast and dinner.

We barely spent anything last time we were there.

We were that full from breakfast that we didn’t eat again until dinner - just snacks, no lunch. We had an early dinner anyway because of the kids, about 5pm. That worked well for the shows too.

We put our foot down about buying bubble guns etc, they’re very expensive for what they are.

We plan our day around the shows we want to see.

There’s a soft play, the pool is lovely, and the rides are perfect for little ones. Have a great time!

I was incredibly sceptical about Butlins but we've found it hard to find holidays which DS (3yrs) has actually enjoyed so we decided to use Tesco vouchers and book a weekend at Butlins Skegness. We booked the Seaside apartments as I'd heard these were best - and I was v impressed with them. We usually would go to Centre Parcs or the like and I'd say the Seaside apartments were similar in size and amenities though the kitchen area is smaller than you'd get at Center Parcs. The Seaside apartments looked less tired inside than the others we passed. They had flat screen in lounge area and the master bedroom. We took a Chromecast to plug in (they have media plug points connected to the TV) so we could watch Netflix or stream a film whilst DS was in bed at night.

We went self catering but ate in the Premium dining area one evening. It's mass catering of all different kinds of food - DS liked it, and I didn't think it was too bad. You're not going to get amazing quality food there as its such a random mix of foods (jack of all trades, master of none type scenario!) but I was, again, surprised that it wasn't that bad at all. Breakfast we just did in the apartment as DS likes to eat quite quickly after waking anyway. Lunch we had at one of the pub/restaurant bits and one day we actually had lovely fish and chips out on the beach as the weather was great.

Pool area is good. Get there early and there's no queue at all. When we came out an hour or so later it was busy with queues and I dont think DS would have behaved well in a queue!

We also went bowling too. Wasn't a need to book we just turned up. DS loved it despite being small! The best part for DS was the fairground - no waiting around to get on the toddler rides and its all included in the price.

It's a bit rough around the edges, but I'd say it was one of the easiest trips we've ever taken with DS and because he was having so much fun we did too!

Fab!! Do people generally get changed for dinner and the later shows or are they still more casual? Just thinking what yo pack!

Anything goes really. I saw people in jeans and vest tops, right through to full on dresses that wouldn't look out of place at a wedding.

One thing, take a rucksack of snacks for the evening shows. Soft drinks/water/crisps, whatever. They let you take everything in apart from alcohol. A couple of nights I just took in soft drinks for me and fruit shoots for my DD. I didn't mind buying a bubble gun as the whole evening was cheap.
Be prepared to queue for some of the shows. I'd always recommend the B line passes but o suspect that's too late now.
We've had some great very cheap weeks at butlins and loved it.

One thing about the swimming

If you go before 12, it will be on quiet mode.

So no adult slides, no wave pool, no water jets and big bubbling fountains.

It’s all aimed at little kids including water toys in the water.

After 12, that’s when it really opens up and it’s big and noisy.

The swimming is a hard one our 3 yo will like it later and our 1 yo will love the morning! Can't wait!

Your kids will have an absolute riot.

I asked mine what they wanted to do at half term? Butlins. So Butlins it shall be. This will be their third visit. DH and I have been to many adult weekends (we're there this weekend in fact 😄). That should be an indication of how much fun it can be.

We never get a dining plan because I prefer to eat in the other restaurants, so I can't comment on that, but the entire place is kept very clean and I found every member of staff couldn't do enough for us.

On the one occasion we had a problem with our accommodation (a blown light bulb had tripped the electrics), someone was there to fix it within 15 minutes at 8pm and I received a follow up call to check all was still ok the next day.

The shows are cheesy as hell but the kids were up at the front, bopping away, having the time of their lives. Absolutely no need to change in the evening if you don't want to, but my DD (8) likes to get glammed up. The tribute acts are generally very good, in my experience.

As a PP has said, expect to buy an annoying, flashing bubble gun that plays a hideous tune, but these aren't outrageously priced - about £8 as I recall, vs the $28 I was stung for at Disney world last week! And the refills of bubble mixture are £1 or less, from memory.

You can spend as much as you like in the arcades but my pair are quite happy shoving a couple of quid in the 2p machine and moving on. There is so much to do you won't be there for long.

There are a few activities that cost extra but none of these are extortionate. I think I paid £8 for DS to do archery but he got 45 mins or an hour of proper guidance and really enjoyed it. Some you need to pre book but there is no charge - they did a bath bomb making workshop run by the science museum once, which they loved.

Definitely download the app and build an itinerary. The stage times are released 7 days in advance I think.

There is a small supermarket onsite where you can buy the basics if you need anything, or there are proper supermarkets a very short drive away. In fact, at Skeggy, I think you can easily walk.

Have an awesome holiday.

Amazing! Thanks for all that!!

We love Skeggy!

Swimming, most activities, shows and soft play are all included in the price. Download the app. You can't book stuff on it but it's useful for timings.

Be prepared to queue for everything. People queue really early for the shows which is a pain

The swimming pool shuts for a bit (tea time ish I think) then reopens. Check the closed time to avoid disappointed DC.