Days out, are they still fun and worth the money?

[elliejjtiny]

We haven't been on any day trips since Feb 2020. PIL want to go out on a day trip with us now they have had both jabs. They have chosen somewhere that in normal circumstances dc has loved going to (zoo/farm place with massive softplay, indoor/outdoor play area, farm museum, small animal handling etc) and have offered to pay which we are obviously very grateful for. But the inside bits are all closed so it's just some animals in fields that you can't really get close to, a maze and an adventure playground. It doesn't seem worth it to me. Our local park has similar things to do and it's free. I know we aren't paying but £20 for adults and £15 for children for that seems ridiculous to me. Also after the 15 months we have had my dc would be thrilled with a visit to the park and tea at grandparents house. Their expectations are much lower than they used to be.

We will probably go as dc will enjoy it, it's not us spending the money and if people don't go to these places they will close permanently. Feels like a massive waste of money though.

A lot more things are open indoors now. I would definitely go if in-laws are paying. So many places have lost so much income over the past 15 months, it’s good to support these places where we can.

We’ve been to a couple of places that don’t have indoor areas open/restrictions on what’s usually allowed and in fairness we’ve really enjoyed ourselves.

I think a large element of that is due to being thoroughly fed up over winter and now we’ve got reasonably reliable good weather there isn’t much to spoil the bits we can do. I think the money is worth the change of scenery and supporting these places financially. Also a lot of these places seem to be conscious they’re missing elements and are making a decent effort to make what they can do as good as it can be.

I've had a lot of decent days out in the past year but have looked out for places running as naturally as possible without miserable overzealous conditions such as masks in outdoor spaces.

Pre-booking can be a pain in the butt depending on the activity. For a bigger day out, it's not so bad.

I think you should go, just check what you will be able to see. If you have no interest in football, there may be spaces when the England football team are playing (four opportunities until they lose to France or Germany!).

Is there nothing near ish that has indoor elements open too? Everything around here has their indoor sections mostly open with the exception of a few small soft play sections. The nearby zoo, children's farm, etc all have the vast majority of their indoor areas open so I'm baffled to hear of somewhere that doesnt.

@newnortherner111

I think you should go, just check what you will be able to see. If you have no interest in football, there may be spaces when the England football team are playing (four opportunities until they lose to France or Germany!).

Or Portugal lol

We went to a farm park at the weekend, it helped the weather was glorious but it was packed and I loved it it was just so normal

We went to a farm park a couple of weeks ago and 3 yo DD had lots of fun. It rained a lot and we couldn't do most of the outdoor stuff, but the soft play was open and she loved it. We're doing lots of days out at the moment, including lots of museums which are free which balances out the more expensive options.

I was going to say "yes" until you said everything indoors in closed. Are you sure thats the case? All the farm parks/zoos /theme parks around here have reopened their indoor areas now. Maybe find a different place to visit where everything is open?