What is the best 'big' family day out in London?

[MegBusset]

Looking to do a big, fun day out in or around London on the Whitsun bank holiday with 9 and 11yos.

They are pretty easily pleased and like animals, theme parks, etc. Outdoors better than indoors (so probably not a museum), and the less crowded the better (I appreciate this is a big ask in London on the bank holiday weekend).

So where shall we go? Legoland, London Zoo, Thorpe Park,??? There are plenty of shit reviews for all these on TripAdvisor...

Will be staying in SE London so Kent reachable too.

We have 'done' central London and South Bank quite a lot recently so looking for something a bit different this time.

Harry Potter?

Zoo?

Dungeon/ Madame Tussaud’s

We've done Harry Potter and enjoyed it but don't think it's worth revisiting. The zoo is definitely on the maybe pile but reviews mixed - I've not been for 15+ years.

Tussauds/ Dungeon I don't think they'd be interested in - they need outside space!

Kew Gardens, Hampton Court and Chessington also under consideration.

Olympic park and the orbital slide

www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/whats-on/events/2016/06/ride-the-slide

We wasted a whole day queuing for Madam Tusards and were underwhelmed. Don't do it!

Our best bits were the free stuff, the key sites and taking the tube.

Kids loved Hamleys, a walk by the river, Big Ben etc.

We loved Harry Potter but you just can't beat the free stuff. Walking to Buckingham Palace through the park, changing of the guard, the buzz of Leicester Square early evening.

Personally I'd spend time on that rather than the Merlin queues though we paid fir London Eye which they loved.

You say you've done Southbank but Underbelly festival is on at the moment and there are some fab shows. We're seeing Card Ninja on the bank holiday monday. What about Whipsnade Zoo? Better than London in my opinion.

Sorry - you don't want central...
I've thought about the Observatory (but inside)
and Bletchley Park for our next trips.

I agree with you on Whipsnade but it's the opposite side of the M25 to where we're staying so central or south of London would be ideal.

I love central London, South Bank etc but the kids (country boys) find the crowded pavements a bit stressful. We did Hyde Park / Buck House / Changing of the Guard quite recently, have done Greenwich recently too.

(These are all good suggestions though so please don't think I'm ungrateful!)

Hampton court? You could get the boat there, the maze, the play garden (check age restrictions), quite often other events on too - we saw horrible histories last summer for example.

We've done both Legoland and Thorpe park and they're both very age dependent (think legoland for under 10's and Thorpe park for over 10's). Your kids sound like they'd love Thorpe park but on bank holiday weekend you'll spend most of the day queuing so I think it's best to save it for another day maybe? Or if you do decide to go, definitely spend the extra money on some fast track tickets. The rides are brilliant but spending the whole day queuing in the heat puts a bit of a downer on it!

London zoo is depressing these days and really isn't what it used to be. It makes me quite sad because when I was little it was the best day out in the world but now it's nothing other than crowded and inhumane. Spitalfields city farm is lovely and my kids enjoy going there however at 9 and 11 yours may be a bit past it- it's pretty small and none of the animals are exotic or impressive (think sheep, donkeys, llamas) but they do petting sessions and you can get up close to the animals so my girls love it.

Have you been to the Olympic park before? It's gorgeous on a nice day and there's always lots going on there. We also really like docklands sailing and watersports centre, they do everything like kayaking canoeing windsurfing etc.

Have a look at chiselhurst caves- it's a 20 something mile trail of caves under Bromley which are pretty cool and spooky to visit. If the kids are into rollercoaster and adrenaline type stuff, there's this company that do these crazy high speed boat experiences on the Thames (can't remember the name but have seen them when on my lunch break before and it looks like a lot of fun) so that could be another idea

Lots of little ideas in there rather than big day outs but hope that's helped inspire you a bit

Kew Gardens is lovely- they often have extra activities laid on for kids on bank holidays. If you go in at the Lion Gate that end is much less crowded and you can usually find a quiet spot for a picnic even when it is busy.

Chatham Dockyard in Kent is a good day out.