- Who was in your group and how old are the children?
Me my adult dsx2 my dd 12 and my toddler who came in free.
- Have you been to THORPE PARK Resort before, if so, when?
No but my ds2 had and is a roller coaster junkie so was looking forward to trying out swarm.he came last year on the opening day of Saw.
What was your, and your family's, overall experience of Happy Height Day?
i thought it was extremely generous and loved the little bag of extras especially the ponchos and angry bird.
As a large family (I have five children all together) we usually have to save money by taking food so it was such a lovely treat to have the park pounds and stop for lunch.
Obviously a massive bonus to have the fast pass too, that seemed to work really well, my only gripe was that as we had four passes all on one ticket it meant that we couldn't split up and do different rides.
I had a parent pass which I don't think was advertised very well but which is helpful.
I would like to have seen more signs around the park, pointing to the different rides and toilets/restaurants there are none and I found myself going the long way round and getting lost, I found the staff very helpful when I asked the way though although my boys thought that some of the staff of the rides were a bit miserable.
There was about one hand drier working in the whole park.
There really isn't much for little ones at all. I can't complain because dd was free at under a metre but another 4cms and I'd have to pay and even then there were about 3 things she could go on due to the height restrictions.
Even the TEACUPS were for 1.1 metre which I find ludicrous in a park full of white knuckle rides.
Thinking I'd pay for a treat for her I got her face painted, the girl was new and very limited as to what she could paint so dd chose a simple rabbit face which the girl just about managed with a little guidance from me.
I was shocked to pay £6 for this, that is a lot if you are not going to get professional face painters to do spectacular faces.
I would have liked areas for her to play in while we waited for the older children such as a little sift play where I could have a coffee, I'm sure the beach area will be great when we go there in the summer.
I also felt there was a distinct lack of family rides for us to all go on, she wasn't allowed in the raft slide and there was nothing such as "pirates of the Caribbean" or similar.
This was disappointing for the little one as she wanted to go on stuff with her siblings.
The worst thing for us was the rides keep getting closed, we drove 2 hrs to get there early and they rushed to go on the big rides, four times they were in fairly long fast track queues for swarm, nemesis and saw and were nearly at the front when the ride was closed. This is annoying as it wastes time but also the ride was often going again a few minutes later, why not give the option to let them wait in their place?
Also why are the rides breaking down all the time??
On one of the rides they closed the fast track queue' why?
They didn't get a go on saw in the end which is disappointing when you come a long way.
I do sound like a right moaner but I wanted to tell the truth, we had a fabulous time and are very grateful but I'd only bring the smaller one in the summer, it is more geared up for older children which I think you should make clearer so as not to be disappointed.
And please out some signs in for dozy people like me.
- What were your/your DCs highlights of the day?
Eating in park rather than eating my soggy sarnies.
Getting a go on swarm at the end, my dd was terrified but did it and is still going on about it. They loved swarm said it was amazing.
Having a day all together was lovely as we don't get to do that much,we will be doing it again thanks to the annual pass.
- Which, if any, attractions/ rides would you most recommend to parents with children who have just reached 1.4m in height?
Dd is just at that height but is very brave so I think you have to let them watch them first to decide, I'd say for the. To so daring, there was plenty to do stil,even I managed the water rides, we were extremely grateful for the ponchos, highlight of the day was it blowing up and completely covering my face as we walked along.
- Overall, would you recommend THORPE PARK Resort to your friends and family if it came up in conversation? If so, why? If not, why not?
I would recommend it to a family of thrill seekers but not for people with small children or big age gaps, it has a remarkable amount of thrill rides so it's definitely the place to go if you like those.
I lo be the look of the beach area and maybe angry birds will be better for younger ones so I will possible be recommending it for younger ones then.
Thanks you Thorpe park and Mumsnet, we are very grateful for a lovely day out.