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[KatieBMumsnet]

The folks at Disney On Ice have asked us to find out what you think about family days out. What's your idea of a great day out? What sort of 'fun day out' fills you with dread? What would your DC's dream day out look like? And what has them begging to be left at home?

Have you ever taken your DC to a live show like Disney on Ice (or another live show)? If so, what did they like about it? Was there anything they didn't like? If you've been to a live show, do you think you'd go again or not? Why?

Everyone who add their comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £250 of Amazon vouchers.

Thank you for your comments and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

I plan days out all through the holidays because I have a DD with behavioural issues who doesn't like the big change in routine, so keeping her busy stops her freaking out too much.

I find the local children's centres are a really good facility when trying to plan a nice day out on a budget, they always have activities running for the kids through the holidays, even trips away if you get your name down quickly. This allows you to have the kids out and about with added support, essential if you are a parent with disabilities or with a child with disabilities.

Today we did a minibus to the local woodland park, with money set aside for a hot chocolate and baked potatoes at the centre afterwards to warm little tummies up, and this week we'll be playing imaginatively with boxes, having an indoor picnic and doing a cinema morning. The children love it.

If I have a bigger budget, I love to take the kids to the cinema then for a nice meal afterwards, checking online can find some BOGOF offers or kids eat free to keep the budget small again. There are also some nice local soft play places which don't cost the sun.

See a Disney on Ice show would be an instant favourite I am sure with the kids, however I haven't quite been brave enough to take my two to a live show yet due to my own mobility problems, being on my own and lack of transport. I keep things as simple as possible so that I can cope so it usually has to be nearby or with transport put on, and I keep things low cost by finding special offers and taking our own food. Keeping children occupied on longer journeys is a must I find, or they get grumpy before you're even started.

DD1 is 3.4 yo. She loves running around outdoors or anything to do with dinosaurs or animals. I try to plan days out that the whole family will enjoy, so museums, parks and zoos/farms are usually a good choice and I always look for cheap/free days out or deals.

Things I hate- lack of good, clean facilities.
Places that won't let you take your own food but then charge tons of money for some unhealthy crap- if you're going to force us to buy food, give us more choice please!
Massive crowds and long queues.
Unnecessarily LOUD music, noises etc.

We had a lovely family day out in London at the weekend. We walked along South Bank so DS (4) could spot some things (Big Ben, Oxo Tower, London Eye) for his I-spy book, then had a pizza lunch, then went to the Science Museum, which DS loved even though it was extremely busy.

DS loves a big playground so anywhere with a massive climbing frame is automatically a big hit with him. If there's a mini train to ride, so much the better!

We've been to a few live shows. We've been to the local pantomime at Christmas for the past couple of years and loved it. We've also been to two Peppa Pig shows and DS is going to see the Gruffalo soon. Not sure about Disney on Ice to be honest. DS is terrified of people dressed up, so Disney World would be his idea of hell (despite being a big fan of Disney films!) I agree with the silverfrog about the spinny flashy things. DS has never even asked for one and I have no intention of buying one but I find them extremely annoying and distracting.

We went to Legoland last year and all had a fantastic time. We used Tesco vouchers and took a packed lunch to keep costs down.

A good family day out would be one that was entertaining, educational, foodie and didn't cost a fortune. So always plannned well in advance.

As we have DS who is 11 and a DD who is 6 think our ideas of a good family day out will start to be wildly different in coming years but thus far, it would be an early start, trip into London, doing a museum or art gallery followed by lunch at a family restaurant like Cafe Rouge or Wagamama's, followed by a walk along the Thames taking in cultural diversity and then a long bus ride home to see different bits of London.

Or it could be a trip to National Trust property and a long bracing walk in the surrounding countryside.

We frequently take the children to see plays and musicals and films (and even the ballet although DS didn't approve) but we have not ever gone to anything like Disney on Ice - just feel that such activities are very expensive and wouldn't necessarily tick the educational/exercise boxes very well. I am sure though that if DD was given the option she would be very pleased to go to see Disney on Ice.

We tend to do one family day out a month.

Usually it's the museum and lunch out. The only other places all dc enjoy going would be the farm or the beach in the summer.

We try to avoid theme parks etc as it is guaranteed to end in a fight between the eldest dc (11&7) they get overwhelmed by all the stuff going on and all we hear all day is ''can i have?''

We've been to a few shows, Bob the builder, Thomas the tank and Tweenies. The dc loved going when they were a bit younger. I agree with the poster above about the added expenses, they are ridiculous imho. We never buy programmes and would usually give the dc £10 each to buy whatever bit of plastic crap they fancied. I plan on taking dd2 (1yo) when she is a bit older.

We usually go to see Holiday on ice when its here too and dd1 loves it. we usually do that one on our own though.

my ideal family day out would be anything that was cheap and involved no arguing.

We don't have many days out due to cost , being a family of five so the kids do really appreciate going out.
My best days out are when you feel you get real value for money. Maybe a national trust place with a picnic to keep costs down. We also love going to the museum of science and industry as it is free entry and you can take your own food in.
We love days out to the zoo or a theme park but these are treats. We often visit those you can get discount vouchers to , for example we did Camelot last year.
My favourite days out are those that include somewhere nice for lunch , not expensive rubbish take away food.
My least favourite are those that cost a lot for only a couple of hours entertainment i.e cinema or play barns (particularly these).
I would love to do disney on ice but not sure if it would appeal to the ages of all my dc 10 _4.
We have done pantomimes and they love that. We did take ds to cbeebies when he was younger which was great for him but far too costly with 3 dc and again too big an age range.
As we only occassionally have days out i like us all to go together so prefer something that appeals to us all.

We took our DS to see Disney on Ice at sheffield last year and he absolutly loved it. We all had a great time and will more than likely go again at some point.

I liked that the show really was suitable for all ages, it was easy to watch, (apart from a small moment in the 2nd half where i think there were sound issues!)
my only issues eally would be that it was on quite late in an evening, so we got home especially late but as it was a treat i suppose i could live with that.. more daytime shows would be better though. Also i found the merchandising quite expensive for what it was, alot of it was cheap tat. And also the Disney Cars section wasn't on long enough IMO and a bit limp compared to the other sections of the show.

Great day out for us is a farm or national trust property which has big gardens suitable for running about and has a playground. We usually buy food there if it's NT, but might take a picnic. Also popular is a beach with rock pools or a steam train journey. Meeting Thomas the Tank engine has been particularly popular.

We have been to see Fireman Sam and Peppa Pig at the theatre and are going to see Christ and Pui soon. They were ok and ds enjoyed them, But hardly great theatre! I'd rather take them to book type events but would mean travelling to our local big city which is a pain (and over an hour minimum) and they are still a bit small to make it much fun. Not been to any Disney stuff because they aren't interested yet; if they were and wanted to go I'd be happy to take them as I think any theatre type experience is valuable.

Things that would fill me with dread include huge queues, not being able to park, rubbish, over priced food options, and horrible loos!

We have merlin passes so use those in season, wouldn't go without those as individual trips are expensive and you spend so much time waiting in queues. Also cinema trips but usually on an orange free Wednesday. We are members of the National Trust so when the weather is good we use those. We are a short train ride from central London and really enjoy the museums or just walking along the South Bank. Do the odd live show, Peter Pan at the O2 and the science museum live not so long ago.

We took the dds to Disney On Ice many years ago, when they were about 3 and 5. Yes they liked it! However, I didn't like how busy it was and a lot of the people there had no idea how to control their children, which always makes me growl through the performance. We've taken them to a lot of live theatre over the years, mostly in small art centres,

Dream days out have always included - a train ride / coffee and cake / a mooch around museums (and some pennies to spend in the shop there!) / lunch / an hour in a bookshop (a book each if we have all been v good!) and pick and mix and grapes on the train home!

Oh and when they were tiny they used to love running around the ruins at Coventry cathedral and going to the local Nature Centre.

basically, anywhere not too crowded has always been best for us. Absolutely no to theme parks (although the dds like them now they are teenagers) although we did go to Gullivers in Matlock Bath and thought that was excellent (small and not too crowded).

I have a nearly-three year old so considerations for family days out tend to be focused on places he can run around without much hinderance. Simple needs at this stage!

I've been wary of taking him to big organised live shows such as Disney On Ice as I'm not sure he'd have the attention span yet and spending money to spend a couple of hours wrestling a recalcitrant toddler into his seat doesn't feel like my idea of fun. I wouldn't rule it out for a couple of years down the line.

We have taken him to one performance-based day out that was really successful - the Travelling Light Theatre Company put on shows especially for pre-schoolers which have a high level of interactivity and also tolerance for those with ants-in-pants.

We're on a tight budget so am always looking out for activities he'll love and remember that are very cheap or free. We make really good use of membership to our local zoo and I keep an eye out for discount vouchers for farm parks, aquariums etc.

Aspects of a Family Outing that I find off-putting include restrictions on my ability to bring my own food (or over-priced in-house options), long queues, lack of changing facilities and unhelpful venue staff.

Our fave family days out generally involve the beach, but we also really enjoyed Flamingo Land. A big deal for me as I hate theme parks. But they seem to have it just right, lots of space and lots of simple activities that don't involve queuing.

The idea of those on ice or arena things have never appealed to any of us.

We like days out where plenty of energy can be expended by ds, and theres lots for us all to see and do.

One of our favourite days out is going to the Game Fair - loads to do and see, lots thats free for children to have a go at, and plenty of tasty real food.

The only live shows we have been to is the panto, and to the Olympia horse show. I wouldn't take ds to disney on ice yet as I don't think he would sit still through it.

A nightmare day out would be sitting still and quiet, or somewhere with crowds and crowds of people and rubbish food

We've been to a disney on Ice show. My DS (5) and DD (3) at the time loved it. Again, I would say the plastic tat sold is a complete rip off along with the buckets of popcorn at £8. However the tub has come in handy to keep lego in.

Children really want to go to Disneyland, but it is not my idea of fun at the moment. Queues and hanging about with a 6, 4 and 1 year old is no way to enjoy a day. I would quite like to have a 'mini' disney land experience for them. IE see the parade, meet mickey, cinderella etc, maybe lunch with buzz lightyear and then GO HOME!

The children like nothing more than riding bikes and messing about in parks. So maybe it is the simple things in life that give the most pleasure.

The best days out we've had with the kids have been cheap or free. A run on the beach is great - they don't do organised activity or passively watching things, that's for sure! An organic farm near to us has a woodland area with all sorts of rope walks, a big field with sand pits and mini tractors etc. It costs just a few quid each to get into it and we had a fabulous time there. They burnt off loads of energy, there was no queuing and the remoteness and small entry fee meant it was actually very civilised.

We've never done anything Disney and doubt we will.

We have NT membership so go to Belton House a lot, we also like Clumber Park.
Other favourites are the museums in London, the Deep in Hull and the beach.

We are going to Twycross zoo tomorrow for the first time, so hope it isn't too busy.

We visit the theatre regularly, there is a small one near us that has a children's show every month with tickets only being a fiver so an affordable treat.
We've also been to derby a few times to see the Roald Dahl productions.

We have lots of fun days out, mostly kicking around in the woods with a picnic. Mine also quite like museums and galleries in small doses - we tend to go in for half an hour, then head off, as they have quite short attention spans. We also have National Trust membership, which has been the source of a lot of fun days in various forms. Quick spin round the inside of a house, a massive run around in the garden, and then a drink and a slice of cake. I think we all think that is pretty good fun.

I have taken all of mine to various theatre performances (The Snowman, and so on) and have also taken dd (7) to the ballet, which she loved. Two of mine get very nervous, and don't deal well with anything even vaguely scary, so it's always helpful to know in advance what might be alarming so we can discuss it - for example, when we went to see a production of The Wind In The Willows, we read the story and talked about whether the weasels would be frightening beforehand. In the end, despite ds (4) watching most of it through his fingers, they were fine. We've never done Disney on Ice, but I suspect they would all love it.

My biggest issue with "days out" in any form, whether it's a museum or the theatre, is the inevitable wrangling over whether they can go to the shop/buy something. Now that two of the dcs have pocket money, they have disposable income, but I find the endless acquisition of stuff we don't need depressing. They are all very good at not nagging if I say no, but I would prefer not to have the discussion in the first place. I tend to head it off by saying "we won't be buying anything" or "you can each have one thing" before we get there, but it doesn't fill me with delight. Hence preferring the woods - nothing to buy there!

DS's favourite day out is the beach. We are British so weather is not an obstacle! We go to a quiet one where there is only an ice-cream van. Take the dog, football, frisbee, bucket and spade, body board and stay 'til extremities blue.

DS 7 really enjoys live shows. We went to Nemo On Ice a couple of years ago and all ages thoroughly enjoyed it. We also saw the Lion King & Tarzan short ones at Disney Paris a while back. DS was totally engaged by them. I'm still tempted to get to London for Lion King proper. Best of the non-Disney when he was younger was Lazytown live. Saw a brilliant production of Peter Pan in York last summer.

Disney Paris was a great hit but is more than a day out. (Food needs improving.) Best theme park for primary school age children IMO is Drayton Manor.

One day out that was a disappointment was the Royal Armouries. The jousting tournament was well done if short but the general displays did not fire (no pun intended) his imagination. DS's idea of a lousy day out is shopping, even if it's for him.

The day out we have lined up for this half-term is to the Bradford Media Museum which I'm told is very interactive and I think has free entry. Might go for a curry afterwards.

These days out and Disney holidays are just not affordable for normal people who have more than 2 dc. They're also a lot of money for a day spent queuing.

Our favourite days out are going somewhere like a NT property (or the Eden Project, an aquarium etc). We normally arrive in time for lunch, either a packed lunch or, rare treat, lunch out. Then have a look around, find somewhere for the DCs (1 and 3). We tend to head home for about 4.30/5, put a nice easy dinner in the evening and settle down with a film. The DCs love just going on to the moor or to the beach as well.

I've looked into live shows but they always seem prohibitively expensive, especially when our DCs are of an age where I can't trust that they'll stick it out. The 3yo enjoys seeing things like the cinema or panto but the 1yo will just wriggle off somewhere. Maybe when they're a bit older it will be worth it.

A museum has reopened near us recently and that is fab, really engaging and the DCs seem to really like it there. It's free so that's a bonus.

Disney seems really expensive and not worth it at this age, but I know PIL are looking forward to taking the DCs (and us) once they're older so sure they'll enjoy it then.

My idea for a great day out is a mixture of outdoor and inside activities (so you don't have to worry about the weather), a reasonable entrance fee and prices while you're there...something magical which puts a smile on the little one's faces!

Things I dread involve overcrowding and queues and the fear of things that drag on too long!

My little ones loves anything with her favourite characters brought to life, rides to go on, music & dancing to join in with, treat food, a little pressie, animals and a play park!

They beg to be left at home if they get too cold, a long journey or there is a lot of shopping involved!!

We haven't been to Disney on Ice, I think she'd love the magic of it as loves the disney characters and films (I can't get her out the disney store!) She has been to other shows, In the Night Garden when she was smaller, a charlie and Lola puppet show, a Christmas show, and really enjoyed them. She got very sucked in to it all, especially enjoying anything that involved the audience, singing along, bubbles floating down that kind of thing. Where they have not worked as well is if they have poor sound so she can't understand what is happening, or you are too far away.

I would definitely go again and again to shows and would think about Disney on Ice! Thank you! xx

Our Day Out would be, out early, car packed with lots of nice yummy picnic food, drive to the beach plonk ourselves down, dig, play, build sandcastles and dams. Me and DH take it in turns to have 3o mins with the newspaper. Long walk along the promenade with ice cream!

Bit of (usually unsuccessful) kite flying, then chippy on the way home, bath and bed!

Been to Euro disney when our eldest was little,enjoyable/exhausting/over stimulating and expensive! Would not dream of attempting with 4 children!

Also big fan of NT, going on Bear Hunts with Teddy Bears,climbing trees, bike riding all for free! Would go to live shows but tbh cant justify the ticket prices when there are soooooo many other things to do for less that are more rewarding/fun/educational.

My children really love days out where they can run around, make noise and have some freedom to play. Bristol Zoo was fun and also The Living Rainforest- they can walk around and look at the creatures and plants and there is areas outside with play equipment.
I think children need to be at least 4 to be happy sitting watching a show. I took my children to watch the Muppets, my little boy is 3 years and is 'spirited' he liked it at first, but was restless half way through. So I would say shows are great but when they are old enough to appreciate them!
Traveling too far is not always fun for children, the train can be a novelty but not if its packed like sardines!

My two children would say their ideal day out would include lots of play, dressing up, drawing, painting, making a mess, running around, climbing, exploring, building, and going on rides without having to que! Then in between all that, some tasty food and drink in a relaxed and spacious child friendly imaginative environment! Live entertainment is ok for a short time in between the play. :)