First trip to Center Parcs - Hit me with you tips!

[ChocolateChipMuffin2016]

As the title says, we're going on our first trip to Center Parcs in November and I am looking for any tips or tricks you have to make it easier (cheaper) for us.
We are going to Woburn Forest with family, 11 people consisting of 2 couples and 2 families (1 of 4 and us; me, DH and DS aged 2) sharing 2 lodges. Kids are between 2 and 6 months, so young! Some of the others we are going with have been before but aren't being massively forthcoming about how it works and me and DH feel a bit stupid not having a clue.
Some of our questions are: is it all indoors? Do people generally have the activities you can book on every day? It seems like it could be very expensive if so. Are there other things to do, other than walk around and use the pool? My DH was wondering if you can go off site or are you trapped once you get in ?
Anythings you would definitely do/take/avoid? Any hints for keeping the small people entertained?
Sorry for all the questions, but it's our first holiday in 3 years and we want to try and make the most of it! Thank you!

Very expensive. Make sure you have insurance.

Not at all indoors, although in November the outdoor activities might be hit and miss weather wise. We have been to Center Parcs with out kids from baby to teens and have always loved it.

It is expensive, both to eat and for activities. We have only really done extra paid for activities since our kids got older, although we always take or hire bikes (you can hire bike buggies for little ones). For little ones, the pool and exploring the site on bikes have been more than adequate. We also take plenty of food as the onsite shop is expensive, although it has all the essentials if you run out. We tend to eat out a couple of times as a treat. If I remember correctly you get free jars of baby food if you eat in the restaurants. I always found it very baby friendly.

You can leave the site if you want! Last time we went I actually went home for a job interview half way through the break!

Hope you have fun!

Oh god @Wolfiefan what do we need insurance for?

Just holiday insurance in case you cant go because of illness or accident

Centre parcs is ace - as hectic or relaxing as you want it to be

Lots of (free) soft play areas scattered around the site too

Don’t buy in the supermarkets unless you like paying 15% more than your local shop. I took everything with me including e.g. flour for cooking all planned meals. Take your drinks. Eating out is very expensive.

I like cooking and a nice cosy evening in with lights dimmed and food on the patio for the wildlife will be lovely. We had badgers, deer and lots of birds come right up to the patio doors. Took board games and treated it like indoor camping tbh.

The thing I disliked was the cynical way they make money out of their captive market over charging for lots of things. It can be however a nice chilled way for the whole family to meet and relax.

We took bikes and really enjoyed cycling whilst there. Take the less walked paths and explore. The main paths are very busy but I found that further afield was quiet and peaceful.

Oh right @Timeforabiscuit we've already paid for it and it was only £250 per couple (mid week, in term time) so I am not sure we would be able to claim if we couldn't go. Didn't even cross my mind as UK trip so will add it to the list to look into and book if we could still claim!
Thank you for all your tips for far, really good suggestions and great insider knowledge about the costs for food etc!

Check in online before you get there.
Download the app before you go, too. It’s really handy for finding out what’s on, pre-booking and paying for activities before you go, and remembering what’s on your itinerary once you’re there. There’s free Wi-Fi in all of the main buildings, so you can still download it when you get there.
Don’t feel pressured to book too much before you arrive. You don’t want to spend the whole time looking at an itinerary finding out where you need to be in 10 minutes time! If there are things you absolutely, desperately want to do, then book them but otherwise, wait to get there and see what takes your fancy. I would say that planning to book half your activities is probably a good balance as things can get busy and you don’t want to be disappointed. By doing this though, you leave yourself some time available to do something you see when you’re there that you really want to try but hadn’t thought about it until you saw it…
You can’t get in to your lodge until 3pm, but you can use the facilities on-site – namely the swimming pool – from 10am onwards. Pack all your swimming stuff separately so that you can park up, load up your buggy with all your bits and spend the morning swimming. Then you can send the other half back to the car to drive it onto the village and up to your lodge with all the rest of your gear in, while you saunter over there all casual.
Don’t hurry off to bring your car up to your lodge at 3pm if you don’t have to. Let the rush die down a bit and then go, and you’ll beat the crowds and get a bit more time in the pool.
Bring the bulk of your booze with you, so that you can empty it into your lodge now – while the car is parked outside – rather than having to lug it all home from the ParcMarket, which is the on-site supermarket. You can stock up there when you’re running low.
When you drive your car back to the car park – where it’ll stay until you go home – text yourself the location, or write it down if you’ve got no signal. That way you won’t have any delays when it’s time to check-out at the end of your holiday.
You can leave the site at any time to explore the local area or to do a top up shop. Just let the staff know so you can get a badge for the car to let you back in.
You can bring your own bikes to Center Parcs, and all the villages are well set up for cyclists. You can also hire them at the Cycle Centre, including children’s bikes. There are various pre-bookable activities for bike-lovers, too – my eldest was 2 when he did the balance bike class and he loved it.
A buggy trailer from the Cycle Centre is handy if you’ve got little ones, as long as they’re old enough to support themselves properly while sitting. No, you can’t put a baby car seat in. We asked. And yes, they are pretty heavy to pull along. But the kids will love it.
Depending on where your lodge is, there may be a fair bit of walking to get to the main areas, so bring a buggy and some flat shoes. That said, Woburn Forest is the smallest of the 5 villages so it’s ideal if you’re not up for a hike.
Pack a bucket and spade - every village has a small, sandy beach on the lake.
Take a packet of toilet rolls – you’ll only get one roll provided in each of your toilets. There are no potties or potty training toilet seats either, so take these from home if you think you’ll need them.
Pack a cot sheet – there’s a cot bed in the little utility room/store cupboard in all lodges but they don’t supply small sheets for them.
Don’t worry about taking pound coins for the lockers. Everything at Woburn is done with high-tech wristbands that let you in to your villa as well as your locker. You can’t forget what locker number your stuff is in, either. Just put your wristband up to the little machines in the changing rooms and they’ll tell you. And you can even link it up to your bank card and make cashless payments for food and drink at the pool if you want to.
Take beach towels for the pool. There are plenty of towels at your lodge, but you’re going to want them for baths and showers.
Don’t worry about packing buoyancy aids. There are racks full of buoyancy jackets in two different sizes, and they’re free.
Keep an eye out for the baby feeding area in most of the restaurants – there’s a microwave, bottle warmer and baby food pots. It’s free and a really lovely, thoughtful touch.
Take washing up liquid. There’s a little sachet on the sink to get you started, but that’s it. As with most things, you can pick up a bottle in the ParcMarket. But if you’re trying to save money it’ll be cheaper to bring it from home. Likewise, bring some extra dishwasher tablets.There’ll be a handful in the lodge, but they won’t get you through your break. On that note, take a couple of extra tea towels, too, as there’s only one supplied.

Yes DS was seriously ill in hospital and we lost the lot. No discount offered off a future booking. Wouldn’t book with them again. Ever.

You can book holiday insurance seperately, fair enough if you can afford to take the financial hit - but if its in the 1,000's then definately worth it!

Just check on go compare type website, its very easy to set up.

Things we always take:

Loo rolls
Kitchen roll / cleaning stuff
Washing up liquid / dishwasher tabs
A wok
Decent knives
Chopping board
You can just about manage with what's in the kitchen otherwise.

You'll want to spend a lot of time in the pool as it's so warm! Might be worth booking a cabana between you all as you have babies. The nature area is quite cute, big toadstool tables etc. All the shops at Whinfell are indoors and I think there's a kids area right at the top. Check out the sports plaza as well, lots to do there.

And finally, you MUST go to the spa. Must. Don't even think about not. It's about £40 for 3 hours and worth every penny!

Remember to pack Vaseline

Our children enjoyed it most at 2+.

They enjoyed the unexpected things which was a surprise. It's not the big ££ that appeal to them.

The wildlife next to the chalets. We had squirrels and birds right up to the doors (take bird food).

The parc being lit at night makes it magical to a two year old.

Being able to cycle to everything and have them in a toddler seat or pull along tent.

They loved the sweet shop, the pancake house and all the play areas in the park.

The land train was thrilling to a two year old!

The swimming they found a bit noisy.

It's one of my fondest memories, the utter delight on the face of my son at centre Parcs.

I seem to recall that there were a lot of free or very inexpensive options for 2 year olds, but this was a very long time ago now.

If I were you I'd call customer services and sound them out. They are knowledgeable.

One thing I have found over the years is, find a large supermarket just out side the Parc and arrange a click and collect.
It's so much cheaper. The Parc market is top prices. Nice selection but expensive.

There is a big Tesco In flitwick
But remember you can't take car so you will need bike trailer from car park.
There is a circular bike trail around the perimeter on the outside.

You can come and go on the first day until 8pm.

We have got in at 3, dropped bags off at accommodation and gone back out to collect a grocery order from the local supermarket.
Driven back to the accommodation , unloaded then parked the car.

You can't do this on other days, only your arrival day.

Make the most of your arrival and departure days. You can use most of the facilities all day for both. It's well worth arriving in the morning even though you can't get to your villa until much later.

If the weather forecast is bad and you want to have a takeaway delivered, book it very early (like in the morning), or you may find all the useful delivery slots are gone.

It's a controversial view but I don't mind the parc market. It's onsite, quick to get round and full of quick easy meal ideas. The little trolleys for the kids are genius. If we were doing a lot of cooking it might be worth schlepping out elsewhere, but for the small amount we buy we just go there, get it all done in 20 mins and go and do something more fun.

Whilst I agree best to bring with you your "main shop", don't be put off re cost of ParcMarket to top up your shopping, eg for fresh bread, frozen items you can't easily bring with you and things you forget.

We've CP'd about 20 times over 15 years and, if we stay for a week, we leave for a couple of trips out to local area, but if only doing weekend (never done the slightly longer midweek), there's enough to do for no wish to leave.

Also bring hand soap for each toilet if, like mine, your kids won't use the bar soap. Kitchen is pretty well-equipped unless you're going to start baking cakes or whipping up a gourmet meal, though if you're planning to cook, bring an extra tea-towel so you don't have to re-use a soggy one. On which subject, be prepared to permanently have towels hanging around the radiators as the rail space is barely enough for all bath towels never mind swimming towels on top. If you have curious children at the top end of your age range, you may want to go into the cutlery drawer and remove the sharp knives/scissors to somewhere they can't reach.

Woburn is the only UK one we've not done, but it's much smaller than the others so you won't need bikes, but they are fun part of CP. It's casual dress everywhere and you'll need layers in November as everything inside tends to be hot (other than Sports Plaza, where it's only hot if you're taking part!) Takeaway is a good option if you don't want to eat out or cook - but get your order in early (orders taken from 3pm) or you'll end up eating at 10pm as it's popular.

At that age, I'd recommend booking the Mucky Pups session - our DC loved it and someone else had to clear up all the mess. Or the Teddy Bears Picnic or Tots Go Wild for the older ones. The pool can be a bit noisy so if your little ones might be put off by that, the Swim Pups sessions normally run early morning when the pool is otherwise closed - DC of friends learnt to swim at those sessions too! But I'd say book no more than one thing for the kids each day and maybe book yourselves one thing a day if you can cover the childcare - we did the 2 hour spa session whilst friends looked after the DC, and the tiniest ones slept in the pram whilst we played badminton or table tennis. But don't get into a state of constant booked activity as one of the pleasures is time to chill - a leisurely bike ride, sitting with a drink looking out over the lake, a gentle stroll looking out for squirrels ...

I know some people hate it, but we love it - so family friendly for all ages - we went pre-kids and first took DD aged 6 weeks, and our groups have over the years literally included all ages 0-20, up to nearly 80 and all stages in between. Everything on site, lots of activities if you want them and ways to relax if you don't. Have a great time!

Here are some more tips:
Make sure that you look at the website carefully. I personally suggest child friendly activities to keep them both busy. Always bring books to read. Also toys. I took a couple of hours to plan some days out to possible family friendly attractions before we left. It was so worth it. I decided to take along some cake and sandwiches for a picnic lunch the first day just in case.
Allow enough time to get there and back. Hopefully you’ll have a good time. You’ll love it. Customer services should be able to help you. Have a list of things to take with you too. Pack spare shoes and clothes for your vacation. If you get there early you can use the facilities until you are supposed to check in.
Consider childcare plans. What are you going to do about childcare options? I recommend having a discussion about the topic before you leave and then decide. Plan out a flexible schedule of activities etc as well. How old are the kiddos? How long are you going for?

Take lube

Just been to Woburn. It's very lovely but quite hilly.

The only things free with your lodge are the forest and the swimming pool. You're not trapped on site, but in theory you're not there long and probably won't need to leave unless there is an emergency. It's a lot of outdoorsy stuff.

Top tips from us:

1. If you want to save money, make the most of self catering. The restaurants are lovely, but a little bit pricey. The pub (the sports cafe) is daylight robbery. £10 for two pints!
2. Pancake house is a nice treat, but if you want both a sweet and a savoury one, I'd go for the small size pancakes.
3. Spa is fabulous, but expensive. If you can, an evening twilight session for two people is the cheapest.
4. Don't bother with the who's out after dark activity. There were too many people and shouty children, and the guide just walked us around the park itself pointing out nature areas to go to in the day. We saw nothing on the activity! We took our own torches out into the woods at dusk and in the dark and saw deer, rabbits, bats, toads and hedgehog.
5. If you play adventure golf, skip the 9th hole on your first go and go round the holes again. The 9th hole keeps your ball, so you can really get 17 holes if you skip it the first time round. There is officially no limit to how many times you can go round.
6. Pottery painting is a nice chilled out activity to do. Geocaching is good for a stretch of the legs. The owl encounter and archery are both good fun too.
7. Swimming pool is not really for swimming. It's a series of water 'rides'. On the rapids if you hit a wall feet first, for the love of god bend your knees! I nearly knackered my ankle doing just that. The lazy river is quietest when the wave pool is on.

I second a lot of the other recommendations but my top tip......Last time we went we took our slow cooker as well as ingredients for a casserole (could also do chilli etc) Prepared a meal in the morning and let it do its thing all day whilst we were out and about. Actually DH popped back mid afternoon and chucked jacket potatoes in the oven. Was so good to come back at the end of a busy day to a meal all ready. Cheap, tasty, cosy food especially at this time of year. Have a great time 😀

Don’t assume you can cycle everywhere, depending where your lodge is. I was used to centerparcs on the continent, and the ones we had been to were very flat. Woburn is like the mountain stage of the sodding Tour de France VERY hilly- depending where your lodge is it’s almost impossible to cycle back from the pool complex, especially with hefty children in a tag-along chariot!

Ooh - also, make sure you order delivery from the Indian restaurant. It’s lovely!