Centre parcs with 1 and 3 year old

[Greatfun]

We are thinking of a short mid week break in Longleat centre parcs. DD will be 3 years 10 months and DS will be 16 months. Is there enough for this age to do as its rather expensive so we don't want to go and wish we had waited till the DCs were older?

Do they have a section for DCs in the pool?

Don't know about Longleat but Whinfell has a big swimming area for kids. We've been with ours at a similar age and there's lots to do, they loved the pool so much we could barely drag them out and we've never felt the need to pay for loads of the extra (expensive) activities.

We went with DD1 when she was 18 months old. It was great. She loved the pool - there is a large toddler area with slides that she could go up and down on her own. We booked her into messy play and soft play (in the Jardin du Sports), both of which were great fun for her AND us. And we spent a lot of time at the outdoor and indoor playgrounds, as well as feeding the ducks in the lake - activities which are completely free I'd recommend you book bikes to get around, as the park is quite big. We had a bike seat for DD1 and she loved it. Enjoy!

Took DS and DD just before Xmas last year for Winter wonderland at Nottingham when DS was 2.6 and DD 3 months. They both loved it and hope to go this year.

Pool is fab and free!! Someone mentionned taking your own food and
drink to pool if u want to save money. Great outdoor playgrounds and play areas in some of restaurants. We didn't do anything we had to pay extra for but we did eat out a lot as Mum gave us money for that.

Even tho it pretty much rained all the time we still had fun!

I've been a few times with DS (now 2.5) and he's always been entertained by either
a) the outdoor play areas - there are a few dotted about
b) the pool - particularly the toddler area with the little slide
c) the free shows (did a rupert show last time) and
d) the indoor play areas which are in most of the restaurants.
Have only ever been to Elvedon, but if the squash area is free there they often have an indoor 'soft' play area they put up too (at a cost - think was £3)

I did enrol him in some stuff last time we went (messy play, make a memory, teddy bears picnic) and to be honest it was a waste of time - he had the best time playing in the jacuzzi bath at the villa - turn it on - add lots of bath bubbles and voila!

He also really enjoyed sitting in the bike trailer and being ferried about (we bought one after the first time we went because we couldnt keep him out of other peoples)

We did take quite a few toys though - the time before last it rained the whole 5 days we were there. I took plenty of DVDs and his plastic toys as well as books and jigsaws. If you get each of them a brand new toy to open when they have a 'bored' moment - then they'll probably love it so much they'll play with it loads as well

We took ours to Sherwood at that age and the 3-year-old was very happy but the toddler, well, options are a bit limited unless yo really, really like swimming and "soft play" (shudder).

The swimming pool at Longleat has a toddler area with slides. The main 'Wave' pool can also be used as it is ramped, so gets deeper as you get further into the pool. Buoyancy jackets are available at the poolside, so you don't need to take arm bands - which makes getting changed a little easier.

I've recently posted quite a bit about Center Parcs Longleat, so will direct you to another message thread where you can find more info about the Longleat Center Parcs site Link

If it is a wet week, you will probably spend a lot of time in the pool. If it is dry you may spend more time at places such as the playgrounds and beach. Hiring bikes may depend a lot on the weather, plus also on villa location (see Link above for a map of Center Parcs Longleat). Without bikes travel around the site is possible on Tue, Wed, Thur via the Land Train (every 20 minutes, between 8.40am and Midnight). Walking is also an option, it's not as if you are in much of a hurry whilst on holiday.

I wouldn't suggest booking any of the activities - just do your own things, much cheaper.

Also worth looking for cottages with shared pools as they can be cheaper (and nicer).