You can't beat a theme park for a fun family day out really, can you? We love going to them as they offer so much to do, not just rides, and had a great time for Ethan's birthday last year at Chessington World of Adventures as well as at least one trip a year to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor.
If possible, I'd love to go again at some point over the Easter holidays and thought as it's a popular attraction in the Midlands area, I'd share my top tips for a tip top visit to Drayton Manor - as well as some information about their exciting Easter celebrations too...
Our favourite things to do at Drayton Manor are:
* Enjoy the rides
Ethan is big enough to go on all the rides at Thomas Land and seems to be a bit of a daredevil in the making, loving them all. Last time, we went on the Captain's Sea Adventure, as well as Bertie Bus and the Diesel's Locomotive Mayhem. Ethan also particularly loves Jeremy Jet's Flying Academy and Troublesome Trucks, and I like going on the aerial tour with Winston.
* Catch a show
The 4D cinema is well worth a visit, with regular mini movies on every half an hour or so, which is great for fidgety little ones and gives you a chance to put your feet up for a minute too.
* Visit the zoo
There's a good range of animals to see and it's close to Thomas Land too, so you don't have to venture too far into the rest of the park. The tigers are impressive to see and the Tamarind Trail is also worth walking around - the children seem to love their funny facial hair!
There's also some farm animals, and reindeer, to spot the other side of the far station so lots for animal lovers to see.
* Walking with dinosaurs
This area can be found at the back of the zoo and of course Ethan loves this part as a big dinosaur fan. He just doesn't want to get too close to the T-rex at the entrance... just in case!
* Wear them out at the playground
The play area is pretty big and comes at a great time during your visit, so you can rest a little while your little ones let off some steam.
* Make a stop at the model display
The traditional Thomas the Tank Engine railway display, just past the tearooms and station stop, is really worth stopping by to see and Ethan loves to follow the Thomas train around the model houses and hills and station stops.
* All aboard!
The highlight for any fan I'm sure is catching a ride on the train pulled by either Rosie, Percy or Thomas himself. And the highlight for us this weekend was watching Rosie and Thomas in turn pull into the station, as the driver got talking to Ethan and even let him hold the keys to Thomas! A proud moment and one that we will put on the wall in Ethan's room so he can remember what a fun time he had.
My top tips for visiting the park are:
> Arrive early, so you can get a few rides under your belt early on - or hang on until the last couple of hours (rides close at 6pm most days at the moment I believe) as it's always a little quieter later in the day once other people are worn out
> Be prepared to queue for your favourite rides, so pick the ones that you simply have to do and make sure you fit them in
> Take a picnic, as there's benches around the lake and another spot where you can grab a bite to eat and save some pennies
> Enjoy Thomas Land then walk around to the other family friendly areas, before catching a ride back with Thomas - it's a great way to do less walking but cover off all the key activities
> Pack light - hard to do with little ones (but if you have a buggy, you can put it to good use), but a backpack is great to keep you comfortable and take all the things you need
Here's some information on what's going on at the park this Easter:
Say yes this Easter
No, you can’t play on that right now.”
“No, we can’t go there today.”
“No, you can’t eat that.”
As parents, you feel like you spend a lot of time saying no to your children and that’s not fun for anyone. It’s with this in mind that family theme park, Drayton Manor, in Staffordshire, is encouraging parents to take a break from saying ‘No’ and give the children one day of the year that they just say ‘yes’ to what they want to do.
With the Easter school holidays on the horizon, it seems the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the break and spend a fun day out, where you can let your children call the shots and create your own ‘Yes Day’.
“Yes, we can go and play at a theme park today.”
“Yes, you can have ice cream for breakfast – just for today!”
“Yes, you can have your picture taken with the Fat Controller.”
With so much to see, do and say yes to during the park’s EGGS-Ellent Easter celebrations between Wednesday 28th March and Sunday 15th April, Drayton Manor Park is the perfect choice for your ‘Yes Day’. If your children want to climb aboard and experience the action-packed roller coaster adventure, Accelerator, five times over, join Jeremy Jet at his very own flying academy, or hop in one of James’ Red Balloons, just say yes!
You can also say yes to taking part in Drayton Manor Park’s Easter Egg Trail, and little ones will be pleased to know there’s a chocolate treat in it for them that they can snack on while watching the new film, Ice Age: No Time For Nuts, at the attraction’s 4D cinema.
Say yes to letting the kids become a passenger for the day as they hop aboard the little blue engine, Thomas, at Europe’s only Thomas Land™, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. There are over 25 rides and attractions to yes to, plus live shows featuring much-loved Thomas & Friends™ characters that little ones will love.
Parents can also say yes to visiting the 15-acre Zoo at Drayton Manor Park, which is home to more than 100 species from all over the world, so children can do their best to mimic a monkey, roar with the Sumatran Tigers, hop like a Kangaroo or hoot like an owl!
Not forgetting saying yes to discovering a huge variety of family and thrill rides in the rest of the park such as Apocalypse, the first stand up drop tower ride in the world, and stand up coaster, Shockwave.
With 364 days throughout the rest of the year to encourage your children to eat their fruit and vegetables, your ‘Yes Day’ can be the one day to allow them to have ice-cream for breakfast, chips for lunch and a hot dog for tea if they wish!
With its extra activities plus four tickets available for the price of £80*, which includes theme park rides, Thomas Land entry, access to the Zoo and a seat in the 4D Cinema, say yes to a day out at Drayton Manor Park to create some amazing family memories together this Easter.
To book tickets, or for more information about the park, visit www.draytonmanor.co.uk or call 0844 472 1950**.
* This is not a sponsored post - I just wanted to share this information with other parents looking for things to do this Easter holiday!
I have never visited Drayton manor before but I think we will have to plan a visit this year as my son would love it. It really does look like such a fun family day out x
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