Fun In The Sun at Alton Towers

Today we had a wonderful day at Alton Towers.  I had used a year's worth of accumulated Tesco Clubcard Points to exchange for six Merlin Annual Passes that will give us access to all the Merlin attractions for 12 months.  It also gave each of us a drinks capsule that comes with unlimited refills. So we were all set to kick off our year of fun with a day out in the sun!

It was blissfully hot meaning we could go on the water rides without worrying about getting wet.  Always a bonus!  I did get my Fitflops a bit soggy which is a hideous experience.  Slipping around inside wet shoes, garroting my big toe with the leather thong is grim whatever the weather!

Although there were lots of people in the park, the queues were not too bad meaning that we all got to go on the rides we wanted to.  Freddy enjoyed the kiddies' rides which we literally walked straight onto.  The girls went off to have their first experience of The Smiler, which had a 90 minute queue time.  (It had been 3 hours earlier on in the day...in 30 degree temperatures!!) They said it was well worth the wait!

Alton Towers is my favourite theme park because it is just such a lovely place.  The big old stately home, the beautiful gardens, the open green spaces and the magnificent lake complete with a mini menagerie of feathered friends are all an attraction in their own right.  Add to that some world class roller coasters and some fun rides for little ones and you've got a place that it perfect for a family day out.

I was very pleased that Alton Towers have now got their own burger restaurant in the park, and it has a pretty decent bean burger on the menu.  As a season ticket holder we got 20% of the price making a burger, fries and 16 oz drink meal deal just £4.80.  Not bad at all for some convenient fast food on site.  Plus it was efficient and friendly too.

Ian, Freddy and I went to the Sea Life Centre and enjoyed watching the multi-coloured fish swimming around in their tanks.  Freddy loved finding out the names of the fish.  He loved the Soldier Fish, the Lion Fish and the Puffer Fish!

We all met Sid from Ice Age for a photo op!  We also saw the Ice Age 4D film, which was actually a bit scary for Freddy and very loud.  He spent the entire time sat on my lap with his ears covered!

Freddy loved the Dung Heap playground and enjoyed climbing on the rope climbing frame. 

Now we have our annual passes we fully intend on making the most out of our weekends and school holidays by visiting as many of the attractions as we can.  I love the excellent value that the Merlin Annual Pass represents, especially when bought with Tesco Clubcard Vouchers.  Just £52 buys the pass and unlimited drinks for a year.  I won't have to think about the cost of days out or the added expense of buying drinks for a while!

Ice Age 4 Continental Drift Review

It's been ten years since Manny, Diego and Sid first arrived on the big screen.  They are now starring in the fourth installment of their ice age adventures, Ice Age 4 Continental Drift, which was released today on DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray.

We were sent a copy to watch and tonight we snuggled up to watch the antics of our favourite woolly mammoth and his crew of unlikely heroes.

As usual, it is Scrat in pursuit of his ever elusive acorns that leads to the cataclysmic world event that causes the earth's crust to shift, creating the continents and bringing chaos to the world.  Scrat's stories are always the highlight of the films for me.  I love the imaginative ways that he has been responsible for shaping the world!

Now a father to a teenager, Manny is being over-protective of his daughter Peaches who has discovered boys and is ready to grow up.  (Something my girls related to!)  Sid's family has finally shown up, but the family reunion isn't exactly how Sid envisaged it.  He is reunited with his mad and cantankerous gran!

As the continental shelves shift Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny find themselves all at sea on a floating lump of ice, separated from Ellie and Peaches.  As they drift across the ocean they run into many obstacles including a band of menacing animal pirates captained by a vengeful, crazy baboon called Gutt.  

Will Manny and his friends ever get home to Ellie and Peaches?  How will they evade the pirates? Will Manny ever let Peaches date boys?  Will Scrat ever get his acorn?  These are just a few questions answered in this fun filled sequel.

The voice casting is brilliant.  The girls were surprised to hear Nikki Minaj and Jennifer Lopez's vocal talents!  The animation is up to its usual eye popping standard and the storyline is interspersed with enough laughs and tension to keep the children riveted.  The best new character has to be Sid's granny who adds a riotous dose of slapstick humour and cutting repartee. 

The characters remain as engaging as they were a decade ago and the franchise's brand of humour continues to bring laughs aplenty.  Scrat's appearances throughout the film are simply genius!  It is a perfect family film that fans of Ice Age will love.  We did!

    

© 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Find Ice Age 4 on Facebook.

Available on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD December 10th!  Order now here: http://amzn.to/TU7Nhu

Our Bristol Weekend

This weekend, we went to Bristol thanks to Kizzy winning a runners-up prize in the Odeon Ice Age 4 Reviewer competition.  We stayed at the lovely Novotel Hotel in a family room which was within walking distance of the city centre and the harbour making it a perfect base for a weekend away.

The highlight of our stay was meant to be a cruise to Beese's Tea Rooms but we found out that this would be a round trip that would take over 3 hours and not get back until gone six o'clock.  So instead we switched to a pre-lunch historic harbour cruise which would be far more Freddy-friendly!

Our boat trip included a commentary that was both informative and entertaining!  We found out lots of facts about the waterway and why we say "ship-shape and Bristol fashion"!  We saw the SS Great Britain which now sits in the dry docks, where it was originally built by Brunel, after being rescued from the Falklands where it was being used for target practice by the navy.  We spotted some colourful houses that reminded us of Balamory.  We coveted million pound riverside appartments and saw an original Banksy on the side of a ship.  Freddy even tried to spot sharks and pirates (luckily none were found)!!

We had a really nice time cruising the Avon and it was just the right duration to keep the kids happy.  Afterwards we had a relaxing stroll, wandering around Castle Park before stopping off for lunch.  The weather was kind to us and we enjoyed ourselves very much!

Thanks to Kizzy for winning and thanks to Imagination Marketing for arranging our trip!

Ice Age 4 Continental Drift Review

Kizzy's Odeon Junior Reviewer for Ice Age 4 Entry!

Kizzy loves films.  She really is a junior film buff and when she found out about the Odeon Official Junior Reviewer competition, she was really eager to have a go at making a video review of the official Ice Age 4 Trailer.

She loves the Ice Age films and was really excited about the trailer for Continental Drift.  It does look like a pretty exciting film!  My daughter would make the perfect reviewer for this film, after all  Kizzy has even met Sid!

Here is her video review of the Ice Age 4 Continental Drift Trailer for Odeon....please give it a watch....even if it is just to see my hilarious attempt at Ice Age face painting!  hehe! 

The five videos with the most views go forward to a judging stage and I'd love for her efforts to go in front of  the judges!  Thank you for your time :)

Ice Age 4 Continental Drift comes to cinemas on July 13th 2012.