Why We Love Paultons Park

We visited Paultons Park when Freddy was a toddler and he had a lovely time exploring Peppa Pig World.  Now he is a big boy (a whole four years old), I was keen to let him experience everything that Paultons Park had to offer.  I was very pleased to receive some complimentary tickets to visit again.

The traffic getting into the park was quite horrific and I was concerned that the park would be absolutely heaving.  However, once we made it through the gates the crowds quickly dispersed as the park is spacious with lots of open areas.  We made the decision to leave Peppa Pig World until later in the day as we know that 75 minute queues for the seven themed rides are commonplace at peak times.  It is a very popular attraction!  Instead we explored the other areas of the park to see what was on offer.  Within minutes Freddy was riding on the mini rollercoaster 'The Stinger' which had a 0.9m height restriction.  This ride was quickly followed by Kontiki, Jumping Bean, Pirate Ship, Viking Boats and Teacups, each with no more than a 10-15 minute wait.  Then came the thrilling Wave Runner and River Ride which appealed to both the little ones and the older kids.  So many rides were open to Freddy, I was very impressed that he got to do so much.  With a child over 0.9m, it really does make sense to enjoy the other rides on offer and leave Peppa Pig World until it quietens down.

Walking around the park allowed us to look at the themed gardens, the Wind in the Willows display, the aviaries and animal enclosures and the Land of Dinosaurs which were all very enjoyable to an inquisitive 4 year old.  Freddy's  favourite part of the park was  the Water Kingdom.  We had packed his swimsuit, suncream and a towel so he could enjoy the water play park with its jets, fountains and tipping buckets.  We were able to watch him as he safely played in the fully enclosed area.  It was a perfect way to cool off and let off steam.  There is also a Muddy Puddles area in Peppa Pig World for the younger children to enjoy the water.  I think these wet play zones are absolutely brilliant for the kids.

Once he was dried off, we headed to Peppa Pig World.  The queues had gone down to 30 minutes so Freddy chose his two favourite rides to go on.  He picked Peppa's Big Balloon Ride and George's Dinosaur Adventure.  While he was queuing he missed meeting Peppa, George, Suzy Sheep and Zoe Zebra, which was a shame.  However he loved his rides and enjoyed being in the beautifully themed land.  Afterwards he had a quick play in George's Spaceship Playzone, a big soft play area with a huge slide to whizz down.  The whole area is a delightful place filled with colour and music and is magical to any little Peppa fans.

The new 4D cinema is a nice addition to the attractions. We liked the 20's styling of the waiting area.  The film playing is The Curse of Skull Rock, an Aardmann-esque style animation featuring pirates, skeletons and treasure.  With water jets, moving chairs, blasts of air and bubbles, you are fully immersed in the story.  Some little ones were not too impressed and were crying, so maybe it's not suitable for the faint hearted little ones.

What I really like about Paultons Park is the fact that there are so many little play areas and activities for younger children dotted around the park, so even when the older kids are on a big ride, it is easy to entertain younger kids in the same vicinity. These are in addition to the dedicated Peppa Pig World.  The restaurants and kiosks were good.  The prices were OK and there were vegetarian options for both adults and kids.  That always pleases me!  There are plenty of benches to relax on, and lots of undercover seating.  It's really well thought out and caters to the needs of families really well.  Everything was looking clean, neat, tidy and well kept and there are a lot of improvements planned for the future.  

We were there all day and didn't get to do everything. The park closed at 5.30pm, it would have been nice to see the opening times extended a bit more in the summer holidays.  We would have loved another couple of hours to do the rest of the rides.

We were definitely and genuinely impressed.  Paultons Park is without a doubt our favourite theme park in the south for families.  It beats Thorpe Park and Chessington hands down . We visited both this summer and apart from the Sealife Centre at Chessington, we were very underwhelmed and disappointed. Thorpe Park may have some extreme rides for teens, but it is really lacking in activities for little ones, and Chessington was looking old and tired and felt overcrowded.  Its height restrictions were also much higher meaning that Freddy couldn't even go on the new Zufari ride.  I'm all for safety but I found them excessive in comparison to other theme parks.

I would recommend Paultons Park to families with children that are very young as they will love the Peppa Pig World, and also for families like ours with a mixed age range, as there is something for everyone to enjoy.  Freddy had an awesome day and his big sisters loved it too!

If you want to visit, why not make a short break of it and take advantage of the offer to get a 2nd day in the park for free!  Breaks start at £42 pppn and include breakfast and 2 days for the price of 1!  You can find out more here: Official Peppa Pig World Short Breaks.

Our Peppa Pig Theme Park Party

Yesterday we took part in a Peppa Pig party with UKMums.tv.  We were sent some brilliant Peppa merchandise and some of the latest Peppa's Theme Park toys along with ideas for games and food.  At 3pm the children began to arrive to help 3 year old Freddy test out the new range and have some fun, while I tried to take photos, prepare food and Tweet from the event (multi-tasking at its best.) We had a houseful of young guests eager to play games, do colouring in, eat pizza and cake, watch Peppa Pig on TV and try out the toys.

The kids loved Muddy Puddles Peppa who jumps up and down, counts and speaks phrases.  They copied her actions and giggled as she splashed and sploshed. The Theme Park Toys are based on the Peppa Pig World rides from Paulton's Park.  The Big Wheel, the Balloon Ride and the Train Ride are brightly coloured, plastic toys which have interactive features.  The Big Wheel spins and the seats pivot to keep the characters in their seats.  The Balloon Ride turns around and comes complete with a ticket kiosk and a 'ring the bell' game.  The Train Ride has three cute carriages, a rocket ship, a spinning cupcake and a dinosaur.  It wheels along the ground with the characters onboard.

Each piece comes with a Peppa character wearing a differently patterned dress.  Other characters are available in packs so you can add the likes of Rebecca Rabbit, Danny Dog and George Pig to your collection.  The figures are well detailed with movable limbs and are perfect for little hands.

The rides make a lovely theme park scene for children to play with. I found it a little fiddly to get the characters to sit in the carriages securely.  So my over zealous pre-schooler enjoyed spinning the wheel and balloons fast enough to make the characters fly out of their seats!  The Train Ride was voted the favourite toy by our guests. The carriages could be used on their own or joined together.  The children enjoyed whizzing the carrriages around, racing them against each other with Peppa, Rebecca and Suzie onboard.  The 'ring the bell' fairground game was a big hit.  Pressing the button makes the bell ring.  It's amazing how much little ones enjoy such a simple pleasure!

The Peppa brand has definitely got it right.  The children all love the show, the toys, the books and the other merchandise.  It has got real kid appeal with its simple imagery and the fun animal characters.  We had a great time celebrating the joys of  Peppa Pig and her friends today!

Big Wheel Playset RRP £14.99

Deluxe Balloon Ride Playset RRP £19.99

Theme Park Train RRP £14.99

Peppa and Friends Figures RRP £4.99

Peppa's Theme Park Party

On March 26th, between 3 and 5pm, we are hosting a Peppa Pig party to showcase the new range of Peppa Pig's Theme Park toys.  We received an amazing bundle of goodies this morning in readiness for the party, which will be taking place at the same time as fourteen other parties hosted by UK bloggers across the country.  We will all be live tweeting from the event and everyone is invited to join us on Twitter using the hashtag #peppasthemeparkparty, and in doing so, you may be able to win some great Peppa Pig prizes.

On the day, I will post some photos of the Peppa Pig merchandise and give my opinions on the toys and if anyone wants to ask about them I'll be happy to oblige. My first impression of the range is very positive.  Freddy loves Peppa Pig and the toys lend themselves perfectly to the brand.  I'll be interested to see what the children make of them.

Peppa Pig World at Paulton's Park Review

I've heard so much about the latest developments to Paulton's Park with this season's opening of  Peppa Pig World.  I thought it was time I checked it out for myself and so we incorporated a day trip to Paulton's Park in our long weekend away 'down south'!

We didn't have the best journey down as Freddy objected fiercely to the idea of going straight from waking up in the morning to being put straight in a car seat.  He is a boy who has a lot of energy to expend so we had to let him run some of it off before leaving, delaying my 'crack of dawn' travel plans!  Not yet old enough to understand the lure of going to see Peppa Pig, he was still unimpressed but after we sang through our entire repertoire of  kids' TV theme songs, he finally fell asleep for the last part of our 200 mile journey.

We arrived at lunch time and although the place was really busy, the car park was just a short walk to the main entrance.  Freddy instantly woke up, forgot all his woes and was raring to go!  We collected our tickets and began our adventure.

We headed straight for Peppa Pig World to let Freddy run off all that steam that he had built up in the long 3 hours preceding our arrival.  As we approached, the colourful and iconic images were met with huge excitement as Freddy shouted "Piggy" and made oinking noises!

The attention to detail that has gone into the design of Peppa Pig World is not dissimilar to that of the separate areas of Disneyland. The buildings, the sounds, the rides and the characters beautifully bring to life the world of Peppa Pig, allowing children to immerse themselves into their favourite TV show.  And were the kids loving it!  It was so busy!  Hundreds of pre-schoolers were having the best time going on rides, meeting the characters and playing around the buildings.  The queues were quite long for little ones who were chomping on the bit to get on Daddy's Car, Grandpa's Train, the Windy Castle Ride, Peppa's Balloon Ride, George's Dragon Ride, Grandpa's Boat or Miss Rabbit's Helicopter.  Consequently Freddy only got to ride the Boat and the Train due to him getting fed up whilst queuing and trying to climb over the fences...but the rides he did go on, he totally loved!

Choo-Choo Train

Grandpa's Boat

In addition to the seven rides there is an indoor play area "George's Spaceship Playzone", the wet and wonderful "Muddy Puddles" water experience and "Mr Potato's Playground".  Again, the detail was just perfect.  Freddy spent an age in the playground.  The rainbow coloured floor was great for running around.

There were so many activities for little ones in the playground, Freddy was spoilt for choice.  It was by far the best toddler playground I had ever visited.  He was in his element so we weren't at all worried about only doing two of the seven rides.  Other theme parks could take a few lessons from Paulton's Park.  The amount of play areas and attractions suitable for toddlers was amazing.

The shop sold more Peppa Pig merchandise than I had ever seen in one place before.  From clothing to toys to jewellery there was so much on offer.

Peppa tees!

There was not one bit of Peppa Pig Land that hadn't been carefully designed to pay homage to Peppa and her pals.  I adored the fountain, the murals and the displays of Peppa Pig related items around the area.

Freddy says hello to George.

Daddy Pig's Car Ride's Garage Display

Fill em up!

You're never too old!

Peppa and George Fountain

Freddy absolutely adored Peppa Pig World.  Until going, he wasn't really a big fan of the show but he can now name most of the characters and shouts "Piggy" whenever he spots Peppa.  Ella and Kizzy enjoyed looking after their little brother and got swept along with the Peppa mania having a great time!!

Because the girls were so good allowing Freddy to play to his heart's content, we let them have the last two hours to do what they wanted.  Thankfully because everyone seems to be focused on Peppa Pig, the big rides did not have huge queues.  They were able to go on everything they wanted to including the Cobra Rolllercoaster, the Log Flume and the spinning Edge ride,which finished the day wonderfully leaving everyone happy!

I would highly recommend Paulton's Park and Peppa Pig World.  There is so much for little ones to do.  We only covered a fraction of the attractions and the zoo animals and immaculate gardens went unexplored.  But we were all completely happy with our day.  

You can book your tickets or Peppa Pig World breaks online and give the kids a real treat!

*We were given tickets for the purpose of this review but my opinions are unbiased.  I genuinely loved it!!*