Yesterday Daddy took the three year old and the five year old to Flamingoland for the day. As it's both half-term and Halloween this week there's a special offer for those going in costume, buy one get one free (£40 in 2018). The three year old is free anyway since he's limited to which rides he can enjoy. The offer made the trip within our budget as £40 a head would be over the odds for us (and most I'd wager).
First thing we headed straight for food since the weather was a bit dismal to start. The kids shared a pizza with chips and a bottle of water, £7.50 was great value especially when compared to the £5.50 Daddy's coffee and cake cost. Since it was Halloween week £2 for face painting seemed very acceptable.
Immediately after brunch we watched the pirates dancing and singing for the crowds (using the term loosely) which was a real treat for the five year old who has just been learning about pirates at her school.
Then to the rides and I am very impressed with the number and range on offer to short people, perhaps pricing should relate to height and not age? It's the last week before the rides close down for winter but the website suggests 5 kids rides are open weekends with the zoo at a heavily discounted rate. (£12 weekend and £7.50 weekdays)
The five-year old went on the small mine train rollercoaster by herself and was mature beyond her years when doing this and also again later the airplane rollercoaster when her little brother was flagging a bit. One thing I would say is that it is challenging to be a lone parent with two this young at this park, probably not unique in this regard, especially when certain rides required 1 parent per child i.e. carousel and F1 racing (the latter being more understandable). Some kind of child parking system would really help here.
I was really impressed by how much the three-year old could do still, he loved the sky train, monorail, steam train, helicopters, planes and especially the F1 cars. The five-year old was in her element and I am definitely considering taking her on her own or with one of her friends in the future so she can fully experience the rides available.
As if the rides weren't enough, the zoo meant we easily filled the day and for most mortals this park is probably a two-day experience; the management are clearly attuned to this offering big reductions on two-day passes. We whisked around the zoo really but did get to watch the Sumatran Tigers being fed and that was simply breathtaking to be within feet of such a majestic animal. The talk was excellent too.
At the end of the afternoon after revisiting some of the kid's favourite rides (the attendants being very generous with how long each ride lasted as it was quiet) we headed to the soft play area and shared nuggets and chips for a fiver. Again this was cheap in comparison to the coffee and cake available next door, but everything seemed reasonable in balance considering how much you can spend at venues south of humber. Nothing was more surprising than the prices in the gift shop where you can genuinely get pocket money priced toys alongside more genuine gifts. We left with a die-cast car pulling a plastic caravan, a stretchy smellovision banana and an 86 piece lego-compatible flamingo for a touch over a tenner. That really takes some beating and only the Deep in Hull compares in my mind for venues of this scale.
The last surprise was to find out that a year's ticket including special events is £126 a head, £430 for 2 plus 2 or 1 plus 3 family combos. Being only 45 minutes away I am genuinely tempted by this as there's a lot of park and I can't see our two tiring of it too quickly.
In total the day cost less than £65 and with butties and no treats Could have easily been just the forty quid it cost us to get in. For some that's still a lot of money but in 2018 I struggle to think of a better value day out, whist bearing in mind it was heavily discounted.
