Previous visits to aquariums proved big hits with Baby, and various childhood visits to Sea Life in Blackpool had left fond memories, so as we had a buy one get one free voucher from Kelloggs we decided to take Baby.
Additionally, it was Illuminations season in Blackpool, and based on memories of family visits in years gone by, I was convinced Baby would love seeing the lights.
Because we were staying for the Illuminations, we didn't set off until after lunch time, so when we arrived in Blackpool, the car parks were very busy. Rather than driving round and round the Central car park, as many others were doing in the hope someone would leave, we parked by the football stadium and walked for an extra 5-10 minutes, saving ourselves £5 for the inconvenience.
We walked up the promenade, passing a multitude of fish and chip shops, tacky souvenir shops, hotels, bars and street sellers with various light up items and pink fluffy cowboy hats.
There was no queue for Sea Life so we walked right in. £18.50 for the three of us, which included a voucher for a free round of crazy golf. We were directed to a tiny lift which took us to the first floor; the doors opened right next to the reasonably busy buggy park. From past experience we knew we'd end up taking Baby out of her pushchair to look at things so we left the pushchair in the buggy park and let her walk.
As soon as we walked through the door we were directed to a green screen and more or less made to have our photo taken. We were given a ticket so that we could see our photo at the desk in the gift shop at the end.
The first area we experienced was the rock pool, where you can touch various creatures, including starfish. Unfortunately the pool was too high for Baby to be able to have a go at touching anything, but I can imagine that older children would love it.
This was followed by a reasonably large room with a variety of small tanks/windows, themed like a pirate ship. Baby had to be lifted to see most of these, but she enjoyed walking around on the decks.
The stingray tank in the next room was very well done. I thought Baby would love the large full length windows but actually she wasn't too interested. A cut out section meant you could be surrounded by the tank on three sides, and there was also a bubble in the tank you could put your head in. Daddy took Baby into the bubble, but she wasn't particularly keen on it, though other babies and children seemed to love it.
The next section was very popular with children, because it contained clownfish and blue tangs, aka Nemo and Dory. Baby absolutely loved this section, the Dory tank had windows down to the floor, so she could walk all around it and still see in. It probably helped that the fish in here were brightly coloured, and plentiful, so easy to spot.
The following sections, submarine and rainforest, didn't have much to keep Baby's attention. The tanks were all high up and she was keener on walking herself than being lifted to see what was in the tanks.
I remember the shark section from childhood visits, but I remember the wall to the tank being much larger, though that could just be my memory playing tricks on me, as obviously I was smaller then. There are three screens which look quite exciting but basically just call up the picture of a shark of your choice, one of which wasn't working. Baby liked seeing the large sharks go past the window, but once they were gone she was no longer interested. She did enjoy the underwater tunnel which came afterwards however, especially as there was a rather large shark lying directly on top of the tunnel. Whilst we were in the tunnel we also witnessed a family having a shark tank experience; they seemed to be having a blast.
The final area held 'jurassic' creatures. There was a video game on a large screen, and some neon lighting, but otherwise Baby was not interested in this section as there was very little movement inside the tanks.
This section led straight into the gift shop, where you could also look at (and buy) your photo. If you have a pram, you have to retrace your steps through the centre to the buggy park, to take the lift back down to the entrance, as that is the only lift.
At 5pm the Illuminations were switched on. Unfortunately they didn't live up to my memories, probably due to budget cuts. Baby loved the mermaid section, but the Star Trek section and the other areas we saw were disappointing. It was bitterly cold so we didn't walk for too long, particularly given that the lights weren't especially exciting.
Key Facts
Month of visit:
November
Weather for visit:
Freezing.
Is it pushchair friendly?
Very. Pushchairs can go everywhere within the centre, and there is a lift at the entrance.
What about somewhere to feed?
There were a handful of benches dotted around: at the stingray exhibit, in front of the shark tank. The website says there is an area with benches at the end of the route through the centre, but we didn't see this because of having to retrace our steps to use the lift. There is no cafe, and nowhere to sit in the toilets.
Is it worth a visit?
Yes. We spent about 45 minutes there with a 14 month who didn't linger over anything, so if you had children who were into fish they could definitely spend a couple of hours there.
Baby's highlight?
Finding Dory.
Sea Life Blackpool
Promenade
Blackpool
FY1 5AA
https://www2.visitsealife.com/blackpool/
With a trip to Disneyland Paris booked for February, we were keen to test Baby with some rides, and with Winter approaching the theme parks nearby were set to close for a few months, meaning it was now or never.
The closest large theme park to us is Alton Towers, which has an area called CBeebies Land, with rides specifically targeted at preschoolers. Additionally, whilst not completely fearless (there are quite a few rides which terrify me, namely anything which turns upside down slowly), I do love a roller coaster, as does my husband, so it seemed like Alton Towers would be a great day out for all of us.
Baby's best friend (just twelve days younger) and her Mummy and Daddy also joined us for the day.
We used the buy one get one free vouchers from Kelloggs cereal packs, and under threes are free, so each family paid £51.40.
As we were visiting on a weekday, we were hoping for small queues, but picked up Parent Queue Share Passes from Towers Street just in case. The idea behind the pass is that adults visiting with young children can still enjoy the thrill rides, without having to queue twice. The first parent queues as normal, getting the pass marked by the ride attendant when they are about to board the ride. After the first parent exits the ride, they hand the pass over to parent two, who can then skip the queue and get straight on the ride. As it turned out, we didn't need to use the passes, mainly because at each ride one of the four of us didn't want to ride, so they stayed with the babies while the others went on the ride.
Using the sky ride, which went down very well with the babies, who enjoyed having such far reaching views, we headed first for the 'newest' ride: Galactica, thinking that this would likely have the longest queue. Three of us queued up while one who didn't want to ride looked after the babies, picking out a spot underneath some of the the track with the intention of seeing us as we went on the ride, and armed with breadsticks and rice cakes to keep the babies occupied.
Galactica used to be Air, aka my favourite ride. The unique lying down ride position and the feeling of flying are incredible. It reopened this season with the addition of optional virtual reality headsets, and a new name. All three of us were sceptical as to whether the headset would add anything, but we all gave it a go anyway.
Before we even boarded the ride, we noticed a significant increase in the changeover time thanks to the new headsets. One ride attendant per row (surely an increase in required manpower for Alton Towers?) removes the headsets from their pouches and hands them to the riders, checking that they are in focus. Once the ride is finished, the attendant removes the headsets and cleans them before placing them back in the pouch. This seemed to add several minutes per changeover, meaning that despite the queue barely reaching the end of the loading dock, we still waited fifteen minutes. I dread to think how long the queue would be on a busy day.
The headset is supposed to make you feel as if you are flying through outer space, but unfortunately the graphics aren't sharp or exciting enough to give you the sense of peril required to really make the experience work. One of us felt so sick afterwards that they couldn't go on any other rides for the rest of the day. For me the virtual reality element was disappointing and I wouldn't use the headset again.
Our next stop was Nemesis, but the queue said 30 minutes and the babies were clearly hungry so we made our way to the Pizza and Pasta Buffet. At £12.95 it wasn't particularly cheap but we could at least eat as much as we wanted, and it was probably in line with the prices of other restaurants in the park. There was plenty of pizza available, about five varieties, with a couple of pastas and some garlic bread. The salad bar had a reasonable choice and service was quick.
Tummies full, the Mummies spotted an opportunity to get in a sneaky ride on the Runaway Mine Train, while the Daddies were cleaning the babies up. There was virtually no wait for this at all and we managed to get on the next train, making it back to the restaurant before the babies were strapped into their strollers.
We then walked over to Th13teen. Although not a new ride, Daddy hadn't been to Alton Towers for several years and so hadn't been on this, therefore was unaware of the surprise element. Again, three of us went on this while the fourth looked after the babies. Daddy found the screaming coming from the Mummies more entertaining than the actual ride, but it is my favourite ride, having supplanted Galactica thanks to the virtual reality headsets.
After Th13teen we decided that we had better get to the main point of the trip, trying the babies on some rides, so headed for CBeebies Land. Neither of the babies has ever watched CBeebies but we were hoping that a lack of character knowledge wouldn't matter.
Our first ride was the Get Set Go Tree Top Adventure. The Daddies stayed with the strollers while the Mummies went on with the babies. A very sedate ride on an elevated track travelling around a significant amount of CBeebies Land, each car was a CBeebies 'Bug'. We took a car each but could probably have fit in one. I sat Baby on my lap and then the lap bar pulled down to lock us in. Baby enjoyed her birds eye view, especially when she spotted Daddy, and was perfectly happy sitting on my knee as we went round.
Underneath this ride was the Something Special Sensory Garden. Plenty of smells to be experienced, though neither baby seemed particularly interested in these. There were also a few mirrors, some drums, and a few lift the flaps. Baby's friend had a great time, but Baby wasn't particularly fussed.
Our next stop was the Big Fun Showtime arena. A large area, with fences all around but mostly open to the elements, with that special springy floor surface you tend to find in children's play areas, covered in a type of astroturf, it is marketed as a picnicking area and seemed like it would be a great area for kids to let off some steam. In here we met Iggle Piggle, though Baby wasn't particularly keen, crying at the first attempt, though she did deign to touch his hand at the second attempt. Baby's friend took one look through the entrance, turned around and walked off. We caught the first five minutes of a Zingzillas show, which some slightly older children seemed to be enjoying, but didn't hold Baby's interest for more than a couple of minutes.
We made our way to Postman Pat's Parcel Post ride, where post vans follow a track around and riders have to press buttons in the car to identify the correct parcel to deliver to each stop on the route. Each van had space for two children and two adults. Mummy and Daddy sat on a bench in the back, and Baby sat on a small seat in the front, where she could technically turn the wheel and beep the horn, though she wasn't strong enough to actually press the horn. Again, a very gentle ride, but I imagine a big hit for children who watch Postman Pat.
This was followed by the In the Night Garden Boat Ride. None of us had ever seen In the Night Garden, so we were all rather bemused by the characters, and felt as if we were hallucinating somewhat. The babies weren't that interested either, with one making several escape attempts over the bow.
As we exited the boat ride it had started to rain, so we decided on Charlie and Lola's Moonsquirter's and Greendrops, which was an indoor attraction. Essentially two rooms, the first had cupboards to open, and some clothing items to put on a character on the wall. The second had a small ball pool behind some net, a 'mountain' to climb, and a projection of fish on the floor which moved when it was touched. The cupboards had magnet closures which made them impossible for the babies to open by themselves, and only one person at a time could dress up the character. The ball pool was so small that the slightly older children jumping into it meant the babies couldn't go in it. Baby did love the floor projection, but otherwise it was disappointing.
There were a couple of other attractions in CBeebies land that the babies were too small to experience, but we still felt we'd got our money's worth.
After a quick coffee we paid for parking and were on our way.
Key Facts
Month of visit:
October
Weather for visit:
Surprisingly warm, only jumpers required, and dry.
Is it pushchair friendly?
Very. Pushchairs can go everywhere on site, with ramps wherever there are steps. In CBeebies land there are specific buggy parks dotted around, but there are plenty of areas large enough to leave a buggy outside each attraction entrance.
How are the baby changing facilities?
Plentiful. At each set of toilets there is baby changing, and toilets are scattered throughout the park. The baby changing facilities we used were clean with no queues.
What about somewhere to feed?
The baby changing under the monorail next to the car park had a couple of comfortable chairs for feeding, but the changing in the Big Fun Showtime area was just a tiny room. There are several benches outside around the resort, and plenty of restaurants and cafes to provide some warmth.
Is it worth a visit?
Definitely. We were able to test Baby on rides with and without lap bars, boat rides, and walkthroughs. Plus the grownups were able to enjoy a couple of the bigger rides. Using the buy one get one free vouchers I wouldn't hesitate to go again, especially out of season with no queues, but I wouldn't pay full price.
Baby's highlight?
Get Set Go Treetop Adventure, and it's birds eye view over the rest of CBeebies land.
Alton Towers
Farley Lane,
Alton,
Stoke-on-Trent,
ST10 4DB
https://www.altontowers.com
