“Shrek The Musical,” where the movie we have all grown up with and love is adapted for the stage!
Now I have seen Shrek The Musical before, around 12 years ago in London West End when Amanda Holden was Fiona, I have to admit, the performance I experienced at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry was just as amazing!
The talented cast effortlessly immerses the audience in the fairy-tale universe, with brilliant set changes creating an atmosphere that is both visually stunning and emotionally engaging for all the family. There were so many different characters, details, and personalities to get to know, each wearing amazing thought-out costumes adding an extra layer of magic to the overall experience, making every scene engaging and spectacular.
“Shrek The Musical” has a diverse cast and an amazing mix of fairy-tale characters my little lad loved spotting the classics like Pinocchio and Peter Pan, each with their quirks and charm. Shrek, the lovable ogre with a heart of gold played by Antony Lawrence, takes centre stage alongside his hilarious companion Donkey played by the extremely talented Brandon Lee Sears, and the fierce Princess Fiona played by Strictly Come Dancing Pro Joanne Clifton. The magical interactions between these characters provide a delightful blend of humour, adventure, and heartfelt moments.
One of the standout features of “Shrek The Musical” is its incredible musical talent. Hearing new and classic songs played throughout with insane vocals! A special mention to Cherece Richards who played the dragon, she’s incredibly talented. I could listen to her voice all day. Also, Georgie Buckland who played Ginge (The gingerbread man) amongst other characters, her vocal range is insane and blew us all away with her talents. Of course, the band was on point!
The choreography and dance sequences were flawless, I loved there was a Tap number! There was energy from the start right until the curtain fell, the stage was non-stop drama, entertainment, and excitement.
“Im a Believer! “
A must-see!! if you’re looking for a night of laughter, heart-warming moments, and a dash of fairy-tale magic,
“Shrek The Musical” is one for your theatre bucket list.
Book tickets here – showing from Tuesday 30th January – Sunday 4th February
* Thank you The Belgrade & AnrPR for inviting me down to review. Gifted Experience*
It’s that time of year again, would it be Christmas without a trip to the Belgrade Theatre? This year we were in for a treat with Cinderella as their theme!
We took our two boys E who is 11, and L who is 8 and as you can imagine they were both so excited about going after enjoying the previous years, it’s not becoming a fun tradition.
Some of you who have followed for years will know that we have a child who is SEN and we normally attend The Belgrade’s “Relax Performances” but this year with him being 11 we thought we would try for the Press Night.
If you are a family with SEN or other disabilities please read a past blog here where we talk about what a relaxed performance is.
I have said it before and I will say it again, every year Iain manages to top the last show, it was truly brilliant from start to finish, super engaging for the children and they absolutely loved it. They have been speaking about it nonstop, singing the songs, and talking about the characters. Liam’s lucky, he gets to go again with his school soon!
Proper belly laughs!
As always there are loads of jokes for the adults, myself and husband enjoyed it just as much as the kids for our reasons.
Now, the set? Transformations were on point with such stunning vibrant backdrops, and amazing elements that were engaging and surprised us adding fun engaging aspects to the show.
This year’s special effects and magic were absolutely amazing, there were a couple of moments where I was like how did that happen? There was one point in the show where they did a tongue twister without saying too much it was… well, amazing!
So, the cast? Absolute gems. Cinderella’s journey from scruffy to fabulous was spot-on, and the wicked stepfamily? Hilarious doesn’t even cut it—these guys had us belly laughing, gasping, and looking at one another “Did they really say that”
We had two dames too which was so fun! Ian Lauchlan plays Flatula & Andy Hockley plays Aroma. We of course had Craig Hollingsworth as Buttons!
The Costumes were so well thought out and absolutely beautiful or outrageously acentric!
And the music? Oh, it was a party. With catchy tunes, and amazing dance moves the boys have been asking to play the songs they heard on repeat. The vocal talent this year was brilliant with excellent choreography!
Cinderella at the Belgrade will leave you feeling all the festive feels, if you get the chance, get tickets ASAP. Trust me; it’s a magical experience for the whole family.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Especially over at Hatton Country world where we were invited down to review there Enchanted Christmas Experience.
From the moment we stepped foot into the kingdom, we were transported to a winter wonderland that felt like something straight out of a fairy-tale. The attention to detail, with pretty twinkling fairy lights, festive decorations and Elves wondering around welcoming the children in full character. I wished we could experience this after dark, it would feel even more magical.
On arrival we were given a passport and map showing us everything they had on offer, from Reindeer food making, to a 3D glowing forest there were lots of exciting things dotted around the kingdom in which the children could collect stamps from along the way.
Everything is free roam on the day apart from your group visit with santa that time you choose when booking your tickets, and Mr Hollys Creation Station Show which runs shows throughout the day. This makes it very easy to be able to pick and choose what you want to do, plan food and drinks breaks when needed.
The park’s main features and themes include:
The Gingerbread factory – Meet Mrs Claus who guides you into the “Factory” where you each get to ice and decorate a gingerbread man. This was a great self-lead activity and a chance to sit down, the kids could either eat it there or take it away. Handy sinks close by for the messy pups like my two.
Wishing tree – Make a wish and hang it on the special Christmas tree.
Reindeer Food Making – Create your own reindeer food to sprinkle out on Christmas eve.
3D glowing forest – A little walk around where you wear special glasses that change the lights to look like a 3D image, make sure to each get a different pair as the theme on the glasses is the 3D image you will see on the lights as you go round. If you each get a different theme you can mix and match.
Mr Hollys Creation Station Show – A funny entertaining family festive magic and puppet show.
North Pole Postal Station – Deliver your letter to Santa
Secret Toy Shop – Choose a toy as a gift from Santa and his Elves.
Lastly of course the MAIN event seeing Santa, this was a lovely group experience where you go and see the big man himself. He talks to the children, and they have a chance to have their photo taken.
There are loads more things to do a see, with some little fairground rides for the children, a big Helter Skelter style slide, trampolines, mini bowling, play parks and lots of animals.
There’s a lovely farm walk you can do, tractor safari, hold guinea pigs in the guinea pig village & reptiles in scales and tales.
Let’s not forget the festive food and drink options there were lots of lovely independents scattered around Hatton selling Pizzas, Burgers, Hot Chocs even marshmallows to toast on the fire. We were kindly gifted all our food and drinks in Hatton’s onsite Restaurant Snortys which is also where the soft play is located.
We tried a selection of their food to be able to give you our thoughts, E had the 8oz cheeseburger and chips he said it was 10/10. L had the chicken cheese burger and chips; the chicken was so delish. Luke opted for something on their festive menu, the Turkey stuffing and cranberry burger which he thoroughly enjoyed and I had a Jacket potato with cheese and beans but got major food envy over L’s Chicken burger. Luke had a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and they boys had 2 milkshakes each and the total came to £40.00 which for a family of 4 all adult meals I think is very reasonable.
What impressed us was the seamless organization of the event baring in mind we came on opening day despite the large number of visitors, the day flowed smoothly, and the staff’s effirt to ensuring everyone had a magical time was lovely to see. The genuine warmth and kindness of the staff added an extra layer of magic to the day.
Hatton Adventure World’s Enchanted Christmas Kingdom exceeded our expectations and provided an exciting experience which left us with all the festive feels. We highly recommend it to anyone looking to create lasting memories and experience the festive fun
I would recommend if you’re planning on visiting Hatton this festive season, please book in advance online to avoid missing out. With their new features to their experience, I know it’s going to be a sell out!
A few key things to note, lots of the activities are indoors but I would recommend wrapping up warm as it got a little chilly at times and we were blessed with great sunny weather mid-November.
Wear wellies or shoes you wouldn’t mind getting muddy as the paths were muddy as to be expected when on a farm.
Accessibility wise, we saw loads of prams being pushed around at ease, but there is a few hills to take into consideration. I would say the place isn’t manual wheel chair friendly unless you have a career to push or an electric with the mud being slippery.
There were lots of toilets around and places to wash hands after activities, but as always I advise you bring hand gel!
There were plenty of benches for you to enjoy your own picnics.
Be sure to check out the independent shops that are at Hatton, there’s lots of cute boutiques, a Christmas shop and Market stalls to explore.
If you’re visiting Hatton please let me know your thoughts and I would love to know what other festive things you have planned this year?
Saff xo
Huge thank you to the Team at Hatton Country world for gifting us the tickets to experience there Enchanted Christmas Kingdom along with the Food and Drink in Snorty’s Restaurant. This was a gifted experience in exchange for content.
Date night, it’s been a while and my gosh don’t myself and the husband need it with the summer holidays in full swing, and have been looking forward to the time together.
We were very kindly invited down to the Queens Road Restaurant situated in the Ramada Hotel in Coventry to review their food.
Firstly, I want to just say how amazing the staff were, we feel so blessed to have had the loveliest staff looking after us and making us for so relaxed and accommodated.
The setting is lovely, I didn’t expect it to be so comfy and pretty inside. We started off with some drinks, I had a Passion Fruit Martini of course. The husband had a beer.
Starters we were spoiled for choice we tried the Hot Golden Brie, Chicken, Beef Croquette and the Jasmine Cured Salmon. We split each dish so we could both get a good taste of them all.
Starting with the Hot Golden Brie, this was absolutely delish, and was my favourit. If you’re a cheese lover you HAVE to try it paired with the tomato chutney it was bursting with flavour.
The Beef Croquette was super yummy and gave Chinese vibes, I love the prawn cracker texter noodles, they were something I’ve never seen or experienced before which was fun and unique.
The salmon was so good Luke’s favourite, and tasted so fresh, the perfect light starter.
Lastly the Chicken, this was too spicey for me, but Luke loved it and said it was the perfect amount of spice and flavour, it was a messy one, we both joked how it wouldn’t be something you would choose on a first date!
While we waiting for the mains, we were brought an Apple sorbet to help cleanse the pallet. This was so good super refreshing and was presented in a desert glass with pretty edible flowers. Just the perfect little treat before your main and it did really help cleanse the pallet.
For mains Luke choose the Lamb Rump and I went for the Sirloin both came presented beautifully, a full vine of tomatoes laid on the steak which was a lovely touch. The chunkiest chips you ever did see both meats cooked to perfection. The steak was perfect and the lamb full of flavour.
After mains we were brought a selection of mini desserts. We had a pistachio, chocolate, and lemon they were a lovely little touch while we waited for our treats to come. We were both absolutely stuffed but were persuaded to get a dessert. We choose the brownie and the Red Velvet cheese cake.
Now I would go back to the Queens Road JUST for the cheese cake it was the best cheese cake we have ever tasted; it was absolutely divine and presented so beautifully, we have spoken about it craved it ever since.
A huge thank you to the team at the Ramada and the Queens Road Staff for making date night so lovely.
We had a lovely time and recommend checking it out if you’re looking for somewhere a bit different and special for date night, or time with friends and family. Parking was super easy and convenient which always makes the experience better.
Have you been to Queens Road Restaurant before? I would love to know?
Saff xo
Huge thank you to Queens Road & The Ramada for having us for our GIFTED experaince
We were very kindly invited down to Benugo Bar & Kitchen situated in Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry to try out their NEW menu, and we were in for a treat.
Myself, husband, dad, and two children ventured down on a Thursday evening to experience all Benugo Bar & Kitchen had to offer.
Firstly, the décor is stunning and has been done out so well. We did not feel like we were in Coventry, it gives high end vibes. The staff were incredibly kind and accommodating to us, nothing was too much. We were relaxed and they were very kind to the children.
We started the evening off with some starters, we tried the Popcorn Cauliflower, Buffalo chicken wings & the Dirty Loaded Fries.
Popcorn Cauliflower was so delish, its a dish we wouldn’t normally choose so was ace to try something new, we were all shocked and pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted, the texture everything. This was Liam’s favourite and has been asking for it ever since.
Buffalo Chicken Wings, the amount of meat on these. wings was amazing, whenever we have had wings in the past, we always feel like there’s nothing to them, these were juicy, full of flavour, and with plenty of meat.
Dirty Loaded Fries, these were my favourite’s! They were so so good, the melted cheese, and crispy bits of bacon just yummy! I am a fries lover and would be happy just to have this as my main!
For main courses, the boys decided they wanted pizzas and burgers. The staff brought out pizza bases paired with little chef hats for the boys to wear while they got to make their pizzas. This was the sweetest touch and was amazing having them interact and do something a little different, it defiantly kept them occupied and excited to eat the Pizzas they made.
The children’s menu is great, they get two courses and a drink for £8.00
Children can make their pizzas Monday – Friday in August and during the half-term holidays, such a lovely treat for them to do and feels like a novelty.
We spotted on the menu a super lovely thoughtful note that says “We have all been there, left the house in a rush and forgotten the most important things! That’s why we have a few necessities complimentary should you need them: Baby Milk, Nappies, wipes, baby food, and bibs. Just ask the waiter” I know our children are past this stage, but my gosh when they were little the stress of having everything with you is real, I’ve never seen anything like this in a restaurant before and the fact they offer and accommodate for parents like this is amazing. Something so little for the restaurant can be so massive for a stressed parent.
Myself and Dad also opted for Pizza, Dad had the Ham & mushrooms, and I went for the Meaty Warwick. Both were so delish, properly made & cooked pizzas made in their stunning Pizza oven.
Luke opted for a burger the Short Rib Marrowbone burger, which he said was spot on, full of flavour, and tasted delish it was a big portion! He was left stuffed.
Desserts, we were ready to pop, but we had to try them… We had Ice cream, Churros, Benugo Sundae, and their Ultimate ice cream Sundae.
All of them were amazing, super yummy but my fave was the Churros they were fresh, had delicious flavours, and came with a chocolate sauce.
Lastly, we need to take a moment for the Cocktails & Mocktails, I ordered the Virgin Mojito which was so delish and refreshing. The bar staff insisted we try some of their other cocktails, of course you know me I love myself a Passion fruit Martini and it was hands down one of the most delish Passion fruit martinis I have ever had, it has Passoe Foam honestly so good! I also tried another which I sadly can’t remember the name of but it was lovely!
I highly recommend you check out Benugo, the atmosphere and everything were just lovely, the boys are already asking when can we go back, and in their words “The best place we have been for food” Happy kids happy parents.
Accessibility – Benugo is situated inside the Warwick Arts Centre, you can get access to it from the main entrance of the Art Centre or round by “The kissing penguins” sculpture. Parking is easy and around a 5 min walk and cost just £1.00 Everywhere was flat and wheel chaire accessible.
Have you been to Benugos Before? I would love to know
Saff xo
Huge thank you to GHPR & Benugo for the invite and for being so generous and accommodating to us all.
We were very kindly gifted a voucher to order a take away from Turtle Bay Coventry through Deliveroo and of course we were over the moon.
We both love Turtle Bay especially the husband it’s his absolute fave so you can imagine this was one collaboration he was definitely up for.
With the weather being so lush we decided to take our Turtle Bay order outside to enjoy in the evening sun. We accompanied ours with a cool Beer.
Placing the order was super easy on the Deliveroo app, bonus was the evening we placed our order, there was a 20% a £20 spend. We ordered the, Crispy Chilli Squid, Kingston Fried Chicken + Spiced Fries, Curry Goat & Rice, Side of Spiced fries.
Mine and Luke’s go too, is normally the Shack Stack Burger with side pots of Jerk Mayo, Fiery Jerk Gravy & Mango BBQ Sauce. They have all been removed from the menu which is devastating…. but also great as it forced us to try something new.
The Goat curry was delish, perfect blend of spices and the meat 10/10, it was a littler on the spicy side for me but perfect for Luke who likes a little kick to his flavour.
The Kingston Fried chicken was perfect for me, great flavour… and the one to go for if your on of those who arnt a huge fan of spice. It was really yummy and paired perfectly with the Chips, which provided the perfect amount of spice for me.
All the portions were ace, we were stuffed. We couldn’t finish the Chilli Squid which for a side we were surprised about you expect a small taster, this wasnt the case.
I’m looking forward to enjoying some of our favourite meals from the comfort of home in the garden this summer.
Would love to know what you’re go to meal at Turtle Bay is?
We were very kindly invited down to The Old Hall Hotel in Coventry to experience their Afternoon Tea; I took along my sister-in-law for a girly afternoon together!
Firstly, they have the best selection of afternoon teas I have seen, they had different variations from Traditional to Gentleman’s, Vegan and even one called Chai Dopehar which has Samosas and Paneer Spring Rolls amongst other yummy treats. This was super intriguing to us but decided to go with the Traditional to be able to give it a fair review.
Upon arriving, the venue itself is decorated so amazingly, the attention to detail was spot on, with so many gorgeous colours, lights, and things to look at. It was modern with its unique twist.
We were seated in a beautiful window area on a large table with a comfy sofa, so much natural light came in through the window.
We were greeted by all the staff who were so lovely, and attentive, they made sure we weren’t without a drink.
Unlimited tea and coffee were included with all afternoon teas so, of course, we started with a cuppa. They have a wide selection of different flavour teas on offer which we loved to see, I opted for just your classic tea.
It wasn’t long until our Afternoon Tea Tower was brought over to us, I have to say this was the most well-presented afternoon tea I have seen, and I’ve had a fair few in my time!
Bottom Layer we had sandwiches which were properly chunky not like the skinny finger sandwiches you normally get imagine two of them put together, you could really enjoy the flavour and filling on a mix of white and brown bread.
We had Smoked Salmon, Crem fraiche and dill, Egg Mayonnaise and watercress, Cucumber, and Cream cheese with a mint herb butter dressed with loads of fresh lettuce. All were lush, my favourite was the Salmon.
The cakes we had a good variety, there was a Victoria sponge, carrot and walnut, Chocolate Profiterole, and a couple of others I’m not 100% sure on but all tasted amazing and decorated with edible flowers.
Lastly at the top of the tier… the freshly baked scones with Clotted cream and jam! The best bit If you ask me!
These were massive and tasted so good. Both the cakes and the scones had been covered in a blanket of icing sugar which made it look so pretty.
Decorated around the plate were the nicest chunkiest strawberry I’ve tasted in the longest time.
The portion size was so big we couldn’t finish it all, we were able to box it up and take it away. The husband and children demolished it when I got home.
The whole experience was so lovely, I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially if celebrating an occasion, the prices are very reasonable as well. They had children’s prices for all the themes too which I’ve never seen before. I need to go back to try the Gentleman’s Tea, wraps are included and they’re my favourite.
We had a nose at their cocktails and mocktails list, these look incredible there’s a watermelon one which sounds right up my street.
We got to explore some more of the stunning hotel, have a nose on my Instagram to see the video and a peek into what the venue has to offer.
So, you’re thinking of booking a trip to LEGOLAND Windsor or you already have a date in the diary? I have so much to tell you, so grab yourself a cuppa, this is going to be a long post.
We have not long come back from a LEGOLAND Holiday and have been asked by many of you online to document our experience. I’ve had questions about what we booked, along with our thoughts on the park, rides, hotel, and things we wished we knew before going with any tips we would recommend. We experienced LEGOLAND on a Thursday and Friday in 24-degree heat the first day and downpour rain the second day so I feel we have lots to share with you.
I hope this helps if you’re planning a visit, I am always up for a natter if there’s anything else you want to know or for me to elaborate on feel free to message me on any of my social media platforms.
Part 1 – General info, taking the children out of school, prices, accessibility, what wish we knew before coming and more.
Part 2 – Ride and attraction reviews, what’s is good for what ages, what we would recommend queuing for and what we would skip with distance ideas and the routes we would take – COMING JULY
Part 3 – Offsite Hotel Review – COMING SOON
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Let’s get stuck in, we aren’t going abroad this year and myself and husband wanted to plan little weekend 2-night style stays throughout the year instead of one big holiday, something for us to look forward to and short bursts of fun for the boys.
We had a look online and LEGOLAND stood out to us as a place to go, if your new and don’t know us, we have two boys, E who is 9 and L who is 7 we thought this age would be perfect. They’re not overly into Lego as in building or making but they love the films, games, and TV programmes.
Taking the children out of school
E has additional needs and this would be our first experience at a “Theme park” with him, he struggles with ques along with many other aspects down to his ASD so we decided to book for a weekday and take the boys out of school, something we haven’t done with both being in full-time education. E goes to a special education school who are amazing and said yes, they fully understand the troubles we would have going on a busy weekend or holiday. L’s mainstream school we don’t know them on a personal level like Es, we asked for a leave of absence form from reception and wrote a very brief reason to why we wanted to take them and were honest in the fact it was for LEGOLAND, I know my child wouldn’t keep it quiet if his life depended on it.
The school were good, couldn’t authorise the time out as it wasn’t under “exceptional circumstances” but did say that we wouldn’t get fined if he was to return as usual on Monday and to “have fun” So with that out the way we looked forward to our trip. We booked for Thursday 19th and Friday 20th June in hopes we could miss the weekend rush.
Booking our holiday
We booked directly through the LEGOLAND website, we decided to stay at a nearby hotel Copthorne Slough Windsor (review on the hotel coming soon) we would have loved to have stayed in the main LEGOLAND resort, but it was crazy money and we couldn’t decide on who’s kidney to sell so we opted for the cheaper hotel.
Altogether
2 nights stay in a Family room, Thursday Night, Friday Night with breakfast both mornings
Tickets for the 4 of us Thursday and Friday (must be used consecutively)
With two days of parking in the park (cheaper to book online than pay on the day)
Total – £443
Extras we had to pay for, petrol to travel of course. The hotel has onsite parking which is charged at a discounted rate of £7 a day costing £14 for the two nights. They also charge £10 a family to use the swimming pool and leisure facilities per day where some hotels have that included in the price its worth checking directly with the hotel and looking on the own company website.
Don’t forget to use cashback sites like Top Cash Back to get money back from your holiday.
When booking a hotel be sure to look at the distance from the park, if they have onsite parking, is breakfast included along with how much the extra facility’s are if your wanting to use.
While booking the holiday we had an option of booking a few extras in LEGOLAND, one of them being a Digipass, which we should have done, it’s £14 for the day and you get all the photos from the rides that take photos (around 7 and the roaming photography.) If you pay for it on the day like us, it costs £20 so you would save £5. You can also upgrade for £10 on the day to use it for a second day meaning if you were to do both it would be £25 for all your ride photos for you to download for both days.
Travelling to the park
We travelled from Coventry and it was an easy straightforward trip, taking us around an hour and a half. Close to LEGOLAND around 10 minutes away we came across lots of little pubs, an Aldi and Tesco, we stopped for toilet breaks here so we didn’t have to worry about going when we got to the park after our journey. We stopped to grab meal deal lunches to take into the park it saved us a fortune, along with time. The pubs would be perfect on the way out for dinner.
(If you are planning to eat in the park, make sure to check what time the places open and close some are only open at certain times.)
Before you go download the app, it’s amazing as it shows you where you are in real-time, what rides you are close to, what the wait time for the ride is, and all the details and restrictions. If a ride is closed or not. All the show times it’s great and we used it constantly throughout the day.
What we wore and took in our day bag
I would really recommend you take a day bag that has plenty of pockets and zips, a walking bag like this oneherethat’s durable and easy to throw about but narrow that it would fit by your legs on rides. I also wore a thin waterproof that has zip pockets for phones so it was handy for photos and the app but would be secure on rides.
I swear by these Carabinier clips here I use them when ever we do family day trips it makes things so much easier to carry you can clip caps to them, lunchbox’s, all sorts.
Loads of snacks, these were perfect, especially for the kids to eat when queuing for rides, it was a great way to distract them and there are bins in most ques to get rid of rubbish. Zip lock bags for crisps and snacks meant we could easily stop and start if we got on a ride.
We also packed lots of bottles of water which I regrated. All around the park they have drinks stations like the ones you get at Five guys, the ones with all flavors of fizzy drinks. They sell cups for £15 and you get unlimited refills for the day, for the second day if you bring back your cup you can pay £6 to reset it. These machines also have free water which you can use with any bottle, so if we were to go again (which we are shhh don’t tell the children we are booked to go in July) then we would take the one bottle for water and use the machines to fill up. There’s lots of stations scattered all over the park so your never to far from a top up. I think the cups are only worth it if more then two of you will be drinking fizzy drinks. The boys don’t have them so to get our moneys worth me and Luke would have to have alot of pop. The cup is a cute souvenir still.
Suntan lotion is of course a must even when its cloudy! I have one that we can clip onto our bag, but a little hack for you. Buy a clip-on hand sanitiser bottle you can get them on amazon here then fill it with your suntan lotion. Easily clips onto your bag so when you’re walking about or queueing you don’t need to rummage you have it to hand the same with sanitiser they did have lots of hand stations when you got off rides which were great and i did see a couple of suntan lotion stations which is amazing I’ve never seen that anywhere before.
I would recommend taking a battery pack like this one herewe have 3 of these and love them! In the park you use your phone a lot throughout the day not just taking photos but on the app, parts of the park have interaction spots where you scan QR codes, so an additional battery is needed. I forgot mine on day two and felt bad not letting the kids run about interacting with everything!
I wore sports leggings and a long top the first day when it was scorching hot. On the day it chucked it down I wore a dress with cycling shorts underneath, I felt so comfortable in the cycling shorts and dress combo which surprised me. On some of the rides, you get wet so I dried off quickly. There were mums in maxi dresses and sandals I defiantly would not recommend. I can imagine getting in and out of some of the rides would have been a challenge. You want to wear something that covers your bum, you don’t mind straddling things with it and are fine if it blows up from the wind on rides if that makes sense will go into more detail in my ride post. See my ride review coming soon. Some of the rides make you take your shoes off too if they aren’t fitted well and loose.
Shoes I 100% recommend sketchers all day! They are the comfiest lightest trainers ever these are the ones I have here, I’ve got them in all black and grey with pink. No laces to worry about, your feet don’t get too hot in them, no blisters, true to size, there just the best. On day two my feet only started to hurt right towards the end considering the amount of walking we did.
The boys we got them to wear their beach shoes, these have been a godsend for every trip and adventure we have been on. They’re super cheap as well we get them from here and the boys say there comfy, which means their feet can get wet and we don’t have to worry about them. They also dry super quick, have a good grip on the bottom and are perfect for water parks, streams, rides that get you wet and of course the beach. I would defiantly recommend getting some of them. The day it chucked it down they were fine. On the first path in the park there’s a little water stream that runs down the hill. The boys were straight in it no worries about soggy trainers and socks.
Navigating around the park
Parking when we got to LEGOLAND was easy, we parked in carpark B which was a short walk to the entrance. They check your bags on arrival and then you head over to where they check your tickets. I had pre-printed ours off which helped massively there was no faffing about with phones and the internet.
LEGOLAND does have its own WIFI so you can easily hook up to that.
On arrival, you can pick up maps, but you can also use the app which we used as mentioned above it’s the best way to get around. We kept a few maps for the children’s memory boxes. We also used them back at the hotel to plan the next day, the kids loved looking at them in the car.
As soon as you enter there are toilets to your left which had huge queues. If you’re like me and panic about where toilets are the next ones are a 5-minute walk, you go down the hill until you see the Lego giraffes and the LEGO REEF attraction. These are great and they also have lockers outside, so if there’s anything you have brought like wet clothes for the water park then this is a great place to keep before or after so not to have to carry it around its also not too far from the water park section.
The park is massive, I wish I had my watch on that day to track all our steps. When we go back, we will do all the walking at the start and walk right to the back of the park. This way i think you will be ahead of the crowds and the walk back at the end isn’t as long and tiring. It’s also a good way to fermiluise yourself with the park and places of interest to you. There are lots of little play bits along the way for children to help keep them going.
Our favourite toilets which seem to be central were right next to the big lake where they perform shows. These were ace, no ques and their individual toilet rooms with two toilets and sink dryer etc so perfect if you have little ones. Also, the ones who don’t need the toilet had a show to watch while waiting.
Accessibility
A few weeks leading up to the trip I reached out to LEGOLAND and asked them what they do for people with additional needs to help and they said they give out access passes which gets you to the front of the queue. We had to apply and they granted the pass to use on one of our days (my fault I didn’t send all the information over in time)
Basically how it works is you use an app and select what ride you want to go on. You join the separate access que which takes you very close to the front of the ride if not straight to the front. The special que is more accessible as well in regards to how far you have to walk etc. They will then ask to scan the QR code it gives you on your phone. If it says the wait time is 10 minutes, then your app will start to count down from 10 minutes. Once that 10minutes is up you can use the app again, so your queueing but virtually if that makes sense. It stops people from going round and round again.
Highly recommend doing it, the first day we didn’t have the pass and queued 35mins for the Duplo Coaster the second day we waited not even 5mins and the que time was at least 50mins.
The access pass is for the person with needs, and they can have their family members with them. I’m not 100% sure on the number of people who can be with them but for us as a family of 4 it meant we could all stay together.
Did you know you can get an access card if you have a disability? No, I didn’t either.
It’s basically a card which you can use to identify to places like LEGOLAND you have an additional need of whatever sort to get this access passes easier without having to show your DLA forms. I’ve applied for one, I may do a separate blog post on this so keep an eye out! Here’s the link
I believe tickets wise you can get a free carers ticket, it’s something we should have investigated but getting the holiday in the bundle it wasn’t clear. Looking back now I should have enquired and found this out we could have saved some money.
Accessibility around the park, the paths are flat but it’s downhill at the start and of course uphill at the end, lots of parents with prams looked exhausted towards the end we were all knacked and that was us just walking not needing to push or carry little ones.
They have wheelchairs and mobility scooters for hire with a charge they also have pushchairs and buggy hire too which would be super handy if the boys were little, you could use for part of the day if needed instead of lugging one around all day.
Leaving Legoland
On a weekday the park shuts promptly at 4 pm it was like someone cut the power! We said to the children lets do rides and then get in a play park once everywhere had shut, well they were kicking kids out of the playparks at 4 pm too, the only thing left open of course was the LEGO shop by the exit they keep that open for an extra hour.
The queues for the LEGO shops were insane, my husband described it as being like a scene from an American Christmas film and he was spot on, people were shopping like there was no tomorrow. Ques for the till went down fast but just waiting to get into the store took a good while.
The end of the park is when I would recommend looking around Miniland as there were no staff rushing people you have to walk past it anyway to get out.
Ques leaving the car park. Horrendous. I expected it to be bad but this was another level, no organisation.
We waited for over an hour, our car had hardly moved, and fights looked like they would break out it wasn’t great so I would definitely keep snacks and something to entertain the children just for the exit alone.
We would recommend going as far left in the car park as you can basically the last queue so it looks like you will be stuck for ages but you will get there first. Being sandwiched in the middle we just didn’t move. Then the roads leaving the park naturally with everyone leaving the traffic was chocker so bear that in mind. I feel so sorry for the residents having standstill traffic every day. Must be even worse on a weekend.
What we recommend/wish we had known
Do we recommend two days? Yes 100% bearing in mind we went school term time, and had a fast pass ticket for the second day there were rides we didn’t get a chance to go on, and we didn’t see any shows or 4D cinema stuff either.
Day two was so much better in the sense we knew where to go, and had our bearings. I’m looking forward to going back in July as we will know the place and what we want to do, however, we still managed to miss a chunk we didn’t even realise was there, it’s the fire station area, it’s sandwiched between other areas and easily missed, we only noticed it the second day when we followed the crowd to get out the place.
Search the website high and low, there website I personally feel is shocking. It’s not clear what’s open and closed. We went towards the end of may thinking the water park areas would be on depending on the weather, obviously, if it rained, we wouldn’t expect but the weather leading up to when we went and on the first day had been so warm but sadly it wasn’t open. They did however have it running, which was so strange, the kids were gutted they could see all the cool water areas and how they poured and sprayed water but couldn’t use it. On the map, it says it opens at the very end of may start of June.
In hindsight, I would google the question I want to know the answer for like, “what rides are open at Legoland” The Vikings ride had closed for maintenance and that wasn’t clear on the site.
When looking to buy tickets see how much a year membership is, it may work out better for you if you are not 100% on doing two days in a row with overnight stays you may find out it works better for your family to get a pass and then you can visit other attractions too.
Wow ok, that’s a lot of information I have thrown at you, but I really do hope it helps, again message me if you think I’ve missed anything and I’m more than happy to chat over it more. Keep an eye out for the next posts coming and I may do a little updated version after we visit in July.
We are going in the Summer holidays so wish us luck!
If you go or have been would love to hear all about it, how was your experience is there anything you recommend? Share with others in the comments bellow to help, thanks
I cannot quite believe we have been married for 5 years! The time has flown by, if you have known us for a while you may remember for our first wedding anniversary we went away and stayed in a cottage with a hot tub, well that’s exactly what we wanted to do for our 5th.
We searched high and low for Hot tub weekends away that weren’t too far from us in Coventry. The criteria we had was no more than an hour and a half away, must have a large electric square hot tub, none of those quarter things or the wooden plunge ones I’m seeing everywhere. Must have no one overlooking and in the middle of an open field so we feel secluded with great views. I don’t want any light pollution so we can see the stars.
We finally came across Heath Barn near Worchester and found them through Snap Trips but there hosted by Cottages.com
We booked it from the Friday – Sunday 2 nights costing us £345
Check-in was 3 pm but we arrived around 5 as Luke had to work Friday, the drive was so lush we could see the Malvern hills and loads of countryside.
When we arrived, the setting was beautiful Heath Barn is surrounded by sheep and you can see views of the Malvern hills.
The converted barn was the perfect space for the two of us, with a double bed, shower and kitchen. See my little video of our trip here.
Sadly the next part of this post is negative, I am always transparent and honest with you and would never recommend something without sharing our experience. We didn’t have the best experience with the host and the problems carried on after we got home.
We got to experience the Hot tub the first night but sadly the second night the hot tub had issues and wouldn’t work, of course, contacted the host and no one was around to help us when we asked for someone to come and help. Instead, we were asked to read manuals and try to work out what the error codes meant on the tub, we used google and all sorts to try and fix it (we both have 0 experience with hot tubs), meaning the main night, Saturday we had chosen to celebrate relaxing in the hot tub under the stars didn’t happen. Because of this I really wouldn’t recommend the Barn we have since tried to be in touch with the owners and have been ignored. I’ve also been in touch with Cottages.com and been ignored such a shame because they have a great location and barn. It was also advertised with WIFI which we were told a day or so before that this wasn’t the case. Check out was 9 am which on Sunday shops and places don’t open till past 10. Just a few negatives but you guys know I always like to be honest with you. If we didn’t have the issues, it’s a place I would definitely go back to from the setting. Things took a turn for the worst when I got home.. will explain in a little bit why.
Anyway, Heath Barn is about a 20 min drive from the centre of Worchester, we headed out to explore the streets, do a spot of shopping and visit the famous Cathedral which is free to enter a rare thing these days.
If you know me then you would know I have a fear of churches and cathedrals, but this one has a completely different vibe and is absolutely stunning, so I did well to get around the whole thing without freaking out.
Despite Saturday evening not going to plan we had a lovely time the two of us, the no internet thing meant we had a detox from our phones and just enjoyed being in each other’s company. We haven’t had us time like what in what feels like forever. We sat and listen to music and podcasts together and spent hours chatting with no disruptions. I am going to upload a reel of our time on Instagram because the place was stunning, so be sure to have a nose over on there.
Thank you for the lovely messages we received on our anniversary!
Here’s to the next 5 years and beyond
So when we got home, I started to become unwell with blisters forming in the back of my mouth, shortness of breath, fever and feeling really unwell. Ive had my tonsils taken out as a young adult and the pain was on par with the pains I had after surgery. Went to the doctors who said I had caught a severe case of a strep throat infection they think was caused by breathing in chemicals from the hot tub, what we think has happened is the host has put too much chlorine in the water that when heated up its evaporated into the steam which ive then inhaled. The blisters went right down my throat it hurt right down into my chest. Antibiotics weren’t working and in the second week as I was getting worse and worse, and not being able to eat I went back to the doctors who gave me 24 hours to improve or it would be a hospital trip with a drip.
This has now majorly put me off hot tubs, apparently you can get it from pools as well if you swallow water and the chlorine is high, who would have thought I could be so ill from steam and chlorine. I did smell overly strong which I now know for the future is a warning sign.
Anyway I’m slowly on the mend now, I have sores in the back of my throat and it’s still tender but nowhere near as bad as I was thankful, I have been warned it can creep back now that I’m off antibiotics so have everything crossed for me please that doesn’t happen.
Sorry to be so negative, but I said to you I would share our trip and I’m gutted it was ruined and now tainted with me being unwell, I’m just grateful to be feeling more myself. I will keep you updated if anyone gets back to me at the bottom of this blog!
Hello, my loves, myself and the husband had a lovely evening to ourselves so we went and experienced Bombay Palace in Earlsdon Coventry. We were invited down months ago and finally were able to arrange a babysitter so we could enjoy a date night. If you know us you would know we love a good curry, we served it to our guests as our wedding breakfast.
We arrived and the décor inside is done out so lovely. We sat in a cute little circle booth section, next to one another which was nice im so used to being opposite it made a lovely change. I loved their bubble wall feature it was very relaxing and created a great atmosphere. Straight away they took our drinks order and brought out popedom’s with all the dips which were amazing as we were both so hungry.
Their menu has such a great selection of Curry’s and dishes, I don’t like spicy food at all and being ¼ Sri Lankan I should like spice, instead, I much prefer mild Curry’s and am always a little worried about what to try so when we arrived at Bombay Palace and they recommended the sharing platter it was a perfect opportunity to try other flavors.
It was the Chef Special Tawa – Sheekh Kebab, Onion Bhaji, Chicken Tikka, Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Bengal Garlic Chilli Chicken Bombay aloo, Chana Masala, Chips, Nan, Pilau Rice for two £39.95 for four people £79.95 It looked very impressive when it came out it defiantly caught the attention of other people dining, we even had a couple come over and ask if they could have a look.
The flavours of the food were delicious. My favourites were the Tikka Masala and the Tikka Chicken. We were so stuffed we took the leftovers home which the husband enjoyed the following day, it all reheated nicely.
We had a lovely evening; all the staff were friendly and helpful.
Check out our Reel from the night here I would love to know what your go-to curry is? Have you been to Bombay Palace before? Saff X0
Thank you, Bombay Palace, for inviting us down for this gifted experience in exchange for a complimentary meal for two.
Itssaffb 