Which theme or holiday park will suit your family? Reading other parents reviews of theme parks will help you make the right choice for your age of children.
- Haven holiday parks
- Disappointment in Port Aventura
- Disneyland Paris
- Gardaland
- Disney World
- Center Parcs
- Legoland
Haven holiday parks
Haven caravan holidays are a must weekend break getaway if you have young
children.
The resorts are great and lots of them are by beaches and great value
for money. There is lots of entertainment for the children so even if
it’s rainy you have still got loads that you can do and all is included
in the price of your caravan, all of which I have found to be excellent
in regard to condition/cleanliness.
We have stayed in luxury caravans, with full central heating, and free-standing
furniture: a true home from home. On our last holiday we took along our
labrador so stayed in a pet standard caravan which was still great.
My eldest daughter, who will be five in December, is always asking when
we can go back to see Rory Tiger – he is one of the Funstars of which
there is a whole gang that do all the fun stuff for the kids and put on
some great shows and entertainment.
Great value fun for all the family and highly recommended even though
the British weather can be a bit of a let-down. It definitely wont stop
you having a good time.
Carol Wait
Disappointment in Port Aventura
My family, which now consists of two adults and two children, went on
a theme park holiday to Port Aventura in Spain twice. The kids are now
5 and 1 and they loved the theme park and local water park. We stayed
both times in two different 4-star on-site hotels.
These hotels were child-friendly. They had high chairs, kids’ food, children’s
pools and a kids’ club. But there were downfalls such as no kettle, no
iron in the room, long queues at hotel restaurants. We felt that hotel/animation
staff were not that good with us and the children, and they could have
done a lot more to engage with the British-speaking guests as there were
a lot of us.
The kids’ club didn’t seem to have any organised events either. This
was a bit of a waste of a kids’ club I feel. Looking for a more child-friendly
holiday now.
Kiran Pandya
We recently returned from a weekend at Disneyland, Paris, where we went
‘en famille’ – three generations: baby (13 months), parents and grandparents.
We drove down to Paris – it’s a long way by car, but at least the ferry
journey gave Sam and his granddad a chance to run around and let off steam
for a while. The sign-posting to Disneyland leaves a bit to be desired
and we got lost en route.
Sam slept some of the way, but was fed up with being strapped in his
seat for so long and we spent the last 45 minutes singing every nursery
rhyme we could think of to amuse him. I’d recommend rail or air travel
if you have any choice.
We adults have been fortunate enough to visit the Disney parks in America,
but we have never previously stayed in a Disney hotel. It was a great
way to feel part of the Disney community and the opportunity to have photos
taken with Eeyore and his pals was a bonus (if you didn’t mind the queue
- but, hey, queuing is what Disney does best!).
We stayed in Sequoia Lodge, officially 3* accommodation but considerably
better than another 3* hotel we’d been in recently in France. Two double
beds and a cot fitted in one room – just. I wouldn’t want to share with
the family for more than a couple of nights, but it was perfectly adequate
for a weekend. The bathroom was cosy, but at least we had hot water -
if you ran the taps for long enough.
Ear plugs to cope with son-in-law’s snoring should be available from
housekeeping to aid a good night’s sleep.
Breakfast was included in our package, one of which we had in the hotel
and one in the park. Both were continental style (I bet you get hot food
in America) but there was plenty of choice and food to suit everyone,
even picky toddlers.
The advantage of eating in the park is that you are straight onto the
rides as soon as they open.
Compared to the American parks the two in France are smaller but definitely
have a distinctive French atmosphere and are not just clones of their
big brothers. I was impressed with the language skills of all the staff
and my ‘O’ level French was only needed once. For toddlers there is plenty
to see and do and the provision of a baby room with a microwave to heat
up bottles and food was much appreciated.
Nappies are available, but not free. Buggies can be hired and seemed
popular with pre-school children who can walk but tire easily at theme
parks. Little Sam had a wonderful time, nearly screwing his head off trying
to see everything and we went on the ‘It’s a Small World’ ride three times
for his pleasure (and ours, if we’re honest).
The smaller nature of the parks suited younger children (and ageing
grandparents) much better than the American parks.
We had a great time at Disneyland Paris and the time flew by. Blessed
with good weather, we stayed in the parks all day, but then weather isn’t
reliable anywhere and we’ve had tropical storms in Florida where there’s
no more cover than in the French parks. My only real criticism of the
place is that there doesn’t seem to be much of a community around the
parks.
In America the customers can disperse into the surrounding area to buy
their evening meal, whereas in Paris it seems like you could only really
go into the Disney Village to eat; clever planning on Disney’s part, no
doubt, to gain all the available custom, but the facilities were woefully
inadequate for the crowds at park closing time. We gave up queuing for
a restaurant table and spent over 30 minutes waiting to be served in McDonald’s
instead.
Not ideal for a hungry toddler, but we went with our own supplies for
Sam (ignoring the notices that said no food to be taken into the park).
If you’re considering a Disney trip but don’t fancy the flight to America
I’d definitely recommend Paris. I hope you have as much fund as we did.
Just remember the ear plugs!
Mary Cooper
We visited Disneyland Resort Paris for 5 days in January with our six
year old son and one year old daughter. It was absolutely freezing but
we were well prepared and with plenty of ‘Hot Choclate Breaks’ we managed
to stay warm. Best of all, we saw some fantastic icicles and a frozen
waterfall which fascinated my son. On the last day we woke to find a two
foot blanket of snow and we built some amazing snowmen outside the hotel!
Sleeping Beauty’s castle covered with soft powdery snow is a sight not
to be missed!
As it was a special occasion, (hubby’s 40th) we travelled first class
on the Eurostar. Having previously travelled in the standard carriages
we didn’t notice a huge amount of difference. Personally, next time I
would save the extra money it costs to spend in the park.
We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel – almost perfect! Incredibly expensive
but totally fantastic.
The character breakfasts were a bit of a let-down – they don’t tell you
you have to be seated by 9am to be able to meet characters this way but
if you are that little bit later, you get plenty of opportunity to be
entertained in the queue for a table for the restaurant! There are also
characters in the lounge area most of the morning as well as in the afternoon
in reception. We did have one nice surprise at breakfast – the brochure
said cooked food was available at a supplement but sausage, bacon and
eggs were included. Depending on who served you, my daughter’s bedtime
milk either cost £2 or was free! The staff however were all excellent
and so child-friendly.
The location was perfect and our room was in the wing of the hotel right
by the park entrance as well as by the swimming pool. Another nice touch
there – floats, arm bands & inflatable jackets were all readily available.
If only we’d known, it would have saved on the packing. And how luxurious
were those bath robes!
Yes, this hotel costs a lot to stay in but all of the little extra easily
outweigh the few negatives we encountered. This was supposed to be a one-off
treat for us (we’d previously stayed in the Hotel Cheyenne) but, to be
honest, we don’t think we could stay anywhere else if we go back again.
Disneyland Resort Paris is a fantastic place to take small children.
I would highly recommend it. They, (or rather ‘we’) can’t wait until next
time.
Lydia Houghton
I have recently come back from the best holiday ever. We went as a family
to Gardaland in Italy and had the most fantastic time. We stayed at the
Gardaland Hotel, which was like a princess castle, and they really did
make us feel like royalty.
We were near the Gardaland theme park, which we visited and found to
be really friendly, clean and well thought out. Due to the hot weather
there was a cooling steam while we queued for the rides but we never had
to queue more than a few minutes. We will be going back next year…and
the year after.
Denise Walker
I took my son (4 years old) to Disney World
this yearon our first proper
holiday together. My fiancé died when my son was a baby and I have raised
him alone. I haven’t been able to afford anywhere until I achieved my
sales targets and earned my bonus this year! I didn’t tell my son where
we were going until we arrived at the airport to check in.
He couldn’t believe it when I did eventually tell him (I had said we
were going for a drive and I hid the suitcases and hand luggage from him)
and to see the look on his face after all we have been through was the
best feeling in the world. We travelled in British Airways Club World
flat beds to which he kept repeating the words “mummy, this is really
cool!”. We were looked after all the way to the hotel, even having the
Disney bus service transfer.
We had a brilliant time cocooned in the Coronado Springs Disney resort
and my son especially enjoyed meeting all the characters as well the rides
we went on, including a ‘kiddiecoaster’ in Toon Town at Magic Kingdom
(a short rollercoaster ride) that had me screaming all the way around
much to my son’s amusement!!
All I can say is the 10 days we spent weren’t long enough to see and
do everything but wherever we have gone, the time we had was special,
special because we became closer and our bond is as a result ever stronger.
It is something I will never forget…
Simone Nash
So we had a fantastic time in DisneyWorld, Florida.
The whole Disney magic got all four of us. Our boys are 7 and 3. I wouldnt
recommend it to any younger than three, but he was just old enough to
get it.
The hotel, Port Orleans French Quarter, however, left a lot to be desired.
We got to the hotel at around 9pm, and I was upset to find my request
for a bed rail had been ignored. I spoke to the front desk and they said
they’d get one sent to the room. Half an hour later nothing had arrived,
so i walked back to reception to speak to them. They said such a request
could take ‘up to an hour’, which infuriated me as I had made it clear
when we checked in that it was already 2am ‘our time’ and my children
were shattered and needed to go to sleep.
Worse, when I got back to the room and pulled back the sheets for the
first time, I found there was a large yellow stain that could have been
nothing but urine. I was naturally horrified and immediately removed the
sheet, upset that they had put a dirty sheet on my bed.
But when I removed the sheet I saw the stain went through to the undersheet,
so the stain must have been made THERE!! In other words, the sheets were
not clean on for us – the previous occupant had soiled the bed and the
cleaner had just made up the room!
I called housekeeping and they sent someone to change the sheets, and
I also asked them to bring a bed rail, so we could finally get some sleep.
Which she did, but obviously failed to relay my request to cancel the
original request of a bed rail that I made at the front desk, because
at 11pm, about half an hour after we had all fallen asleep, a man started
trying to let himself in to our room with another bed rail!
Another disappointment in the hotel was the food court, which was truly
crap. The food was poor and the staff were appalling. Not one of them
spoke English, so a simple request for a bowl resulted in a confused face
and a five minute wait whilst they went to get a supervisor! Ordering
a cinnamon danish had to be done syllable by cyllable so that the correct
danish, out of a choice of three, was delivered. Any variation from the
menu was simply impossible, one could not replace the egg in a breakfast
with an extra sausage, for example, unless you struck lucky with an English
speaking ‘cast member’!
The hotel has two things going for it; the pool and the location. Using
the Disney Transportation System, that has been totally upgraded this
year, we almost never took more than 10 minutes or so to get to any of
the parks – apart from the occasional bus that went around the Riverside
resort, they all went direct to the parks.
The pool was lovely, perfect for young kids, although the lifeguards
upset me by saying that I could not sit at the side of the pool with my
legs dangling in and drink coke from a plastic cup. I was told in no uncertain
terms that unless I took my drink 6 foot away from the pool i would be
frogmarched out of the hotel! Apparently they would have to evacuate the
pool if a drop of coke got in there! What a crock of ****, the pool would
be full of kiddie wee, they arent going to empty it for a small amount
of coke. Notwithstanding the fact I had a cup with a lid and was never
going to spill it anyway!
In the parks, despite the crowds being probably at their maximum, we
never queued for more than 15 minutes thanks to following a touring plan
and picking up our fastpasses at the appropriate times. The lines for
the Thunder and Splash mountains were up to 2 hours long. Why would anyone
join a 2 hour queue for a 5 minute ride?
Edward Bowden, Harpenden
In September 2007 we embarked on our first proper family holiday to Center
Parcs in Longleat. We arrived on a chilly Monday morning and went to find
our villa. Benjamin, who was 19 months at the time, loved wandering up
the paths looking at all the big trees.
Our villa had 3 bedrooms and Benjamin was amazed by all the space we
had! He ran from room to room checking out all the bathrooms on the way.
When we had settled in we went to the Plaza for a swim.
Ben loved it. He swam very well and by the end of the week was swimming
well on his own, what a little waterbaby!
We had a lovely time as a family group, walking, swimming, cycling and
generally getting muddy! We had ducks visit us on our patio – Ben made
friends with them and every morning they came and knocked their beaks
against the windows! Ben did a couple of activities at the time-out club.
Messy play was brilliant and very well run. That was a momentous day as
it was the first time Ben told us he wanted a poo before he had actually
been!
He really benefited from having us both around and really began to talk.
We used the babysitting service which was great and safe as well. Stuart
and I used the spa: heaven on earth! We had some lovely meals, and their
kids’ meals are fantastic, good value and not just chicken shapes and
chips.
We had a lovely time and have booked to go back in January for five days.
I would recommend it to anyone. Center Parcs was fantastic, the customer
service was great, and the kids’ activities are brilliant.
Becki Johnson
My husband, our son and I went to Legoland in Windsor. We booked our
stay online and, with it being over a few hours’ drive, we decided to
stay the night. We booked through the Legoland website and stayed in a
4* hotel which included tickets to the park for £117.
Also we were able to print the park tickets off at home and this enabled
us just to walk straight in, so no queuing which is a blessing in itself.
The hotel was only 10 minutes drive and its parking was free. Once we
landed at Legoland we noticed how clean it was, even the bins were clean.
The best thing we did at the start was to hire one of their prams: a bit
like a child’s car seat, which cost £6 for all day but worth every penny.
It was a very busy day but there was lots to do and see. I would recommend
it to anyone.
One thing to say is the park opens at ten, and you do tend to queue to
get into the park which took quite a while!
Jodie Mylett
Here are babyworld tips on visiting Legoland:
Bring plenty of drinks The only gripe I have with the park is to do with
the vendors. At the burger places etc, you could buy a kid’s meal with
a drink but adult meals were at least £5 and then you had to pay an extra
£1.50 for a drink. So, make sure you bring plenty of drinks – although
there are water fountains everywhere with the toilets if you want. Legoland
gets my thumbs up as a good place to go! It is reasonably priced too.
We will definitely go back again.
Sarah
Travel clockwise around the park
Legoland is best for kids under 10. Miniland is amazing! There are two
driving schools for different ages, which my kids loved.
TIPS
- Avoid the hill train when you first enter the park (very slow – you’ll
get there a lot quicker by walking). - Take lots of film for your camera (there are many photo opportunities).
- Travel anticlockwise round the park (it means walking a bit to get
to your starting point in Knights’ Kingdom, but you really will avoid
the crowds.
Sammy
The most special-needs-friendly day out!
Just one comment about Legoland – it’s probably the most special-needs-friendly
day out we’ve ever had! The staff are wonderful, and very accommodating
to special needs families. It’s not just the child with difficulties that
gets five-star treatment – the whole (stressed out) family do!
They provide a free carer’s pass for one adult, bringing down the cost
of having to take along an adult solely to help one particular child,
and have really planned well to make everything accessible for a range
of needs. As a pregnant woman taking two under 6s for day trips, it’s
right up at the top of our list.
There’s something for everyone, and the kids never tire of it! Oh, and
my husband always manages to get himself a new toy too…
Lou
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