Just before we went on holiday, the girls and I were lucky enough to be invited to a CBeebies Magazine event at Alton Towers to celebrate the magazine and their great “kids go free” deal. We really enjoyed our afternoon at the park – lots more on that below so keep reading! We were given free tickets to the park and both girls got a goodie bag to take home.
Our morning with CBeebies Magazine
We spent the morning with the magazine team enjoying what Georgie called a “great party!” The kids were split into four groups and we did some different activities that all fit in with the themes and educational aspects of CBeebies Magazine.
Our first activity was based on the CBeebies Peter Rabbit show, which is a surprisingly good adaptation of the classic children’s books. They read the children a story out of the magazine and then we talked about different fruits and vegetables – the kids enjoyed trying some. Then the kids decorated paper plates with cut out pictures of fruits & veg.
One of my favourite shows on CBeebies (never mind the kids!) is Swashbuckle*, so it was great to see a craft activity themed around the show. With a little help, the children made pirate hats and medals, and then we all pledged to be part of the crew with the Swashbuckle Salute. Great stuff!
*they basically brought back Fun House, simplified it a bit, and added a hefty dose of pirates. What’s not to love about that!?
Georgie’s favourite activity was throwing beanbags into rings, and then making the noise of whatever animal guarded the ring the beanbag landed in. Such a simple game but it really kept the kids entertained! It will be so easy to replicate it at home and you could even just use one ring and swap the animals inside between throws. Beanbags are super simple to whip up, even without a sewing machine – I will definitely be making some and playing this game with my two girls at home soon.
The fourth & final activity was a drawing session where the kids were supplied with huge sheets of paper and crayons, and given guidance to draw some of the CBeebies characters. Georgie didn’t want to leave at the end of the session, she had so much fun, and Lydia really enjoyed scribbling away very enthusiastically on her sheet of paper.
After all the activities were over the children got to meet Postman Pat and Jess, although Georgie and Lydia were too shy to get too close.
An afternoon at Alton Towers
Our first stop was lunch, so we jumped on the monorail (which was a big hit in itself with the kids) and headed into the park to eat at the Courtyard BBQ & bar in Mutiny Bay. The food was ok, although a bit pricey for what you get – as you would expect.
After lunch our first ride of the day was “Heave Ho!” – a small pirate ship that also turns, which Georgie enjoyed with me. Once that was done, we headed to the much anticipated CBeebies Land to explore.
The attractions we visited here were: In the Night Garden Magical Boat Ride, The Numtums Number-Go-Round, Postman Pat’s Parcel Post, Nina’s Science Lab, Charlie and Lola’s Moonsquirters & Greendrops and Mr. Bloom’s Allotment.
Georgie’s favourite was Mr. Bloom’s Allotment, which is staffed by a couple of Mr. Bloom’s “assistants” and also features some good puppetry with the Veggies. The general premise is that Mr. Bloom is away on holiday so the visiting “Tiddlers” are roped in to help look after his allotment. Firstly the kids had to hunt for discs in the outdoors area to feed to the Composterium and then we were invited into the shed to meet the Veggies and help them out. It was done very well and both Lydia and Georgie really enjoyed it – Georgie has been talking about it ever since and keeps asking to go back.
The clear favourite for Lydia of this lot was the boat ride – due almost entirely to the excellent job they have done at making you feel like you really are floating along a river in the Night Garden itself, I think. The props and sound effects are great and both girls were wide eyed and enjoyed it immensely.
I found Nina’s Science Lab a little disappointing as although the interactive displays and so on were interesting, quite often the displays lacked even a basic amount of explanation for why certain things happened – just instructions to do something without telling you why it worked. I think it would be improved quite a bit just by adding a few simple explanations to each area.
We didn’t visit the Justin’s Pie-O-Matic Factory attraction as Georgie is terrified by loud compressed air sounds, and it was very noisy in there with them. We decided to skip Tree Fu Tom Training Camp as we go to adventure playgrounds all the time and we had rides we wanted to get to.
Most of CBeebies Land’s attractions will be familiar to visitors who have been to Alton Towers fairly often in the past – there has been a lot of rebranding of rides and repurposing to create the new area. Having said that, the children don’t know this and they have done a great job with the CBeebies branding… although I did find the constant CBeebies theme tune music medley to get irritating after a few hours!
I did think it was a shame that there isn’t a “little kids roller coaster” added into the area to make it a bit more exciting for the more adventurous children. As it is the most thrilling ride in the area is the “Get Set Go treetop adventure” ride which was instantly recognisable to us as the old squirrel ride that is deadly slow and gets quite boring by the end. The park used to have a little “Beastie” ride – something like that would be good.
After we had exhausted the entertainment possibilities for Georgie at CBeebies Land we headed to Katanga Canyon where she delightedly went on the Congo River Rapids with her Daddy and we also tag teamed a few times so she could go on the Runaway Mine Train three times.
A sky ride back to the entrance (not strictly necessary but Georgie had been dying to go on it) and then we took the monorail back to the car, after buying the necessary souvenir fridge magnet and a box of donuts. Seriously, Alton Towers donuts are amazing – a must have for every visit to the park. YUM.
Useful information about visiting Alton Towers with small children:
- You can download a pdf of the Parent and Toddler map beforehand to help plan your day – this has more detail about what small children can do than the standard park map. We picked up a physical one of these at the park entrance and found it really useful – they were displayed on the pillars right after the entrance barriers.
- Mr Tumble’s Sensory Garden provides a peaceful getaway amongst the craziness of CBeebies Land to calm excitable children. There is also a large amount of lawn area by the lake just outside the entrance to CBeebies Land which is perfect for running around and picnics.
- Make use of the Monorail to get from the car parks/hotels to and from the entrance. It is a long walk for little legs! The sky ride is useful too and Georgie found both the monorail and sky ride absolutely thrilling in themselves.
- Don’t forget to check out the other areas of the park – there is more to do for young children than just CBeebies land. If we had more time, we would have continued on to the other side of the park for more fun.
More about the CBeebies Magazine Kids Go Free promotion
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of CBeebies Magazine to get two Kids Go Free vouchers! There are different vouchers available for different dates with plenty more to come over the next few issues:
- Issue 411 (Out 13th Aug) has 2 free children’s tickets for Alton Towers Resort (Including CBeebies Land) – Save up to £86.40 (£43.20 per ticket).
- Issue 412 (Out 27th Aug) has 2 free children’s tickets for Warwick Castle – Save up to £39.60 (£19.80 per ticket).
- Issue 413 (Out 10th Sept) has 2 free children’s tickets for Legoland and Legoland Discovery Centre – Save up to £82.80 (£41.40 per ticket).
- Issue 414 (Out 24th Sept) has 2 free children’s tickets for Sealife Centres and Seal sanctuaries – Save up to £39 (£19.50 per ticket).
The magazine itself is great – loads of educational fun is packed in, and sticker fun too, with plenty of your children’s favourite characters from CBeebies. The kids really enjoy the stories and we have bought the magazine as a treat a few times in the past, and will continue to do so.
Wow what a great day!!
I am so, so jealous! Would love to take the kids to Alton Towers and we love CBeebies magazine! Looks like you had such a great day x
That CBeebies party looks fabulous! My daughter would love it! We visited CBeebiesland a while back, and I’d agree with you about it perhaps needing a little rollercoaster, as the rides are very tame, and yes I know it;s for little ones, but my little ones like rollercoasters and more thrill rides!
That looks great! The night garden is so sweet! Is there an age when kids are too old for it? #Tried&Tested
We had a great day out too! You didn’t miss much with the Justin’s House attraction – we HATED it. Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested this week
Ooh looks like a good, fun packed day! 🙂 Would love to go to CBeebies Land, my eldest daughter would love it! Useful information about visiting is great too, good to be prepared! We also love the CBeebies magazine 🙂
Wow! It looks like you had a Fantastic day!!
I am so jealous of this day out – think all 3 of mine would have loved it. I used to LOVE Fun House! Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested
Looks like a fab day, Im glad they have a dedicated area for little ones,makes it a more family friendly place to visit #TriedTested