Great family day out with something for everyone (Flamingo Land)

Member Name: carlz2001uk

Product:	Flamingo Land
Date:	04/09/09 (167 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Variety of rides for different age groups

Disadvantages: Lack of suitable drinks!!!!!!

I took my 2 children to Flamingo Land on Bank Holiday Monday, with my husband, our neighbours and their little girl. Anticipating rain, queues and bored three year olds, we couldn't have been more wrong. We had an absolutely wonderful day and there was so much to do.

We arrived at Flamingo Land at about 9.30, and was delighted after getting in for free after using my days out tokens which I had redeemed through Tesco. Had I not, it would have cost us £52 just for two adults (3 and under are free). We decided that it would be wise to make our way to the far end of the park and work backwards, and as the rides didn't actually open till 10, we had made the right choice. The first ride we decided to queue for was the latest ride called Mumbo Jumbo which is also a record breaker, as the vertical drop it does actually goes under itself if that makes sense! We only had to queue for 25 minutes for this while the kids went on the frog hopper which is a toddler friendly vertical drop ride (its about 20 foot high!) - with adult supervision I may add! We all took it in turns to have a go on the rides and take the kids on rides they would enjoy, so there was something to please everybody all day long.

The rides available for adults and older children were the Flip Flop, which spins and rotates about 100 foot in the air; Kumali - a looping rollercoaster with an 87 foot full loop travelling at 56 mph (your cheeks literally shake with this one!); Sky Flier - 2 galleons which build up speed carrying you higher and higher and eventually holding you upside down and then spinning 360 degrees (this was the only one that actually turned me a lovely shade of green!); Velocity - super bike racing, which accelerates from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds with 2000metres of hairpin bends and dramatic turns and falls. We managed to go on all of these rides with minimal queuing time (in comparison to Alton Towers where queues are 1 or 2 hours!).

The rides available for the younger children were balloon races, the cycle monorail, Little Monsters House of Mischief, fairground horses, pedaloes, dodgems and many more. There are also rides which even the tiniest of kids can get on such as Frog Hopper, junior coasters, Rockin Tug (sensation of riding a storm - which my 1 year old went on!!!). There is also the water area where there are leaky water towers, water jets, water hopscotch, and trees which tip out water! The kids were stripped off and in their swimsuits within seconds! Once they are finished there are drying pods, where you put a pound in and it blow dries you! Excellent idea!

As the queues were so good, we went on many of the rides a few times, so by the time we got to the Zoo area it was nearly 3 o'clock. We rushed round and still managed to see lions, tapirs, chimpanzees, giraffes and some hippos. We also managed to fit in a sea lion show, which the children adored. The only down side of the day was when I got a little peeved off when the sea lion trainers were asking you to visit their shop to buy things, so the money could go back to buy the fish to feed the sea lions! Hang on a minute, its £82 for a family of four to get in!! I know we got in free, but that's not the point! The other areas available to see were the farm animals sections, the Aviary and Reptiles and Amphibians centre.

Prices:
Adults and children aged 4 and over - £26
Children aged 3 and under - Free
Senior Citizens, Disable Guests and Carers - £11.50
Family Ticket (4 people) - £82

Season ticket for Family of 4 - £300
Season ticket - individual - £90

Food:

Fish and Chips basically! Very nice though. The other niggle I had was the vending machines. We had brought a picnic and lots of drinks but by the late afternoon on a very hot day, we had run out of drinks and the children were getting thirsty. We found a few vending machines and all they sold were fizzy drinks. No water, fruit shoots, etc, and with 2 three year olds and a toddler, we most defiantly didn't want to give them coke, but we had no other alternative. Was a bit miffed by this in a family theme park!

Overall, an absolutely wonderful family day out. If you haven't been - go!

Summary: 5 stars