I always have a lot of questions about accommodati I always have a lot of questions about accommodation when we stay anywhere as a family so I thought I’d share this little tour of our room at @windjammerlanding which was a pretty perfect place to stay.

It’s the ‘Ocean View Two Bedroom’ which was like a little house, with an upstairs and downstairs, built into the hillside. Both rooms had outdoor space and their own shower rooms. Such a great option for a family.
A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. We’ve been back a few days now but still miss the heat, the food, the pool, the constant sounds of wildlife and the lovely people. It was such a great holiday and I’m sure we’ll be back one day.
And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is watching her grow and what a wonderful young woman she is becoming. We could not be more proud. Love you Pickle, have a great birthday.
We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in S We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in St Lucia staying at @windjammerlanding and it was just the holiday we needed. Two weeks of sunshine and relaxation in what must be one of the most beautiful islands in the world. 

We can’t wait to go back again in the future. Here’s just a little snippet of our trip.
AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @na AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @national_motor_museum despite the rain! The children loved the Little Beaulieu play area and we loved exploring the National Motor Museum and Top Gear exhibit before having a ride on the monorail! We went on an old open topped bus, explored the Beaulieu Manor House and loved the gardens. 
Beaulieu is always a great day out - whatever the weather. This summer they have a whole ‘Summer of Fun’ planned, with activities most days - parades, bird shows and hundreds of sculptures within the grounds too. If you’re looking for a day out this summer definitely think about heading to Beaulieu.
AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to t AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to their first concert - but it was so much more than just a concert! @abbavoyage is incredible. With CGI ABBA and a live band, it’s like being at an ABBA concert 40 years ago but with modern lighting, effects and sound. ABBA look and sound real, it’s a mind blowing experience.
The set includes all the songs you know and love as well as a few less familiar ones.
You can’t take photos during the show which actually made a refreshing change. A whole arena focused purely on the show and soaking up the moment. It’s definitely something the four of us will always remember.
Now, I’m off to sing Dancing Queen all the way home.
AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdo AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdockyard today. They have a fantastic Ultimate Explorer ticket that lets you visit all the attractions as many times as you like for 12 months - and after a day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard we can see that you need more than one day to really do everything!

We explored HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Exhibition - which is incredible! We also saw where ships are built and restored and spent time in Action Stations where the kids climbed and did an assault course.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is such a fun, educational day out with something for all ages - we can’t wait to go on their harbour tours next time we visit!
AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To cel AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To celebrate #100YearOfARoads National Highways have launched their #ARoadsToSummer competition! It's all about celebrating summer holiday moments, time together, fun in the sun, days out and more.

So why not be in it to win it? To enter, all you have to do is send @nationalhways a DM on here with a photo or video of your favourite holiday moments. You can also comment on their Facebook or Twitter #ARoadsToSummer posts with your holiday photos. I've shared a few of our favourite photos to give you some inspiration.

The best six entries will each win a £500 @nationaltrust holidays voucher! SO what are you waiting for? Dig out your favourite holiday photos or take some new ones to share!

The #ARoadsToSummer competition runs from 24 July to 10 September 2023. Winners will be announced in September 2023.

Good luck!
Oh these two! Every day I feel lucky to have them. Oh these two! Every day I feel lucky to have them. As school draws to a close at lunchtime, I’m looking forward to a whole summer with them. My favourite people.

They’ve both had a great year at school this year. Troy’s first without his sister by his side and Athena’s first at secondary school. 

They both had great reports, always did their best and have made some really lovely new friends this year. I could not be more proud of them.

Now, let’s go and enjoy the next six weeks before school starts all over again!
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Days Out, Days Out and Attractions/Events, Reviews, Surrey · August 10, 2018

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park – and Digi-Pass!

Disclosure: We have been gifted Merlin Annual Passes for the year however all opinions are my own.

When I was a teenager I spent so much time at Thorpe Park. It was somewhere I would go with friends and where Dave and I would go early on in our relationship. It’s always been one of Surrey’s top days out. But, it’s somewhere we hadn’t made it back to in such a long time. So, when we decided to take the children to Thorpe Park for the first time with our Merlin Annual Passes we were excited to see how it had changed since the last time we visited – in 2010!

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

We arrived at Thorpe Park early and found the car park already filling and a pretty big bag check queue. I would suggest, if taking a bag with you, that you get to Thorpe Park before opening time to get through the bag check as quickly as possible. If you don’t have a bag then you get through much quicker.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

Once inside Thorpe Park it was much quieter than we’d expected and we went straight onto Zodiac without having to queue. The children loved that they were thrown straight into the world of Thorpe Park thrill rides and loved Zodiac. It was a great introduction for them.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

The children are 1.1m tall and we did find rides for them to be slightly limited at Thorpe Park. The Rumba Rapids were out of action and the I’m a Celebrity Maze wasn’t really appropriate. But we managed to go on every other ride that they were tall enough for.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

Mr Monkey’s Banana Ride is the kind of ride the children love – a traditional swinging boat ride. This didn’t have a queue either and we could have gone on again and again if we had wanted. Instead, we headed for King Pig’s Wild Hog Dodgems which was such a fast ride that the children loved – you can’t really beat dodgems!

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

We were then just in time for the Angry Birds 4D experience which was a really nice movie with all the 4D effects we have come to know and love at Merlin parks. It was a great way to sit down and relax for fifteen minutes, having a break from the buzz of the park and doing something different.

After the 4D experience we found ourselves in a nice, quiet area of the park with smaller rides that LP and Little Man could go on by themselves – Timber Tug Boat, Lumber Jump and the Rocky Express. These were nice, small rides without any queues and that LP and Little Man were really happy to go on – and would have happily gone on again and again.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!
Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

It was then lunchtime so we joined the queue for Storm Surge and ate our picnic as we queued. Storm Surge is a completely new ride to us – we had no experience of it – but as the biggest ride that the children were allowed on we felt we should queue for it. After 90 minutes we got on the ride and had a great time, going up a huge ramp in an inflatable round boat and then going down a giant, curvy water slide. The only thing that was missing was a big splash at the end – and because of that I don’t think I would spend that long queueing in future.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

By this point the children were keen to go to the beach – as they had never seen a beach at a theme park before. So we found a spot on Amity Beach, changed the kids into their swimmers and off they went. It was a great place to spend an hour and the children loved splashing, playing in the sand and going on the water slides – which they could do by themselves too.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!
Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

The last ride of the day was the Flying Fish – a little roller coasted where we got to use our Digi Pass for the first time. At the moment Merlin are giving away a free Digi Pass with every Merlin Annual Pass – which is a great offer and gives us even more memories to take away from great days out. Sadly, Flying Fish was the only Digi Pass ride the children could go on during our day out so we saved it until last and loved it!

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

We loved taking the children to Thorpe Park. It has changed massively in the last ten years and is definitely more thrill rides than family ones – but the children loved the rides they could go on and are already asking to go again. I think for us, 1.2m would be the perfect height to go to Thorpe Park  purely to add a couple more rides into the mix so we’ll wait for LP and Little Man to grow very slightly before going again.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

Thorpe Park has really added to our summer of adventures and we are already planning our next Merlin Annual Pass trip – especially now that we have a Digi Pass to make the most of too. Make sure you make the most of Merlin’s Free Digi Pass Offer before it finishes on 1st September.

Our first Family Visit to Thorpe Park - and Digi-Pass!

In: Days Out, Days Out and Attractions/Events, Reviews, Surrey

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Comments

  1. Vicki says

    August 10, 2018 at 7:17 am

    We used to go loads when we lived in Walton on Thames and Woking. Hopefully will get to chessington next year

    Reply
  2. Sam | North East Family Fun Travel Blog says

    August 10, 2018 at 10:08 am

    We’re going to buy an annual pass next Jan in the sale and I’ve been humming and harring about Thorpe Park as it is so far away BUT we could easily tie it with a few other attractions in the area and I love that you say it’s great for 120cm + as that will be perfect for us x

    Reply
    • Donna Wishart says

      August 10, 2018 at 10:23 am

      There are a handful of 140+ rides but they are all SCARY. I’m not sure I’d let the children on them even if they were over 140cm until they were about 16! x

      Reply
  3. Emma says

    August 10, 2018 at 12:25 pm

    We absolutely love our Merlin Annual Passes. Despite Thorpe Park not really being aimed at families anymore, on a sunny day our kids love visiting. They do all the rides they are tall enough for and then we spend the afternoon on the beach there

    Reply

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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