Marvel Universe LIVE – Super Heroes Assemble

Marvel families unite!

For the first time ever, iconic Marvel Super Heroes and villains has been brought to life in a spectacular live action family arena show and we were invited to watch it at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham.

We went from singing and dancing along to Disney On Ice Frozen the day before to whooping and cheering for our favourite superheroes the next day at Marvel Superheroes Live.

It was really like they had stepped out of the silver screen onto the stage. Our favourite Marvel Super Heroes were all there, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and more, as they battle Loki and Marvel’s most sinister villains in a live, action-packed arena performance for the whole family.

The story begins with bang and Thor arriving in style with pyrotechnics and smoke before we are introduced to his evil brother Loki who plans to take over the world. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is bored and phoning all his superhero friends to find out what they are doing.

Marvel Universe Live

The superheroes get wind of Loki’s plans to rule the world with a Cosmic Cube after he kidnaps X-Men Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine,  followed by Nick Fury and they come together to rescue them, piece together their own Cosmic Cube that had been destroyed by Thor and scattered all over the world and defeat him.

Marvel Universe Live

Of course, things don’t always go to plan and some of our favourite baddies had got hold of pieces of the Cosmic Cube, including Green Goblin, Madam Hydra, the Sinister Six, Lizard, Rhino, Red Skull, Electro, Dr Octopus and more.

Marvel Universe Live

It has been hailed as the most technically advanced live show ever, and I can see why with cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial stunts, martial arts, motorcycles and more.

Marvel Universe Live The set includes innovative lighting design, transformative 3D projection, 21 projectors, the largest flying system ever used for a live arena tour which saw characters flying, swinging and appearing from nowhere and the debut of a new Spotlight Tracking System which keeps your focused on the action at all times.

Marvel Universe Live

It was a rip-roaring ride which the kids (and Hubby) adored. If you have a Marvel loving family, or kids that love live action, then this is the show for you.

The tour is heading off to Europe soon, but still has dates in the UK in December and January at Birmingham, Belfast, Manchester and Glasgow, see www.marveluniverselive.com/uk/tours-tickets for tickets.

 

 

 

 

 

A Magical Christmas Day Out at Drayton Manor

Finding a Christmas day out can be a bit of a minefield, especially when you have a large range of ages to keep happy.

We were invited to Drayton Manor, home of Thomas Land, for a magical Christmas experience and we were not disappointed.

This was our first visit to Drayton Manor at Christmas and they had completely transformed Thomas Land into a winter wonderland, complete with snow on the roofs, christmas decorations and characters wandering around to meet and greet the children.

drayton-manor

There was also guaranteed snowfall over the Island of Sodor which the kids were delighted with as we danced along with The Fat Controller and all his Fungineer friends during their show – even Abbey got dragged up to join in.

thomas-land

All the rides in Thomas Land were open and it was so quite we were literally walking onto each one without having to queue which meant the kids never got bored or cold.

Thomas Land

Thomas was decorated with fair lights and cute antlers and the train ride was decorated with Christmas scenes as you travelled from Knapford to Farmer McColl’s Farm.

The larger rides for teens are not open, however you can still visit the zoo, ride on Ben 10 Rollercoaster and experience the Polar Express in the 4D cinema.

Drayton Manor

We were booked in to see Father Christmas at 4pm and were surprised to find no queue at all. We were greeted at the door by a friendly elf who chatted to the children before letting us inside.

drayton-manor

You enter a large room with a stack of real toys in front of you with another elf explains that he has been making and are then ushered into a room to meet Father Christmas. Eagle eyed parents will notice there is more than one room but the kids were so transfixed by the toys that they didn’t notice.

I have to say that although the journey to see Father Christmas was a little uninspiring, the visit itself was fantastic. He engaged with the children, took a genuine interest in what they were saying and chatted to them for around 5 minutes.

drayton-manor-santa

Santa’s gift to them was a white paper bag which contained a golden ticket to return to Drayton Manor next year, a huge (and I mean HUGE) gold chocolate coin and a cuddly elf which they were instructed to look after and place on the window sill of their bedroom on Christmas Eve so he knew where to deliver their presents.

drayton-manor

If you are looking for an experience that lasts the whole day then this is for you. The park closes at 5pm and finishes with a fantastic Christmas parade and show and then fireworks over the lake.

Park entry plus a visit to see Father Christmas costs £12 for age 2-3, £17 for age 4-11 and £22 for age 12+ which is very reasonable considering everything they have on offer – find out more on the website: DraytonManor.co.uk

The Places We Will Go
VertiGO

All New VertiGO at Drayton Manor

Isaac is fast following his Dad and big brothers footsteps in becoming a bit of an adrenalin junkie, so when I told him that we were visiting the new High Ropes attraction at Drayton Manor he was very excited.

We set off from a beautifully sunny Bournemouth on Saturday morning full of excitement about what was to come, until just 15 minutes from Drayton Manor when the heavens literally opened. We feared torrential rain might scupper our plans, but thankfully after waiting the storm out for half an hour or so, the rain stopped and it was time to climb.

VertiGO is situated just down the hill from the theme park’s on-site hotel, and you don’t even need tickets to the park to be able to try it out. From afar the VertiGo High Rope Adventure looks like a giant climbing frame, only one where adults and children can climb safely whilst attached to a special harness. Unlike some high ropes courses there is no clipping on and clipping off making it a seamless experience

After watching a short safety video, those that were climbing were geared up in safety harnesses. Hubby and Isaac were taking the VertiGO challenge whereas Eliza and Sebastian were testing out VertiGO Tots, which allows younger climbers the chance to test their balance and agility on a low-level course. Hubby and Isaac were the first to go.

VertiGo

It is safe to say that Isaac has no fear! There are two levels to VertiGo, a lower and an upper level with various rope challenges and instead of gradually building up to the challenge but doing the lower level first, Isaac was straight up the top. They had 30 minutes to navigate the course at their leisure and they must have tried every single route in that time – no circuit is the same.

VertiGo

The zip wire was the firm favourite of the day though and they headed back to both the high one and low one time and time again.

Whilst the boys raced around the high ropes, it was my job to supervise the little ones on VertiGO Tots. Like Hubby and Isaac they were put in harnesses before being allowed onto the course which puts agility to the test with rope bridges and balance beams. We have done a similar course before at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Eliza was off, zooming around without a care in the world.

Vertigo Tots

In fact Eliza tried to make it more interesting by swinging on the harness which isn’t allowed – I think she would have preferred the bigger course but she didn’t want to do it. Sebastian on the other hand was a little more cautious and demanded I hold his hand as he started off.

VertiGo Tots

The course is designed so that you can pop in and out and help your child as you go by lifting barriers, which is great for more cautious children like Sebby. Once he realised he couldn’t fall, he was off and although not running around like his sister, was happily tackling the rope bridges and walkways. He only lasted about 10 minutes though as he wasn’t keen on wearing the harness.

To do the VertiGo course children must be 1.2m (4ft) or taller to climb without adult supervision and those between 1m and 1.2m must be accompanied by a responsible paying adult and stay within arm’s length at all times. The maximum individual weight for VertiGo is 21 stone (136kg).

For VertiGo Tots children must be aged two and above and no taller than 1.2m (4ft). Participants must have a responsible adult with them.

Entry to VertiGO is not included in the price of an admission ticket to Drayton Manor and I recommend you buy your tickets online before your visit as it costs from £3 for VertiGO tots and from £5 for VertiGO.

Sin Cara

WWE Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham

There are three things that Isaac adores at the moment – WWE, Doctor Who and Ghostbusters.

Sadly Dr Who is off our screens at the moment and we have to wait until July for the new Ghostbusters so there was only thing left for a pre-birthday treat, a trip to see WWE Live when it arrived in Birmingham last weekend.

The WrestleMania Revenge Tour is currently on tour of the UK and includes episodes of both Raw and SmackDown, much to the Hubby and the boys delight.

We arrived in Birmingham in good time so decided to have a bite to eat in Gourmet Burger Kitchen which was pricey but delicious. We were convinced we were sat next to a star of WWE but sadly have no idea who it was apart from the fact he was huge and had a very expensive looking watch!

We have been to WWE before but there has never been anything to do other than eat or shop. This time Isaac got to pose with a WWE Championship Belt and see his photo up on the WWE Kids facebook page and check his height against some cardboard cut outs of his favourite stars.

WWE Birmimgham

The venue was packed and the atmosphere can only be described as lively with adults and children all eager for the action to begin. The first match was between the wrestler we all love to hate Stardust against the king of the spins Cesaro. During the match there were some funny moments with stardust and Cesaro won after the Cesaro Swing!

Stardust Vs Cesaro

Next up was one of Isaac’s favourites – Sin Cara from the Lucha Dragons who was to fight Tyler Breeze. Sin Cara won with a Swanton but Breeze got on the mic saying he wouldn’t leave until he got a victory selfie. It went all dark and then out came Jack Swagger who beat Breeze really quickly with an ankle lock.

Sin Cara

The next match was Kane vs Rusev. I have to admit that this was a match that went on a little too long for our liking with Kane finally winning with a chokeslam.

Kane vs Rusev

Thankfully the next match was much more fun with the WWE Tag Team Championship featuring the brilliant New Day, who made the best entrance of the night complete with a trombone and swagger, versus Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt’s. Their entrance was just as good as the lights went out before the they came in and the whole arena lit up with everyone lifting their phone on high – it was a real spectacle to behold. Of course is was the New Day who won with their double finish!

New Day

A break followed with the chance to stretch the legs and a comfort stop before the second half of the evening commenced with Hubby and the teen’s favourites – the Diva’s. Charlotte who came out with Ric Flair, beat Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch to retain the WWE Women’s Title.

WWE Diva's

The first time we saw WWE Live, Kian really enjoyed the USO Twins and much to his delight they were back tonight versus the Dudley Boys.  The Dudley’s teased by offering tables but sadly they never appeared, despite the crowd shouting “We want Tables” and the Uso’s won after double super kick.

Dudley's vs Uso's

The final match of the night belonged to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Seamus and Roman Reigns. I was really surprised when both men were booed, although Seamus fully deserved it for winding up the Birmingham audience with jibes about being no longer in the Premier League. I have to admit that I like Roman Reigns so was really pleased when he won and I have nothing but admiration for him as instead of heading out of the ring and straight back to his dressing room after his victory, he stopped and signed autographs and posed for selfies with his fans for a really long time. I am just disappointed that we couldn’t get close ourselves.

Seamus vs Reigns

All in all it was a brilliant night out and we are hoping to get to NXT in June at Bournemouth International Centre.

Disclaimer: We were guests of WWE and received a family ticket for the purpose of a review, all thoughts are our own.