Days Out Archives - Page 27 of 64

Marvel Universe LIVE – Super Heroes Assemble

December 24, 2016

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Disney On Ice Presents Frozen

December 23, 2016

Last year we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Disney On Ice Worlds of Enchantment at Christmas.

This year we were invited back to the O2 to see the new instalment – Disney On Ice Frozen and it did not disappoint.

The heartwarming Academy Award®-winning tale you love is now a full length production live on ice. It started with the stars of the show coming out in their sports gear to teach us how to do the Olaf dance, before welcoming Mickey and Minnie on stage, who then introduced some of their favourite Disney characters from Nemo to Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel and more.

We were then magically whisked away to wintry Arendelle, where we met a young Sven and Kristoff finding ice before meeting the young Anna and Elsa who introduced us to the story with “Do you want to build a Snowman”.

The story followed Frozen perfectly, with dazzling special effects and astonishing skating as we all sang and danced along to our favourite songs including “Let It Go”, “In Summer” and “Fixer Upper”.

I did wonder how Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and Anna would do the abdominal Snowman scene but a huge, imposing inflatable character came out puffing smoke and following them around the ice.

Now, I love Olaf and his “In Summer” performance but the show stealers for me were the Trolls who helped us discover that true love is the most magical power of all!

This show is an unforgettable celebration of love and friendship left us singing and smiling all the way home.

If you are planning a visit to see Disney On Ice at the O2, there are some things worth noting. We were not allowed to take food and drink inside and had to throw it away at the gates. You are also not permitted to take bags larger than 35cm x 40cm x 19cm so if you have a baby and a changing bag, it would be wise to only take wipes and a couple of nappies.

The merchandise is also very pricey – we paid £22 for Eliza’s wand and there are merchandise stands everywhere you look, so be prepared for the “I want’s”.

That said, we had a wonderful time and cannot wait for the 100 Years of magic show in the Spring.

Disclaimer: We were invited along to see the show for the purpose of a review. All opinions are our own.

Bouncing Fun at Activate Trampoline Park

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I have wanted to visit a trampoline park for ages but our nearest one was Southampton which is a bit of a trek. Earlier this … Read more

All the Magic of Christmas at Weymouth SeaLife Centre

February 9, 2022December 11, 2016

This December we were invited to be guided through Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park’s festive forest by Weymouth’s jolly Elf, Bauble Jinglebell, to meet Father Christmas in his enchanting Christmas Cabin.

Father Christmas has travelled all the way from the North Pole to visit Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park, where he will be residing from now until Christmas Eve, giving each child he meets a special SEA LIFE gift.

After looking around the park and seeing all our favourite sea creatures we found the reindeer stables where we waited to be greeted by Elf, Bauble Jinglebell.

The kids stayed quiet and posed for photo’s for all of a minute before they decided it would be a good idea to have a hay fight.

It didn’t take long for the Elf to arrive and greet us in time for our 3.45pm timeslot and she introduced herself and led us through the magical forest, where she taught us a magic snow dance which made it snow.

Playtime in the snow over, it was time to head inside to the log cabin to see Father Christmas himself, whom I have to admit is the most authentic I have seen in years.

He spoke gently, asked the kids lots questions of questions and made the two older ones believe he really does fly all over the world, teaching them about time zones and where he starts his journey.

They each came away with a small gift, before heading back into the park for some more fishy fun.

As our appointment was late in the day, we arrived at the park at 2pm, expecting to stay longer after we had seen Father Christmas but we were not aware that the park closed at 4pm so we didn’t get to see everything we wanted to, if you want to visit it is worth bearing this in mind.

The kids were all disappointed that Adventure Island and the advertised Christmas Craft Zone were both closed. They had been looking forward to colouring their own Christmas tree decorations and writing their letter to Father Christmas.

If you are feeling peckish after a visit to Father Christmas Festive Fayre is serving up sumptuous hot chocolate and Christmas gingerbread or a warming mulled cider and delicious mince pies. There’s something for everyone – whether you’ve been naughty or nice!

Tickets to see Father Christmas cost £7 per person on top of the entry price (£6 for Merlin Annual Pass holders) and can be booked here: visitsealife.com/weymouth/discover/events/meet-father-christmas-at-sea-life/

WWE Live at the Genting Arena, Birmingham – November 2016

December 4, 2016

Isaac and Kian adore WWE, so when we were offered tickets to go to their latest show in Birmingham we couldn’t turn them down. However, … Read more

A Magical Winter Wonderland with Christmas at Paultons Park

November 26, 2016

We have been going to Winter Wonderland at Paultons Park, home of Peppa Pig World, for a few years now and I will admit that last year we found it a little tired and dated – not that the kids cared.

This year we were invited back to see the changes Paultons Park had made after investing more than half a million pounds into its winter wonderland feature and boy, it has made such a difference.

You are given a specified time to arrive at the Grotto and are greeted by some friendly elves before heading inside for a magical adventure.

Uh Oh!! Rudolph has got tangled up in some twinkling Christmas lights and needs help getting back to the North Pole to help Santa deliver his presents.

We crept past some sleeping polar bears, saw some animatronic animals singing and dancing and bravely journeyed over an icy lake – but hurry before it cracks. Rudolf was there to offer encouragement in getting him home.

Finally we made it to the Toy Factory where Rudolph had decorated his stable in the lights he was tangled up in. We then headed inside to see that the workshop had been brought right up to date with large flat screen televisions showing incoming letters, preparing his journey and even footage of Santa himself reading the letters.

We were then ushered into see the big man himself, where he spoke to Isaac, Eliza and Sebastian by name and had a lovely long chat with them about their behaviour this year and what they wanted for Christmas.

Instead of receiving a present handed out from Santa, we were directed outside to a covered area where we could buy our photo and the kids were presented by age related presents directly from the Toy Factory by the elves. As always the presents were well thought out and good quality.

Outside we got to meet Paultons new characters, Billy the mischievous elf, who took the kids little elves the kids were carrying to get up to some mischief with, as well as Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman.

The only area of Paultons Park that was open was the left hand side which contains Critter Creek, a 4D cinema showing the Christmas adventure film, Sleigh Ride, where Blitzen the reindeer and elf Bobo help Santa and save Christmas and of course the ever popular Peppa Pig World and it was all decorated beautifully with twinkling illuminations, seasonal music and a giant Christmas trees.

I love Peppa Pig World at this time of year as it is really quiet and we barely queued for anything all day. In fact we went on most rides at least twice.

We also really enjoyed the new daily Christmas Shows, one where the kids were read Christmas stories and another one with songs and lots of dancing. Us adults also enjoyed a complimentary hot punch and a seasonal mince pie treat.

We were at Paultons Park from 9.30am until gone 5pm and it was a fun-filled day out that we all enjoyed. Our only disappointment was that the Lost Kingdom was closed as Isaac wanted to go and see the dinosaurs.

For opening times and ticket prices, visit Paultonspark.co.uk, but hurry – timeslots are selling fast.

A Magical Christmas Day Out at Drayton Manor

November 25, 2016

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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