CBeebies Land - Seven Best Kept Secrets

As the summer is fast approaching most of us will be on the hunt for family days out. Sure there will be playdates and free trips to the local library but if you're anything like us? There will be one big trip we plan for us all to look forward to (and use as a "you won't be going if you keep this up!" bribe). A great place that is not too far from the Midlands is Alton Towers. I have written about CBeebies Land before but this time round I thought I would mention a few of our other secret tips to make your day with tots go a bit smoother (which is always a bonus).

Best Time To Go
If you have a Merlin pass, like we do, it is possible to gain early entrance into the park. This is also possible if you stay at one of the hotels on the site. We got in at 9am and this is PERFECT for smaller children. A few of the bigger rides aren't open so it is really focussed on the little ones. We walk straight onto most of the rides in CBeebies Land which is something we have never done before.

Best Way To Travel
We drove to Alton Towers but you will find that the walk to the park is ridiculously long. And unless you plan to have a buggy with you all day it may be an idea to find a car park close to the monorail. The kids loved going on it and for some reason were convinced it was The Hogwarts Express. Loons.

Best Time To Catch A Show
The Big Fun tent has shows by some of the CBeebies characters all throughout the day. As well as little games that the kids can play whilst they watched. We went straight into the area just before 10am and it was really quiet. We managed to get a bench (which can sometime be impossible) and enjoyed the 'Hey Duggee' show with only a few other children. This meant my pair got to really interact with the stars. And this made me weepy.

Best Place To Meet Characters
In The Big Fun Tent area you are able to meet characters throughout the day. So again it would be an ideal to get in there nice and early so you don't have to queue. My little girl loved meeting Oopsy Daisy whilst my boy? Screamed in her face. Nice.

Best Ride With A Short Queue
Every time we have been to CBeebies Land we have always found that the Num Tums ride has a really short queue. Whilst it's not great for the bigger kids my little boy loved jumping on it in between other rides. It's also right next to the Charlie and Lola house which is a walk in house with a small ball pool area.

Best Place To Eat
I am not sure if they have added new food places to Alton Towers this year, but there was some cracking fodder available in the Mutiny Bay area close to the Sharkbait Reef SEALIFE Centre in the park. We tucked into some gorgeous Asian wraps but could still buy the kids their chips and nuggets. With your Merlin Pass you do get 20% off all food and in the shops so make sure you use it whilst you are there.

Best Rides To Leave Until Last
We ventured away from CBeebies Land this time round and investigated other areas of Alton Towers. My two LOVE wet rides so we made the trek to the Congo River Rapids (which made me scream) and my husband and daughter had the best fun on Battle Galleons. They also went on her first roller coaster. At the age of five I was worried she was too young. But she had an AMAZING time! Sob. They grow up so fast.

Thanks to Merlin pass for allowing us to pop along and review the brilliant Alton Towers theme park. Throughout the summer we plan to visit a lot more of the amazing Merlin attractions including Thorpe Park next week. If you are interested in a family pass then please take a look at Merlin here.

Why not take a look at our weekend here!