Entertaining a toddler can be a full time job. Thinking of new and interesting places to go other than (what used to be) the same parks and soft play on repeat is strenuous sometimes in itself…. Now that things are starting to open up again post-lockdown, we jumped at the chance to finally book a trip to CBeebies Land as a belated birthday celebration (from last years and this years!) for our little Bumble Bee and her bestie.
If you’re considering a trip but not sure what to expect, below I will outline our experiences, key considerations and top tips to help you navigate your visit as smoothly and enjoyably as possible! We had an absolute blast and I can’t wait to plan the next trip but with a few adjustments made in hindsight….
Location & Tickets
The park itself is set inside the grounds of Alton Towers theme park in Uttoxeter, which gives families the flexibility to visit rides that can cater to all levels of thrill seekers, and not just the little ones (thank goodness!) and so is perfect for groups with a range of ages or if you just want to a break from all those yellow CBeebies blobs….🟡😆 Tickets cost from £34 per day per person but under 3’s go free.
Parking & Access
Parking is quite a walk from the entrance, there is the option to get the monorail but queues can be very long so you may want to factor this in when planning your day. A pushchair is helpful for this as those little legs will have a lot of ground to cover throughout the day, although you are able to rent one whilst you’re there (starting from £10 per day) if you find you need it. In terms of timings, it might also be worth noting that when you first reach the road entrance there are two lanes for cars to funnel through to the car park and this alone can take 15 minutes or so. The park and rides open at 10am but if you are a guest staying in any of the park accommodation you have access from 9.30am through a back entrance by the Rollercoaster Restaurant which leads you into the Forbidden Valley, (home of Nemesis) which means if you are heading to CBeebies Land first then you’ll have a fair distance to cover to get there but still potentially a lot quicker than walking to and queueing at the main entrance.
CBeebies Land
CBeebies Land is located near the main entrance, just to the right as you reach the large grassy area which was sometimes manned by a welcoming member of staff to guide the little ones in. Nestled amongst the trees and white picket fence you will find an array of rides and activities themed around some of the most loved CBeebies characters. Not having been to this part of the theme park before I was apprehensive that our 3 year old had possibly surpassed the target age range and was worried it may be aimed at really littles ones, so I was surprised to find that a selection of rides required a minimum height of 0.9m (which she only just tipped!) so thankfully she was able to access everything there, although this is also with an adult, there are separate slightly higher restrictions if they wish to ride alone so you will need to check individual rides for this information.
Top Tip - if your little one is borderline on a particular minimum height requirement then once they have been checked you can ask for a wrist band to show that they have been approved, which saves the hassle of repeatedly having to be queried for every ride. We only found this out on the second day which was so frustrating as we wished we’d known before!
Most of the attractions inside CBeebies Land are suitable for all ages and didn’t require the 0.9m restriction, those that did were the Octonaughts Rollercoaster Adventure - which was very much a traditional rollercoaster and a good introduction to the more thrilling type of rides; the Go Jetters Vroomster Ride which was a flying car style merry go round; the Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop which is a vertical ride that drops you from a height and bounces you up and down.
Top Tip - If you plan to ride the Go Jetters cars, make sure that someone with the ability to pull a lever is sat in the front as this controls the motion… unfortunately we’d put both the kids in the front but didn’t realise that the lever manually made it fly until we noticed all the other cars up above (and ours still inches from the ground just going round and round) and trying to coach a 3 year old mid cycle on how to manipulate it wasn’t an easy feat! It then took a few laps but thankfully she figured it out with enough time to enjoy the remainder of the ride.
Family Friendly Attractions
The rest of the rides and experiences within CBeebies Land are fine for younger children when accompanied by an adult; as much as our daughters a little thrill seeker (more on this below!) she loved the Get Set Go TreeTop Adventure which is a simple carriage ride that overlooking part of CBeebies Land with the fabulous Andy narrating (if you know, you know). This was also one that we had to queue the longest for and after enjoying the first time we did it again on our second day and queued again for around 40 minutes….something to mention is that they had separate accessibility queues for most attractions which they seemed to alternate in admitting which is great you have any additional needs.
We also enjoyed a ride around in Postman Pat’s Van, a leisurely boat ride featuring the In the Night Garden Characters, a walk through Mr Tumble’s Sensory Garden and a show about recycling hosted by Bing. There was range of different performances by different characters at the Big Show arena throughout the day although do be prepared that there is a small canopy for this, so if you are planning to watch on a rainy day (with current social distancing restrictions) you are most likely to be stood outside of this. There is also a Furchesters Show a little further along and a nice play area located at Tree Fu Tom’s Training ground which we most likely would have made use of if the weather had been a bit better.
There are toilets, baby change and feeding facilities found in the far corner but was the only one we know of within Cbeebies Land so be prepared to jog a little if you have a little one that suddenly needs to go and you are on the opposite side.
We were able to fill our first day pretty much exclusively in CBeebies Land, (although we were attending within restrictions that meant the Park closed at 4pm - it is now typically extended to 8pm!) with the exception of an enjoyable cable car ride to the Forbidden Valley which is an excellent way for families to get around the extensive grounds in a fun and interesting way. Once there, we headed over for a ride on Duel (the Haunted House laser gun game) however this proved a little too scary for the little ones, despite being utterly obsessed with all things ‘spooky’ non-stop since last Halloween! She did ask to go on it again and insisted she would be brave but still hid behind her gun the whole way round, doh 🤦🏻♀️
Eating and Drinking
There are plenty of food kiosks and outlets all over the main park, Cbeebies Land has its own Little Explorers Lunch Box serving hot and cold sandwiches, selection of pies and a build your own picnic. However, we made our own packed lunch in advance and made the most of the day by eating whilst queuing which seemed to work for us well, although it did mean we had quite a lot to carry to make sure we had enough for all of us throughout the day. We did enjoy a Costa Coffee to warm us up (hot chocolate for the girls) whilst drenched on the first day which is helpfully located just outside the entrance to Cbeebies Land.
Appropriate Attractions outside of CBeebies Land
On our second day we ventured further afield as we realised there were lots more 0.9m rides for her (and us!) to enjoy and the sun even came out for us too. The highlights were the Runaway Mine Train which she LOVED and hopped straight back on for a second go! The other more ‘grown up’ rides she could access includes:
The Royal Carousel ride in the David Williams Stories themed area which is fantastic for slightly older children (1.2m will get the most out of this)
Heave Ho spinning Pirate Ship ride
Hex (she’s still talking about this now as she is fascinated by spooky things)
The Enterprise (a big wheel that spins upside down, it made us feel very wobbly but she loved this too and hopped on for a second go again, making me doubly as queasy!!)
Top Tip - To assist with navigating the park in general I highly recommend downloading the Alton Towers App in advance of your trip. Gone seem to be the days of giving out paper maps and this wasn’t something I had given any consideration to prior to arriving and then struggled to download it easily once we were there, but it absolutely would have made a huge difference as there surprisingly weren’t many map displays around in the park to help guide you if you get lost. There were sign posts but then you need to know which zone you are heading to, which might not be helpful if you aren’t familiar with them! The App has loads of live information on the rides, estimated queuing times and can also keep track of your location so that it’s easy to find where to go next. The most useful thing to plan which rides you can do is to use the information tab and search ‘height restrictions’ which will direct you to a page listing all of the restrictions and therefore allowing you to easily select any that are appropriate as a basis for your day plan and maximise the precious time you have!
Rainy Day Attractions
It would have been so helpful for us to have thought about this prior to our visit but sadly we didn’t and consequently paid the dripping wet price for it. The following are attractions that would have been best to do whilst the heavens had opened as they are inside or have a canopy to protect you a little!
Sealife Sharkbait Reef - this was all indoors and was a welcome slice of underwater heaven especially when drizzling outside. We loved seeing the larger sharks and the walkthrough experience, it’s great for all ages and there isn’t usually a queue. Bonus!
Hex - if your little ones are brave enough to try it (it’s a little creepy) you will queue outside to begin with but then enter the building and continue inside until the end of the ride.
Cable Cars - obviously not in the same category as the main colourful attractions but is a great opportunity to stay dry and enjoy the experience whilst taking in the views from up high.
Within Cbeebies Land a lot of the rides had a form of canopy to keep you sheltered whilst on the ride but you will still be exposed whilst queuing.
Top Tip - Waterproof trousers were recommended to me by a friend ahead of our visit which I am so grateful for as although I would have taken a waterproof coat for myself but wouldn’t have necessarily thought about when seated on the rides. These can be picked up for a reasonable price from any outdoor activity stores or Amazon and can be folded back up into a small pouch to pack away when not in use, and so are very handy to have just in case! Our little Bumble Bee was in her waterproof, fleece-lined purple Regatta suit and Emu Australia Waterproof Brumby Lo Boots both of which did a fantastic job of keeping her warm and dry all day long. If you do happen to get caught short thankfully you can purchase a very fetching Alton Towers poncho at most kiosks around the park.
Another great thing to know about rainy days at Alton Towers is their Rainy Day Policy; if it rains for an hour continuously in the day of your visit you are entitled to free return tickets! This is such a fantastic idea as there is nothing worse that spending the whole time soaking wet and cussing that if you’d have picked a different day you would have had a whole different experience. However please note that there are exceptions to this and it mainly applies to a single day pass purchased in advance, sadly since we had a two-day pass it didn’t apply to us but great to know for future bookings.
All in all we had a fantastic time, even with the joys of the great British weather! Taking on board the tips I’ve shared here I wouldn’t hesitate in booking it again and am excited for the potential of a visit hopefully in the not too distant future. For us, the journey was several hours to get there and with all costs and logistics in mind, it is definitely something we will do as a special treat going forwards but will certainly be excited for the opportunity as and when we can. Having a two day pass allowed us to make the most of what was on offer and we thoroughly enjoyed the Stargazing Pod accommodation experience which was an economical alternative to staying in the onsite Hotel. If you would like to know more about the Stargazing pods and our experience there then please look out for my next article detailing the particulars and top tips to help make the most of your stay.
In summary;
If you are an accommodation guest you can enter at 9.30am (follow the songs for the Rollercoaster Restaurant when walking from the car park)
Wristbands are freely available if your child is close to the minimum height restriction to save repeated checks, although you may need to ask.
Packing a range of weather appropriate clothing can be invaluable (we needed suncream the second day!) and a packed lunch can save you £££’s as well as time, especially if you eat whilst queuing.
The most important of all, download the App beforehand and make a plan around this, including looking ahead at the height restrictions - which also means you’ll need to have measured your child!
If you have any more specific questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch and I will do my best to assist! Next month we will be taking on Peppa Pig Land and will be putting all of these Top Tips into action!
Thank you for reading and we wish you a fabulous time on your own adventure!
Hannah & Chris x
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