For Amelia’s birthday this year, we went away to Butlins in Minehead with my mother and father in law. We had such a busy, fun-filled week – the girls were so tired at the end of each day – and so were we! Here are 5 things we loved about our Butlins holiday and why we are planning to go again!
The Skyline Pavillion (the main tent)
The Skyline Pavillion is like a second home while you’re at Butlins. The huge tent is where you can find everything – restaurants, bars, the arcade, centre stage, shops and more!
We spent many hours in the Skyline Pavillion. The girls loved going on the all of the little rides and playing games in the arcade.
They even had their faces painted too!
Meeting Characters
I was a little worried about how the girls would react to meeting the characters at Butlins. Amelia used to get upset when she saw any mascots as they’re so big. Luckily they loved it!
On Amelia’s birthday, they were lucky enough to meet Mr Potatohead!
Despite the very long queue, they also had some hugs and photos with the Teletubbies too.
The photoshoots are so well organised. I thought the children would very much be rushed into place, a photo snapped and off they go – but it’s actually a bit more relaxed than that. They don’t mind too much if you take your own photos too, which is great as I’d misplaced the ticket to get the printed photo of the girls with the Teletubbies – luckily I’d taken a few on my phone though.
Puppet Show
We weren’t sure at first about visiting Puppet Castle in the Skyline Pavillion. Purely because the area for the puppet show was quite small – but in an open area too, if that makes sense.
We didn’t quite manage to get there in time for the start of the show, but what we did see – Lilly loved! Lilly even joined in with the “oh no she didn’t – oh yes she did” type parts – it reminded me so much of seeing Punch and Judy at the seaside as a child!
Storytime
“Oh grandma, what big teeth you have!” On the day we chose, storytime was all about Little Red Riding Hood. The story was narrated by one of the Butlins Redcoats and acted out by Billy and Bonnie the Bear and a Redcoat too. The whole experience was engaging from start to finish – even for the adults too! Sitting with the girls who enjoy listening to stories was magical. They were hooked on each word!
Tots Funfair and Soft Play
Amelia was pretty tired during our the whole of our stay at Butlins, so the day we found the tots funfair and soft play, she wasn’t too interested. Lilly however, there was no stopping her!
Seeing my nearly 3 year old brave her very first “fairground” ride, all by herself was such an emotional rollercoaster – no pun intended! Off she went on this, what seemed to be huge compared to her, car, through the tunnel and she eventually came out the other side to wave hello to us! My mind was racing thinking she’d somehow got out of the car and would be lost in the tunnel.
Amelia started to perk up after a little while and they enjoyed the teacups together. We then headed over to the soft play area.
Soft Play
The soft play area was ok – having never been to soft play before, I didn’t have any expectations. Off Lilly went, completely bypassing the toddler area and she headed up to the top. Now, adults were allowed in, but only on the ground floor – all we could do was watch our tiny dot of a Lilly, trying to go down the slide and happily wander around, unable to hear us calling her! Thankfully, after a while, Amelia went in to get her – such a relief! I feel the “no adults” rule, should have the exception when it comes to younger children being in the wrong section – my mind is still racing about what would’ve happened if Lilly did go down the slide by herself.
We had such a great time at Butlins in Minehead – we’re excited to go again! On top of these 5 things we loved about our Butlins holiday, there is so much more to do too! The Skyline Pavillion is home to arcades, eateries, toy shops, live shows and the tots disco. Outside, there are also so many other activities like golf, bike hire, play areas, the fairground and more!
Also, something to squeeze in, in between the shows, is a visit to the seafront – a family holiday would almost be incomplete without a visit to the beach – right?! The girls loved building sandcastles with their Nanna and Pops!
We can’t wait to head back to Butlins!
*please note: I have not collaborated with or been compensated by Butlins to share this post.