OFF TO BUTLINS - Minhead! Any advice on what to do and see!!!

[pinkrangerstartstowaddle]

Thats it really, Havent been to `a butlins since i was a kid and really looking forward to it! any tips from you would be great!
My ds will be 4.6!
TIA

[RGPargy]

Haven't been for years myself either! Just enjoy yourself and try not to let your DS bribe you into buying every single flashy light-up thing going.

[pinkrangerstartstowaddle]

he is good at that!!! Very excited i will be 33 weeks Pg and will be the only break we get between now and D Day and also dh is they to deal with ds!!!

[Skribble]

Why not visit a pound shop before you go and get a supply of cheap light up and other novelty items, keep them hidden and you can produce them when needed saves paying extortionate prices. Thats my top tip for Going to Disney shows too.

[pinkrangerstartstowaddle]

Good idea !

[stargate]

avoid porlock hill unless you've got a good gear box!

lynton and lynmouth are nice but they are separated by a 1:5 hill. try parking at the bottom (you'll need to arrive early or late afternoon to park), theres a water cable car thing that runs up the side of the cliff to get between the two towns. You can also go rockpool fishing for crabs which dd(1) enjoyed.

as for butlins - take cleaning stuff - we had to clean our chalet when we arrived! take your own mugs too - they have silly little cups. if you've paid for the food - arrive early, theres always queues.

good luck we went when i was 30 weeks with dd2 and dd1 was 2.2 - it was full on exhaustion

[pinkrangerstartstowaddle]

Thank you stargate - hate drinking out of small cups so will pack my mugs! And bottle of flash!!!

[dustystar]

Tropiquaria is good. It looks like an old warehouse from the outside but inside there is plenty to do for that age group.

[dustystar]

Look here

[lillypie]

the steam railway at minehead is a nice way to spend a day.you can get off and on along the way.maybe visit dunster castle

[Leslaki]

Ha! Stargate, I had my cleaning wipes with me too!!! It was grubby and I had to wash all plates, cutlery etc too!!! Yuck!!! Minehead was greta for the kids - be prepared to live in Bob's building yard!! They also have a kids club room and Bob n Wendy etc make appearances, mine made biscuits with Wendy one day which they loved. Get in early for good seats at the Bob show if ds won't sit at the front without you. Otherwise all the front seats are taken up by adults (whose kids are sitting on the floor at the front)and thesmaller kids can't see!!
If ds gets up early head down the beach as it's just across the road and it's lovely. We had it to ourselves every morning. Then at about 9ish the soft pay opened so we did that after the beach b4 Bob n co opened about 10. There is a Tesco round the corner which is much cheaper than the Butlins shop. We ate out a couple of times but I wouldn't bother again - Pizza Hut was the only decentish place and it's not my favourite place normally!
In the evenings we tended to do the mini disco etc (ds loved the pantomime too - in May!!!) then back to the apartment to avoid the redcoat show. Kids were exhausted anyway.

They do puppet shows in the Skyline too which were on around lunchtime. I used to make up a wee packed lunch and the kids would eat that while watching the show.

Pool is great but busy so try and go on leaving/arriving days as most people are going or coming and tend not to use the pool that day. Otherwise earlier or later tends to be quieter.

There are so many free rides avoid the ones you need to pay for as they cost a fortune!!

Have fun!

[Skribble]

Agree make sure you take washing up liquid and anti-bac wipes. Cleaners can do a half decent job, but you are relying on the last residents washing the dishes properly before putting them away, cleaners don't have time to pull out and wash all the dishes again in hundreds of chalets and caravans.

[isaidno]

I'm going on Friday!!

Woo hoo!

We went last year and it was great!

I'd just like to say that the apartment was clean ; everyone seems to think you are going to be slumming it and unless you have a compulsive cleaning disorder you will be fine. You have to appreciate that thousands of people use those chalets so things are not brand new and pristine.

Top tip re swimming - if you have under 5's you can go in the pool between 9 and 10 am for parent and toddler sessions where only the small pool is open. We used to go about 9;30am - then at 10 when the big pool opened we would stay in thus avoiding the big queues1

[pinkrangerstartstowaddle]

Well thank you all - got back on friday and had a fab time, our apartment was really clean but did it give the once over aswell!!!
We never left the resort as there was so much to do! I came back absoulty Knacked!!!!!!!!!!!