Our Chopsy Baby Butlins Diary
Sit down with the diary guide you are issued when you check in. Plan what you want to do because there is so much going on and it is easy to miss something really good. If you are a first timer it can be easy to become overwhelmed with so much going on, until you finally tune into Butlins time.
Friday
4.30: Arrived
We were really impressed when we first arrived. We were greeted warmly and enthusiastically by what looked like the cast of Fame. They insisted that the driver park up, take a break, have a rest and a cup of tea.
6.00: Puppet Show
When we first entered the Skyline pavilion we were blown away by the colour, sounds and general bustle. It took a while to become used to the setting. We watched the puppet show which was impressive, though we found the music a little loud. It took a little while to succumb to joy from the happy, bouncing Redcoats but eventually we were broken down.
Saturday
9.00 – 11.30 Swimming in the Splash Waterworld Pool
Nearly two hours of swimming in the Splash pool. The kids loved it with three different pools and loads of water features, rafting and flumes. One adult in the group wept like a child after coming down the slow and gentle flume and was laughed at by some tiny tots.
1.00: Little Magic Train
We were really impressed with this; it was so simple but really captured the children’s imaginations. The children went on a magical imaginative journey on a train.
1.00: Circus School
While the toddlers were on the Magic Train, Emily enjoyed a lesson in circus skills. She learnt how to plate spin and use the Diablo.
1.30: Bob the Builder’s Yard
What a fantastic area for younger ones. They had fun on the fairground rides for tots and a fantastic little train for parents and children. The staff here are great and stopped the rides if little children began to get distressed and wanted to get off.
2.00: Animal Adventures in the Zone
Superb! We got to handle spiders, snakes, rats and hedgehogs. It was great for everyone. The zookeeper kept it entertaining for the adults and the children. He was very funny.
2.00: Well deserved coffee in the Sun and Moon Pub
A fantastic, family friendly pub with great staff and competitively priced food and drink. They even have disposable baby bibs and really push their healthy food options with reward incentives.
3.30: Fireman Sam Photo Shoot
It was exciting for the children to meet the characters and get their photograph taken. There is a charge for this but it’s a nice sized photo in the character’s frame.
4.00: Fairground Rides
Outside there is fairground rides for older children and adults. You can go on them as many times as you like and we never had to queue at all. We were quite frankly terrified by the Para glider and settled on the merry-go-round with the kids instead. We won a huge Pingu.
5.00: Hiring a Free DVD
We had a DVD player in our apartment and had free DVD hire. We got out a film for the kids to watch as we cooked dinner. This was really helpful as it settled the kids whilst food was prepared.
7.00: The Skyline Pavilion
Off for a play in the arcade machines and children’s rides housed in the Skyline pavilion. You will find all the arcade favourites; rides for the children, bowling ally and a huge soft play area. We loved Brum the ride on car and the two-penny falls machine. We were all strangely impressed with the carpet designed as grass and decking. The pavilion looked fantastic from the outside when lit up at night. We all affectionately called it the cow udders.
8.00: Watching the Circus Show with the Skyline Gang
A fantastic circus show with an all singing all dancing cast. We had table service from the bar and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Again we did find the volume very loud and thought it could go down a bit.
9.30: Back to Bed
A long day and late night for the kids, but this only happens on holiday. The entertainment carries on into the night for those that still have the energy and the inclination.
Sunday
8.00: Walks on Minehead Beach with the Kids
There was no rest for the parents as all the children were up at the crack of dawn. We took them for a long run on the beach to try and wear them out.
9.55: Reception
Being helped at reception by the friendly staff after it was discovered some halfwit editor in our group had lost the door key.
10.00: Early Morning Wake Up and Go With Pingu
We had two big Pingu fans with us who loved the story time. It was the Red Coat’s first time reading the story but he was great. The story may have been a tad long for its target audience who seemed more intent on taking a hands on meet and greet approach with Pingu!
11 – 12: Back to Bob the Builder’s Yard and More Free Fairground Rides
12.00: Lunch at the Sun and Moon Pub
It was busy but not crowded for the lunchtime carvery, a well-priced, huge Sunday roast.
1.30: Emily and Mat went to Cartoon Network Show
Packed full of cartoon characters that drove the adults mad, but the kids loved it.
1.30: A trip to Minehead and a visit to the steam trains for the choo choo mad toddlers
We went to Minehead station for some quiet time out. This beautiful station is kept manned by a group of volunteers, and there are steam train rides from Minehead to Bishops Lydiard.
3.00: Watching Titan the Giant Robot
This giant Titan Robot performed to a crowd of impressed onlookers. It looked amazing.
3.30: Pingu Photo Shoot
The toddlers enjoyed meeting TV favourite Pingu, who is more fondly called Mac-Mac. We had out photograph taken.
4.00: Walk Around the Gift Shops
There’s nothing quite like a walk round a gift shop. We ended up buying the usual suspect postcards and a fridge magnet for Sid’s collection.
5.00: Dinner
There is always plenty going on in the evening so having dinner early and out of the way is a good idea.
7.30: The Basil Brush Show
This was really entertaining for all age groups. There wasn’t a person there who didn’t know who Basil Brush was, and youngster Megan was impressed to see her daddy’s set design on stage. The Centre Stage was a really big venue with plenty of chairs, tables and pushchair room. Surely this must be the future for theatre with toddlers. Alcohol, pram space, a table and no rules on having to keep them quiet!
9.30: Bed
There was so much going on that we missed things had planned to see. We were gutted to miss the magician with Illusions Revealed. We missed the Angelina Ballerina dance class as it clashed with Basil Brush. We wanted to go swimming more and would have liked drop in sessions for art and craft, even if it was just a bit of paper and crayons for toddlers.
Three nights at Butlins goes very, very quickly so you may find a four night deal better if you have a very active family and lots of energy.