Dino Kingdom, Manchester Review

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Disclosure - We were gifted tickets for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own unless stated.  

Dino Kingdom is an epic prehistoric exploration from the creators of the award-winning Lightopia Festival. Dino Kingdom lands in Manchester this Summer until the 15th August. It will then head to Nottinghamshire from 15th– 31st October.

What To Expect At Dino Kingdom, Manchester M23 1DW

Dino Kingdom is located at Wythenshawe Park, Altrincham. Until the 15th of August you can pre book 3 hour slots for what is to be Manchester's biggest outdoor Summer adventure. 

Step back in time and explore roaring and moving Dinosaurs and state-of-the-art 3D and AR technology. Immerse yourself in unforgettable interactive activities and enjoy a range of thrilling fairground rides, delicious food and drink and much more.

Dino Kingdom is dinosaurs like you’ve never seen them before…

On arrival you are guided to a separate car park for Dino Kingdom guests. Car parking costs just £3 and allows you to park for 3 hours. Once parked you follow the signposts to the Dino Kingdom entrance. It's quite a walk from the car park to main entrance and the ground is mainly gritty however there was an alternative route for those in wheelchairs. 

Once our tickets had been scanned we were shown inside and greeted by a huge T-Rex. Lots of people queued for their first photo with the dinosaur. There was no queuing system although everyone took turns and didn't hang around too long so the next person could get their photo.

After the initial T-Rex at the entrance the dinosaurs were dotted around the enclosed part of the park and getting up close wasn't a problem as they were huge. 

The dinosaurs each had their own rope around their space and it's encouraged that you don't touch the dinosaurs however the little ones visiting did find it hard to resist. 

Each dinosaur moves and has sound and comes with its own facts board. The boards confirm the dinosaurs name, where they lived and how long ago. It was really interesting finding out some of the names and I hadn't realised there were so many different types of dinosaur.

There were interactive features along the way including a personal favourite of ours. We were given a colouring in sheet of a dinosaur and we used the provided highlighters and pens to colour him in. We gave our dinosaur a name and wrote it in black pen on his legs as instructed. We then went in to a tent were the lady scanned our dinosaur and within seconds he was brought to life and projected on to a big screen, walking around. 

There was another tent that projected 'what was inside a dinosaur' onto a huge dinosaur figure. The short video only last 3 minutes however some of the younger audience got bored as there was no sound and it was very hot inside the tent. 

There are lots of food options around the park including a smoke house serving burger and chips, a german kiosk serving sausages and other options such as  Chinese noodles and greek wraps. You can also purchase waffles, cakes, sweets and other treats within the funfair area. There are a few picnic tables in the main food area however there are not enough for everyone to take a seat but you should be able to find space on the grass. 

There are toilets located at the car park before you head in to Dino Kingdom. There are portable cubicles and on the day we visited only 1 out of 6 was in working order. There are also toilets with in the Dino Kingdom enclosure. I saw two lots, one near the food area and some located in the funfair area.

There are a small selection of rides at Dino Kingdom however these are not included in your entry ticket. The rides on average cost £3 per person. You pay at the individual rides, there is no need for tokens or tickets. 

As mentioned earlier the car park ticket is valid for 3 hours. We needed more than this. The walk to and from the actual Dino Kingdom enclosure took us a while as the boys ran off to explore in the woods and play areas. Also if you want to make sure you see all the dinosaurs, join in with the activities, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the rides 3 hours just wasn't enough. We did over run so I'm not quite sure how strict the 3 hour time limit is. 

There are a range of ticket options available. 

Adult Tickets (aged 16-65) £15.00

Child Ticket (aged 3-15) £13.00

Child Ticket (0-2) FREE

Family Ticket £54.00

Concession £14.00

Fee and tax will be added on to the total. 

Opening is daily between 10am-7pm with last entry at 5pm

We really enjoyed our day at Dino Kingdom. The weather was sunny and dry so not sure how I would have felt if it had been raining and the ground was soft and muddy. There is plenty to do and as I said 3 hours didn't feel like enough time. It is a must for dino fans as the dinosaurs themselves were huge and felt so real. 

To pre book your tickets or find out more visit Dino Kingdom

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Michelle

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Big Little Tent Festival This Easter | AD

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Disclosure - This is a paid collaboration with The Little Big Tent Festival 

The clocks have sprung forward so the nights are getting lighter and for us that means more time in our garden. We spent so much time in our garden last year due to being in lockdown and staying at home. The weather was kind to us and we had lots of fun playing garden games, playing in the pool and also making tents and camping outside. 

While we were safe at home last year we were introduced to the Big Little Tent Festival. The Caravan Club created the idea of Big Little Tent Festival during lockdown. It was an idea that meant we could still enjoy all the fun of the great outdoors but from our own home. 

Big Little Tent Festival is back again this year and is taking place over the Easter weekend which falls on the 3rd and 4th April. Restrictions in the UK are still in place so this is the perfect way to get outdoors, pitch a tent, and enjoy nature all from your own garden. 

There are lots of festival fun and activities to join in with across the weekend including a Zoom party to meet The Mermaid Princess and The Friendly Neighbourhood Hero for games, superhero training, and a campfire song! You can take part in their facebook love children's quiz, enjoy bushcraft and so much more. 

You’ll find all the information you need on their Facebook page - Big Little Tent Festival

To get you in the festival and camping mood the Caravan Club have created a free downloadable pack which contains everything your and your family will need for a home camping festival experience. 

Create your own festival wristbands. Use the wristband templates in the pack to make them as colourful as you like. 

Decorate your garden or home with The Big Little Tent festival colour your own bunting. 

Create a To Do list. Everything you need to make the festival fun.

Whether you're camping indoors or outside there is a packing list perfect for you. 

Lots of fun activities for the kids to enjoy, word search, garden bingo, spot the difference and much more, 

When you download the pack you will be entered in to a draw for a chance to win with Raleigh. Raleigh are offering the chance to win one of two amazing bikes. 

Raleigh's Pop and Molli children's bikes are worth up to £350 each. Perfect for exploring the great outdoors and getting some exercise too. 

Make sure you join in with The Big Little Tent Festival Twitter party on Wednesday 31st March between 7-8pm to find out lots more about the Caravan Club and The Big Little Tent Festival. There will be chances to win prizes too. Make sure you follow @BigLittleTent and use the hashtag #BLTF21 in your tweets. 

Not matter whether you have a tent or have to improvise, camp indoors or out, the Little Big Tent Festival is fun for all and the perfect way to spend an Easter Weekend

Michelle

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Buyagift - The Perfect Present | Review

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Disclosure - We received a Buyagift experience in return for a feature on our blog. The idea for this post was my own as is all thoughts, opinions and photographs. This post contains affiliate links.

We are those people that when it comes to birthdays or Christmas we never want anything. We really struggle to think of something and in the end we usually ask for a voucher. Over the past few years we have asked experiences vouchers such as Buyagift and for people like us it really is the perfect present. We have selected some of  our favourite experiences that we have enjoyed so far using Buyagift.

Theme Parks

If you know us then you will know that we are quite the thrill seekers and are usually head to theme park at least once a month. This Summer we headed to Drayton Manor which was perfect for both big and little J.

As there is an 11 year age gap it can be tricky sometimes to find somewhere that is suitable for both their age ranges however Drayton Manor had something for everyone.

The park has lots of thrill rides suitable for big J including Shockwave and Maelstrom and little J loved Thomas Land which has lots of rides based around the popular character Thomas The Tank Engine.

The theme park also has a 15 acre zoo which was fun for all of us and a 4D cinema too.

Our voucher included two adults and two children with lunch to Drayton Manor Theme Park

Dining Out

On a recent day out to Southport, John and I ended our day with a trip to Prezzo. Using our voucher was easy we just made a reservation online and we were sent a redemption code to hand to the waiter when we had finished.

On arrival we were handed the Buyagift set menu which has so much to choose from. John started with the Garlic Bread with Mozzarella and I had the Tomato Bruschetta.

For our mains we both went for Spaghetti Bolognese. I assumed as this was a Buyagift menu that the portion size may be smaller but it wasn't.

We both saved some room for desserts. I went for Honey Smash Cheesecake whilst John chose his favourite Tiramisu.

The voucher was for a Three Course Meal With Wine For Two at Prezzo

Days Out

We like to go to London at least once a year to visit the London tourist attractions. One of our favourite attractions is viewing the London Skyline from The Shard.

Once at the top of The Shard you can get a great view of St Pauls Cathedral, The River Thames, The London Eye and if you look closely you can also spot Wembley too.

There was no need to book beforehand for this experience and the voucher we used was View From the Shard - Two Adults and Two Children

Adventure

I managed to keep my feet firmly on the ground for this experience however I did enjoy watching both John and big J making their way through the trees on Go Ape.

Go Ape is a tree top high ropes adventure that has you climbing across obstacles and rope ladders through the trees.

Once they had finished their course they used a zip wire to fly head back to the ground.

This experience was really fun for them both and we did enjoy watching them as they challenged themselves to reach the end. The experience we used was a Tree Top Adventure at Go Ape

These are just a few of our favourite experiences we have done so far but our list is huge and we still have so many more we want to do. There are so many experiences to choose from with Buyagift and if you are unsure on a what experience to choose you can always buy a Smartbox which gives you 1000's of experiences to choose from. If you don't like your chosen experience Buyagift offers free exchanges and once you pick your new experience you can have your voucher sent direct to your email.

For more experience ideas you can visit Buyagift

Michelle

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Disney On Ice 100 Years of Magic

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Disclosure - This is a preview post for Disney On Ice 100 Years of Magic. I will be receiving tickets to see the show this year and will post a review shortly after.

It may be obvious from our blog and socials that we are huge fans of Disney. We have been very lucky to see Disney on Ice in Manchester quite a few times now and I am so exited that it is returning this year with Disney On Ice - 100 Years of Magic.

Featuring a cast of over 50 unforgettable Disney characters, Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic will be skating in to an arena near you from September 2019.

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy will be there as well as many of the Disney Princesses including Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Snow White and Tiana.

Relive the magic of Disney’s Frozen with Anna, Elsa and the hilarious snowman Olaf as they discover that true love is the greatest magic of all.

Sing-along to over 30 unforgettable songs including favourites like “Let It Go”, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, and “Hakuna Matata”.

Be thrilled by exciting moments from Disney’s The Lion King, Disney Pixar’s Toy Story, Finding Dory, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and more, leaving your whole family captivated with memories that will last them a lifetime.

This skating spectacular is truly a century of Disney Magic, and it was all started by a Mouse!

The show dates are

Intu Braehead, Glasgow 20st-29th September 2019

Utilita Arena, Newcastle 2nd-6th October 2019

Manchester Arena, Manchester 9th-13th October 2019

Arena Birmingham, Birmingham 16th-20th October 2019

Westpoint Exeter, Exeter 23rd-27th October 2019

TECA, Aberdeen 31st-3rd November 2019

Flydsa Arena, Sheffield 6th-10th November 2019

The SSE Arena, Wembley 13th-17th November 2019

The O2, London 26th December-5th January 2020

You can find out more about the show and also book tickets by visiting Disney On Ice

Michelle

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Italian Gathering Menu At Prezzo

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Disclosure - We were gifted a voucher to cover the cost of the Italian Gathering Menu. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

Last week we wear invited to Prezzo restaurant to sample their Italian Gathering menu. We have visited Prezzo many times in the past but it's always nice to try out new menus. We headed to Prezzo  in Media City, Manchester before a trip to the theatre. It was a glorious night but we decided to sit inside even though there were tables outside overlooking the green.

On arrival we were given a main menu and also the Italian Gathering menu which has a choice of starters, mains and desserts.

John decided to start with the cheesy garlic bread and I went for tomato brushetta. For mains John chose the Spaghetti Bolognese and I chose the light chicken pizza. Included in the set menu is a choice of drinks, house wine, Peroni beer or a soft drink. John went for a Peroni and I got a Pepsi Max

We didn't wait long for our drinks to arrive. When they did our order was wrong, however it was rectified very quickly.

Our starters arrive a few minutes later and I was pleased to see a full portion, even though it was on a special menu. Sometimes in other restaurants when we have ordered from set menus the portion size seems smaller however this wasn't the case at Prezzo.

I didn’t taste the garlic bread although it smelt delicious. My tomato bruschetta was very tasty and like I said earlier, a decent portion size.

Whenever we go for an Italian John always orders Spaghetti Bolognese it's his favourite dish and he wasn't disappointed. The bowl was huge but he still managed to finish it is all. My pizza was chicken and broccoli, it was smaller than a normal size pizza, however I knew this at the time of ordering, it is a lighter choice.

The Italian Gathering menu is two courses plus a choice of drink for £16 95. You can add a desert for an extra £3.

If you choose to add mozzarella to your starter you will be charged an extra £1.

I will definitely be dining at Prezzo again in the near future and hopefully the Italian Gathering menu will still be available. It's really good value for money.

Michelle

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The Night I Missed The Spice Girls Concert

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This is not the post I was expecting to write today but the reality is, it is the only one I can. Tonight we had tickets to see The Spice Girls 2019 Concert but unfortunately due to John being very ill we were unable to go. Last November I spent almost 2 hours on the phone and online trying to secure tickets for their tour and luckily I managed to finally get through and order a pair of VIP tickets.

At the time the VIP tickets were the only ones available and were almost £250 each. I couldn't really justify spending that much money on a pair concert tickets to see The Spice Girls but John told me to go ahead and book them anyway because he knows just how much I love them.

My love for the Spice Girls all began when I saw a clip of Wannabe on the TV, after watching it for about 30 seconds I was hooked. I was 16 at the time and everything after that moment became all about Girl Power. I would dress like them, sing like them and pretend to be them. It sounds a bit sad now but for those couple of years I was in a Spice bubble as was all of my friends.

Everyone had a favourite Spice Girl, mine was Geri. The day she left the Spice Girls I was heartbroken. I had just turned 18 and was working part time and I felt like my world was crashing down. I had to stay off work for two weeks which sounds ridiculous but it's true.

I continued to follow the Spice Girls and then their solo careers and when they left the music scene I was heartbroken. I continued to play their songs and prayed that one day they would make a return.

All my wishes came true in 2007 when they announced they were doing a tour. The concert sold out in minutes but luckily I managed to get tickets and it was the best night. I loved every second.

Obviously I have missed this tour and I am devastated but the power of social media has meant that I have followed along watching those who have been to the concerts. I did insure our tickets so I am hoping that we will get a refund and not all is lost, obviously I would have preferred to see the girls. I have never claimed on ticket insurance before so not sure what to expect, fingers crossed it all works out.

I really wanted this post to be full of photos I had took and photos of my VIP Merchandise but unfortunately it just wasn't meant to be.

Michelle

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Days Out | The Very Hungry Caterpillar Live

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Disclosure - We were gifted tickets to the show for the purpose of this post. Thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own.  

A few weeks ago we took little J to the theatre for the first time to see The Twirlywoos live. He loved it so much so last weekend we headed back to The Theatre Royale to see The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show. 

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Days Out | Twirlywoos Live at St Helens Theatre Royal

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Disclosure - We were gifted tickets for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

It's been a few years now since we first became fans of the TV show Twirlywoos. In that time we have watched all the episodes, collected the Twirlywoo teddies and played with The Big Red Boat and last weekend we got to see the Twirlywoos Live at St Helens Theatre Royal.

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Christmas 2018 | The Lanterns at Chester Zoo

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On Sunday we headed over to Chester to experience The Lanterns at Chester Zoo. We have never been before but some of the family went last year and loved it so they booked for us all to go this year. I had no idea what to expect so I was really surprised when we got there to see lots of animals made out of lights.

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Christmas 2018 | Tea With Santa At Dobbies

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On Saturday we headed to Dobbies Garden Centre for our first visit of the year to see Santa. I say our first visit because we have at least another 4 visits planned to various grottos but I can honestly say now I doubt any will compare to the whole Dobbies experience.

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Dining Out | The Ring O Bells, Warrington

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Have you ever walked in somewhere and got a good feeling about it straight away? I have a few times and one of those times was recently when we went for a pub lunch at Ring O Bells in Warrington. We were invited along to sample the menu and take a look at the pub which is soon to celebrate it's 1 year anniversary under new ownership. 

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Dining Out | Kids Menu at Turtle Bay

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Last week we headed in to town to for lunch at Turtle Bay. This was our first ever visit to Turtle Bay so we were not sure what to expect. Little J is quite a fussy eater but as they had just updated their kids menu we were keen to give it a try.

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