Days Out in Review – July to December 2016

We have had so many exciting adventures this year that I have had to split my round-up post into two sections.

You can read about our January to June highlights here and welcome to our adventures from July to December.

July 2016

With Sebby being a little older and at Nursery now, I have managed to attend some blogging events that I have only watched from afar and this year I attended my first ever Christmas in July event with Asda.

It was bizarre seeing Christmas decorations and food in the summer but it did give me some fantastic ideas for Christmas and open my eyes to things I would never have tried otherwise and I got to meet the lovely James Martin.

James Martin

This year we were Drayton Manor ambassadors and were invited up to see their new High Ropes course – Vertigo. Isaac was off straight away and hared around the course several time whilst I stayed and watched Eliza and Sebby who were on the Junior course.

VertiGO

The thrillseeking didn’t stop there as we were also invited to try out the new Dorset Waterpark which sits in the shadows of Corfe Castle. I don’t think I have ever heard so many squeals and giggles as they raced around the course, leaping into the water and flinging themselves down giant slides.

Dorset Waterpark

August 2016

We always look forward to Camp Bestival which has become a bit of a family tradition and this year was no exception. This was the best year yet for us, we stayed with Pitch Village which took the hassle of camping away and took part in activities that we had not tried before, with the Dingly Dell being our favourite haunt. We also enjoyed meeting the Tudors on Tour and crafting at Spinney Hollow.

Camp Bestival

We stuck to glamping with a visit to Crealy Meadows and stayed in a magnificent Castle tent that was like a real home from home. The facilities were brilliant and the kids had a brilliant time exploring Crealy Adventure Park.

Crealy Meadows

Regular readers of my blog will know that the kids attend regular swimming lessons as I believe it is a vital life skill to have. This year Isaac took part in a Swimsafe lesson in the sea to teach him water safety in open water.

Swimsafe

August also saw our second visit of the year to Thorpe Park where we learned to dance with Balance Unity from BGT fame,  stayed in the Shark Hotel and had the whole park to ourselves for a couple of hours.

Frubes

September 2016

Although the kids were back to school, the fun didn’t stop and we enjoyed an amazing #FitToDance session with Disney On Ice and Peter Andre.

Fit to Dance

We were disappointed to miss the Bournemouth Air Show this year, although we had the most amazing holiday aboard the Carnival Vista instead, however, we got our aeroplane fix at Duxford Air Show instead.

Duxford Air Show

One of our favourite local days out is Moors Valley Country Park and this year the Railway celebrated its 30th birthday and we were invited to celebrate at the 30th Birthday Gala.

Moors Valley Railway

October 2016

October saw us heading to London and we enjoyed a City Cruise along the Thames which took us to visit the Tower of London.

City Cruises

We enjoyed a weekend break in Cornwall at the Seaview Holiday Village which allowed us to explore the local area with visits to Looe, Springfields Fun Park, the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and a Naval Harbour cruise of Plymouth Sound.

National Marine Aquarium

We stayed at home for half of October half term, however we enjoyed lots of fun days out including a visit to see the Etches Collection in Kimmeridge and then headed down to the beach to find our own fossils.

Etches Collection

Weymouth Sea Life Centre has been somewhere we have visited regularly this year thanks to our Merlin Annual passes and over Halloween they had their Spooky Seas exhibit which the kids loved.

Spooky Seas at Weymouth

We also enjoyed a fabulous day out at Marwell Wildlife where we got to see their new Wild Explorers enclosure.

For the second half of October half term we stayed at Potters Resort in Norfolk which was great fun. Whilst we were there we enjoyed a day out in Great Yarmouth and found our favourite day out of 2016 – BeWILDerwood. I just wish it was closer to home as we would be there every weekend!

Bewilderwood

November 2016

I have been unsuccessfully dropping hints to Hubby about buying me a helicopter flight over the Jurassic Coast for years, however Red Letter Days came to my rescue and send me up on a fantastic flight over some of my favourite Dorset beaches.

Helicopter

Ever since I organised BlogOn Winchester back in October 2015 I have been promising to take the kids to Winchester Science Centre so when I saw their Horrible Science event was on I just had to take them to visit.

Winchester Science Centre

After my Helicopter flight I really wanted to visit some of the beaches that I flew over and a weekend break at Harcombe House in Lyme Regis saw us do just that.

Lyme Regis

Hubby and I also enjoyed a Segway Tour of Upton Country Park.

Dorset Segway

November is also the month when Christmas days out start launching and we were invited to two. The first being Drayton Manor where we got to enjoy some magical snowfall and pose in giant Christmas decorations.

Drayton Manor

Our next visit was to the Winter Wonderland at Paultons Park where we partied with Billy the Elf, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

Paultons Park

December 2016

It was back to Weymouth Sea Life Centre for us to see Santa at their Magic of Christmas event.

Weymouth Sealife

The kids have been desperate to visit a Trampoline Park and we finally got round to booking a slot at Activate Trampoline Park locally.

Activate Trampoline Park

The week before Christmas was busy with a couple of eventful car journey’s. The first to London for Disney On Ice Frozen, where we were challenged with the road closure of the M3 on our way home in torrential rain.

Disney On Ice

The second was to Birmingham to see Marvel Universe Live, Superheroes Assemble which is perhaps one of the best live action shows we have ever seen with aerial stunts, flying, motorbikes, pyrotechnics and live action.

Spiderman

Our final day out of 2016 on the blog is our visit to the Bournemouth Wheel for a panoramic view over our home town. If you are local, I highly recommend you give it a go, but hurry as it leaves on 7th January.

Bournemouth Wheel

So there you have it, we have had some amazing days out over the last year and I look forward to sharing this years adventures!

 

Disney On Ice

Disney On Ice Presents Frozen

Last year we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Disney On Ice Worlds of Enchantment at Christmas.

This year we were invited back to the O2 to see the new instalment – Disney On Ice Frozen and it did not disappoint.

The heartwarming Academy Award®-winning tale you love is now a full length production live on ice. It started with the stars of the show coming out in their sports gear to teach us how to do the Olaf dance, before welcoming Mickey and Minnie on stage, who then introduced some of their favourite Disney characters from Nemo to Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel and more.

Disney On Ice

We were then magically whisked away to wintry Arendelle, where we met a young Sven and Kristoff finding ice before meeting the young Anna and Elsa who introduced us to the story with “Do you want to build a Snowman”.

The story followed Frozen perfectly, with dazzling special effects and astonishing skating as we all sang and danced along to our favourite songs including “Let It Go”, “In Summer” and “Fixer Upper”.

Disney On Ice Frozen

I did wonder how Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and Anna would do the abdominal Snowman scene but a huge, imposing inflatable character came out puffing smoke and following them around the ice.

Disney On Ice Frozen

Now, I love Olaf and his “In Summer” performance but the show stealers for me were the Trolls who helped us discover that true love is the most magical power of all!

Disney On Ice Frozen

This show is an unforgettable celebration of love and friendship left us singing and smiling all the way home.

Disney on Ice Frozen

If you are planning a visit to see Disney On Ice at the O2, there are some things worth noting. We were not allowed to take food and drink inside and had to throw it away at the gates. You are also not permitted to take bags larger than 35cm x 40cm x 19cm so if you have a baby and a changing bag, it would be wise to only take wipes and a couple of nappies.

The merchandise is also very pricey – we paid £22 for Eliza’s wand and there are merchandise stands everywhere you look, so be prepared for the “I want’s”.

That said, we had a wonderful time and cannot wait for the 100 Years of magic show in the Spring.

Disclaimer: We were invited along to see the show for the purpose of a review. All opinions are our own.

 

#FitToDance with Disney On Ice

At the end of August we were invited to attend a Fit to Dance session with Peter Andre and his son Junior by Disney On Ice.

Do you worry about your kids not getting enough exercise, or not using their imaginations are their noses are buried in an iPad or video games?

Fit to Dance is a new programme that gives your children a chance to share in the magical world of Disney On Ice by creating their own wonderful stories and then re-telling them through the medium of dance.

 Photo Credit: Matt Crossick/PA Wire
Photo Credit: Matt Crossick/PA Wire

Our Fit to Dance session started with a warm up to get our hearts pumping before we were split in to two groups who would then come up with story to dance to.

Fit to Dance
Photo Credit: Matt Crossick/PA Wire

First we brainstormed the scene and ended up on a mountain where the kids had to describe what it might look and smell like.

Fit to Dance
Photo Credit: Matt Crossick/PA Wire

We then had to decide what we might see on the mountain which was very amusing as we ended up with Eliza choosing Elsa, Isaac an Abominable Snowman and Sebby inventing an Arctic Parrot. Each child then had to act out what actions their character might do.

It was then time to come up with a story using the scenery and characters we had chosen. Our group went for a walk on the mountain and had snow dropping on their heads from the trees. We then got caught up in a huge snowball and rolled down the mountain. Thankfully we were all safe, although a little dizzy and had a group hug at the end.

Fit to Dance
Picture Credit: Matt Crossick/PA Wire

Before the performance we got to choose some outfits to dress up, applied some face paint (some better than others) and set about our epic performance – it was so much fun to do.

Fit to Dance

Families, schools and organisations are encouraged to use Peter Andre’s step by step video guide and create their own Fit to Dance session at home or school – you may recognise some of the participants.

You then need to create their own masterpiece, film it and upload to the Disney On Ice Facebook page.

Fit to Dance

Peter and his panel will review all the entries and select the winner based on who embodies the spirit of Fit to Dance. The winner will not only be crowned the ultimate Fit to Dance Champion 2016, they will also win VIP tickets to Disney On Ice’s Spring 2017 tour along with some other very exclusive prizes.

Fit to Dance really captured my kids imaginations and Eliza especially has been busy making up new dances with her friends. A huge thank you to Disney On Ice for inviting us to their fabulous event and a special mention for Peter and Junior who were so down to earth, full of fun and welcoming……….and yes, Peter’s jokes are as bad in real life (sorry).

Disney On Ice

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment Review

Back in April we went to the Disney on Ice Magical Ice Festival for Eliza’s birthday and she adored it, with her favourites the Little Mermaid, Rapunzel and of course Anna and Elsa on the ice, acting out her favourite films so when I saw that Disney On Ice Worlds of Enchantment was on at the O2 over Christmas and New Year I knew we would have to go.

Last time I took Isaac but he wasn’t impressed that it was all Princesses so this time he didn’t want to go, so I took my nieces Mollie and Holly with me. I am kicking my self now as both him and Sebby would have loved it as it featured not only the Toy Story Characters but some of the cast of Cars too.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were the compere’s for the evening and the first show on the ice was the Toys Story Gang. The toys, featuring all our favourites, were back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from the rambunctious tots of Sunnyside Daycare and race for home, in their most daring adventure ever!

Disney on Ice

There was parachuting, flying and of course skating – how some of them managed in their huge costumes, I will never know, but it was fun, fast paced and the girls loved it.

Disney On Ice

 

Next we got to dive into adventure with Ariel and The Little Mermaid’s undersea kingdom.  Sebastian lead a fabulous production of Under The Sea with lots of colourful sea creatures gliding around the ice and we all cheered when the Prince fell in love with Ariel and Ursula’s curse was broken.

Disney On Ice

We had a short break before Mickey and Minnie arrived back on the ice, this time in their trust car. Only it appeared that they had some car trouble and despite Goofy’s valiant efforts to fix it they needed a tow truck………..there were cheers from the audience as Mater arrived.

One by one some of the residents of Radiator Springs arrived on the ice with Lightning McQueen making an entrance through pyrotechics. We then got to see Mater and the crew of Disney Pixar’s Cars race across the ice.

Disney On Ice

The final show of the night whisked us away to the wintery world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa and pals Olaf and Kristoff from Disney’s Frozen, as they learn that true love comes from within.

Disney On Ice

Disney on Ice World of Enchantment has added more dates and will now be on at the O2 London from 22nd December 2015 – 3rd January 2016.