This year has been filled with so many wonderful adventures and a lot of fun. One of the main reasons for this has been all our visits to Merlin attractions using our Merlin Annual Passes. We’ve managed to visit so many this year that I thought I would share them with you all in a round up post.
When we became Merlin Annual Pass Ambassadors, we were all really excited and I was looking forward to seeing how much we would use them. Well as you can see, we did a good job of using them!
January – March
When I think of Merlin attractions, I think they are all outdoor attractions best suited in the summer. How wrong was I! On a holiday to Dorset in February, we visited the Sealife, Weymouth and had a brilliant time. There was so much to do and they had a brilliant outdoor play area.
In March we took the girls to Chessington World of Adventures, we had only been once before and that was a couple of years ago. I was keen to see how much more the girls could go on, now they were older. We had a lovely day out and the girls loved the Gruffalo Ride, which had recently opened.
When I shared our trip to Chessington World of Adventures, I had lots of comments from people saying they didn’t realise how good it was for toddlers. I wrote a blog post, sharing everything there is to do for toddlers at Chessington World of Adventures. Because there really is so many rides for them and its a great day out.
April – June
During the Easter holidays we took the girls on a trip to Alton Towers for the first time. The girls were really excited because we were staying at The Enchanted Village, as Merlin Annual Pass holders, you get access to the holiday club which have amazing discounts for accommodation across all the Merlin Attractions.
We spent a lot of the time in Cbeebiesland and the girls loved all the rides. There are so many of their favourite programmes that have been brought to life in a ride. They also loved the Congo River Rapids and they are definitely my favourite too.
This year Andy and I tried to have a few day dates together, as it can often be easier for us to get someone to have the girls during the day. We decided to have a day at Thorpe Park and it was the best decision. We had lots of fun, it was great to go on rides that we used to love. I also got VERY wet on the Tidal Wave ride, we did laugh!
In May we headed to Legoland, in Windsor. Alice and I had been a couple of years ago and we couldn’t wait to take Andy and Holly for the first time. We had a brilliant day out, Legoland is perfect for both the girls ages and they were just running from ride to ride full of excitement. We didn’t want to come home.
In June we visited to Warwick Castle, we had been invited to try their new King Style Glamping tents and I couldn’t wait to see what Warwick Castle was like. It was a beautiful day out and there was so much for us to do. They had the War of the Roses show, which was incredible to watch and the girls loved it.
The glamping was great fun, the girls had a brilliant time and the beds were really comfortable. We had great nights sleep before we explored the castle the next day. The girls got to try archery which they had on in the Knights Village before the castle opened.
July – September
Merlin want us to get in front of the camera more and create memories with all the family in and thanks to Digipass we did just that.
In July we returned to Alton Towers and they had a brilliant task for the girls to do, 22 Things To Do Before You’re 1.4 Metres. They had a list to tick off, as we made our way around Alton Towers and it was great fun.
We also had lunch at The Rollercoaster Restaurant, which was very exciting. Your dinner arrives via a rollercoaster and the girls thought this was brilliant. The food was really nice and this would be a lovely additional treat for a birthday trip.
In August, Alice asked if she could go to Legoland for her birthday and while we were there they had their Summer Of Fun going on. Holly loved the beach they had created, she loves building sandcastles. We had another brilliant day out and it was a really hot day, which meant the girls got to go in the splash park too. Which they loved!
While we were on holiday in Cornwall we visited the Seal Sanctuary in Gweek and we had a wonderful morning. The girls loved seeing all the seals and there was a great pirate ship for them to play on too. It is definitely worth a trip if you’re in Cornwall.
In September we had a day out at Chessington World of Adventures with my sister in law and niece, they also have Merlin Passes. It was a gorgeous late summers day and we were excited because since our trip earlier in the year they had opened The Land Of The Tiger. It didn’t disappoint, we loved it. Hopefully Holly will be tall enough to come on it next year too.
October – December
During half term we took a trip to London, the girls were very excited and Alice couldn’t wait to go on the London Eye. It’s such an iconic part of London now and she has seen it pop up in several films and always asks to go on. As Merlin Annual Pass holders, we had booked a time slot which you can do online and this meant our queue was a lot shorter and we were on in no time.
We had a gorgeous clear day and we could see for miles. The girls loved it and were fascinated not only by the London Eye itself but everything we could see.
What I love is that just down the Southbank is the Sealife, London and its really easy to visit so many Merlin Attractions in London. When we visited it was nearly Halloween and they had a fun activity for the girls to do.
I was amazed at how big it was and there was so much to see. They even had penguins, which we were not expecting. They were amazing to see.
We’ve had an amazing year of fun thanks to our Merlin Annual Passes, there are so many brilliant attractions that we can visit. These days out have created lots of lovely memories and I can’t wait to tick a few more off the list in 2019, as well as visit all our favourites too.
Disclosure: We are working with Merlin Annual Pass this year as ambassadors. Thank you Merlin for providing us with a year of fun.
