Last weekend we took a trip to Drayton Manor for their wonderful, magical Christmas opening at Thomasland in Tamworth, and what a fabulous time we had: snow falling sessions, fat controller songs, Rosie train rides, fascinating lights and lots of fun on the little ones rides.
So, what’s different at Christmas time at Thomasland? A lot! Firstly, and most importantly you can visit all of the fabulous Thomas rides and attractions, but this time of year they are covered in snow and magical lights. You can book in to visit Father Christmas in his Castle of Dreams, which looks absolutely stunning under the lights and pops of the firework displays at the end of the day. We had a go on all the fun rides: the Troublesome Trucks Coaster, Cranky the Crane Drop Tower and Diesel’s Locomotion Mayhem. Mummy and Daddy also had a ride on the Ben 10: Ultimate Mission Coaster (which was brilliant fun) and we had a quick visit to see the animals in the 15-acre zoo, which we spotted some cute and festive reindeer.
After our spout of running around and trying out all of the rides we took a trip to the 4D cinema to see the Polar Express, we love that movie, in fact it was our last trip to Thomasland that instilled the love for this film with the children and the grown ups! Such a great movie for Christmas, special family time. We all put on our 3D glasses and there was complete silence and no movements from the Constants whilst we watched the movie. I love the photos of the kids with their glasses on:
There is a rather magical Christmas tree displaying near the Ben 10 ride, 54ft high and full of lights that are all in sync, it was pretty awesome and you couldn’t help but sit and stare at them all dancing around the tree. I want one of those trees in my house! The lights just looked amazing, the park looked fabulous. I really wish the park was dark all day so you could enjoy the beautiful lights all day, but we did enjoy the snow throughout the day and walking around the park spotting the lovely Christmas decorations. When you go look out for the snowmen and penguins, a little hint, you will need to go on a choo choo ride to see them!
After we finished with the rides and staring at the beautiful Christmas lights, we took a trip to the Castle of Dreams to see Father Christmas – it was so magical and I think the children were quite overwhelmed. There were elves to greet us and Father Christmas knew their names and looked like a proper Father Christmas (you know the right age and shape!), it was just perfect and really personalised to the children. That made it all the more magical. Afterwards there was an opportnunity to do some crafts, have a photo on his sleigh and just look at the fascinating castle. It was decorated really well.
This was Isla’s decoration for the tree:
We had a fabulous day and I really cannot recommend enough, you have to take your children to Drayton Manor for the magical Christmas, it is fascinating and will really get you into the festive spirit – especially with all the fantastic Christmas shows that happen right in the heart of Thomasland. I want to go back there before it changes back! The day was spectacularly finished off with a great fireworks display, one of the best I have seen – coordinated to music as well. The children loved it and so did the grown ups.
