Attractions

Twinlakes Family Theme Park, Melton Mowbray Review

TwinlakesTwinlakes Family Theme Park
Melton Mowbray

www.twinlakespark.co.uk

Reviewed by Sue Surgey

We were invited to visit Twinlakes Family Theme Park in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire as a family (Mum, Dad, 3 children 11, 10 and 3 years). We went on Friday 08 August 2014.

I checked the website for directions and it advised to use the postcode LE13 1SQ on a SatNav (not the one on the tickets) and follow road signs – so that’s what we did.

All was going good following these instructions however… I do have to admit getting slightly worried that I had memorised the post code wrongly when SatNav said destination in 2 minutes and no sign of a theme park. I shouldn’t have worried though – where SatNav told us to turn left to destination I noticed the ‘theme park’ brown tourist sign (but note it doesn’t actually say Twinlakes on this, it’s just the standard tourist sign and it is very small). Approximately a couple of miles down this road past a hospital we saw another sign with ‘Twinlakes’ on it… we were there!

On arrival the car park looked fairly busy but plenty of spaces and there was Twinlakes ‘Rangers’ showing you where to park up – it was this point I realised that I’d forgotten a pushchair so hoped it wouldn’t be too much of a walk for my littlest one (it wasn’t). There wasn’t too much of a queue to get in, staff on the gates were friendly and another ranger showed us which entrance to use then offered all 5 of us a map (not just one for the family!), we just took a couple and let our eldest two be the map readers for the day. On entering, park photographers get you to pose for a family picture then explained which direction to head in if you wanted to buy the photo later.

Quick check of the map and ‘what’s on’ timetable to plan our route and we were off…

I had read a few reviews online before going (which I do before going anywhere that costs money – but always view with an open mind, and making mental notes of any that are consistently mentioned to see if I agree). One of these things was cleanliness/tidiness so in case anyone reads these same reviews I thought I would report my findings… Some of the areas are a little tired perhaps picnic benches could do with replacing or repainting in a harder wearing paint, as most had paint worn off – on this point it is worth noting that there were more benches dotted around this site than I have ever seen in any theme park before, even if the park had been at its busiest I’m sure you’d not struggle to find a bench somewhere to eat your lunch or take a break in lovely surroundings. So it would be very costly for them to replace them all. There wasn’t many litter picker rangers around so they were either doing a fantastic job or they have very respectful visitors who don’t drop litter! As I found there was definitely not a cleanliness issue from litter.

The park is spaced well with good selection of things to do in each one for a variety of age ranges e.g. they have Go Kart’s for older children (Ranger manned) and then a mini version for the tots (which is not manned by one of their rangers) – I would say the park is aimed at 4-12 years (most rides have a restriction of at least 1metre tall – and they do check!)

As I mentioned there are lots of places to consume your own food and plenty to buy which is not extortionate (as with some tourist places). Tea was £1.35, Coffee £1.50, Ice cream £1.45 and meal deals from around £3-£5. We purchased ours from the Buccaneer Zone in the centre of the park – this is large indoor area with food points, indoor play area , an ice rink upstairs (our children were disappointed this was not manned so they couldn’t try it out) if you want a quiet lunch though I’d head outside – this area has a lot of constant screams from the ‘Master Blaster’, which looked great fun!

Looking at the ‘what’s on’ leaflet we noted that the Falconry Section ran shows at 1pm and 3pm, so after stopping by the ‘Creepy Critter house’ we headed off to see the Bird show…

The Ranger there was great – very informative and entertaining. We met Gonzo the Vulture and Arizona the Buzzard and learnt many facts about them as well as watching these amazing birds wander around us. As this finished it started to rain so we headed off to the farm this was a lovely area inside and out with several animals to pet and feed. As the rain dispersed we thought we’d head to the log flume and train before the dark clouds came over again. In this area we only noticed one other ride not open and this was the Pirate Ship – our absolute favourite had to be the Log Flume which we got soaked on (only 3 allowed on this so if you are a family of 4 be prepared to split). On the way to the Log flume we managed to fit in the Dungeon Maze (this is not for the faint hearted! – there are signs stating not for anyone with heart problems, claustrophobia, asthma, pregnant etc…) thankfully my 3year old refused to go in so I was excused and the Farmhouse of Fear,  my husband and older two braved these and loved them. This is where my only real criticism comes… there was no ‘Ranger’ on these two attractions and as such we couldn’t ask questions leave bags etc… – the Dungeon has narrow corridors so difficult to negotiate with a large picnic bag on your back – so ideally need to leave behind. This is also in complete darkness so would have been better to have someone there to explain what happens if you need to get out and can’t, or where the emergency exits are. I know more staff costs money but I do feel a few extra around the park would warrant a small increase to the entrance fee.

The water area was a big hit with my older children and suits all ages, there is plenty of tables and chairs etc… – remember your usual swimming attire and allow plenty of time as I imagine on a hot day it will be difficult to drag children away from this. Unfortunately we timed it wrongly and the weather took a turn for the worst by the time we had got round to this area but there was still some families still clearly enjoying the fun in the rain.

We finished the day in the USA section after catching the lovely train round to the Canada Quay – you could go back on the train to the water area just had to hop off while they turned the train around. We decided to walk as my boys fancied the boating lake (max 3 in boat) which was lovely however… very small moan here at the state of the life jackets. They were perfectly adequate safety wise however a little grubby looking for my liking. We then carried on our walk through a greener area having a go on the zip wire and toboggan run before finishing off on the roller coaster which was great fun in the rain (we got wetter than on the log flume but this just added to my children’s fun).

This drew a close to our day so we then collected our souvenir photo (£10 for a keyring, print and wallet size picture) and headed off home. We were thanked for coming and wished a safe journey. So all in all a lovely family day out which we all thoroughly enjoyed… so, if the benches had been pristinely painted, the life jackets had been cleaner, and a few more shrubs and flowers had been planted would we have enjoyed it anymore? I doubt it!! In fact we loved it so much we are going to try their sister park ‘Wheelgate’ next week.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets cost from £9.60 to £16.49 (book online and save 20% off these prices). Prices are valid until 7/9/14.

For more information or to book tickets visit www.twinlakespark.co.uk.

Twinlakes, Melton Spinney Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 4SB | 01664 567 777

4 half Star

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