Butlins Holiday parks are Family resorts located across the county and can cater to all types of people and families in a range of activities, they can differ from each of the 3 but essentially it’s the same concept. We’ve been able to visit all 3 at some point but as the years have gone on it has been one of the favorite places for the kids to go, for days out or holidays, etc.
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A long time ago
Boo and I visited Skegness many years ago, ill be honest so along ago I don’t even remember why, I assumed it was just a holiday and we choose there, but why there I haven’t a clue? however the kids haven’t been there at this point, and we’ve talked a few times about the next time we go we should choose there.
No doubt a lot has changed but it’s often quite busy and expensive to booking, probably because for some bizarre reason this is the only one above London and covers a huge amount to the north. We have visited Bognor a couple of times and Minehead more often, this is largely because the kids prefer Minehead over Bognor.
Minehead
Boo and I also like Minehead as it’s in a nice area, that part of the country Devon/Cornwall etc.. is very pretty and across the water, you can see Wales and Barry, which for us is great as the Town has a special place in our heart. But the actual resort is laid out very nice, don’t get me wrong there are things in each one that I think is slightly better.
I wonder if someone high up ever looks at it like that or look to improve what there is, it does feel like its reached its development and they have stopped, though id argues all 3 will always need improvements, more than just tweaking the accommodation apartments or adding another Hotel.
Some Swimming
Ultimately for the kids their favorite part is swimming closely followed by food, then the entertainment (depending what’s on). The swimming pools do differ, and for them, their favourite is the Minehead version, I like Bognors pools but to be fair to the kids the Rapids and Flumes are much better, we’ve all enjoyed the Rapids which is slow-moving water in a big square around the main part of the flumes and pool etc, but this is enjoyable, much better than being a deep version with boats for example.
The flumes add to their fun and enjoyment and breaks up being in the pool, the shoreline style effect with shallow to deep plus a wave machines has always been a favorite of mine, but there’s also a deeper normal pool and a small area for very young swimmers to just mess around with the water etc.
Food
The Food is their net favorite and ill be honest, we are simple folks that like simple things, no doubt if the kids were older this would change and the choice of places we eat would but as a parent and now multi-time visitor we’ve been booked the premium food, this is expensive and depending on your booking can be as much if not more than what you pay for your accommodation, but it allows us to eat breakfast and diner without any worries, we would rather have lesser accommodation and spend more on food because ultimately we spend so little time actually in the room.
The all-you-can-eat style buffet means for me I know at least everyone will eat something, having a house for of fussy eaters can be tough. But there are plenty of other places to eat and we are going to try and nonpremium dining package soo to see if we can spend the equivalent or less in the resort, and still be fed well, we only currently have a small number of snacks at lunchtime so it’s not a big deal for lunches.
Let the Entertainment begin
As for the Entertainment having 3 kids at different ages their opinions and likes are all abit different, the kids are very good at going along with the others if there doing something even if it’s not there liking but they are different, so catering to all three is tougher than say one day out, luckily the kids are all pretty close, Tigger and Roo can partners in crime and are just close enough in age to have their own thing, this is especially seen at swimming.
However the variety of entertainment can be very useful, and they all understand we have to almost take it turns to do stuff for each one, the week theme can often change, for example, we’ve been when its special summer events, WWE events, and even a Tots week which is designed for kids under 5, this was good for Piglet as sometimes these get a little forgotten about.
These activities alongside Shows, Fun Fair, Tots Funfair, Bowling, can all add to the fun and the kids get involved with all. Once again we factor the price in on the accommodation so we could spend on extra activities but these do also fill up fast and can be a little tough to get a booking for.
The kids Love it though
I would love to take the kids abroad to different countries and big attractions alongside what we do in the UK, and for the time being the kids still love to go Butlins, they mention fairly often and get very excited when we go, for them it’s still a big deal and even though for Boo and I, it would probably not be our first choice now as we have got older.
As a family it is our 100% our number 1 choice for big adventure out, the family loves it and it still pleases us to this day, you have to make the most out of it, and if you shop smart you can get a very good package and price, we are always thinking when next just because the kids love it so much.
