Dreams Come True at Gulliver's

There was a party at Gulliver's theme park in Milton Keynes last weekend. They threw the party for their chosen charity, Dreams Come True.

Dreams Come True works with terminally and seriously ill children, aged between 2 and 21, across the country. Last weekend all children on the waiting list with Dreams Come True were invited to Gulliver's, along with their families, for a Dream Weekend event. Local businesses supplied hotel rooms and refreshments, and Gulliver's supplied a fun day. There was music, dancing, fluffy characters and cake, and the odd celebrity thrown in for good measure.

This charity aims to bring joy to children by making their dream come true, however big or small. They have arranged for children to meet Lewis Hamilton, work on a fashion magazine, meet a husky, swim with dolphins, and experience zero gravity. So far they have brought joy to 5,000 families. They also provide equipment to make everyday lives better. Gulliver's have raised money in the past for sensory equipment for a little boy called Jake.

When my late brother was ill, he was given a VIP day at Manchester United Football Club (by the company he worked for). He looked forward to it for weeks and it was a huge deal for him. He wore his signed shirt all the time afterwards. A word to the wise footballers: please only sign shirts with indelible pens. Mum washed Pete's shirt, and the signatures disappeared. Thanks, Sandy.

We thoroughly enjoyed Gulliver's. It's suitable for all ages. My three year old could go on all rides, accompanied by an adult, apart from the big roller-coaster. My four year old went on that four times. My heart was in my mouth watching him. Luckily I have a slipped disc and could only go on the big wheel and the train. Shame, that. I am soooo not a thrill-seeker. I am, however, perfectly happy to hold the coats.

We spent five hours at Gulliver's and didn't manage to go on everything. This wasn't because of the queues - there were none - but because there is so much to do. We will definitely go back and may take the boys (and their friends) for their birthday party.

A particular highlight was the free Zingzillas show in the Main Street Theatre. Yes, the Zingzillas are performing at Gulliver's. If that's not a reason to go, I don't know what is.

For more information about Dreams Come True please visit www.dctc.org.uk.

Disclosure:

We were given free entry to Gulliver's in return for coverage of the event. I made a donation to Dreams Come True in return.

Dreams Come True at Gulliver's

We Met The ZingZillas at Harveys

Don't worry, we didn't bump into them shopping for a new sofa for the Coconut Hut or anything weird like that.

We were invited to spend a bit of time with them before they posed for photographs with the children of Milton Keynes. Boy, was there a queue... that we went straight to the front of.

The occasion was the opening of the new Harveys furniture store in Milton Keynes. By the way, she added conspiratorially, there's an additional 10% off most items until the end of tomorrow (Monday 26th September).

My boys LOVE The ZingZillas. They were absolutely thrilled to spend some time with their idols. Tang's eye had been fixed since their appearance at Lollibop and they were all full of beans and wonderful with the children.

Huge thanks to Harveys PR for the invitation.

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We Met The ZingZillas at Harveys

Our first Family Festival

Neither Andy nor myself are big festival goers. It's the toilets that put me off. Still, when we won VIP tickets to Lollibop last weekend we decided to go. After all, how often do you get the chance to take your children to see their idols?!

Not only was it our first festival as a family, it was our first time taking the boys to London on the train. Just a trip to have a burger at Euston Station and then come home would have been treat enough for Presley, 3, and Cash, 2. They were so excited on the train. Our nerves at being out and about in London with no buggy were calmed by a gentle journey in 'that man's car', also known as a taxi.

We arrived at Lollibop just before it opened and had a plan for the day. We would go straight to the main stage to get a good view of The Zingzillas and Rastamouse, then we would go straight to the Meet and Greet with Bob The Builder. We thought this would be enough for the boys and we were right.

Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew were brilliant, slick, cool and fun. Also reggae is perfect for a festival. The Zingzillas looked quite poor and under-rehearsed by comparison. We couldn't stop laughing at one of Tang's eyes, it was permanently closed. It looked like DJ Loose had punched him for being late for the Big Zing. They went off after a couple of songs, maybe to fix his bulging eye. They came back and 'Bhangra Beat' was a highlight. The boys loved it all.

We bumped into the lovely Babes About Town and her gorgeous family on our way out and then had an easy journey home. It occurred to me afterwards that we didn't even spot the VIP tent, let alone look for it. It would have been lovely for me to catch up with the other bloggers there and have a free drink, but it was a day for the children, not for me - and I had to drive home from the station.

I know there have been complaints about prices and queues and it was very busy. We planned our day well and took a picnic, we only had to queue for a few minutes to see Bob The Builder. If we'd had to pay £100 for our tickets we may have spent longer at Lollibop to get our money's worth, but we experienced quality over quantity and I still feel weepy when I remember how excited Presley was to hold Bob The Builder's hand. I've never seen a smile that big.

Here are our highlights:

Cerrie from CBeebies:

The Zingzillas:

Tang's broken eye, still makes me chuckle:

Rastamouse:

"Give it up" Live:



And finally, meeting Bob The Builder:

Our first Family Festival

South Lakes Wild Animal Park

If you fancy a great family day out you could do a lot worse than go to the South Lakes Wild Animal Park. It has been free to enter all winter, for adults and children, but this offer ends on Sunday 13th February 2011. From then until Easter children go free.

The park is big enough to give the animals a bit of space, but small enough that you can walk round it with a 3 and a 2 year old in comfort all day. 

We met our friends and their almost 3 year old daughter, E, at the park and had a fabulous day.

To enhance your experience wear wellies and take a packed lunch. We didn't and it was rather muddy and exceptionally busy in the canteen. Also, get there early. Being a free attraction has made the park pretty popular.

I will never look at Todd, the mandrill from ZingZillas, in quite the same way after seeing one run across its pen to catch, kill and eat a live pigeon. I'll also never forget Cash saying 'that bird looks delicious'.

Presley was a bit scared of the large birds, such as swans and emu, running loose. He said 'I think they need a fence here, Daddy'. This peahen showed us what she thought of scaredy cats!

This lion was popular with my children, although E found him scary.

This is MY tree. No, it's MY tree. MY tree, etc.

Insert your own joke about horns here :-)

This is NOT a sponsored post, we just had a lovely time at the zoo and I wanted to share.

South Lakes Wild Animal Park

Meanwhile...

...over on Sandy Calico Reviews I've written about some of the things sent to try us. Oh no, that's wrong! Try again, I've written about some of the things I've been sent to try. Yes, that's more like it. ;-)

Since becoming Toys R Us Toyologists we've had quite a few toys to test. Find out what we thought about the Tomy Aquadoodle Desk, the Timmy Time Pop-Up Game,  Old MacDonald Lotto, the Crazy Chefs Game, the Fireman Sam Fire Engine Convertible, the Moon Sand Demolition Kit and the Mega Bloks 2-in-1 Buildable Thomas the Tank Engine.


We have also reviewed the ZingZillas CD and My Favourite Nursery Rhymes DVD.


I was given some clothes to wear to the MAD awards by Very.co.uk and my underwear was provided by Spanx Higher Power. What do you mean you don't want to see my pants?! I was also sent my first pair of Converse trainers by Rubber Sole.



Finally, Sandy Calico Reviews... DotComGiftShop - just in time for Christmas.






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Meanwhile...