We finally took Ethan and Ivy to their first proper theme park!  We went to Chessington World of Adventures for the day.  I think that I was more excited than Ethan was, he had no idea what he was in for.  He already loves going to a fair, so I was sure that he would enjoy all the rides.  As soon as we got into the park and he saw all of the different rides, he was overwhelmed!  He didn't know where to start, so we went to the bumper cars, which he could sit in with Daddy, to get him started slowly.  He was hooked, and as soon as he got off he was running to the next ride (even though he had no idea what that would be!)  He is a big fan of all vehicles, so obviously any driving rides were a definite favourite.  He loved the ones where he got to be the driver and one of us was the passenger, like the tiny trucks and the old fashioned cars.

My first tip would be to make sure you measure your child's height before you go.  I actually thought that Ethan was taller than one metre, so I thought he would get onto all of the rides that he liked easily, but he's actually just one metre tall exactly.  The first few rides that had a one metre minimum had to check and double check his height, so they recommended that we go to guest services to get him a wristband.  That made it easier and quicker to get on to the next ride.

My second tip is that if you go with two children, one of which is too small to go on many rides (like Ivy is) you can get a parent pass from the same place as the wristbands.  This meant that Daddy could go on a ride with Ethan whilst I waited with Ivy, get our pass signed, then if I wanted to Ethan on again we could just go straight on again (via the exit, and only available for certain rides).  It makes it more fun, then both parents get to see that look of joy on Ethan's face when the ride starts up!


We also went to see the Madagascar show, which Ethan and Ivy both loved, lots of music and entertaining characters!  And we even met the Octonauts!  We didn't tell Ethan where we were going (just in case we missed the time slot) but made it just in time to join the queue before they arrived.  Ethan saw the pictures of the characters, and I even asked him to stand beside the picture of Peso for a photo.  Then he saw Barnacles and Kwazii walk towards us and he was in shock, he was absolutely thrilled!  He was a bit shy at first when it was his turn to meet them, but eventually he did hold their hands and give them cuddles.  It was fantastic to watch.

We had such a great day, and stayed from when the park opened until it shut.  If your little ones aren't too tired it is worth staying until it closes as the lines for the rides are much shorter as many people go home early.  They also have a deal that children eat for free after 3pm, so we gave Ethan his dinner in the park as well, that way we only had to give him a quick bath when we got home.  He was exhausted and went straight to sleep, and we didn't hear a peep out of him all night!