Family Days Out

[EcclesCake]

I was chatting with a neighbour earlier who mentioned how much it costs to visit Legoland. The prices she was quoting ~£160 plus parking for a family of four for the day seemed ridiculous.

I've just had a look and if you decide to visit without pre planning she is right. once you have added a few treats, a drink or an ice cream to that it is an outrageous sum for a day out.

I know that you can get vouchers and take a packed lunch to keep the costs down but whichever way you cut it they want a chuffing lot of money. I can't begin to imagine how much families spend entertaining their children through the holidays.

I've been there several times and had a good day out but I'm still struggling to get my head around the entry charges......

[Peter Pedant]

Sorry Ecc I hadnt realised / clicked that it was you that had posed the conundrum ....

[emmie]

many of these "treats" are expensive, if you take the family to a film plus all the sweets, hot dogs and whatnot, plus finding somewhere to park, and maybe a meal after comes to a tidy sum

[emmie]

we paid a visit to Thorpe Park, never again

[mikey4444]

There must be lots of things that you can do with the kids that don't cost this extortionate amount of money. Near where I live in Wales, there are fabulous castles that cost a fraction of £160 to go and see. If you live near the Dorset coast, take them to Charmouth and let them ferret out some fossils. When my brothers and I were kids, we used to go to Dartmoor and clamber all over the various Tors.

I don't have much patience with parents who go somewhere like Legoland and then complain of the cost !

[Old_Geezer]

No, my parents could never afford to give me a holiday at Butlins either, never mind the Med. Deprived and underprivileged were we. Still a week's hire of a caravan near the sea was just as good when one know nothing else.

[emmie]

but the children may not be remotely interested in looking around a castle,
when the weather is better then you could ramble around woods, parks, or take a trip to a beach, but i think today's children may not want to do a lot of those things, they want to see Legoland or Harry Potter theme park, or whatever that is.

[emmie]

mikey, life has moved on a lot since we were children, the things we enjoyed, and the relative freedoms we had aren't necessarily available to today's children

[Canary42]

That site was never cheap, even when it used to be a Safari Park.

[tonyav]

I want to go here.
http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/the-theme-park-designed-by-ferrari

[mikey4444]

I have never met a child yet that hasn't enjoyed a good castle emmie, and Dartmoor is available to everybody, provided you can get there of course.

That might be difficult for you people in London, but what about the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum ? Both entirely free and with loads of things to keep kids happy all day. I took my nephew up to Town for the day, two years ago, and he had to be dragged out of the Science Museum, to get back in time to catch the train at Paddington ! He still played with his GameBoy on the train though !

[lozzer50]

I refuse to go to these places I prefer taking the kids to a local park for a swing a game of footy and a picnic, costs virtually nothing and no long journeys either. I suppose some people will say my kids miss out but trust me they don't! We used to go to Blackpool pleasure beach but not any more . i wont be held to ransom by these companies

[emmie]

if people take their children out in the capital, you have to factor in quite a lot, as you probably know its not overly cheap here, and all the attractions that one would like The Tower of London is costly, as is the Millennium wheel, plenty to do without costing a lot, but you also have to eat, take your own perhaps, but what if the weather is bad, driving here would be costly as not just petrol but congestion charge, then finding places to park, Lots of lovely parks of course, but a whole day of activity can be a rare treat,

[smurfchops]

I use my Tesco Rewards for free days out, saves a fortune.

[emmie]

like most museums they may be free to get in, but often exhibitions cost, British Museum does this a lot, currently they have the Vikings Exhibition which will be booked up long in advance and isn't cheap. I was going to take family to Westminster Abbey, until we realised what it was going to cost.

Entry to the Museum is free, but charges apply for the IMAX 3D Cinema, simulators and for some special exhibitions.