Luckily I had won a family ticket to Lollibop, this was so amazing for us because we had been looking to take our son as a treat before he started school, but as my husband was made redundant, we just couldn't justify the high cost....and then, as if by magic, I won the tickets!
We set off with raincoats knowing it was forecast to pour it down, but we also packed suncream, and also a packed lunch so that we didn't have to worry about feeding our fussy eaters. As our little one is only 1 year old, we also took our cheap foldable buggy with us as well.
When we got to the car park, we had to pay £10 to park! We were shocked by this considering the tickets were over £20 each, it seemed excessive and I would have liked to seen free parking included or at least a kinder amount, £2 or £3.
It was great not to be in London, I don't like London, it's too busy and I don't like the tube or the buses. I hope Lollibop stays outside of Central London, the space was amazing here and the journey was a breeze.
We arrived at the collection booth before 10am, but were made to wait 20 minutes until 10am to collect our tickets...this was rediculous because we then had another 5 minute wait for them to figure out what they were doing with our wristbands, and everyone who had queued for 25 minutes to collect tickets or wristbands here, were then expected to join at the back of another huuuuge queue to get into the event! As we had wristbands instead of tickets we decided to try and just walk past the queue...it kind of worked, although the people at the entrance had no idea what the wristbands were or what to do with them, so they just looked confused and shoveled us through.
The entrance was a huge inflatable rainbow that you walk under, this set the tone of the event straight away- fun, colourful, inclusive and perfectly enjoyable for kids! Which kid doesn't love a rainbow?! Rainbow is our favourite colour!! Inside followed suite accordingly with rainbow coloured windmills attached to every pillar and post, all the activity tents were colourful, fun and inviting. There were large maps set up for parents to glance at, and picnic benches with colouring sheets on to keep children occupied.
The activity tents and areas were spaced out on a huge field that was buggy friendly. Right inside the entrance was a table with "if I am lost" wristbands and pens to write your details on. Next year...this area needs to be longer and on both sides for ease and to stop congestion. A "lost" booth within the main Lollibop area would have been handy too, perhaps with something really big and well known floating in the sky so that parents can say to their children "if you get lost, go there!"
The first thing the kids did when we entered was jump on a "lifesize" Thomas the Tank engine, they hoped on board for a quick play and a photo. There was a whole Thomas area here, with different games to play to win prizes- tattoos, stickers. It was very good with friendly staff!
We then found the portable toilets- clean, not smelly, plenty of loo roll! Although inside a sticker boasted about being bigger so that parents can help their kids, which was a bit of a lie because even alone I struggled to turn around inside the darned box before the door slammed shut on me. But they weren't busy and we never had to queue to pee, always good!
The Lollipalladium was the smaller, mini stage that's within a tent, and sadly it was a major let down for many Lolliboppers it seems. A small tent that could only house a couple hundred people was met with terribly long queues, and miserable, uncaring, useless staff guarding the entrance. Many people queued for over half an hour to be told they can't go in, so the children stood outside able to hear the sounds of Mr Bloom or Scopby Doo wondering why they weren't allowed to watch. Once we managed to get inside on 2 occasions, my children were upset at the volume of the music and we had to leave as it was actually hurting their ears! Next year, they *need* to change this so that there are two seperate open air stages at opposite ends of the park to maximise the number of people who can watch the shows. It would really improve the whole day and a lot of negativity that was apparent would disappear. It only makes sense that an unlimited number of people should be allowed to watch the shows they have paid to see. Please sort it out Lollibop!
The main stage was open air, and an unlimited number of people could watch the shows, there was also a large screen on the left hand side and a seperate disabled viewing platform. Even right at the back of this section you could see!
The main shows were here, with Alex Winters off CBeebies presenting inbetween the acts. We watched Mr Maker, Lazytown, Sam and Mark, Horrible Histories and a few more. The highlight for us on this stage was the Horrible Histories show, my 4 year old loves the Romans so their "Ruthless Romans" show was really entertaining for him, especially as it had funny slapstick comedy that really made him giggle!
Most things on this stage were repeated 3 times during the day, so on a plus side it gave everyone the opportunity to see the shows, but a negative side is that you can end up seeing things more than once.
The shows were entertaining and they all had the kids dancing and joining in, the main stage was always busy with Alex Winters providing entertainment between the acts.
Around the venue were many various tents with more fun things for children to do! It was a shame that Health and Safety kicks in a lot here though, in the Nintendo tent, where there were various activities to do, there was a "one child in the ball pit at a time" rule, and the Little Tikes area which was full of cars to ride and toys to play with could only have a few kids at a time in a fenced off area, and you had to sign up to something before entering. It would have been nice if they just had the toys in a larger area that you could walk up and play instantly.
The Science Museum tent was good with lots to see and do, and we were lucky to see their big experiment which was awesome, they filled up a bottle with water and dry ice and popped it inside an oil drum, and filled it with balls, and then with a huge KABOOM it exploded and the tent was littered with tons of mulitcoloured balls! Adults and kids loved it.
It's great that there were face painting stalls (free!) dotted around and other free things like free Haribo, pombears, bubble shows, tshirt decorating etc!
The kids decorated a gingerbread man each in the cooking tent which was good fun too. The Harry Potter wizarding tent was ace, with magic shows, and the kids made a wand and took home a magic bean too! They also met Hagrid!
There were loads of food options, and although we took a picnic we still had to get something, my 4 year old chose this awesome twisted chip, which the man transformed from boring potato into amazing snack in front of his eyes!
Another favourite part of ours was the Meet And Greet tent, it could get busy but we met some of our favourites here - Alex Winters, Horrible Histories, Postman Pat, Chris and Pui and Andy Day!
To sum it up, it was a really lovely day out, with so much to do, and see, that you almost need 2 days to do it all. Almost a week later my children are still talking about all the things they did.
You also get so much free stuff you need an extra bag to take it all home in!! We would love to go again next year, and depending on the venue (come to Kent, go on!) we might actually do Lollibop again instead of a family holiday!
