REVIEW: GULLIVER’S LAND, MILTON KEYNES
A Big Value Adventure for Little People
We head just over an hour from London to Gulliver’s Land, a wonderfully eccentric theme park for children, where we stay in its brilliantly themed Adventurer’s Village.
Like Gulliver before us, we embark on a magical voyage (up the M1) and arrive at a unique new world, filled with little people.
On arrival, we meet the attraction’s mascots, Gilly and Gully Mouse, along with Leonard the Lion. They sing, rap, dance and hype up the children from balconies in the Bavarian-style village, before the big red ribbons into the park are cut and it is officially open.
Excited children race up the cobbled streets and past the fairytale buildings, towards the Disney-esque castle, which presides over the park.
We let the children guide us through more than 25 rides in the six themed areas and for once, we find a theme park where almost every ride and experience is suitable for our four and six-year-olds - no wobbly lips or sulks because they’re too short, and quick queues for everything.
Highlights include the rollercoasters, which are just the right amount of excitement to low-level terror ratio for our little ones, they include the Runaway Train, Grand Prix Racers and the more gentle, Crazy Mouse mini coaster, which my son did twice in a row.
There are wet rides - a fabulous Log Flume and the fun, Jungle Falls wet slides, braved on boats - thankfully, full body dryer machines are provided, which prove almost as exciting as the rides.
The park’s newest ride, the Rocking Tugboat delighted our little ones, whizzing around in a fun, manmade storm, although our four-year-old discovered he didn’t quite have the sea legs for the bigger, Buccaneer pirate ship.
The park’s theme is explained in the charming Gulliver’s Travels Ride, a gentle journey through the story in a golden carriage, encountering storms, submerged ships, and a giant Gulliver, being tied down by Lilliputians.
The JCB Zone is also a big hit, filled with digger themed activities, rides and attractions.
Across two days, we go on hot air balloon rides, treetop swings, teeter above the park on its Cycle Monorail, go on Jungle river rides and dinosaur boat tours, ride ponies, dinosaurs, vintage cars and trains and spin around in Jousting Castles.
There are six zones, our favourite being the Wild West area, which is brilliantly themed, with a Junior Cowboy Town, filled with child-sized jails, ranches and saloons to role play in, and filled with cowboy themed rides.
The park is studded with indoor and outdoor play areas, from soft-plays, role play villages, forts, mazes and play parks to sand pits.
So we barely have time to touch the Farm Park, which has an animal barn, aviaries, Cuddle Corner to pet rabbits and guinea pigs, tractor and mini diggers, jumping pillows, an insect park - filled with giant animatronic wasps and tarantulas - and even a Poo Pavillion, where you are encouraged to wash your hands after visiting, as it is very hands on...
A few cafes, restaurants and snack points are dotted around, but the main dining area is the Lilliput Land Castle, serving up pizzas, burgers, sandwiches or fish and chips.
Adventurer’s Village Stay
Given the target age group of the theme park, its 4pm closing time means parents don’t have to drag reluctant children away from flumes.
And we have an additional incentive to tear our kids away, because we’re checking into a pirate lodge at its Adventurers Village for the night.
Check in is pleasingly fast for impatient and excited children, fresh from a day of rollercoasters.
We’re given keys and a print out of the evening’s entertainment, which includes pottery crafts, kids’ disco, marshmallow toasting, outdoor popcorn making, milk and cookies with Cookie Monster and a movie night.
And it’s an exciting totter to our lodge, past fabulous themed accommodation, like a giant princess castle on the swan-filled lake; beach dens surrounded by sand; fairytale hideouts, jungle safari lodges and tipis.
Our favourite lodges are the dino dens in the themed Lost World area, complete with paths flanked by giant dinosaur rib cages, and cages topped with escaped velociraptors. Even the play areas are themed, with an excavation sandpit and dino slides and climbing frames.
Our pirate cabin overlooks the lake, and ducks potter about outside our decking. It’s a cosy, well-designed space, with a lounge and TV area, dining table, dinky kitchen, shower room and assorted pirate paraphernalia (skull and crossbones curtains, nautical art, lighting and cushions) in the children’s bunk bedroom and our double bedroom.
We eat dinner in the Raptor Restaurant - decent pizzas, enormous nachos and burgers - and head to the evening entertainment, kicking off with the disco and then tottering across to the dinosaur area for marshmallow toasting around the fire pit.
There is a great selection of evening entertainment for little campers in the area, from movie nights to milk and cookies with Cookie Monster, but ours are happily frazzled after a day of adventures, and ready for bed, before day two in the theme park.
Gulliver’s Land is a gem for young families, with great value stay and play deals to extend the fun overnight, minimal queues, and a huge range of entertainment and adventures for little ones.
Gulliver’s Land Resort, Livingstone Dr, Milton Keynes MK15 0DT. Day tickets from £23 pp. Stay and Play package offer two days of theme park entry and evening family entertainment, staying in themed accommodation in Adventurer’s Village with prices starting from £194.35 for 2 adults and 2 children.
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