“Mummy, I love Peppa Pig!”, my nearly three year old shouts. “I want to go to Peppa Pig World for my birthday treat!”.
A birthday wish granted, and we find ourselves driving down the M3 on a rainy day, headed for a three year old’s idea of heaven – a day immersed amongst her heroes; Peppa, George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. Maggie’s own Daddy has been nicknamed Daddy Pig for the day, and I think for once he isn’t offended at the suggestion of his ‘big belly’.
As we arrive and park easily, the rain stops, and the sun starts shining. After a short wait in the queue, we are welcomed into the park by a lovely attendant on the gate, who directs us straight to Peppa Pig World.
Do you remember when reading the Magic Faraway Tree that the children had to cross the broken tree to find enter the magical part of the wood? Here at Peppa Pig World, you cross the train tracks and are suddenly, vividly transported to the primary coloured world of Peppa. Everywhere you look there are pops of the television show – houses, cars, George’s own dinosaur!
There are seven rides for little ones; at 5 and 3, our girls were the perfect minimum height to ride all the rides in Peppa Pig World but it’s probably worth checking the website if you have small kids, as some of the rides here have a minimum height to ride of 90cm. We weren’t restricted however, and Bess was delighted that she was tall enough to ride solo on George’s Dinosaur Adventure! Little legs won’t get too tired here either as Peppa Pig World is all compact and rides just a few steps apart. We visited in March, and queues were at an absolute minimum – but it might be worth considering distractions in the change bag if you visit in high season.
For rollercoaster pros, these rides are going to disappoint but for a three year old, this is about as exciting as life can get. The majority are fairground style – high, but gentle, and offer lovely views across the park where we played Spot Peppa! As a bit of a height-phobic, I must admit to gripping the centre wheel and yelping ‘DON’T YOU DARE SPIN THE BALLOON’ on the Peppa’s Big Balloon Ride. Don’t laugh. My three year old was braver than me and declared it her favourite ride. George’s Dinosaur Adventure is a particular highlight as you cruise around a course on a great big green dinosaur, bobbing up and down around the adventure course.
There’s loads to do here, a great variety – indoor play, Muddy Puddles splash park, and our girls were particularly taken with the little houses that they could go inside, and ‘visit’ Peppa and her family. On a hot day, the splash park would be a total gift, allowing kids to cool off – so if you go in the summer holidays, take swim things with you and get ready to splash in ‘Muddy Puddles’.
The only mildly irritating thing is the constant Peppa Pig jingle pumping out of speakers across the park – I swear, I was humming it for bloody days. For the kids, this is just part of the experience of being in Peppa’s World, but for adults; this immersion might send you a teeny bit loopy.
Food and drink looked generally good, well priced (for a theme park), and the ice-cream stops plentiful; for that mid-afternoon fix. We took a picnic though, and there are fantastic areas to stop and eat – benches and tables are dotted around but there is a huge tent just outside Peppa Pig World, right next to the toilets for desperate crossed legs and potty-training kids and even better, for cool or wet weather, it’s heated.
We spent about three and half hours in Peppa Pig World, which was at our leisure and not rushed – however, you might want to consider longer if queues are long in the holidays. However, this meant that we could find some time to spend in the main park after; to the girls delight they were tall enough for a number of the bigger rollercoasters where Maggie, at three, found a love for speed on the Cat-o-Pillar ride, and Dino-Chase. Also worth a mention was the Boulder Dash – the girls squealed with delight as we careered towards other boulders and dino-eggs!
No day out is complete without a trip to the gift shop, much to Daddy Pigs ‘delight’; but the girls both chose Peppa toys – a playground for Bess, and the Camper van for Maggie – to remember their special day, spent with their favourite characters.
In the words of Maggie, just before she fell asleep in the car, “That was my most favourite day out EVER.”
To find out more about Peppa Pig World, visit their website here. To discover more about where to stay, activities and days out in the New Forest, check out www.thenewforest.co.uk.
DISCLAIMER: We were invited as guests of Paulton’s Park, but as ever, we review any experience on The Motherload® as truthfully as possible, in keeping with our ethos.
About Kate Dyson
Founder of The Motherload®. Wife, mum to two girls, two cats and shit loads of washing in baskets that sit around the house waiting to be ironed. It never happens.
Hater of exercise, denier of weight gain, lover of wine.
Feminist.
Twitter: @mrskatedyson
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