The first words out of Oliver’s mouth when he woke up on Saturday morning were “Yay! We’re going to Cadbury World, we’re going to Cadbury World!” 

You may gather at this point that my five year old was extremely excited about our trip! When we picked up our friends who came with us, we had two children chanting their new phrase for nearly all the journey there!

We grabbed our tickets and purchased an audio guide.  These are normally £7 but on the day went they were on special offer for £1.  We knew it was going to be a good day when at the entrance to the exhibition we were all handed a Curly Wurly and a Crunchie.   There was quite a queue but it did move quickly and we were soon entering the Aztec Jungle then onto the Journey to Europe.  The Bull Street shops were brilliantly authentic and from there went through to learn about the Cadbury Story and the Making Chocolate Story which was extremely informative and to our surprise when it talked about the machines shaking the coffee beans, the seats we were sitting on shook too!

More chocolate bars were handed to us as we walked towards the Manufacturing and Packaging Departments and we had the opportunity to have a photo taken in a fun session.   It was really interesting to see all the machinery which is involved in the making and packing of these chocolate bars that we are all so familiar with.  We were giving a piping bag and we all tried having a go at writing our names but not quite as well as the professionals do it!

We then went on, which was for us the highlight of the tour, to Cadabra which is where you got a ride in a little car which was very Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  We got the chance to write our names in chocolate and were shown how certain chocolates are made.  It was funny to see all the TV adverts throughout a number of years  and then two little faces lit up completely with awe, when we arrived at the World’s Biggest Cadbury Shop where you got the chance to buy as much chocolate as you would like, along with lots of other Cadbury merchandise. 

Luckily for us, there was an added attraction this weekend.  The Sooty’s Birthday Bake Off Show was held in a marquee outside the African Adventure play area.  Watching Sweep do an impression of Lady Gaga for Sooty’s birthday present was absolutely hilarious and good fun for the adults as well as the kids and a member of the audience was invited onto the stage to help bake a cake for Sooty’s birthday.   A brilliant show.

The Bourneville experience was interesting and learning more about the history of Dairy Milk and the history of Bourneville Village was fascinating.  The kids were desperate to go to Essence where you got the chance to choose from shortcake, rice krispies or marshmallows, jelly babies or wine gums and warm melted chocolate was lavishly poured over the top and then to the kid’s delight they got to eat the results.  Yum yum!  You then had another chance to purchase more chocolate and gifts from another shop.

The Cadbury cafe is located in the main building near reception and there is also The Cabin by the play area both serving hot and cold food and drinks and the prices were quite reasonable. It was also interesting to find out that the shop and the eating places are open to the general public and not just limited to ticket holders.  I wish we lived closer, I’m sure we’d be there all the time!

Our kids were desperate to have a play on the African Adventure play area which was a really big play area before we headed  back to the car with two children who had chocolate all over their faces and all over their clothes but had two great big grins on their faces.  Did they enjoy Cadbury World? I think that said it all!

Our tickets were provided by Cadbury World.  A family ticket (2 x adults and 2 x children) costs £45.80.  Children under the age of 4 are admitted free.   On certain Thursdays throughout the year, Cadbury World offer a special two for one offer, keep an eye on their website for dates.   They also offer discounts for group bookings.  Cadbury World do recommend that you pre-book to guarantee admission.

www.cadburyworld.co.uk

The website has some fabulous recipes involving chocolate (of course!) that you might like to try.

You can follow Cadbury World on Twitter and like them on Facebook.

Cadbury’s also have a separate website where you can order a huge range of personalised gifts  www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk

We’ve just heard of this fantastic competition to win tickets to see Disney on Ice’s new show, Dare to Dream.

We were lucky enough to be invited along by DB Promotions as reviewers to their last show, Passport to Adventure at the NIA in Birmingham and can vouch for how spectacular these shows are.

You have until 24th May to enter via the DB Promotions Blog, just answer the question in the blog post “Which actress played Snow White in the recent movie ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’?” and you’ll be in with a chance.

If you’re struggling to think of the answer, you can find it in DB Promotions’ previous blog post that offers some secrets about Snow White.  (A really interesting read, by the way.  I learnt something new!)

As an extra hint, we loved her in Twilight too!

What are you waiting for?  I’m heading over there now to get my entry in . . .

Are you a lover of all things vintage?  Then head on down to this event and indulge your vintage passion in support of the Women’s Land Army Tribute.

The event will raise money for a national monument recognising the work of the Land Girls and Lumber Jills of World War II, who farmed the land to help feed the war effort and the nation while the men were fighting for our country.

More information about the cause can be found on their website.

The 18th May event, being held at the Staffordshire Pavilion, Staffordshire County Showground, is packed full of fun things to see and do – and we are told there will be lots of cake, so we’ll definitely be there!

The ‘Pitch in for Victory Jamboree’ will be open from 11am to 4pm and entrance is £2 per person.

Here’s a taste of what’s in store:

• 70 exhibitors with vintage clothing, trinkets, accessories and home wares
• Children’s activities with the 1940’s Brownies
• The evacuee Choir
• Family treasure trail
• Re enactment Group— The Warwicks 1914 – 1918
• Vintage tea room
• Vintage hair and beauty salon.
• Craft demonstrations
• Photographic studio
• Polly’s Vintage ice-cream
• Vintage cars
• Cake!
• Licensed bar

Join the Facebook Group for updates on new additions to this list and more details on the day.

Here’s a recap of the main details:

Date: Saturday 18th May, 2013

Venue: Staffordshire Pavilion, Staffordshire County Showground

Time: 11am – 4pm

Cost: £2 per person

Review of Quest adventure attraction at Merry Hill, by Madeline Fittes

In the Easter holidays, I went on a day trip with my family to Quest in Merry Hill. I had never been there before so I didn’t really know what to expect, but when we arrived it looked really good.

Outside we could see a huge inflatable Nerf arena and when we got inside it looked amazing. The ropes area was awesome! It was right in the centre where you could see all the ropes.

We started with Nerf target practice. That was cool, because we picked our own guns and you had to shoot the targets to get points.  I managed to get 180 points with the help of my friend Morgan.

Then the time for battle came and me, my sister Lola, Morgan and Dylan were all ready to go. We had to wear these velcro vests so the bullets would stick to you when you got shot. Also we had these really cool glasses to protect our eyes.

The guns were the right size along with a massive bagful of bullets. The arena was epic! They had massive inflatable shapes for you to hide behind. You get about half an hour in there which was plenty of time. There was just us at first, but lots of people started coming in and we all sort of went into our groups. Even the instructor came in and started shooting Morgan because he shot him in the head!

When we finished they had this lovely little eating area where we all ate a picnic. We used up a lot of energy in the arena and it was a good place to just sit down and chill for a while. Also there’s a really nice coffee café where my dad and Carol sat while we were in the arena.

After our picnic it was time for the ropes. You get a coloured band so, when it’s time for you to come down, they can shout your coloured group. When you are all set up with safety harnesses there are different levels you can go on. On each level you get different obstacles such as a plank where you hold on to nothing but your harness and you have to balance. It was a bit nerve-racking but it was fun at the same time. Then there were these two planks that went right across the middle and you had to walk across it. It was really wobbly and I was scared but it was super fun. All the others had a wonderful time too and it was way better than we expected.

There’s a video of the high ropes bit here so you can get more of an idea of what it’s like.

Apart from the Nerf and the ropes they have a mini-golf course and a kid’s play area which both looked cool. The kiddy place has a little trampoline and a balloon play area that even I had to admit looked cool.

Altogether it was a really good day. I had fun with my friends and family and it wore us all out!

My sister said “I had a really fun time and definitely want to do it again!”.

I would definitely recommend Quest for a family fun day!

Please note: Madeline and her family were not asked by Quest to provide this review and did not receive complimentary tickets to do so.  This review is in Madeline’s own words and is her own opinion. 

Further Info:

Address

Quest, Westfield Merry Hill, Brierley Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY5 1QX

Opening times

Monday to Friday 9.30am to 7.30pm

Saturday 10am to 7pm

Sunday 11am to 5pm

Contact details

email info@thequest.co.uk

T. 01384 261425

Cost

Nerf Arena and High Ropes Extreme – £5 per child (for approx 1/2 hour)
Nerf shooting gallery – £3 for 50 darts

Discounts available for online booking – age and height restrictions also apply to some activities – check website for details.

Thanks to Maverick Books, we can offer one of our Have a Lovely Time readers a copy of each of these brilliant new children’s books, The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale and Tabitha Posy was ever so Nosy.

The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale

For a young giant in a tiny cottage, an invitation to the Royal Palace seems too good to miss. But can lavish new clothes and a big bed make up for everything he leaves behind?

The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale is inspired by the adventures of a real-life giant, born near Liverpool in the sixteenth Century. Author, Rachel Lyon, used poetic licence to soften the historical accounts of his adventures for children, ensuring his legend will continue to grow – just as the man himself did!

Tabitha Posy was ever so Nosy

Tabitha is a pest to everyone in the town of Hamilton Shady. She can’t help but be curious and so sticks her nose in other people’s business! But one day ,on a school trip to the zoo, Tabitha’s nosiness gets her into a bit of trouble with one of the zoo’s less friendly animals!

Tabitha Posy was ever so nosy, she made all her neighbours shout.  She’d peer round each door, ask ‘WHY? and WHAT FOR?’ then pester until she found out.

Tabitha Posy was ever so Nosy is the second book in the ‘Ever So’ series written by Julie Fulton.

To find out about more releases from Maverick Books, follow them on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.

To be in with a chance of winning, please send an email clearly stating MAVERICK BOOKS COMPETITION in the subject line with your name, address and a contact telephone number in the body of the email.  Send to: competition@havealovelytime.com.

Closing Date : Thursday 16th May, 11.59pm (see below for full terms and conditions)

Competition terms and conditions: Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 and over. Anyone related to the team at The Marketing Room, publishers of Have a Lovely Time can’t enter. It’s a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the competitor agrees to abide by these rules. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The winner may be asked to participate in publicity. Events may occur that render the prize draw itself or the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Promoter (The Marketing Room) and accordingly the Promoter may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the competition and the entrant agrees that no liability shall attach to the Promoter as a result thereof. Your email address will not be passed to a third party, but may be used by the Promoter to send you details of future competitions and offers run by Havealovelytime.com.

It’s a sunny day at the start of May, and we’re getting ready to take the tent out for the bank holiday weekend – I love this time of year!

It’s our first trip of the year, and we’re not going far, but that’s one of the beauties about camping I think. You can literally be in your back garden and it’s the best fun for children.

But when we do venture a little further this summer, we’ll be using our trusty Cool Camping books for inspiration.

If you’re new to life under canvas, or just looking for some different sites to try out, I can’t recommend this range enough.

There’s a certain feel to every site we visited on their recommendations – from small sites under an acre (Cool Camping Tiny Sites), to child-friendly ones (Cool Camping Kids).  There’s even a book for glampers – for all those people who appreciate that they should like camping, but don’t really.

The campsites are all very different from each other, but there’s a familiar friendliness that ties them, a relaxed air and always, always a breath-taking location.

The guides contain all the information you could need, from places to visit nearby and distances to local pubs (obviously essential) where’s best to pitch and what’s unique about each site.

We’re trying out our new French book in a couple of weeks, and are very excited about it. It can be daunting camping in another country, but hey – we’ve got the book, I’m confident it’ll be totally Cool.

We’ve had some inside information to share with our readers that families looking for a fun day out this May Day bank holiday weekend should look no further than Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire.

Animal lovers are in for a special treat as the attraction’s 15-acre zoo’s resident cotton-top tamarins have recently given birth to triplets, twin offspring are the norm and it’s even rarer for three babies to be parent reared as these are. The three new additions are welcome arrivals as the primate species is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). The babies join the zoo’s other animals that include West African dwarf crocodiles, a meerkat mob, a pair of black leopards, and much more.

After working up an appetite exploring the zoo, families can pay a visit to the park’s brand new eatery, The Burger Kitchen, which is situated opposite the carousel in the park. Serving tasty and freshly prepared food that includes locally sourced succulent chicken, 100% British beef burgers that are hand-made on a farm a few miles away, there’s good, honest, local food to tickle the tastebuds of all diners.

New for the 2013 season is A Fish Story, an underwater musical adventure film, which is screened in the park’s sensational 4D Cinema. It tells the tale of Deepo, an orange Garibaldi fish, and Billy, a trainee at the aquarium who magically turns into a fish, who journey to the depths of the ocean, encountering many different sea creatures along the way and is sure to be a big hit with younger visitors.

The park is also home to Europe’s only Thomas Land™, which is a must-see attraction for fans of all ages of the little blue engine and his friends. It’s celebrating its fifth anniversary this year and a new Thomas & Friends™ ride will be unveiled in the summer to mark the occasion.

Ben 10 fans can enjoy a ride on the Ben 10: Ultimate Mission rollercoaster and for thrill seekers there’s adrenaline-inducing Apocalypse, voted UK’s scariest ride by Channel Five’s The Gadget Show, stomach-churning Maelstrom and stand-up coaster classic, Shockwave.

Families who pre-book tickets online will benefit from a special, discounted pricing structure, saving up to 30% on gate prices. The weather needn’t be a problem for those planning a day out at the park either, as it will be operating its successful rainy day guarantee. This promises to give visitors who have pre-booked tickets a free return trip if it rains continuously for a minimum of two hours during their time at the park*.

Colin Bryan, CEO and Group Managing Director of the park, comments: “There’s plenty to keep the family entertained at Drayton Manor Theme Park this bank holiday weekend, but the new born cotton-top tamarins are definitely going to be fascinating for anyone to see.

“We pride ourselves on being a value-for money day out for the whole family so it’s great that we offer online savings for tickets pre-booked online as well as our rainy day guarantee as the British weather can’t always be counted on, especially during bank holidays!”

To book tickets, or for more information about the park, visit www.draytonmanor.co.uk or call 0844 472 1960.

*In order to claim the return voucher, guests must present their original advanced purchased ticket to the Guest Services department in the park. Visitors will then be able to return later in the season for free. Please check the website for specified dates.

If you’re looking for something to do this bank holiday, you could always take the family to see One Direction.

The teen idols have taken up residence in Madame Tussauds in London, rubbing wax-work shoulders with some of the biggest names in the business.

The boys have been deemed important enough to have their own fully-themed dedicated area at the world famous attraction.

 But you need to be quick to catch them, as Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn are there for a limited period only.

 After July 11, they’re heading off ‘on tour’ which will see them visit Madame Tussauds New York and Sydney with more locations to be announced. 

 The band are dressed in their trademark smart casual, colour co-ordinated style, wearing outfits they donated themselves. Sitting casually together on a school-style double bench, fans can literally sit right down beside them for a unique close encounter with their idols.

 After spending quality time with the One Direction heartthrobs, there will be plenty of time for fans to strike a pose with musical icons, from Beyoncé and Rihanna, to Freddie Mercury and The Beatles, as well as a host of A-list film stars and sporting heroes.

Book ahead to get the best savings on tickets.

When visiting the brightly lit, vibrant city of Las Vegas, some prefer to stay at casino hotels – a combination of two establishments. This range of casino hotels is simply awe-inspiring – they are replete with restaurants, theatres, clubs, malls and much more inside them.

You’ll have a hard time finding an excuse to actually have to leave the place. Everything you could possibly want in the city will be in the same building. When you visit any of the following Las Vegas hotels, you’re guaranteed to be in for a pleasant surprise. We’ve reviewed three of our favourites for your perusal.

Red Rock Casino Resort

If you manage to tear yourself away from the bright lights of the strip, and head towards the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, you’ll find the Red Rock Casino Resort. Don’t be discouraged by its distance from the strip; the resort is just as glitzy and indulgent as any other casino in Las Vegas.

One of its defining features is the collection of Swarovski crystal chandeliers, which contain more than three million pieces of crystal, altogether measuring 99 miles. There’s an amphitheatre that seats 7,000 audience members, which opens up during the summer.

Bellagio

If you really want to be blown away, you should try and get a room at Bellagio. It’s one of the pioneering mega-resorts that opened in the late 90s. You’ll be rooted to the spot as you gape at the massive dancing fountains at the front of the hotel. Bellagio stands out from the rest of the hotel casinos in that its elegance is unmatched by any other resort.

A massive eight acre lake separates it from the strip, and the lobby ceiling is decorated with the Fiori di Como, artist Dale Chihuly’s glorious work, which is composed of over 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, covering over 2,000 square feet of the ceiling. It has a 40-table poker room, as well as an art gallery. You really can’t get any more elegant than this.

Mandalay Bay

Pushing the limits of luxury, the Mandalay Bay hotel is another mega-resort that’s packed with 3,300 rooms and as much entertainment facilities as you can possibly handle. Central to entertaining the guests is the Mandalay Bay Events Centre, which hosts all kinds of events, from boxing to Ultimate Fighting Championship events, and even the Miss Universe pageant.

When you’re not taking in the beautiful views from the upstairs venues, you can visit the Shark Reef with the kids, or perhaps visit the Mandalay Beach, a pool area that’s 11 acres in total, comprised of three heated pools and a lazy river with a small waterfall.

Head to Lincolnshire and you’ll see it’s bursting with things to do this half-term.

Sometimes you just fancy a half-term holiday that’s fun and easy to organise without hours of motorway driving. Well, if you want to take your family on a short break this half-term and don’t want to stray too far from home, look no further than Lincolnshire.

Not only is this idyllic county located within a two hour drive of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, the East Midlands and Cambridgeshire, it’s also packed with stunning beaches and great activities for kids to keep them occupied this half-term.

First stop – the beach!

If you take these May Bank holidays with Haven then you can also enjoy the lovely weather and, of course, the beaches. And you don’t have to drive all the way to the south coast to find some great British ones.

Lincolnshire has miles and miles of golden sand and it’s been a popular half-term holiday destination for generations. Cleethorpes beach is one of the most well-loved beach resorts in the county and only a stone’s throw from Thorpe Park. It’s popular with water sports enthusiasts and families alike and has even been awarded the blue flag for its high standards of cleanliness.

It’s also dog-friendly so your four-legged friends don’t have to miss out on the fun either!

Get out and about in Lincolnshire

If you’re still keen to get your family out in the fresh air after a fun day at the beach, simply take part in the Wolds Walking Festival. It’s taking place from Saturday 18^th May until Sunday 2^nd June and it’s the biggest festival of its kind in England.

Over 100 organised walks will be taking place – that’s around 540 miles of walking – and it’s easy to find one that suits your family. Families with young children can do a gentle one mile stroll on flat terrain, while families with older kids can take on a day-long trek of up to 20 miles.

Fun activities for kids

But that’s not all Lincolnshire has to offer. Round every corner there are great activities for kids young and old, including the Wragby maze, karting and paintballing in Ancaster and bowling in Boston.

And because fun in Lincolnshire doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, you can also grab your bikes and take on a section of the 21 mile poacher country cycle route. It’s the perfect opportunity to let the kids let off some steam and mum and dad admire the stunning Lincolnshire landscape.