We recently had the exciting opportunity to visit Butlin’s at Bognor Regis, to experience a tots break. We had never been to Butlin’s before so I didn’t know what to expect. We had such an amazing time. I’m not going to lie we were exhausted by the end, but the boys were in their element and we had a fantastic time all together as a family and there was so much to see and do. It was so lovely to see the boys enjoying themselves so much and see the smiles on their faces. I was very impressed with all the facilities and everything that was available. Just for Tot’s break’s at Butlin’s have been specially designed for families with children under 5 years old.
We arrived with a nip in the air on the Friday afternoon and checked into the shoreline Hotel,which was right next to the sea. Upon arrival the staff were so welcoming and friendly and gave us all our relevant information and key cards for our room. We stayed in a suite on the first floor so the boys had a separate sleeping area to us (This is invaluable as the boys go to sleep at 7pm so it’s nice to be able to put them to bed and then have time together as a couple without disturbing them) The living area was really spacious and so was the bathroom so the boys had places to roam and we didn’t feel on top of one another. The room came with a fridge and tea and coffee making facilities.There was also a porch area to hang coats and our double buggy fitted nicely inside. We also had an outside area with a patio.
That evening we dined in the hotel. There were so many options for dinner from a pork roast dinner with all the trimmings, stuffed peppers, lasagne, fresh cooked pasta made to order, or sweet chicken curry and much more. I chose the chicken curry which was really tasty and hubby had garlic bread, chips, cauliflower cheese, pork with apple sauce and a bread roll haha, he loves random foods. The boys had cheesy pasta with peas and they gobbled it up but made a nice big mess as per usual. The great thing was that everyone had children and so we weren’t the only ones. The desserts were all very tempting. There was chocolate cake, cheesecake and trifles with fruit. The food for the whole weekend was really great quality and very varied. We ate so well. On site there were four other restaurants to choose from each night ranging from traditional fish and chips to a 1950’s style diner.
When we had finished dinner we went and had a bit of an explore in the Pavilion before bedtime. We passed the arcade with all its bright lights and the Skyline cafe and the stage. There were gift shops and toy shops as well. We had a look on the programme before dinner and saw there was a toddler disco, so we made our way over to the skyline stage.Two red coats were leading the children through popular children’s songs such as, “Head, shoulders knees and toes” and “The Hokey Cokey” with actions and Albie was loving joining in. He was amazed at all the children his own age and he seemed to be really excited by it. Finley jigged along shaking his hips to the beat. Once the show was over we took a slow walk back to the hotel. I noticed so many things to explore. There was a huge soft play area that went over three stories and an indoor area for small babies and a toddler activity area with sand pits, a book corner and colouring. There was also an indoor fairground with several classic rides for tots.They also had a pop up library full of miniature seats and couches for little ones and so many books to choose from. We managed to read a few books while we were there but I think Albie wanted to get to the fairground most of the time. There was a nice park outside for the children with swings, slides and tunnels. Unfortunately it snowed the day after we arrived so we didnt get to explore the outside as much as we had hoped to. Throughout the weekend there were great shows for the children to watch and join in with. We went to an interactive tots session called “The little magic train” We all went for a “ride” in the train and choo chooed around in front of the stage. It was lots of fun and we pretended to be owls, rabbits and bears.
We enjoyed going swimming while we were at Butlin’s. We had B line passes which enabled us to skip the queues for the swimming pool. The B line pass also lets you get early entry to the shows. I was impressed with the splash area that had lots of things to climb on and things to play with. There was water shooting out of everywhere!!! The boys were a bit hesitant at first but they soon calmed down as did I haha. There was a few little tikes water play pirate ships that children could enjoy in the shallower water which I thought was a really nice touch. My husband took the boys into deeper water one by one and and they enjoyed zooming through the water with daddy.
At the tots break the main entertainment act was Mr.Bloom!!! I was so excited to see him. I remember him when my siblings were small with his veggie friends and now having children of my own we have watched his “Here and there” adventures so I was quite excited. The show was so good and the music excellent. Mr. Bloom had brought his band with him so we heard some piano, ukulele, drums and bass music and it all sounded really good. We sang a few classics like “Veg Veg baby” haha and “We will rock you” with lots of vegetable references which I thought was a great way for kids to get excited about vegetables. Both boys had a bit of a nap in the show but that didn’t stop me jigging along to the beat. My husband looked embarrassed of me!! Am I embarrassing??
One of the other shows that we couldn’t miss was the Teletubbies big play date. My boys love the Teletubbies. I was so excited to see their faces when they saw them as Albie had already pointed them out in our booklet when we arrived. The area around the stage was filling up with excited children with their Po and Lala balloons waiting in anticipation for them to appear on stage (me included) the boys looked starstruck when they appeared and their little faces lit up. It was so cute!
We had signed Albie up for a mini bow class as we thought he would enjoy it and I loved that they had thought of the smaller ones. There were archery classes for older children and mini bow for the toddlers. There were also mini football sessions and balance ability sessions that you could sign up for. He concentrated so hard as does Albie and he enjoyed loading his crossbow with a little help from daddy. The sessions were a nice size and the children learnt to load and shoot their bows and hit different targets.
The indoor fairground was a great hit with the boys and it was so lovely to see the boys on the rides and independently too. Little Finley looked so small but he really loved it and didn’t seem fazed at all. When I saw them both in the little car ride together I felt so emotional and realised that they growing up so fast!!. Albie had a go on the teacups, the aeroplanes and the car and they both tried the lady bird ride. I think out of everything there the boys enjoyed the rides the most. They both went on them A LOT!! Even though there were a lot of people there were never queues to the rides which I was very surprised at. I think as there is so much to do everyone is nicely spaced out throughout the day.
Every day there were arts and craft workshops in the morning and Playdoh sessions in the afternoon. We went along to a Playdoh workshop the day before we left. As we walked in the smell of Playdoh hit us and there were around 7 tables filled with Playdoh in all different colours and lots of toys and cutters to choose from etc. My favourite was the whale with the playdoh that came out of the blowhole when you pushed it through. Finley had to sample the non edibles on offer and a close eye was kept on him. Albie had fun squishing and rolling the by this point mushed cosmic ball of playdoh. The colours were so vibrant and the boys had a really great time, as did my husband and I.
We had such a fantastic time and there was so much for the little ones to see and do. Everything was catered to them and so it made things a lot easier. It was such a joy to see them enjoy themselves as much as they did. We would definitely go back again!
Here are my top tips when you go on a family holiday to somewhere like Butlin’s
- Have snacks to hand. I know I mention them a lot but they are a lifesaver. There were a couple of times when we were waiting for the shows to start or waiting for our food to arrive at dinner.
- Carry a rucksack. I didn’t bring a rucksack but I really wish I had and I noticed a lot of mothers with them because your hands are free but you still have your essentials with you. It is so much easier with toddlers. Albie likes wearing a little backpack and I squeezed a couple of nappies and wipes in the back for him to carry around.
- Bring toys for the hotel room and for on the go. I almost didn’t bring toys as I thought I’m going on a tots break so I won’t need them but a small bag of toys is very handy for the hotel room and for when you are out and about.
- Bring a sling if you have one as it will make life easier to carry one baby. There was really great pushchair access but sometimes it’s nice to not have to cart it everywhere and be more hands free.
Jessie x
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