Recently, we decided to embark on an adventure one Saturday to check out somewhere new. We have always wanted to go to Adventure Wonderland, a small theme park aimed at young children with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Alice in Wonderland was always one of my favourite Disney films, so the elements that were added to the park from this were really enjoyable even for myself.
The theme park is opposite Bournemouth airport and a museum. There is ample parking and the entrance fees are reasonable. It is £13.99 for anyone aged 3 and over. £6.99 for the 2 year olds. A family ticket is £52 and if you book online for certain individual tickets, you can get a 10% online discount. It is worth checking the website; www.adventurewonderland.co.uk for more details. On this particular day, we were able to get in for less with a voucher.
On arrival, quirky music can be heard and there is so much going on around you. The atmosphere definitely did feel like you were in a Wonderland, it had such a unique theme to it and everything looked so quirky. We decided to head straight for the bouncy castle slide and the mini trampolines. 2 of these were out of order but it wasn’t too busy so the boys did manage to enjoy their time on these. There were workers placed at each section, which I found really reassuring, they were so friendly too which was a bonus.
After this, the boys watched a few of the rides, they didn’t feel brave enough to try any to start with and later on we found they were too short for 3 of them, but they looked amazing. One was a train mini rollercoaster, one was a pirate ship, the other was a log flume but when they are older we will definitely go back and check these out.
We walked around the park a bit, getting to grips with what was located where. It’s a small park but still bigger than you think. Once you start exploring, there are a lot more areas that unfold as you go along and little details everywhere in nod to the Alice in Wonderland theme.
We found an Alice in Wonderland photo face prop so they boys stuck their heads in it for a photo opportunity. We also had a look at a Hut with an Alice in Wonderland tea party scene, my youngest was really mesmerised by this. The boys then had a go on the ride along tractors and track. They loved this, then as we turned around, we spotted the caterpillar ride. This is a slow ride aimed for younger children, but it was perfect for the boys. It just does 2 loops of the track and goes through a tunnel but the boys loved it! It’s colourful and the staff member on it made the experience more fun and jolly.
The next area we went to was the shrinking maze which had some fun mirrors in the mazes, the boys loved looking at themselves in this. We then went into the shrinking sheds which I found really novel and fun. For any Wonderland fans, little elements like this really added to the park experience. We then found an obstacle course which my eldest had so much fun completing. After that they had a big play in the outdoors park. There was lots to do and they had to sample most things, if not everything!
Another added element to the park, is that at the back there are stairs to go up to a grass strip with a fence and you can watch the planes landing and taking off from Bournemouth airport. This isn’t even an attraction but it was so fun plane spotting!
We then had a go at the huge maze. It was very muddy this particular day, so we did have to lift the boys up a few times. I kept an eye on the floor too as we followed the left hand side route and I kept finding the different card groups; spade, club, diamond and hearts. The maze was really fun and thankfully as we followed the right path, it didn’t take us long to get out.
The tea cups were the only thing that was dismantled and not in use, which was a shame but you had so much more to do that it didn’t really take away from the enjoyment of the park.
The boys also enjoyed a ride in the safari cars, a play in the sand pit trying to dig for gold nuggets, a trip to see the animals in the barns. The theatre show we missed but we did manage to see character appearances from Alice, the Mad Hatter and the Rabbit. The boys really enjoyed posing for photos with them. Alice also did a dance party under the marque, the boys watched this mesmerised but didn’t want to join.
On offer were pony rides but the boys turned this down. They also turned down a ride on the boats which squirt water as it was a chilly afternoon and also a go on the swings that spin around as they thought it was too scary.
We did however get a go on the elephant ride which they loved.
Inside the buildings were toilets, gift shops, a cafe and a huge soft play. In the winter, Adventure Wonderland open this soft play alone without the rest of the park and I can see why. It was so big with so much to climb and do, like shoot balls into the mouths of pirates. One flaw I found though was that there was no security gates in and out of the soft play which did put me off as it was so busy that I was worried I’d lose them, this is one of the only things I think they can improve on. Oh and to possibly paint the card shapes in the maze as you couldn’t see them completely.
I can’t pass judgement on the cafe or food as we didn’t have any, but I can say that it smelt delicious and there was ample seating as you could even sit upstairs. The toilets were clean and in good working order.
The boys had a lovely afternoon here. Although you wouldn’t necessarily need all day here as it’s a smaller park, there is still plenty to see and do over and over- as we found out at the end because they went back to the slide and trampolines and did not want to leave! I will definitely be bringing the boys back again, hopefully with warmer weather and when they’ve gained a bit of height so we can enjoy the other rides.
They loved it so much that they have asked to go again a few times since we went, apparently they want to go everyday.
I was really impressed with the park overall, and will definitely be returning.
Tiny Toes And Big Adventures gives Adventure Wonderland, Bournemouth a 4.5/5 ⭐️
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
The theme park is opposite Bournemouth airport and a museum. There is ample parking and the entrance fees are reasonable. It is £13.99 for anyone aged 3 and over. £6.99 for the 2 year olds. A family ticket is £52 and if you book online for certain individual tickets, you can get a 10% online discount. It is worth checking the website; www.adventurewonderland.co.uk for more details. On this particular day, we were able to get in for less with a voucher.
On arrival, quirky music can be heard and there is so much going on around you. The atmosphere definitely did feel like you were in a Wonderland, it had such a unique theme to it and everything looked so quirky. We decided to head straight for the bouncy castle slide and the mini trampolines. 2 of these were out of order but it wasn’t too busy so the boys did manage to enjoy their time on these. There were workers placed at each section, which I found really reassuring, they were so friendly too which was a bonus.
After this, the boys watched a few of the rides, they didn’t feel brave enough to try any to start with and later on we found they were too short for 3 of them, but they looked amazing. One was a train mini rollercoaster, one was a pirate ship, the other was a log flume but when they are older we will definitely go back and check these out.
We walked around the park a bit, getting to grips with what was located where. It’s a small park but still bigger than you think. Once you start exploring, there are a lot more areas that unfold as you go along and little details everywhere in nod to the Alice in Wonderland theme.
We found an Alice in Wonderland photo face prop so they boys stuck their heads in it for a photo opportunity. We also had a look at a Hut with an Alice in Wonderland tea party scene, my youngest was really mesmerised by this. The boys then had a go on the ride along tractors and track. They loved this, then as we turned around, we spotted the caterpillar ride. This is a slow ride aimed for younger children, but it was perfect for the boys. It just does 2 loops of the track and goes through a tunnel but the boys loved it! It’s colourful and the staff member on it made the experience more fun and jolly.
The next area we went to was the shrinking maze which had some fun mirrors in the mazes, the boys loved looking at themselves in this. We then went into the shrinking sheds which I found really novel and fun. For any Wonderland fans, little elements like this really added to the park experience. We then found an obstacle course which my eldest had so much fun completing. After that they had a big play in the outdoors park. There was lots to do and they had to sample most things, if not everything!
Another added element to the park, is that at the back there are stairs to go up to a grass strip with a fence and you can watch the planes landing and taking off from Bournemouth airport. This isn’t even an attraction but it was so fun plane spotting!
We then had a go at the huge maze. It was very muddy this particular day, so we did have to lift the boys up a few times. I kept an eye on the floor too as we followed the left hand side route and I kept finding the different card groups; spade, club, diamond and hearts. The maze was really fun and thankfully as we followed the right path, it didn’t take us long to get out.
The tea cups were the only thing that was dismantled and not in use, which was a shame but you had so much more to do that it didn’t really take away from the enjoyment of the park.
The boys also enjoyed a ride in the safari cars, a play in the sand pit trying to dig for gold nuggets, a trip to see the animals in the barns. The theatre show we missed but we did manage to see character appearances from Alice, the Mad Hatter and the Rabbit. The boys really enjoyed posing for photos with them. Alice also did a dance party under the marque, the boys watched this mesmerised but didn’t want to join.
On offer were pony rides but the boys turned this down. They also turned down a ride on the boats which squirt water as it was a chilly afternoon and also a go on the swings that spin around as they thought it was too scary.
We did however get a go on the elephant ride which they loved.
Inside the buildings were toilets, gift shops, a cafe and a huge soft play. In the winter, Adventure Wonderland open this soft play alone without the rest of the park and I can see why. It was so big with so much to climb and do, like shoot balls into the mouths of pirates. One flaw I found though was that there was no security gates in and out of the soft play which did put me off as it was so busy that I was worried I’d lose them, this is one of the only things I think they can improve on. Oh and to possibly paint the card shapes in the maze as you couldn’t see them completely.
I can’t pass judgement on the cafe or food as we didn’t have any, but I can say that it smelt delicious and there was ample seating as you could even sit upstairs. The toilets were clean and in good working order.
The boys had a lovely afternoon here. Although you wouldn’t necessarily need all day here as it’s a smaller park, there is still plenty to see and do over and over- as we found out at the end because they went back to the slide and trampolines and did not want to leave! I will definitely be bringing the boys back again, hopefully with warmer weather and when they’ve gained a bit of height so we can enjoy the other rides.
They loved it so much that they have asked to go again a few times since we went, apparently they want to go everyday.
I was really impressed with the park overall, and will definitely be returning.
Tiny Toes And Big Adventures gives Adventure Wonderland, Bournemouth a 4.5/5 ⭐️
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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