Drayton Manor | The Land of Thomas - Family Day Out & Saving Tips

 For months now we've been planning a trip to Drayton Manor as a Birthday treat for my eldest who recently just turned 6 years old - trust me when I say I'm still struggling to come to terms with the fact I have a 6 year old. My son is a huge Thomas & Friends fan, and with that in mind Drayton Manor (the place of Thomas Land) was our place of choice to celebrate at. Summer is a confusing time for us in the United Kingdom, but the sudden change in weather (we got sunshine woo) makes any theme park a great place to visit right now, and Drayton Manor is perfect for everyone of any age. In today's post I thought I'd share our day in pictures and share my saving tips on enjoying what could be an expensive day out for less.

 Going on the Thomas & Friends train was the highlight of the kids day, though we ended up going on Rosie rather than Thomas. There's two trains going back and forth to the animal park situated on site.

 The kids, and adults, had a bit of a wiggle to the Fat Controller singing. 

 There's a huge exhibition dedicated to the Thomas & Friends with huge models. My son especially loved chasing Thomas around the track.

 The day couldn't of been more perfect if we tried. The weather was definitely on our side.

 We had such an amazing day. The weather was sunny throughout and a few of us left looking a little red from sunburn. Some of the rides were crazy busy but most were only a short wait, and we managed to get on all of them in Thomas Land minus 2 or 3. I'd of love to have experienced some of the more 'adult rides' but this trip was about the kids, more so the birthday boy himself, but it didn't stop us from having the most amazing time with our family. We picked up a couple of goodies from the gift shop, and found it was reasonably priced and no different to the prices in toy shops like Smyths or Toys R Us. The children had the greatest time, and if you are wanting to kill a day of the Summer holidays Drayton Manor comes highly recommended from myself. 

My boyfriend won me a panda ♥

Saving Tips

I'm not going to lie and tell you that you'll be able to make the trip for less than £50 because you won't, especially if long distance driving is involved and you are going to be eating out during the day. Our drive from home to Drayton Manor is 2 hours and 20 minutes so money for petrol is an added cost. All theme parks and most days out are so expensive now, but there's many ways to save yourself a small fortune online.

Book Online - Planning this trip in advance will save you a big chunk of cash. We booked more than 7 days in advance which saved us over £40. Me and my partner were £20 each, Son £15 and Daughter just £5. This is a huge difference to the £36 each we'd of had to pay on the day, and the £27 for our son. 

Food - Take your own homemade picnic for your lunch and snacks to eat throughout the day. Save any bottles you've bought from at the shop and fill them up with water or juice. 

I hope my saving tips help you on your next family day out. If you have any recommendations for kid friendly places then please comment down below. I hope you're all having a great Summer so far.

 

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