Christmas holidays is generally a time where we end up sitting at home not doing a lot. I hate the crazy busy shopping rush, and also there doesn’t seem to be much to do that doesn’t involve Santa or Christmas. As we don’t celebrate Christmas it is hard to get involved….our involvement usually is chocolate and watching Christmas films.
So I was pleased to hear about the Bah Humbug Fest.
So what is the Bah Humbug! Fest? It is a family festival with a twist!
There won’t be so much as a whisper of Christmas! Instead we’re focusing on family fun which will include access to over 40 rides and inflatables suitable for all ages.We’ll also have special appearances from characters from Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol and PJ Masks on selected dates as well as live music every day from The Little Mix Experience. So, if you’re a bit of a Grinch around Christmas time (like us!) or you’re looking for a fun day out for the kids (and the lack of Christmas songs is an added bonus) book your tickets!
Tickets and Pricing
Your tickets allow you to attend a 4 hour session; you can book for 12pm-4pm or 5pm-9pm. Prices are £20 per person, or £70 for a family ticket (family of 4). Under 3’s go free and if you don’t want to go on a ride you can pay a spectator price of £6.
When you first look at the price it can seem a bit steep. However there are usually offers around and the price is for unlimited 4 hours of fun. You can go on the rides as many times as you like. If you go to a fairground you are paying roughly £3 a ride so you can easily spend £20 on one child for a few rides.
Things to Do
There are various fairground rides and inflatables at the Fest, such as small roller coasters, the helter skelter, dodgems, ghost train and much more! A full list of the attractions can be found on the Bah Humbug website: Bah Humbug activites.
Most of the attractions are indoors including the inflatables which is perfect if there is bad weather. I think Bee enjoyed the inflatables the most, in particular the Wipe Out Stepping Stones; she kept going back to them!
There are also some fairground games such as hook a duck. However these cost extra at around £3-£5 each.
In addition to the rides there are regular meet and greets from characters from shows such as Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig. There are different characters on different days so it is always best to check the schedule before you book if there is a certain character you would like to meet.
Finally, to round off the session, there is a live performance from The Little Mix Experience which is enjoyed by all..
Suitable for all Ages
There certainly is something to do for all the family. There is an under 3 section of inflatables so they don’t have to worry about being knocked over by older children and there are rides suitable for the older children such as the Crazy Bulls and Freak Out.
Food and Seating
There are a few benches dotted around the arena for people to sit and also a covered area outside with chairs and tables. As the event wasn’t particularly busy it was easy to find somewhere to sit….however on busy days I don’t think the seating area would be sufficient. There are a few food vans outside the arena, which includes doughnuts and food such as chips and toasties. Chips cost £3 a tray which I think seems to be the usual price for when you are buying food at an event.
What Did We Think?
Bee absolutely loved the Fest and didn’t want to go home. She went on a few rides but was more interested in the inflatables and could have spent all day on them. She also loved the Roller Skating. As it was a bit quiet the staff member came on with us and helped teach her how to skate as it was her first time doing it.
All the staff were generally approachable and friendly. Sometimes they did seem to be missing from some of the smaller rides but were never far away.
My eldest has had a bit of a bad cold for the past 2 weeks and still hasn’t fully recovered so she did not go on as much as she could have. However if she was 100% I am sure she would have gone on more of the rides..but she still did enjoy it and even had pictures taken with the Paw Patrol characters!
The event on the day we went was very quiet. Which allowed the girls to keep going on their favourite things without having to queue. The only thing they had to sometimes queue for was the Wipeout Stepping Stones as only one child can go on it at a time but even then the waiting time wasn’t very long!
Here’s a quick video of the fun we had.
We think this is a great idea for an event and hopefully they will be back next year. It would be nice if there were some more acts on the stage though to improve it! The festival this year is running until 30th December so there is still a chance to go if you haven’t been yet.
Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets in return for a review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.