Heads of Ayr Farm Park Santa’s Grotto Review
Heads of Ayr Farm Park
Santa’s Grotto
6-23 December 2014
Reviewed by Debbie Douglas
with Craig (6) and Amy (3)
Included in the entrance price was a visit to Santa’s Grotto with a present for each child, access to the Adventure Play Barn Play N’Wild and the Fowl Play Shooting Gallery. A visit to the Little Critters Animal Barn was also available. The gift shop is open together with Roosters Restaurant for a hot meal and the coffee bar is available for a selection of hot drinks and cakes.
We had booked our Santa visit for 11 o’clock and we arrived around 10.30 so we had time for a quick looksee around before our slot. The kids wanted to go into the soft play so we let them have ten minutes before we had to go and see Santa. The adventure Play Barn Play N’Wild is huge! There are giant drop slides which Craig thought about but decided against. There is also a fab slide which you sit on mats which we decided we would come back and try after seeing Santa.
Santa was a really good experience. There were no other people waiting which sometimes happen at other places where you get put into a time block. An elf rings a bell when it is your turn to go which I thought was a nice touch. The Santa Grotto is a lovely walk through to Santa’s house complete with a bed and chair and is beautifully decorated. Santa was authentic and friendly – could even have been the real one?!? Craig enjoyed his chat with him even if Amy wouldn’t even look at him. Both gifts were brilliant, Craig got a Marble Frenzy Run and Amy for a colour matching and counting game called Fancy Dress Fun. Both presents were a huge hit. The presents are in bags of year ages i.e. 3, 4, 5 not brackets as this can be a hit and a miss if the child is at the beginning or end of the age range. We were allowed to take a photo which Santa and there was no ‘professional’ photographer insisting you buy their pictures.
After our Santa visit it was time to hit the soft play – the kids loved this and I really liked the staff who were attentive and helpful. They helped Craig up the rope and went into the soft play to find the kids when we needed them. We all had great fun on the mat slide – the kids must have been down this at least 20 times. Your adult ticket entitles you to a non-alcoholic mulled wine and a mince pie. There was no mulled wine at the café but the woman let me use the ticket for a tea and a coffee instead. The cakes were priced at £1.65 which I thought was really reasonable and the crispy cake was really tasty.
We tried the Fowl Play Shooting Gallery next – Craig and Daddy were in their element so Amy and I had a quick shot then went to the under 5’s soft play section. There are a few diggers where you can sit on and dig in the sand. One complaint I did have was that you had to pay a pound per shot on the digger and you didn’t get much time on it.
We spent so long at the soft plat that we needed some lunch so we ordered 2 burgers and 2 chicken nuggets and a couple of cakes. The total was £20 approximately which wasn’t too bad for what you got. The food did take a while to come but there were crayons and pictures for the kids to colour in so this kept them amused until the food arrived.
After our pit stop we went on the visit to the Little Critters Animal Barn which rounded of our visit nicely. A clean varied array of animals were on display complete which Christmas trees in some cages. The animals included guinea pigs and Craig’s favourite Chameleons.
We had a quick visit to the gift shop which was well stocked with a good range of reasonable priced products. One thing I did like is that you do not have to enter the gift shop on the way out and it could be avoided altogether if you wanted to. The toilets were spotless and easily accessible.
We will definitely be back to visit again in the future both for the Santa experience and in the Summer to see what other exciting things the park has to offer outside.
Rating: 5/5 
Prices: Adults and under 2’s £4.50, Children £8
For more information or to make a booking click here or call 01292 441210.
Heads of Ayr Farm Park, Alloway by Ayr, KA7 4LD | 01292 441210.
