Twinlakes at Halloween Review
Twinlakes at Halloween
Melton Mowbray
Reviewed by Gemma Ingham
My family and I went to review Twinlakes Theme Park in Melton Mowbray. It is an ‘all weather’ family theme park as there are plenty of indoor things to do, as well as a waterpark section. We visited at the end of their ‘Scream Park’ event for Halloween and there were still a lot of Halloween props scattered about which added to the experience.
Twinlakes is clearly signposted from the main roads that the sat nav postcode directs you to and we found it with no problem. There was plenty of parking and absolutely no queuing to get in although the place did seem very quiet for a Saturday in half term week.
On arrival I visited the toilets in the carpark before you enter the theme park. First impressions were not good. They were possibly the smelliest toilets I have ever been in, and the cubicle I ended up in didn’t even have a lock. There was toilet roll scattered everywhere on the floor and the toilet roll actually inside the holder was wet. If I hadn’t been desperate I would’ve walked out and waited until we got inside the park in the hope the toilets inside were better.
Upon entering the theme park we were given a well written, good quality map showing the different themed zones, along with information on the attractions in that zone, the height restrictions for those attractions and the locations of toilets/cafes/picnic areas etc… I found the list of attractions and height restrictions useful because I could at a glance see which zones of the park we needed to spend the most time in and that were most suitable for our family.
There are plenty of undercover and open picnic areas with tables and chairs, which is refreshing as it can really help cut down the costs of a day out, and there were also plenty of toilets dotted about.
We started in the Creepy Critters Zone in which there were tanks of snakes, spiders, bearded dragons, crocodiles and the usual creepy crawlies you’d expect to make your skin crawl. Each of the tanks was labeled but I would have liked to have seen small information boards about each animal, and where in the tank you would be likely to find them as some of them appeared to be empty. There were a good range of animals and my toddler especially liked the crocodile, although the severed head and limbs in the crocodile tank left over from Halloween might be a bit scary for some of the younger children!
We moved onto the Excalibur Adventure Zone where we had our picnic and came across a lovely under 5’s play area. Our toddler was in heaven with plenty of equipment to play on, plus a pretend princess castle to explore. There is also an inside part to this play area that houses a large ball pool, helter skelter slide, and a brilliant small quiet and clean soft play section that she would have happily spent all day in.
We came across the Joust About horse ride which was a firm favourite and gentle enough for a toddler. Of the rides we went on they all seemed well maintained and clean. After a few goes on the horse ride we moved up to the Falconry Centre and saw some wonderful specimens of owls amongst other birds, and caught a demonstration about a Falcon which was amazing being able to see up close.
We then dropped down to the Red Rooster Farm Zone which is quite a small area with horses, sheep, goats and cows. There are little machines placed about that you can purchase animal food from, and there was also a pumpkin carving section set out which proved to be very popular! There is an indoor and outdoor section to the farm with the outdoor pens being large and a very good goat pen that houses a bridge and little shed. All the animals looked well cared for.
From here we paid a visit to the Labyrinth Venture Zone that seemed to house a large soft play along with other indoor rides. It was really busy and overwhelming for our toddler as it also seemed to act as a main eating place so we ended up leaving, however I can see older children would love it in there as they can play while parents have a drink or eat.
Ao Guang Dragon Zone houses the water section, which on a cold November afternoon was deserted but I can imagine on a hot sunny day it would be incredibly inviting! It’s a large structure of water, slides and water attractions surrounded by chairs and sun loungers. Here we also came across sand pits and a small under 6 play area around the theme of Pandas. There was a small rollercoaster in this section that we were going to take our toddler on. However we were told she was too small, but later saw a child smaller than her being allowed on so we were a little disappointed in the inconsistency in the rules. We also came across the Log Flumes but we were all far too cold to risk getting wet on it! It did seem like a very good ride and unlike other Flumes it did seem to provide a good soaking.
From here was the Action USA zone with a small western village, boat pond, small rides and another playground, and the Buccaneers Island Zone which is indoors and houses rides, and a bouncy castle amongst other small attractions.
I definitely think this park is best for children over 90cm high. My toddler is quite short for her age so could not go on most of the rides. We did have a 7 year old who was supposed to be visiting with us but was ill on the day, but had he been able to attend we would have been able to experience more of the rides.
I do feel a height chart on the outside of each ride, like most theme parks, would be useful so parents could see whether their child is tall enough before the child gets too excited about the ride and can help avoid disappointment. I’d forgotten to measure my daughter but thought she was around the 90cm mark. She was excited to go on a particular 90cm minimum ride only to be told once the attendant had held his meter stick up to her that she was too small. Some rides with a 90cm minimum she was allowed on and some she wasn’t so there is a definite inconsistency between ride operators.
Another niggle was that as an entrance fee has already been paid it’s a little annoying to come across little rides that had be paid for separately such as the toddler character rides (Peppa Pig, Postman Pat etc…) or to have to pay for water guns to blast people on the log flume. I do think those types of things should already be included in the entrance price.
All in all I am pleased with our day out at Twinlakes. It’s refreshing that it’s not just all about the rides and does have a lot of playgrounds, soft plays, and adventure play that caters for all ages. The park is in need of some TLC with some parts looking a bit worse for wear, and it could do with some modernization but considering it doesn’t cost as much to get into as other well known theme parks it’s easy to overlook the worn down bits. All the staff we encountered were very polite, chatty and friendly.
And the toilets inside the park were slightly better than the ones in the car park, although I still encountered cubicles without locks and never did find a hand dryer that worked!
Rating: 4/5
For latest ticket prices click here.
For more information or to save money and book tickets online visit www.twinlakespark.co.uk.
Twinlakes, Melton Spinney Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 4SB | 01664 567 777
