Wonderland Telford Review
Wonderland
Telford
Reviewed by Judy Cera
Wonderland is set in the beautiful Telford Town Park and on Saturday April 4I took my two children there. There is a free car park – Randlay Car Park – just a short walk away from the park, and Wonderland is well signposted from the car park. As we arrived we saw the little train that travels between Wonderland and the play area in the town park, and we could hear music coming from speakers in the entrance to Wonderland. Although it was a Saturday in the Easter holidays, we did not have to queue to get in, or to go on the rides, and the park was not too busy.
Wonderland has several different areas, based on different fairy tales, such as Snow White’s Cottage and the Mad Hatter’s table. First we made our way to the caterpillar ride which is situated near the castle. My boys both enjoyed the ride, even my elder son who, at the age of eleven, is really a bit too old for Wonderland. They also both enjoyed the Tea Cup ride which has five spinning tea cups that children can sit inside. My younger son is seven, and he was just about young enough to enjoy Wonderland, but it is really suited to younger children. I think this could have been made clearer on the website which does not give very much information. I could not find opening times on the website despite clicking on the tab for opening times – this just gives a calendar showing which dates are peak and off peak but does not give any times.
Next we went to the crazy maze which was one of our favourite parts of the park. Finding our way out of the hedges proved quite a challenge! Wellies are definitely needed for the maze as there are many muddy puddles which you will have to go through many times as you search for the way out!
As it was Easter weekend we tried out the Easter Trail. This involved walking through the various houses in the Winter Wonderland and talking to the characters that we met in each house – Red Riding Hood, the Mad Hatter and many others including of course the Easter Bunny. Each character gave the children a small gift to put in their goody bag – a pack of stickers, a notebook, a pencil and other similar items. This made a refreshing change from the usual chocolate given out at most Easter trails. Also in the Winter Wonderland area was Ice Mountain. We could go inside the mountain and walk past twinkling Christmas trees, moving polar bears, flying snowmen and much more. There was also a winter carousel and a sleigh ride.
We walked around Wonderland and looked at all the areas and houses as well as Dinosaur Valley with its large model dinosaurs. There were a lot of loud speakers playing various nursery rhymes as we walked around and I did find this rather annoying after a while! There were lots of little houses that we could look inside or go in and see the 3 little pigs, Goldilocks and the 3 bears etc… These would be very enchanting for younger children.
We brought a picnic with us but you can purchase food from various food outlets including the café in the castle which is in the covered soft play area. There are toilets in the castle too.
Before leaving, the children had a go on the Fintasia Fish Ride which is a kind of roundabout where you sit in a fish’s mouth. You can go on the rides as many times as you want, and there were no queues so I think Wonderland is good value for money and children could happily spend several hours there.
The staff were very friendly and all the dressed up characters did a great job of engaging the children in conversation.
The only negative thing about Wonderland, apart from the annoying music, is the rather dated feel of the place. I had the impression that nothing had changed for many years, and that the place would benefit from a lick of paint and a bit of modernisation. Having said that, it is a place that young children will enjoy because of the many rides and other attractions.
After our visit, we spent some time in Telford Town Park which is a lovely place with various play areas and nature trails.
All in all we had a fun day and I would recommend Wonderland to families with toddlers and young children.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost £7.95 per person (under 2’s are free). Book online to save £1 per person.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.wonderlandmidlands.com/telford-town-park.
Wonderland, Telford Town Park, Telford, TF3 4AY | 01952 591633
