Gulliver's World

Yesterday we travelled to Gulliver's World in Warrington as an early Father's Day celebration.  The weather forecast said that we would have clear skies and warm temperatures so we headed out at about 9:30 and made it there in less than 45 minutes.  It was really easy to drive there and the closer we got to Warrington, the view became very leafy with thick forestry.

The day did not disappoint weather-wise because it was extremely hot without a cloud in the sky.  If Jackson was old enough, then we probably would have ridden the water rides all day.  We definitely over-dressed for the day, but luckily we were wearing layers because t-shirts and tank-tops were on the cards.  When it was time for Jackson to take a nap in his stroller, we just let him wear his bodysuit (baby grow).  Gulliver's World seems to be a well-established theme park so the grounds were mainly covered in shade except for the parts in the African-themed area where there seems to be expansion going on.

We were really fortunate that we decided to go during Father's Day weekend because Lee got in for free.  Also, because Jackson is shorter than 90 cm, his admission was free!  We were expecting the price of tickets for adults to be about £30 or so, but for adults the cost is only £18.95.  That seems really inexpensive to me for a six-and-a-half hour day at an amusement park.  The prices for food were reasonable, as well.  All-in-all, we spent the same amount that we would have if we went out to eat at Pizza Express.  (It's always a good feeling when we overestimate our budget for the day!)

There were about ten different rides and attractions for Jackson's height and his favourite ones were the dinosaur carousel, the vintage cars, and the planes.  By the end of the day, he got used to the pattern of riding a ride and then exiting without getting upset.  For the plane ride, as soon as he exited, I ran him back to the entrance gate so that he could ride again right away.  There was an area devoted to dinosaurs and they had some that seemed to be made to scale based on skeletons I have seen in museums.  Jackson thought they were real and loved to spot them through the bushes and trees.  He built-up his patience throughout the day and seemed to understand what waiting in line meant after the first few rides.

Our travel tips for the day if travelling to a theme park:  take the stroller even if your toddler can walk, but also take the harness and reins for mobility.  With the stroller, take one bag (preferably an insulated picnic-style bag) to hold the snacks, drinks, a few diapers, a pack of wipes, and the diaper cream.  Then, have one person carry the money, cards, and keys in their pocket or a small handbag so that when you go on a ride all together and leave the stroller by the ride operator, there are no valuables left there for you to worry about.

Waving and saying 'bye-bye'

Jackson loved choosing his own animal

Riding a raft through an Aztec river

View of the scene upon entering

Racing in the Grand Prix

A very proud looking pilot

P.S.  Happy Father's Day to my dad back in Ohio!  I hope that you have a great day and we will see you very soon.

Developmental updates:  Jackson had a huge outburst of new vocabulary this week!  His diction is very clear and we were taken aback when yesterday, on our outing, we heard five new words alone.  Here is a list of his new words and phrases:  bubble, please, hot, see you later, good boy, blue ball, dinosaur, zebra (the UK pronunciation), and sweaty.  Jackson has started pretending to be asleep with his own version of snoring included!  He also thinks if he just makes this noise, but doesn't close his eyes, he is still 'sleeping.'  Jackson is also experimenting with moving in new ways which include walking backwards and walking with his eyes closed.  Thankfully, he has stopped crying when he gets in and out of car (about 90% success rate with this one; it's not completely resolved, yet).  If he has a diaper that needs changed, then he will also get his changing mat on his own and present us with it and a clean diaper.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.