5 things to change at Peppa Pig World

Last weekend, the countdown was finally over and it was time to go to Peppa Pig World! We had 2 giddy toddlers in the car and 4 equally excited adults!

The day started off a bit cold and grey and we made the decision to queue for the big, seemingly most popular rides, first. Half an hour queues for Peppa's Balloon Ride, George's Dinosaur Ride and slightly less for Daddy's Car Ride and Windy Castle.

The kids were fantastic and with the help of a few snacks, they waited patiently for their turns. Well big boy said "Is it my turn yet" pretty much for the whole queue but we managed to pacify him!

The queues were as we had expected and after the first few rides we went off for an explore of the houses and our picnic lunch. (The restaurant just outside the entrance allows you to sit indoors with your own food and they are currently building a large under cover seating area opposite.)

After lunch the sun came out, and we had a glorious afternoon. There is so much to do in Peppa Pig World that we only made it on 2 children's rides in the wider theme park. As the weather was so nice after lunch we missed out on George's indoor play centre and the water park Muddy Puddles (as we only had 10 minutes before the park closed and we didn't want to have to haul them out soaking and screaming as they would have been having too much fun!)

I would recommend Peppa Pig World to all families with toddlers and older Peppa fans. Paultons Park has a wide variety of rides, that you would expect at a regional theme park. Adults and older children will love it!

There are only a few things I would change if I had Peppa's magic wand!

ONE - There are no bins in the car park. Some ghastly people (more than I could count) had changed their babies in their cars and then left the dirty nappy on the ground, not even in a nappy sack. Why should the car park attendants have to pick up dirty nappies? Outrageous behaviour.

TWO - We were a bit disappointed the furry characters don't walk around the park as you see at Disney Land. There were 3 scheduled appearances of just Peppa and George (we were hoping for Granny Pig) at the back of Madame Gazelles school house.

The come out onto a decked area with a balustrade around the deck and initially we all started queuing up, in a very British fashion, as we thought each child would have a turn of going onto the deck for a photo and a cuddle. We soon realised that those who had visited before knew better and it turned into a scrum of parents pushing their children up onto the wooden railings. If you weren't first in the line you didn't have much hope of a high five with George, so we went back a second time so big boy got a proper cuddle.

It would save so much pushing and shoving if the characters could amble around for periods during the day. Most of the children were under 5 and so have very short attention spans, so it would only take a few seconds for each to have a photo and a cuddle.

I was lucky and was at the front so got to take a magical photo of him staring up at his beloved George, but most parents were too busy holding them up, with no free hand for the camera.

THREE - The plastic statues of the characters again are either behind railings, in amongst the rides or at the end of a queue for a quick photo opportunity. It would be great if they were dotted around like the trees so parents weren't under pressure and the children could relish their moment with their beloved favourite.

FOUR - A number of the rides have clever queue systems that have been designed in a circular shape so you can look through the railings towards the ride you are waiting for. However, my friend observed that they could have built glass panes, like you see at an aquarium, in the wall that follows the line of the railings. That would mean that small ones who can't see over the wall could look out onto the rest of the park. We kept having to lift them up so they could see out and after a while they got very heavy!

FIVE - An entry ticket just to Peppa Pig World. We really didn't make the most of our ticket to the wider theme park and as big boy was 2mm above 1m we had to pay £21.50 for him, even though he was too scared at 2, to go on any of the bigger rides his height would allow. If only there was a separate entrance and a staff member on the exit to the greater Paultons Park they could charge a ticket price that reflected just the number of rides available. We would still have been prepared to pay a good proportion of the main ticket price so it could be a real money spinner. Whilst we appreciate there is so much more on offer, I don't think we will return any time soon as it was almost £70 for us to get in as a family! However, if we had paid a reduced amount, and just visited Peppa Pig World, I believe we would justify a second visit much sooner.

All that being said we had a fab time!