Butlins Minehead - Anyone been there?

don9999

Kids are of school on Friday and Monday so have taken the opportunity to take them for a long weekend to Butlins in Minehead. Picked up a late deal for a reasonable £210 for 3 nights/4 days, room, breakfast AND dinner, for 5 of us (in a 6 bed room).

Never been to Butlins before. Never thought much of it. Have still read reviews both good, and bad.

However, I'm hoping/expecting it will be a nice treat for the kids. They apparently have a great indoor, heated pool, a free kid's funfair, outdoor play area, indoor play area, plus entertainment all day - including Bob the Builder shows, which should keep the 3 year old happy. (Other kids are 4 and 8).

Has anyone from here been there - especially the Minehead one, where we are going.?

Please don't be TOO damning. Any suggestions/advice on what to do, or avoid, would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Don

SDP

Took mine 2 years ago they were 7 & 5 at the time, They loved it and still talk about it, It does work out quite expensive the fair is ok but there are extras everywhere the rides are free but the stalls are not, there are slot machines everywhere you turn, when we were there they had a wrestling show on and i'd go back just to see the kids watch that again we laughed for two hours they were so animated watching it, Drinks are expensive so take some for the evening, If you can controll the kids spending you'll have a great time coz they love it, Everything is set up for their entertainment. Hope you have a great holiday. S

starlightdisco

went years ago ,had a bril time .if you want to see the big shows best turn up well before the start,[kids drinks] go into town get some ,put them in a beach bag ,get one drink per child and topup as you want.

don9999

Thanks for the advice. Will fill their bottles and/or buy a pack of fruit shoot type drinks that we can carry with us.

I will try to keep control of the finances, but am happy to spend a 'reasonable' amount for them to have some fun. Am hoping that they will make full use of all the 'free' activities, and then I can pay for a few 'extras' - I like the idea of paying for them to go pony-riding for example.

The 'theme' for this weekend is 'Country and Western' which is unfortunate, because it is the only music genre that I can't stand. Oh well, I reckon the kids may enjoy it, since they love dancing, and will try to do some of the line dancing. And I'm 'hoping' that there will be other shows too - for example, I know there are twice-daily Bob the Builder shows.

Am also led to believe that there are shows on all day in the Pvilion, but have no idea what they are going to be like.

Thanks for the advice...

Cheers,
Don

hellofreebies

kids will love it...we went 2 weeks ago for a week at the half term and i can honestly say there was something to do or see through out the week....

we usually got up and out by 9:30 for breakfast and went for a swim (tip lockers are 30p which you trade for a locker token in the machines in the changing rooms,if the machine has run out of tokens just get an assistant and she will lock a locker for you for free) or watch bob/angelina at around 10:30 in the skyline, at noon the puppet theatre usually have a show..just check the times when you walk past... in the afternoon kids might do art and craft which start at 2pm (opposite bobs yard fairground for over twos) because of the different ages we put the little ones in bobs yard while the older ones did there clay modelling/pirate making activities, the soft play area was also a hit with them all. the bungee jump is £5 or you can pay £12 for 3 go's which you dont have to take all at once...around 4:30 the resturant opened so we'd have dinner then make our way at 7:30 for the shows which people started queing around 6:30 to get good tables..we only queued on the first night early but other nights we just arrived a few minutes before the show started as the children were always allowed to sit on the floor right at the front, then we would just move spare seats from other tables towards the back wall next to the man who sits in the box doing the audio. tip..if you have any flashing disco novety toys bring them with you else pay around £3.50 each when the kids hound you for one...
the food has improved a lot over the years in my opinion and there is usually something to suit everyone...tip make sure the kids get there 5 aday fruit and veg card (found in your welcome back as well as the weekends programs) stamped by the doorman in the resturant as when you get it all stamped you can exchange it for a butlins pin badge of your choice in the sovenier shop (worth 2.50)
we bought our lap top too as there is wifi in the skyline and it was also useful for playing dvds for the kids when we came in on the evening to help them wind down at the end of the day we also bought one of those mini fridges with us (ones that hold 4 cans of coke) so we could keep our milk (compliments of the canteen lol) fresh for tea or coffee in the evenings also bring all you spare coppers as the kids loves the 2p slots (drop, slide and push ones).

on the last day (everything shuts down at 12noon to get you out apart from slot machines) we went up the road to the queens hall (pub/wine bar) which sold expensive coffee/hot chocolate (£2) but it was worth it as they had a great free soft play area (and wifi) in the basement which the kids really enjoyed.

hope that helps x

have a great weekend

oh and dont forget to get a glimpse of titan the robot...hes awsome!

Zoetoes

The kids will love it, we've been about 4 times and are looking at booking again for a midweek break this year.

The stalls are expensive, don't bother.

We did enjoy the time we hired a 4 wheel bike/cart, we had a race with another family and we won as they crashed into a huge boulder and nearly toppled the cart over which we found hilarious (they were ok), it was the 'grown ups' who started the race.

There's a Tesco about 2 minutes walk away to get some bits like cereal, drinks etc.

There are shows in the pavilion of a night which are good, there's the little Noddy toy town fair where there is also a stage for Bob the Builder etc.

There is Reds bar where they have a disco etc

I think there are a few new things now aswell.

don9999

Excellent advice, thanks. I have bags of 2p's so will be taking them along.

I will also take my laptop - for movies in the room. Am also happy to hear that there is broadband access (although not particularly happy about carrying it around with me to the Skyline. I guess the wireless signal isn't strong enough to reach the rooms.)

Am happy to hear there is a kid's disco too, since my three young-ones love dancing.

Am actually looking forward to going!
And for just £210, meals included; it's not bad at all!

Haven't heard anything about start/end times though.
Am there from Friday to Monday - what time are we allowed in? To the site and/or room?
It was mentioned earlier that things shut down at 12pm on the last day - so can I assume that at 12pm on Monday, entertainments will close down and we need to leave? What time do we have to leave the rooms?

Cheers,
Don

hellofreebies

you have to check out of your room by 10:30 and off site by 12pm

you can check in around 4:30 though im sure you could go earlier but will just have to keep your stuff in the car til then...just call them and check...