Butlins Minehead - Christmas Fantasy, yay or nay??

Has anyone been to the Christmas Fantasy with their family, at Minehead..??? Be completely honest, what's it like?

Have a quote for just under £300 for 3 nights (no dining plan), and as December is such a hectic time I am thinking of booking it as a surprise. But it would REALLY need to be good.....

Just lost my job, so it will be something we'll really be saving for - Any hints, tips or advice to go or not, do it cheaper, best way to do it etc very gratefully received :beer:

Thanks in advance xx
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Comments

  • mew
    mew Posts: 1,009 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Sorry I haven't been to Butlins in December (went in Feb and it was freezing) but £300 for 3 nights in December!

    UK breaks are so expensive and that's before you factor in food and all those extras. Personly I would rather visit Butlins (or similar) in the spring/summer/autumn, when you are more likley be able to make use of all the great outdoor activities and beach etc.
  • wookeyhole1
    wookeyhole1 Posts: 2,199 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    i have been in December and it is good although I wouldn't pay £300. I always go with the sun holidays and pay about £100.


    the extras you get for it being Christmas fantasy is to see santa, there is a Christmas show the redcoats do, and a ice rink (although it was plastic last year and although my daughter loved it, I hated it)


    it was a good weekend though and everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit and I did enjoy it and will be trying to do it again this year
  • artichoke
    artichoke Posts: 1,724 Forumite
    edited 21 May 2015 at 3:12PM
    Hi

    Do you mean the weekends leading up to Christmas

    We have been to butlins Skegness the weekend before christmas - but we got it through the Sun deals so paid £100 approx.

    It was good and I would recommend it for families whose kids are still at that age...BUT only if you can book it through the offers.. sun or break free or other such promotion... We have been twice both times through an offer.


    Every night there was a big Christmas show of some sort

    - Christmas Panto (but if you have already been to Butlins that year you might have already seen the Panto as we had seen it on a Sun holiday in the summer )

    - a Winter Wonderland show - which was really really good and really got us into the christmas mood

    - a big snowstorm type thing - with foam snow coming down on everyone ....again very good for the kids,

    - plastic ice rink as an outdoor activity

    Plus a visit to Santa with a present ....

    as well as all the usual Butlins stuff...

    It all felt very very christmassy and it seemed everyone in the place was wearing Christmas jumpers or fancy dress :rotfl:

    the resort was also decorated for Christmas and did feel very winter wonderlandish..

    I disagree with the above as i would rather visit Butlins in the winter as you can use the swimming pool all day and spend time in the indoor attractions / evening shows etc when the weather is bad.

    It is hard to find affordable things to do with the kids when the weather is bad - but a Sun break at Butlins for £100 is great value for a wet, cold, winters weekend..

    I might have to look at the September sun promotion and see if i can get one for myself!

    Art
  • Oh fab! Didn't realise the Sun did the deals with it - being as I'm a Sun Perks member, will wait for that then :-)
    It is very expensive (bearing in mind we're going away glamping in August for £65 for 2 nights for 4 of us!!), but we'll definitely need a break this year! X
    CC #1 = £0/£200.
    OVERDRAFT = £0/£400.
    SEALED POT CHALLENGE = £4/£200.
  • Mary101
    Mary101 Posts: 9 Forumite
    Hiya - been to Butlins twice in December last year and had a great time! As much nice stuff to do in the winter as the summer. Some of the stuff isn't open but the pool and entertainment was on so we loved it. Have a fab time. x
  • spaceman5
    spaceman5 Posts: 2,716 Forumite
    as a side thought, if you cant get an offer through the sun/mail, have you considered booking a private caravan, as they can be vastly cheaper than booking direct through Butlins themselves, I know Butlins Skegness and Minehead have private caravan owners, just google it, there is one on Facebook I keep seeing appearing called Susan, I know it can be a risk booking private but with a bit of research there is money to be saved!!, I can certainly vouch for that we are going to Butlins Skegness for the 2 peak weeks in the summer, and we are basically staying in a new caravan for this year including passes to use all Butlins facitlities for 2 weeks cheaper than if we had booked one of Butlins standard chalets for 1 week booking direct with Butlins.


    I have to say I used to work at Minehead and the moto when Billy Butlin first started was 1 weeks holiday for 1 weeks pay certainly not the case now I am afraid, but on the other hand when I worked there I could not see the fascination with Butlins, but now I have left and got kids of my own, apart from the year we did Florida, in the past 12 years we have done them all, Haven, Park Resorts, Pontins and we was lucky enough to get Butlins Bognor through the sun one year and by some distance the Butlins holiday was the best holiday we have had!!
    Take every day as it comes!!
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