One of the things we love about going to a holiday park is the range of activities usually on offer. As we were new to Parkdean this year, we wanted to experience a real mix. While we didn’t have time (or the money) to try everything, you can find out a bit about some of the activities below.
Swimming
Swimming is maybe the only free activity at Parkdean, aside from the play areas. There is both an indoor and outdoor pool (depending on the time of year) and they are situated just next to The Hub, so really easy to get to wherever you are on the park.
We booked swimming slots once the activities were available to book online, around 3-4 weeks before our holiday. We’re used to doing this elsewhere and I like to have a plan for each day so this works for us. I looked at booking activities a bit late actually, as I’d missed the original email so by this point, some slots were already booked up.
Although you are able to book the slots online, you don’t have to. Parkdean leave so many slots open for swimming throughout the day for walk-ins. From our experience, there is a huge queue first thing in the morning, and again at various points throughout the day. You need to get there ahead of a time slot if you want to make sure you get in. This kind of thing isn’t for me so I was glad that I booked in advance.
Apart from the first day where we swam at 3pm (we had early check-in), we swam at 9am most of the other days. This was the first slot of the day, and there is a separate line to queue in for those with pre-booked sessions. Although the pool is quieter first thing, it fills up quickly and will get busy.
Set into 3 different sections, there’s somewhere for everyone. There’s a smaller splash pool for the little ones, and the big pool is 1.2m the whole way across so not too deep for anyone either. There are 2 slides, one for younger children and one that’s quite a bit bigger.
We really loved the pool, and although it was a bit chilly some days, we warmed up quickly. Erin and I spent most of our time in the bigger pool and she went on the bigger slide quite a few times. Our sessions were for an hour and they’re run by wristbands. Staff are really good at calling out when the different sessions end too.
The showers/ changing rooms were really clean and there’s loads available. We liked to get a locker right near the showers so it was easier to grab our shampoo etc first but there aren’t as many here.
High Ropes
Parkdean Vauxhall Holiday Park has I think the biggest high ropes activity we’ve seen somewhere like this. We booked online before our holiday and the activity cost £15 for 30 minutes. There’s a safety form to fill out at the activities hub before you can take part so be sure to do this around 5-10 minutes before the start time.
After a short safety briefing, and being shown how the activity works, Erin was harnessed up and ready to go. Erin’s session only had 3 people taking part so for the most part, she was able to take her time around the different sections and wasn’t too rushed.
Some of the sections were really quite tricky and Erin was a bit nervous about some of them. The other girls on the activity helped to encourage her though and talked her through a bit when she got a bit stuck so that was really nice.
Although Erin found some bits hard, she did really enjoy this activity and was proud of herself afterwards.
Hoverboards
Another quite sporty activity is the Hoverboards. This activity cost £11 and lasted for 45 minutes, taking part in the Sports Court area, which is just across from the High Ropes.
Before the session started, Erin was kitted out with a helmet and offered knee/ elbow pads if she wanted them. The instructor gave a safety talk right at the start and showed everyone how to use the hoverboards. Erin had used them before but was a bit of out practice so they took a bit of getting used to for her.
Some of the session was letting the kids get used to the hoverboards, and learning how to go backwards and forwards. Once everyone had some practice, the instuctor put together a few games and races to change things up a bit. Everyone was involved and made to feel welcomed which was really nice.
Clip ’n Climb
Inside the high/ low ropes area is the Clip ‘n Climb activity. Before taking part you need to either book online or book in the activities hub just across the road. There’s a safety form to fill out at the activities hub before you can take part so be sure to do this around 5-10 minutes before the start time.
This activity lasts around 30 minutes and there are 3 different climbing walls. Erin’s session only had 4 children on it in total so they were able to swap between the walls quite regularly and have a go at them all. I imagine there is more waiting around time though if it’s a bigger group.
Although Erin had fun at this one, it cost £11 and she was stood around for some of it. Erin also found the walls quite hard compared to some she’d done elsewhere and struggled a bit. However, staff were on hand to help and encourage her when she needed it.
Fairground Golf
Head into Hat Tricks for what I think is the best mini golf I think I’ve ever done. Fairground Golf is something really different and it’s unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else. A round of golf costs £5 for children and £8 for adults, and there are 12 holes to play.
What I really loved about this course is how different it was. The hole aren’t necessarily hard, but they are interesting and there’s something fun to do on each of them. For example, there is a ferris wheel to go around, a ghost train hole and games to play on the way round.
A game took around 45 minutes for 3 of us however, as it was quiet at the time, we had more than 1 go on some of the games, and went back to some of our favourite holes to try again.
Shuffleboard
Shuffleboard was one of the activities I was looking forward to the most, as it’s not something I’d ever done before. This activity can be found in Hat Tricks and can be booked at the bar. As cost goes, this one is really reasonable at £20 for an hour, where multiple people can play for the price.
Having never played Shuffleboard before, staff were able to show us how it all worked, how to play and how to use the screens. This is an interactive game and you can choose from a variety of games and settings. Games can be played individually or in teams and you have the option to move people around when you want.
Shuffleboard was quite a bit harder than I anticipated and it took a bit of getting used to, for all of us. Even when you think you’re being relaly gentle, the pucks (or whatever they’re called) fly off the board! However, we all had loads of fun with this one and wished we’d booked to do it again.
Interactive Darts
For £20 you can book an hour of interactive darts in Hat Tricks. You can either do this via the link in your emails or at the bar in Hat Tricks. The price is for the whole hour and you can have around 10 people to play for this amount.
Darts isn’t something we’ve ever done before and certainly not like this so someone came over and showed us what we were doing. This kind of darts is interactive and you can choose different games to play from a screen. The darts score automatically so there’s no need to keep track yourself.
It took us a little while to get into the swing of things, with us all needing a bit of a practice to even be able to hit the board. Erin was a little bit worried about using real darts, but soon got used to them. None of us did particularly well, but we managed to hit the board and score most of the time, and we managed to play 2 games in the hour we’d paid for.
I loved being able to do this as a family, and the price was really good for the amount of time we had.
Pool
Another great things to do in Hat Tricks to is have a game of pool. There are 4 tables available but they can’t be booked so you have to either wait, or hope one is free when you turn up. Games are £2 each which is a great way to do something fun but at a lower price. My only complaint is that there weren’t any queues for children. Erin struggled a bit and would have had more fun if there was one better suited to her height.
Play areas
Close to the main restaurant, there are a couple of play areas. There’s one quite large outdoor play area (pictured below), as well as a small indoor soft play area. Both of these are free to use and there’s no supervision from staff. This is a great way to let the kids burn off some energy, especially if the weather is nice. On the other side of the play area is an outdoor bar too!
Arcade
We all love some time at the arcade when we’re on a holiday park, and Vauxhall Holiday Park has one of the best we’ve ever been to. Of course, there’s the average 2p machines and games but this one is huge so there’s a lot more on offer. There’s a sort of separate area for things like riding games (pictured below), dance mats and shooting games.
Of course, the arcade isn’t free and you can end up spending quite a lot of money if you don’t set yourself a limit. You can win tokens on a lot of games and the shop for prizes is pretty good with quite a lot of choice.
