2FOR 1 at Flamingo Land
Plus a FREE meal
Fenough inding a break that suits all of the family can be tricky. Fortunately Flamingo Land has
fun activities packed on to its sprawling North Yorkshire site to ensure that everyone has a trip they won’t ever forget.
Whether you’re after exciting rides, the chance to see exotic animals from every corner of the globe or leisure facilities that allow the family to unwind together, this place has it all.
After dropping off our bags at our spacious cottage in the heart of the action, our family – eight-year-old Griff, Medi, six, and my wife, Kate, head straight for the zoo, taking the chance to get a close up look at some of the world’s most beautiful animals.
One thing that we all share is a love of the natural world.
CENTRE OF ATTENTION
Luckily we arrive in time to catch one of the wonderful sea lion shows. The star attraction is Marvin - who loves demonstrating his skills and being the centre of attention in the fun yet informative show. This is a show that is as educational as it is entertaining. We learn that sea lions eat tonnes of fish a month and have an incredibly strong bite. Next up is feeding time at the lemur enclosure. And, as we’ve booked in for an Animal Encounter, we are thrilled to discover that we will be the ones doing the feeding. Within seconds of sitting down on a log, we are surrounded by a dozen of these loveable little creatures, who clamber over our shoulders and plonk themselves down on our laps as they compete for the best spot to get to the food. The kids can’t believe they can get up so close to these primates from Madagascar and soon have them – quite literally – eating out of the palm of their hand.
We get a chance to see another beautiful species close up after heading over to the new rainbow lorikeet walk-in aviary.
It was amazing to see these colourful birds swooping down to nibble at nectar from our fingertips, which we bought at the aviary.
During a stroll around the rest of the zoo, Griff and Medi can’t contain their excitement as we stumble across Sumatran tigers, camels, giraffes, giant tortoises and black rhinos... the list is endless.
AMERICAN DINER
After all this feeding of animals we decide it is time to refuel ourselves. The only question is “Where to eat?”.
Griff has his heart set on a gourmet burger, Med wants to head to the American Diner and I wouldn’t mind checking out the new fish-andchip restaurant, Upper Deck.
Mum calls the shots, though, and takes us to the Mansion House, where we enjoy soup and thickly cut ham and mustard sandwiches, while the little ones tuck into some pizza from the children’s menu.
After lunch we decide it is time to tackle a few of the world-class rides that dominate Flamingo Land’s skyline.
Somehow I convince Kate to join me on the looping Kumali rollercoaster, named after the leader of Flamingo Land Resort’s very own lion pride. Dangling from a car which hangs beneath the ride’s track, we climb what feels like a hundred feet before swooping down and reaching an exhilarating speed of 56mph.
After getting our feet back on the ground, we set our sights on trying Velocity.
This is a ride with such amazing acceleration that we travel from one side of the park to the
other in what seems like nanoseconds before entering a series of loops, twist and turns.
The children fancy a ride that’s a little less extreme, though – and there are plenty of those to keep them entertained.
JOLLY GOOD FUN
We all board a biplane-shaped car to the tune of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and swoop about the park on Zooom! It’s a ride suitable for younger children but still manages to thrill us all. There is so much more to do. First we join in a rousing singalong and take in some of the laughs to be had at the pirate show held in a landlocked Black Heart galleon in the middle of the park. Then we head over to the leisure centre, which is free for holiday guests, to enjoy a dip in the indoor pool and try out the two hydro-slides, while Kate disappears for half an hour to sample the sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi. As night begins to fall we try out the Coach House, a traditional English pub specialising in good, locally sourced food. I share a ploughman’s lunch with Kate while the kids go for some tasty jacket potatoes. We then head over to the Club, where Medi and Kate hit the dancefloor while I take Griff to try out the games arcade. By now we are all exhausted – but, for us, there is only one way for us to end this special day. Our three-bedroom cottage is smart, clean and modern, with wifi, Netflix and a well-equipped kitchen, but the key attraction is the hot tub in the backyard. We all eagerly climb in to sooth our aching muscles after a day packed full of fun. And no sooner are we in than we are making a list of the dozens of rides and attractions we have not tried out yet and eagerly planning how we’ll fit them into the rest of our stay here...