Hopping Along to the Enchanted Kingdom

Last Saturday saw us heading down to visit the Hop Farm and its World of Activities. Whilst we wanted to experience all the farm had to offer, the real purpose of our visit was to check out the Enchanted Kingdom attraction before it opens on 8 May.*

The Enchanted Kingdom is an under cover attraction for children which brings popular stories to life with real characters, animatronics and special effects. On entering the Enchanted Kingdom I was doubtful that it would entertain five year old TB. The cutesy little teddy bears with their picnic and in their sweet shop and toy shop just didn’t seem to hold his attention. Then we found the hall of mirrors and it became clear that I may have been wrong. The secret Pirate Cove was yet more proof of how wrong I could be and TB loved digging in the sand surrounding the 40ft galleon ship for gold coins which he traded for chocolate and lollipops.

We stopped for lunch at the themed cafe in the Enchanted Kingdom where they reckon they can feed a family of four a sandwich lunch for under a tenner. But, if sandwiches aren’t your thing, there’s the Tea Room, Happy Hoppers Cafe (complete with rather large soft play area) or the Shires Inn Restaurant which serves a variety of home-cooked meals, wines and beers.

After lunch we headed outside to see what the rest of the Hop Farm had to offer. We started with the Outdoor Adventure Play Area and Giant Jumping Pillows where TB would have happily spent rest of the afternoon. In fact it was only the lure of the Children’s Driving School that got him to move away. We walked through the Lost World Maze and donned 3D glasses for the Great Goblin Hunt. TB and the husband took a ride on a shire horse-drawn cart (I skipped as Mr A had just fallen asleep in the buggy) and he warily stroked some of the animals in the Shires & Friends Animal Farm before dragging us off to the Magic Factory and back to the Giant Jumping Pillows.

There was quite a bit we missed out. Despite TB being 5 and therefore able to experience a lot of the activities in the Extreme Zone, we decided not to go out there (although the husband was desperate to). I just wasn’t sure I trusted him with archery and air rifles and he won’t even go on the 6ft climbing wall at the local park. I wanted to visit the Legends in Wax, in particular the torture cellar but it was unsuitable for pushchairs and with a sleeping baby inside one it wasn’t really practical.

We had a fab day out and seeing as the Hop Farm is just around the corner from the mother in law’s, we’ll definitely be going back.

The Hop Farm is located just outside of Paddock Wood, Kent.  Prices start at £34.50 for a family of four (individual tickets available).

Click to view the whole day's album

^{*Our family were provided with tickets for the purpose of this review.}

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