On saturday we headed to Hyde Park, London (3 trains and a car trip either way eek) for the Jubilee Family Festival presented by Sainsbury's. I hadn't even heard about the event until a friend of the Mr mentioned that he had won some tickets the week before, although with local events and rain on the agenda I can't say I had really been on the look out for celebrations on a larger scale!
Entry
We arrived at Hyde Park around 11.30 after a few hair-pulling-out-teeth-gritting moments at the underground stations wondering if we were going in the right direction. There were 4 queues that seemed to go on for miles but thankfully they were moving quickly so the kids nibbled some sandwiches while we waited to get past the big golden crown gates.
What's inside
Inside we picked up our free leaflets with some details on what companies were there and what was happening at each stand. We were also provided with lost child wrist bands which always puts my mind at rest a little when there are huge crowds. It was already rather busy but there seemed to be alot to keep everyone entertained. There were plenty of food stalls, ice cream vans, a Pimms bus (oh yes!) and bars too for hungry tums if required.
After exploring a little we headed to the Ribena stand where they were giving away free drinks, had a guess the berries in the barrell competition and a family photo opportunity. I discovered at this point that you could also collect stamps from each stand to get a free bag when you had collected 15.
The bag however was a basic pullstring style which was completely empty and rather disappointing, especially when you pay £52 for entry for a family of 4. It would have been nicer if Sainsbury's provided these upon entry to carry all the bits we picked up going round or atleast had a Jubilee momento in them as a keepsake.
We continued around the stalls and stopped for lunch after a while. I'm very glad we took a picnic with us as queues were large and prices quite high. I'm glad we didn't take cans or bottles as they were confiscated at the gates.
Favourites
The kids seemed to really enjoy the Kleenex stand where you were given free balsam tissues and could decorate your own tissue boxes. They also liked the Kingsmill (Queensmill for the ocassion) display where you received free bread and fillings and were asked to make a Jubilee themed sandwich entered into a draw and the Jammie Dodgers stand with free biscuits and masks and a meet the character/photo opportunity.
Some pictures from our day...
Overall the kids thoroughly enjoyed the day but from a parents point of view there were a few let downs. The majority of stands were purely promotional and queues were large. We were unable to get in the Disney tent as queues were 2hrs + and I like many parents wasn't willing to wait that long.
Considering how many tickets were sold you would assume they would've thought ahead and had larger tents/stands to allow room for more to gain access. There were also large queues for the toilets so it would've been better to have a few more around the park - it's a family event afterall so toddlers and young children will need to go and wont want to wait! Generally a good day though as they kids being happy means I'm happy. It sure wore the kids out anyway...
