A Beginners Guide to the Gold Coast Theme Parks with Young Kids
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©Brumfield family
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What parks did you visit in the
Gold Coast?
Dreamworld, White Water World, Sea World, Movie
World and Wet’n’Wild.
Did you get any special deals on
tickets? Where did you get your tickets?
The RAA had cheap tickets available for
Dreamworld/White Water World if you are a member. Through RAA we bought a
discounted annual pass for each family member that worked out cheaper than
buying a multiday ticket each, as we wanted to go to Dream World and White
Water World on separate days so we weren’t rushed. Other places to look
for cheap tickets is Cudo, Spreets, the Entertainment book and directly on the
park web site.
When booking anything online and you see a box asking for you promo code do a web search for the promo code. A few might come up and one might be current that will work. I saved $150 dollars off our Virgin Australia airline tickets and $30 off our hire car this way!!!!
When booking anything online and you see a box asking for you promo code do a web search for the promo code. A few might come up and one might be current that will work. I saved $150 dollars off our Virgin Australia airline tickets and $30 off our hire car this way!!!!
Did you have a favourite ‘must
do’ park. Did this differ amongst members of your family??
We all loved Seaworld as it had a great little
kids rides area, lots of fun photo opportunities and of course the chance to
see and interact with sea creatures. The reef petting tank was a
favourite with the kids and the underwater viewing aquariums of the reef.
The monorail really helped in getting around Seaworld.
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| The Reef Petting tank |
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| The Underwater Aquarium |
Favourite Rides in each of the
parks? Did this differ amongst members of your family?
At the waterparks the wave pool was a favourite
with both my kids, S.B age 6 and C.B age 3. It was nice relaxing
around the pool and going in for a swim too. There were little kids
waterslides at Wet’n’Wild that even my youngest C.B who is quite timid
enjoyed. At White Water World there were intermediate level waterslides
that my 6 yo loved. At White Water World almost every waterslide
was open and we went in the off season (July) so we were impressed with
that. Wet’n’Wild though only had about half the sides open so that was
disappointing but to be expected.
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| Wet'n'Wild |
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| Wet'n'Wild |
Dolphins up close
At Sea World we bought the “Dolphin experience” for our six yo daughter and she loved it. They gave her a wet suit to wear and she got to go in the water with the Dolphin, handler and two other children. They participated in the tricks, got to stroke the dolphin, learned some Dolphin anatomy and had photos taken. It was quite expensive (over $150), but went for about half an hour and was hands on fun for the true dolphin lover. There are of course also free dolphin shows everyday which you can enjoy dry, from the grandstand
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| ©Brumfield family |
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| ©Brumfield family |
What and where did you eat in the parks?
Food is very expensive in the parks. Take
your own if you can. We were lucky to get some great food and merchandise
vouchers with our seasonal pass to Dream World and White Water World.
There was not much choice of food at Wet’n’Wild as most food outlets were
shut. Dream World and Movie World and Sea World had a lot of
choices for eating, unlike the water parks.
Were the parks easy to get to
from your hotel?
We hired a car and it’s pretty easy to navigate on
the Gold Coast.
Where is the best bargain meal
deal at the Gold Coast or theme parks
We liked the sandwich shop best at Dream World as
we could eat something healthy, which is often doesn’t happen on holidays.
Your tips for travelling with
young kids to the Gold Coast (from plane trip to parks)
We flew Virgin from Adelaide to the Gold
Coast. Although the tickets were dearer than JetStar it worked out
cheaper all up as Virgin include a 20kg checked baggage allowance per person as
well as one piece of carry on luggage. Most importantly when travelling
with children you are allowed to take an extra piece of checked luggage (Pram /
portacot /car seats etc.) so we took two car seats so did not need to pay to
hire them on the Gold Coast with the hire car. Also Virgin had the only
direct flights from Adelaide to the Gold Coast and the less time with bored
kids on the plane the better! And with Virgin you get a snack included 😊
Where did you stay in the Gold
Coast? Recommend? Transport to the parks?
We stayed at Paradise Resort as they had a great
special on where kids stay, play and eat for free! Saved us heaps of
money! The best part being the free 4 hours of kids club each night so
the adults could have some relaxation time. Paradise resort was only 1km
walk from Cavill Avenue so we would walk there at night when the kids were in
kids club and look around, walk on the beach, shop and even had a date night at
an Italian restaurant! Paradise resort also had Adult activities
scheduled for when the kids were at kids club so you could mingle with other
guests. We went to a cheese and wine taster night, it was lots of fun and
then there were faces around the resort we knew!
Are there
adequate nursing/change facilities etc.
There were change table toilet available in all
the parks so we didn’t have a problem with changing C.B. The water parks
both had great change room facilities. C.B is 3 so I did worry that he
would tired walking around. But at Sea World there was the monorail and
at Dream World there was a train also. So we had a sit down to get to
places when the kids got tired. Movie World and the water parks were smaller
so the kids didn’t get as tired walking around there.
Dreamworld
For the readers who don’t know – four people lost
their lives on the Thunder Rapids ride in 2016. After the horrible accident at
Dream World that ride has closed and safety practices and training on all rides
has really tightened up. I’ve heard Dream World is in financial trouble so I’d
really like to support them by encouraging people to go there. We had a
great day there as there is so much to do there. Tiger Island had a great show
and they are doing amazing charitable work to ensure the survival of tigers in
the wild. The park was very big and although there were not many people
there on the day we went all the attractions were open. So was great
value with no queues.
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| Tiger Island |
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| You can feed the Kangaroos at Dream World |
Any other tips you wish you knew
before you went
The best tip I could give you is this: If
you have a little princess go to the Movie World web site and book the
“princess of the parade” experience for her. They will make a huge fuss
of her. She gets to choose a colourful cloak, sceptre and tiara to wear
and the Looney Toons characters pose for photos with her before she gets to
ride in a golden carriage in the parade with the other movie world characters!
They finish at a set of golden thrones where the two princesses of the parade
for the day sit while the parade finishes up. They make such a fuss of
them. And the other members of the family aren’t forgotten either, you
get to watch your princess in the parade from a VIP area and all the parade
characters stop for photos with the VIPs!!!!! Was a fabulous bargain for
only $30!
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| ©Brumfield family |
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| This is part of the 'Princess of the Parade' package ©Brumfield family |
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| ©Brumfield family |
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| The VIP area where we got to meet all the characters ©Brumfield family |
Whilst S.B was being driven around in the parade. The black rope area (VIP) was where the rest of our family were waiting for her and was where ALL the characters stop to talk to you and pose for photo.
Thanks to the Brumfield family for their review on Australia’s Gold Coast theme parks!
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Until Next week,
K.J
K.J
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I also have set up a Facebook 'Queensland Holiday Planning' Group where you can post your questions and connect with other holiday makers.
Other Reviews including more reviews of the Gold Coast:
Australia's Gold Coast theme parks - a review
All Theme Park Reviews
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