Last week, Alton Towers celebrated 10 years of CBeebies Land with a big party style event packed full of CBeebies fun and opportunities for guests to get involved in the festivities to help the park celebrate the milestone for the area.
CBeebies Land opened in 2014 and replaced both Storybook Land and Old Macdonald’s Farmyard which were two family focussed areas of the park. Refreshed into CBeebies Land with a host of new and refurbished attractions, a new breath of life was put into the area and it became what we know and love today.
10 years on, there have been a lot of changes to the area with the arrival of new attractions and beloved new friends including Bluey and family who are a new addition for this year. Theres been lots to celebrate at CBeebies Land over the years and at 10 years, it was the right time to have an event.
On entering Towers Street, the area was decorated with all kinds of party decorations from presents to a large birthday cake on the centre grass. Even the frogs were dressed with their party hats ready to celebrate CBeebies Land’s special time. Across the way, there was a large setup on the grass lawn complete with stage, overhead coverings, activity booths and food & drink vendors too! It was a complete package in one place (apart from toilets)
Heading toward the main area for the event there was a range of things that families could take part in. Four huts were set up with different themes including one which let families make music with a range of instruments. Elsewhere on the lawns a sea of bubbles filled the air. The area was a hub of activity with lots of staff engaging with the children and plenty taking to run and play on the lawns. The area was full of happy excited children with families joining in on the fun.
For those who needed refreshments, a range of food and drink was on offer. From ice cream sundaes and snow cones to wraps and smoothies, there was a mixture available and plenty of places to sit with tables both under cover and outside in the sun. It was also possible to sit on the lawn and enjoy a picnic too.
On the main stage guests could enjoy live shows such as the CBeebies House Party featuring well known CBeebies Stars including presenters like George Webster and Evie Pickerill as well as special guests like Mr Maker, Justin Fletcher and characters like Bluey. The show ran for approximately 30 minutes and focussed around preparing for a CBeebies House Party. The show was engaging with lots of interaction with the guests, dancing and party surprises like confetti cannons and large balloons too! We were really entertained by this show as it was quite enjoyable. On the day we visited, there was also a sign language interpreter making the event accessible for guests to enjoy.
The main stage was also home to other shows depending on which guests were present; on our visit, Justin Fletcher did a live show of his own too. On other days Mr Maker or Andy Day would be onstage with their very own shows. Each visit was different due to the guests attending.
Whilst the celebrations were ongoing, CBeebies Land was open as normal with their live shows ongoing too. My only criticism on this was that the shows were running quite close to the shows on the main stage so it wasn’t possible to do both shows sometimes. For example, Bing’s show was at 2.30 and they started the queue for their meet and greet post show around 2.55, however, the main house party show was starting at 3pm which wouldn’t have been possible for a child to meet Bing and then catch the start of this show.
Overall, the CBeebies Birthday Celebration was a wonderfully fun event which brought the charm and fun of CBeebies and CBeebies Land out into the main lawns for guests to enjoy. The experiences were a nice change of pace from the rides available on park and provided something different which allowed guests to enjoy the sunny weather (whilst it lasted!)
Did you visit the CBeebies Birthday Celebration? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Written by: Elise