Wondering whether you should visit Dino kingdom in Manchester or Nottingham? Want to know more about this event? Then read on for my Dino kingdom review. We visited on August 8th 2021 when it was in Wythenshawe Park, Manchester. It’s on until the 15th so you’ve still got time to visit. Plus the whole event will move on to Nottingham in October too (from 15-31st October at Thoresby Park).
Ad- press trip. We were gifted our tickets in exchange for this review. All photos, thoughts and opinions are my own.
My girls are 5 and 8 years old and our youngest particularly loves dinosaurs. They had a fantastic few hours here, despite the heavy rain showers on our visit. Typical British summer, it was torrential on our drive there and there had been a lot of rain in the days leading up to our visit. Fortunately, we had a mix of sunshine and showers whilst we were there.
Before we arrived at Dino Kingdom
My tickets were booked by the team and sent to me in the same way you will get yours if you decide to book. The tickets are sent electronically shortly after you book by Eventbrite. We had a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) and also a parking ticket. You pick a date and a 3 hour time slot for your visit.
A few days before our visit, you will get an email with full details. It tells you which directions to take to get to the car park, how to get to the event by public transports, the food stalls you’ll find and other useful details too. We also received an email on the morning of our visit to let us know that due to all the rain we’ve had, the site is muddy and waterlogged in places. Wellies and waterproofs are recommended.
Our experience on Sunday is that there are some areas that are very muddy and lots of areas are wet and a bit boggy. In most areas, it was possible to walk around these areas, although children don’t always choose to! Wellies are definitely a good idea and although we saw some pushchairs on site, it didn’t look easy in places. The team have worked hard to ensure the car park is suitable for cars though and we had no problems there.
Arriving at Dino Kingdom
When we got off the m56 we were immediately greeted with regular signs signposting the event. There were plenty of parking attendants in the car park directing us to where they wanted us to park and they also scanned our parking ticket from my phone.
We had a 12-noon slot and because of the weather, we chose to picnic in the car (due to the rain) before going into the event. Picnics are welcome in Dino Kingdom though but there aren’t many tables. We then walked to the entrance which is a fair walk from the car park but along park paths. Not a problem for our kids but worth bearing in mind with little ones.
We found the queue to get into the event and again it was run really efficiently and we weren’t waiting to be let in long.
Dino Kingdom
As soon as you get inside the event you can see lots of dinosaurs which is very exciting for kids. Most of the dinosaurs that you see are fixed in one place but they are animated in some way and usually make realistic sounds too. If you download the app before you visit, you can use it to identify which type of dinosaur it is and a little about it. The app also acts as a map to help you find your way around too as well as a few other fun features too.
We loved the mix of some of the dinosaurs being about as tall as an adult and some being absolutely huge! As well as these dinosaurs which are dotted around the full trail, there are a few tents where you can learn more about dinosaurs, a sandpit fossil excavation area and a few little dinosaurs that kids can sit on and eggs that they can climb inside.
Our girls would have loved the fossil exploring area but due to the rain the capcity was halfed (only 2 of the 4 sandpits had gazebos of them so were the only 2 in use. This is a really popular area and I bet on a dry day it’s great fun.
We must have missed it on our visit, but there is a dinosaur that walks around the event hourly so keep your eyes peeled. I’ve heard you’ll often find him in the food stall area.
Another highlight for us was this next one. We loved the giant skeleton that you can walk inside! Great fun for kids, the only rule seemed to be, don’t touch the skull and teeth.
Another really fun anamatronic display was the dino rock band. This was my youngest’s favourite installation, complete with music playing. She loved dancing along.
We almost missed the dinosaur woodland but found a sign at the exit and went back to find the entrance. Definetly worth making sure you walk through this short woodland stretch where you’ll find several large sculptures of dinosaurs and also a frog and some large ones of insects too.
As you would expect there are various face painting stalls, souvenir stalls, food stalls and even a bar in the middle of the event that are obviously not included in your ticket price. There are also som portaloos and first aid in this area too.
Once we had seen all the dinosaurs we came to the small fairground area. These rides aren’t included in your ticket price and prices vary from £2.50 – £4 per ride. There are also a few more souvernir and sweet treat stalls in this area too.
Overall thoughts on Dino Kingdom
Dino Kingdom is an immersive outdoor experience that will make you feel as if dinosaurs are alive and living right in front of your eyes. There are lots of things to do and see for all the family. We loved the couple of hours we spent there and if the weather had been better, we would have no doubt spent the full 3 hours there. As it was very wet we still enjoyed the couple of hours we spent exploring.
The walk from the car park, all the way through the Din kingdom and back to the car park is 1.8 miles. I’m sure we did a bit more than this though as we did double back a couple of times. We also visited the fantastic play area and free community farm on the way back to our car. Just remember you have 3 hours parking limit.
There are still tickets left for some time slots this week so if you fancy visiting Dino kingdom, head here to book your tickets.
More things to do with kids in the North West this summer
If you need more ideas for entertaining the kids this summer in the North West then I have a few posts that you will find really useful.
- Dino Kingdom is just one of many great family events in Greater Mancheter this summer. Find the rest here – Things to do in Manchester with kids summer.
- Things to do with kids in the North West summer – This one covers Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire and the Lake District.
- The ultimate guide for things to do with kids in Cheshire summer – This post goes into more detail for the events on in the Cheshire region.
Pin for later:
