Dinosaur Adventure Park

With Adam developing a love of dinosaurs we thought it was the perfect time to take him to the Dinosaur Adventure Park. It is located in Lenwade between Norwich and Fakenham.

After waiting a while in the queue to get in we were surprised how big the park was. It was voted Norfolk’s best large visitor attraction in 2013 with over 100 acres of wood and parkland. After playing on  a slide and unearthing a dinosaur fossil in the large sand pit, we discovered the tribes and creatures on the Neanderthal Walk before we reached the Secret Animal Garden.

There were wallabies, kune kune pigs, Shetland sheep, a donkey and huge Sulcata tortoises. Inside the animal barn we found guinea pigs,  iguanas, corn snakes, a water dragon and a boa constrictor.

Adam had great fun on the adventure playground at Billy Goats Bluff. He loved running above the goat enclosure – luckily there were no trolls!

Our next stop was the famous Dinosaur trail. You can imagine Adam’s face when he came across a T-Rex! There were several life-size dinosaurs hidden in the woods. All of the dinosaurs are sculptures and we overheard a few disappointed children who kept asking why the dinosaurs were not moving. Some of the dinosaurs were looking a bit the worst for wear but repairs were being made. Along the trail we found several stamp stations and stamped our ‘Dippy’s Passport’ and in order to collect  a medal at the end of the day. We did the trail in reverse which meant climbing up the steep hill.

Despite being surrounded by dinosaurs, Adam loved the adventure playground. It was huge! Unfortunately the 23 metre climb-a-saurus was closed for repairs but there were plenty of things to climb on, slide down, swing and scramble up. We only caught glimpses of Adam as he would run between activities and the regular “weeeeeee!” as he came down the large slide. He also became an expert at jumping between the tyres. Despite there being a Tiny “Terror’saurs” section for the under 5’s, Adam just wanted to play with the “big boys.”

We opted to eat lunch at the Dinomite Cafe. There was a large indoor and outdoor adventure play area to occupy Adam whilst we waited for the food. The indoor area had several very large slides but these are manned by staff to stop little ones going down them.  There is also a section for the under fives.

The food at the Dinomite Cafe was reasonably priced and their portions were large. However, if you wished to bring food from home there was plenty of picnic spaces around the park.

After lunch Adam attempted the ‘assault-o-saurus’ course. Although it was designed for older children he had a wonderful time repeating the course again and again.

Adam’s highlight of the day was the sheep dog display. He was so animated during the demonstration and seemed to love every second.

After running around the large park non-stop for 4 hours Adam started to flag so we resorted to using the pushchair. The park is located on a steep hill and some of the terrain was difficult but the pushchair managed it all.

Although we enjoyed our visit, admission to the Dinosaur Adventure Park is not cheap. Adults are £10.95 but children aged 3-15 are £15.95. Under 3’s are free. There is no discount for family groups. Season tickets are available. However, we used our Tesco Clubcard vouchers as payment. On top of the admission price there are several activities throughout the park that require additional payment. These include the deer safari, face painting or going down the new Jurassic Skywire. It would end up a very expensive day for a family who wanted to participate in everything.

Are you looking for other toddler friendly days out around Norfolk? Then take a look at our Adventures of Adam around Norfolk guide:

Have you seen our dinosaur inspired play? Check out the Dinosaur Sensory Box and our Guest Post on Rainy Day Mum based on the book Three Little Dinosaurs Egg Rescue.

 

Adam was 2 years and 3 months old.