Gulliver's Kingdom - Matlock Bath

Annie

As a family of four ( two adults and two children - 5 years & 4 months)) we did the eat-sleep-play on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday.
Before going I did try and find as much information as I could but found there wasn’t much on the website.
There is a brief list of what to expect with your email when you do the Eat-sleep-play.
What I was looking for was something more.

We turned up and checked in at 4pm at the front desk which wasn’t easy to find as it is up the road past the front entrance and up a tight hill. You can park there if your in any of the rooms except willow which is located back at the front entrance.
It’s a steep walk.
Check in was easy, they were polite.
They informed us of the location of the room.
They asked us to pre book for the breakfast time the night before. No issues.

Our room was in the willows.
The room was stunning, massive, clean and the beds were very comfortable. Unfortunately no fridge and only a small bin.

We brought the birthday package which was extra and we thought it was worth it. It includes a Character meet and greet at the room, ballons and banners waiting in the room, it did say a cake but we got a great quality chocolate character and a gullivour bear.

The evening meal is included (total price main £10 for the adults and all children’s meals I think are included in the offer) you can upgrade and add sides and drinks at a charge. (Menus posted from the accommodation and park).

Breakfast was good and you can also upgrade.
The first evening and morning meals, were had down stairs where the entertainment and front desk was (this I didn’t find as nice as when we eat in the restaurant)
The entertainment was good definitely children oriented. There is a tuck shop where you are able to buy snacks and drinks.
There is a limited bar.

The park overall needs a redo. As you find there are some parts of the park that are broken (still in view, some are scary to see by young children.)
The mining ride worked as you go around but a lot of the dummy’s were missing parts and the laser guns didn’t work.
There are old animation bears, western statues, small buildings etc they are creepy. The log flume ideally needs a clean and a lick of paint. This area, the pirate area and parts of the dinosaur area definitely need a revamp.

The soft play, upside down house, rails, pirate ship, dinosaur water slide, merry go round and the chair lift are amazing.
There are a few play areas which do look new and are great for the children.
The new safari area was great and a good amount of money has been spent.

They have two entrances and gift shops that are not to bad, they are what you expect. There is a lot of up hill walking ideally hard for wheelchair users and those with prams.

There are ice cream and food outlets dotted all over. We ate at the safari and western restaurants. Reasonably priced and a little wait. It was a little out of season and some waiting happened as poor staffing levels.

There was an ideal place for breastfeeding which is in the bottom main entrance in a side baby room( Baby changing area and a seat) great place for young children and families.

Would we go back…………………definitely!!.

Laura R.

This park is not wheelchair accessible AT ALL. Don't even waste your time trying, it is dangerous.
Understandably, the location is on a STEEP hill and this cannot be changed, but the website says nothing about this and no accommodations have been made.
I ended up sitting at the entrance in the cold for 4 hours whilst my sister took my child in to the park, and I watched countless people struggling to push buggies.
The reception is only accessible via steps so good luck trying to speak to staff about it. The toilets, including disabled toilet, also have steps up to them. These things are really inexcusable.
The car park is pretty precarious. The allocated blue badge bays are, strangely, really far away from the entrance. If hill starts aren't your thing, don't attempt the car park as there is lots of queuing on steep slopes.
I had a lengthy phone conversation with a customer service guy who validated my experience and offered compensation-thank you, Matt.

Nabeela T.

Not alot of rides especially for the older kids. Lines were very long for the 2 main rides, tiny rollercoaster and water slides. Even in weekdays on a cloudy day. The chair lift views were amazing though. The zip line was fun. Parking was full and had to park in the public car park and pay by phone only for £5 for 2 hours.

Naomi M.

Great theme park for younger children.
Be aware of the variety of height restrictions, there were a few unhappy children. These are shown on the website and map, however some rides don't allow children over a specific height to ride with an adult. This posed some issues for us as due to SEN children did not want to ride alone on some rides!
Overall a good day out, and would definitely visit again.

T F.

We'd driven by here many times and had no idea how big and how good this place was! We went with two 11 year old boys and an 8 year old girl and everybody had a fantastic time. We bought the tickets online in advanced and spent the whole day there having fun. We actually arrived before the site opened at 10:15 and left at closing time at 17:00!

We managed to visit all the attractions which were open, with particular highlights being the Log Flume, the cable-car and Riggers Revenge. All the attractions were worth a visit but some are getting a little old now and need a bit of an update.

Foodwise we shared some pizzas in the Safari Kingdom which we all enjoyed and were fair priced. Many families bought their own packed lunch/picnics however.

We were two families and all the adults in the group noted how it was the least stressful and most relaxing funpark we'd been to. The setting on the hill and nestled amongst the trees is perfect and ensures that the children are tired at the end of the day. If you're in the area and have young children, then this is a must!

Simon B.

I visited here for the first time in August with my wife & 3 children. My daughter who was just under 2 & half years managed to get on over half the rides, to which she really enjoyed & we can’t wait until she is older to go on the rides she wasn’t able too.

There were various places to purchase food, but nothing exciting, so this is definitely an area for improvement.

Although the theme park is based on a hill, you can stop off at the rides as you go.

I look forward to visiting again!

Kirsty J.

Visited Gulliver's Kingdom with an 8 year old who is scared of rides. I thought this would be a good place to try out gentle or slower rides and there would be other things to do if the rides were too much.

We had the best day! He only went on a few of the smaller and slower rides but there was plenty of other things to do. The play areas are great and well placed - I would think if you have multiple children and an age range meaning some will be on rides and some not, then you could easily keep them all entertained in each area.

My 8 year old loved the mining experience and the "gems" he found.

Tickets are reasonable (we paid £26 each during the summer holidays). Food inside the park is a little expensive but not excessive (£18 ish for a hot lunch with a drink for both of us).

Be aware that this park is on a fairly steep hill. The terrain could be a challenge for anybody who struggles with mobility - lots of uphill walking!

Overall a great day out and we will be back.

Sankar R.

Nice place for your kids. I had some issue with online ticket booking, waiting for them to respond. Looks like the same ticket number is issue to 2 different booking. End up paying again in the counter. Other than that place was good. Food and toilet are very well available.