Gulliver's Valley

Our first trip to Gulliver's was last month. We had a Wowcher code for a family of four to enter any of the Gulliver's parks of our choice this season. I had been nervous about whether we would get to use it with the lockdown and Covid-19. When I saw they were reopened we were off that same month.

We went to Matlock Bath for our first experience of Gulliver's. I had looked it up online, as I always do, looking for accessibility information for myself in the powerchair and also for my daughters who both have autism.

There seemed to be no problems, if anything people were saying how positive an experience Gulliver's is for people on the autistic spectrum. So we went ahead with our day out with no concerns. Until we arrived. 

There were no disabled car park spaces near the entrance, but as the car park was gravel based i assumed it was because people could leave their own distances perhaps. 

Then we descended to the main entrance area and a member of staff came over to speak to me. She told me the park was very steep and people in mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs often struggle to ascend and descend the walkways. She told me to go ahead and try it if I was happy to and that we could always borrow a manual wheelchair or I may wish to not even enter the park due to the inclines. 

There was no chance we could turn around and leave with the girls. The meltdowns would havew been epic. I went ahead, tried the hills and although it was scary and gave me very sore legs the next day, the walkways were all just about accessible for me. 

I think it is because my powerchair has six main wheels, giving me extra stability on hills, ideal for Gulliver's matlock Bath.

The day we had there was amazing. The rides were all perfect for the girls and Hubby enjoyed too.

As with anything they enjoy, the girls wanted to go back again. I wasn't in a particular rush to deal with the muscle pains in my legs again so soon, so looked around at the other parks in the UK. There are a good few of them to choose from. One seemed to be practically brand new. 

Thinking about my wheelchair and the toilets, I hoped the new site would have a changing places toilet included in their plans before their recent build. As it was a little further to drive for the day, I looked at their accommodation too. 

We have never stayed on a theme park before so it was a really special treat for Miss G and Miss A. It also made the trip easier for Hubby, splitting the driving over a couple of days.

We had the choice of an accessible princess room or an accessible lodge (static caravan). The princess room was marginally cheaper (because it sleeps 5 compared to the 6 in a lodge). The bedrooms in the princess room looked adorable, especially the children's room, so I went ahead and booked it for a couple of weeks after our first trip.

I am terrible at keeping secrets and surprises like this so told the girls almost straight away. They were so excited, Miss A was straight onto a daily countdown and was packed a couple of days before we left.

We arrived at Gulliver's Valley resort for check-in at 4pm, found the check-in area and were then met by a princess. She tried talking to the children but they were so overwhelmed with everything they were practically silent. In the car, Miss A had been super excited and hadn't stopped talking about the park and bedroom (except to sleep). The difference in her was amazing. 

We were in Cinderella 1. An accessible room that sleeps up to five people, two adults and up to three children.

The girls ran straight in and explored the room whilst I waited for them to calm down enough for me to safely enter without running either of them over.

The threshold into the room was a bit rough- a bump down into the room. There was a pretty room on the right for the children, hidden by a curtain screen, with cut out windows and their own lights by their bunk beds. It was very cute and sweetly done. Each bed had a Gulliver's night cap packaged on the duvet for them too.

Further down the short corridor was the coat hook, set at average person height, not accessible for me. Then the accessible bathroom. 

The bathroom had been set up as almost a wet room. There were grab rails for the sink, shower and toilet, but things like a shower stool/chair, toilet raiser and accessible sink were lacking. I couldn't get my wheelchair close enough to the high sink to use it because the toilet was in the way.

Ahead from the bathroom door was a luggage rack for any suitcases and a portable clothes rail with a few hangers. These were blocking my entry into the area where our bed was so hubby put them outside on the decking area. 

Past those obstacles and I was into the area with our bed. There wasn't enough space for me to get down the side of the bed in my chair, so Hubby had to rearrange the bedroom furniture to widen the space between the bathroom and bed. It meant we were on the wrong sides of the bed, but atleast I could get into and out of bed.

There was an under-counter fridge for the breakfasts. This was great for us to store our almond milk in, but not so great because it wasn't accessible for me from my wheelchair at all. I had the same problem with the lamps. They were very nice lamps that fitted perfectly with the room design, but the foot switches don't work when you are in a wheelchair.

As well as the room, we also had our own little decking area outside. There were a couple of metal chairs out there and trellis separating it from next door's area. The door leading to outside wasn't accessible at all. There was a huge drop down to the decking and again no ramp from the decking out. 

It felt as if the 'accessible ' label had been granted purely because there were grab rails in the bathroom and no cubicle around the shower. 

I was determined not to let it put a dampener on things for us all though. We did our best to manage with what was there and not make a fuss.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out there was evening entertainment for guests of the park, including bingo, party dances and a singer. After we finished our Pizza Hut tea we went down to the entertainment to join in. We were told at the end that we could also play indoor mini/crazy golf and al guests got early access to the Dragon's Lair giant bouncy castle and climbing walls in the morning. 

I feel the information for guests staying overnight needs to be clearer. Maybe a leaflet handed out on check-in stating what is available and when. We didn't have a clue what we could and couldn't do and only found out by repeatedly asking. 

Gulliver's Valley theme park is excellent for children with autism though. A lady at the bouncy castle in the morning told me about yellow bands we could get from main reception that clearly showed the children were exempt from wearing face masks so we didn't have to keep telling every ride operator. Then a mother nearby overheard and came to speak to me. Her son works at Gulliver's so she knew what they could do for children with disabilities, including autism. If you take proof that they cannot queue to main reception, you can have up to ten ride passes that allow you (up to 4 people per pass) to skip the queue for a ride. Miss G is OK at waiting in a queue but Miss A is a nightmare. She simply cannot wait for anything, so these passes were a godsend for us. 

In the morning, when the park was filling up, we headed for the furthest area first and worked our way back towards Lilliput lane for lunch. Most people seemed to be doing the opposite, so the queues weren't too bad. After lunch, we had 11 rides left in total that the girls hadn't been on at all, so the ride tokens were used for the remaining rides they chose. 

Amazingly, the pirate ship turned out to be a favourite for Miss G- she usually hates anything fast or that moves too much. Her face was a picture on there with a huge grin.

Miss A is more of an adrenalin junkie and loved the water rides the most, as well as the drop towers.

By the end of the day they had been on everything they wanted to and on their favourites more than once. It was time to get a slush puppy drink, 100g sweets and head home with our new cuddly Gully, T-Rex and Gilly, with a special wave for Miss A from Gilly as we left.

I can't wait to go back, especially when their expansion plans come true and their accessible area is built. I hope it is truly accessible and that they consult a wheelchair user before building.

We are definately a family of Gulliver's fans.