Mole adds flavour to weekend: a day with Peppa
Saturday, 29 Mar, 2011
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The Mole is, of course, a terribly serious newshound who enjoys nothing more than sniffing out and analysing a juicy bit of travel news.
But at weekends she likes to indulge a lighter side.
So when invited to take a trip down to Hampshire to preview the area’s newest tourist attraction, Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park, she popped on her coolest shades, jumped in the Molemobile with the junior section of the Mole dynasty and headed for the M27.
The blazing sunshine was a good omen as we entered the turnstiles and it set the tone for a really fun day out. Mini mole number two is four-years-old and just about the perfect age to fall in love with this £6 million new attraction.
Ultra cute, colourful rides such as Daddy Pig’s Car Ride, Grandpa Pig’s Little Train and Miss Rabbit’s Helicopter Flights prompted squeals of delight from just about every small person who clapped eyes on them but what parents liked was that there were lots of rides that people under a meter and a half could go on.
Mole has had to cope with many a tantrum when the minimoles have been confronted with rides they are not allowed to go on in theme parks so it was great to know that the rides were tailor made for very small people.
Now there’s no greater guilty pleasure for the Mole than reading Heat magazine’s Spotted page, so imagine the joy experienced when realising that we were stood in the queue for the George’s Dinosaur Adventure behind comedian, author and general egg head David Baddiel.
Watching Mr Baddiel bounce gently up and down on a green smiley dinosaur doing a small circuit was immensely enjoyable. (Mole’s partner spotted It girl Tamara Beckwith queuing for sandwiches too but was less excited).
Rides aside, the area is really very pretty too, festooned with wooden pastel-coloured flowers, cute little sets from the TV show and spotless snack areas when the rushing around gets a bit much.
After three hours of hugging the roaming Peppa Pig, shouting about what rides to go on, cavorting through the gift shop and demanding every Peppa-related item in it and flopping for ice creams and drinks intermittently, the mini Moles were well satisfied with their trip and fell into a Peppa-induced slumber in their car seats on the way home.
Later that night, the four-year-old lay in bed, eyes closed in the grip of a compelling dream that, by the shouting, clearly involved Madame Gazelle, Rebecca Rabbit and Mummy Zebra. Ah, the power of brand extension….
* Peppa Pig World opens at Paultons Park on April 9.
By Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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