A multi-million-pound investment has brought major upgrades to Parkdean Resorts Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, including a larger high and low ropes course, Off Road Rangers track, Bear Grylls escape rooms, indoor fairground mini-golf, a bounce park, revamped play areas and a new Hat-Tricks sports bar with interactive shuffleboard, digital darts, pool tables and large screens showing live sports.
I checked in for an action-packed weekend stay with my husband and our two sons, Odhran, 11, and Reuben, 8. First up was Aqua Jets for the boys in the resorts swimming pool. They had fun zipping around with handheld, battery-powered devices pulling them through the water and allowing them to glide along and dive beneath the surface. The friendly instructors Jack and Harrison set challenges for the group of kids, getting them to collect diving sticks from the bottom of the pool and play an Aqua Jet version of British Bulldog. Odhran and Reuben loved it, setting a great tone to the start of the holiday.
We played a noon game of interactive shuffleboard in the new Hat-Tricks sports bar. The classic game of siding weighted pucks across the wooden table is upgraded with smart technology to track scores and add a video game element to the fun. Hat-Tricks is a modern sports bar with a nice outdoor terrace. You can use QR codes on the tables, a handy self-order kiosk, or Parkdean's Order & Pay app to order food and drink direct to your table. There are lots of large TV screens, showing live sport, which was great as our visit coincided with the World Cup. For an idea or pricing, I spent £6.70 on a pint of Madri and £4.40 on a large Diet Coke.
The boys had spotted Scoops, a brightly-coloured dessert parlour, and insisted we go for a treat. Odhran went for the Nutella crêpe with whipped cream, while Reuben and I chose to build our own delicious waffles with strawberries, Nutella and a scoop of ice-cream. Helping to keep costs down, there were money-saving special offers, such as two Nutella Crêpes for £6.99 and two bubbles waffles for £12.
After refuelling, we headed back to Hat-Tricks for a game of indoor golf. This 12-hole course was one of our favourite activities at Parkdean Vauxhall. It's themed around a fairground and features carnival-style obstacles and interactive elements, including a Ferris wheel. But our favourite obstacle was the ghost train, which is darkened to resemble a tunnel and has glowing spooky props and fun sounds. At £8 per adult and just £5 per child, we thought this was a great value activity.
Later in the afternoon, we buckled up for the high ropes, and had fun balancing across rope bridges and wobbling planks, before whizzing along a zip line. This was the activity the boys had been most looking forward to and it was as thrilling as we'd hoped. There are lower ropes for kids who might want to build up to the higher adventure.
The following morning the boys scaled the climbing wall, which looked to be about six metres tall. The minimum age for this is six-years-old. There are three different climbing routes and the boys found them both fun and suitably challenging. One of the routes included ropes to help pull yourself up, which offered something a bit different to other climbing walls they've tackled.
Later in the evening, we all hopped along to the Bounce Park - a large bouncy caste that adults can also enjoy. It was a hot day and we were parched and sweating by the time we climbing off the bouncy castle but we had great fun racing each other around th obstacles. Then, the boys got behind the wheel on the Off Road Rangers. I thought Odhran might be a bit too old to enjoy these, but it seemed to capture his imagination as he steered around the course. Reuben diligently followed the rules in always keeping the correct distance apart and kept asking if this was what it was like to drive a real car.
If your child is more into arts and crafts there are lots of activities they can enjoy from pottery painting and sand art to tie dye T-shirt designs and slime workshops.
Alongside the paid-for activities, there are great FREE-OF-CHARGE facilities to keep the kids entertained, including a new soft-play area for younger kids, and a completely redesigned and upgraded adventure playground that centres around a fort-like wooden structure, with climbing ropes, a twisty slide and a zip line. Reuben brought a football and there was an outdoor multi-sports court, which was free to use at any time apart from when the court was being used for a paid activity such as Bumper Zorbs. The boys enjoyed having a kick about and making new friends.
And there was plenty of FREE daytime entertainment for the kids, such as Milkshake! Mornings, where tots can sing, dance, and craft. Little ones can also meet Parkdean's mascots, the Starland Krew - Sparky, Sparkle, Sid, Lizzie and Naarky.
How do you book activities?
Activities at Parkdean can be booked online 10 weeks prior to your arrival. Log into your account on the Parkdean Resorts Manage My Booking page and select 'Book on park activities' or you can book in person at the park's Activity Booking Hub. If there's an activity you really don't want to miss out on, I'd advise booking in advance, and definitely book a swimming slot as soon as possible. The pool is free to use but only a certain number of slots are available to pre-book. If no pre-booked slots are available, don't worry - it just means you'll have to queue, but this could be anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes during peak times.
While the pool doesn't have as much to offer as the pool at Butlin's Bognor Regis or Haven Devon Cliffs, it is a fun part of your stay at Parkdean Vauxhall that you won't want to miss out on. Odhran and Reuben had a great time whizzing down the slide in the deeper pool, and for younger kids there's a smaller slide and separate shallow area with water fountains. There's seating around the pool and large family changing rooms. There's also an outdoor paddling pool for hot summer months. Remember to bring a £1 coin for the lockers.
How can I save money on activities at Parkdean Vauxhall?
We found the activities at Parkdean Vauxhall to be really reasonably priced. For example Off Road Rangers cost £10 per person for 30 minutes, Make a Break cost £17 per person, and the Bounce Park cost £7 per person for 30 minutes. But they also offer activity bundles to save you money. These can be added during your booking or at the park. On arrival, you head to the Activity Booking Hub and speak to a member of the team to book on to your sessions. You pick up an activity pass and collect a stamp when you complete each activity.
An example of the bundles on offer is 5 Activities for £40 Per Person. There are exclusions, such as the Bear Grylls Escape Rooms, digital darts, shuffleboard and lots of the craft activities. But the bundle includes loads of other activities such as the high ropes, climbing wall, Off Road Rangers, and many more. Or you can pay £100 for an Ultimate Pass that covers 16 paid activities and can be shared among your holiday booking party. It's worth considering what you plan to do during your visit to Parkdean and which activities your family want to take part in to work out if an activity bundle will offer best value for money.
What about the accommodation?
We stayed in the Gold Premium 3 Bedroom Caravan and found it handy being able to park round outside our accommodation. This caravan can sleep eight, as it also has a sofa bed - making it ideal if you have a larger family or want to bring the grandparents along. Parkdean pricing works in a similar way to Eurocamp, where you pay per accommodation rather than per person. So, sharing with friends or family and splitting the cost can be a great way to make savings.
The caravan consisted of a room with a double bed and two rooms with two single beds in each. There was a spacious kitchen/living room area, a toilet and shower room, and an en-suite off the main bedroom.
We visited during a heatwave. So, the caravan was really hot when we stepped inside and we went around flinging open all the windows and the door and wished we'd remembered to bring a fan. Our caravan didn't have its own decking and our neighbours had pulled out their camping chairs to sit and cool down outside.
The kitchen is well-equipped, towels are provided and the beds were made on arrival. There was free wifi but speeds were pretty slow so if you want to connect your smart TV to your Disney or Netflix account you'll need to upgrade the wifi package. We found the caravan to be spacious but its interior looked a little tired. While the bedding and towels were spotless, we felt greater care could have been given to certain areas like around the windows and inside the bins.
Toilet roll and a bowl with teabags and coffee were provided, and (maybe in consideration of the heat) several small bottles of water were placed in our fridge. But you will need to bring washing up liquid, a dish sponge, a tea towel, hand wash, and if you wish - anti-bac spray and a cloth to clean down surfaces. I'd also recommend bringing an extra bin bag.
How can I save money on food at Parkdean?
When it comes to dining options, the Boathouse serves traditional British classics, or you can enjoy wings and burgers at Thunderbird Fried Chicken. There's a little strip of takeaway food kiosks including Scoops dessert parlour, Pizza Box, Joe's American Grill, and a fish and chip shop (though we were disappointed to find the chips were frozen rather than hand-cut potatoes). There's a Nisa Local convenience store on-site, where you can pick up essentials, or there's a huge Asda supermarket, a three-minute drive or a 15-minute walk from the holiday park. We had a large fridge and freezer in our caravan. So, there was space to stock up on drinks and groceries. There was also a microwave, a gas oven and hob, and plenty of cooking utensils .
But if you don't want to be cooking and washing dishes on your holiday, Parkdean now offers ALL-INCLUSIVE BREAKS. This option is currently available on four-night breaks. Monday arrivals only - excluding school holidays. It's available at 45 of Parkdean's 65 parks, including Vauxhall, and costs from £100 per adult and £40 per child (under 12) per break. It's valid only in the main restaurant the Boathouse and includes three meals a day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner, alongside unlimited soft drinks and Costa Coffee. Alcohol is not included in the package.
Take a Break's verdict
As I was walking past the High Ropes, I heard a little boy shout down to his mum, 'this is the funnest caravan holiday ever!' Reuben was equally impressed. We'd been discussing where to go over the school summer holidays, and he said, 'Now I know what we can do, we can come back here for a week!' The £5 million makeover has transformed Parkdean Vauxhall into a top family-holiday destination. Set against the shiny new activity and social hub, the accommodation looks in need of sprucing up, but if you're like us, you probably won't spend much time in your caravan anyway. Alongside all the on-site activities, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is a five-minute drive away.
Parkdean Vauxhall has evening entertained with tot-friendly shows, discos, quizzes, bingo and karaoke. But we decided to spend our evenings on the beach, after the temperature had cooled down. The boys paddled in the water, played in the sand and had fun in the many arcades at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach. We also took a drive to Horsey Beach, a sandy beach with a grey seal colony. In winter the seals come on to the sand for pupping season, but we spotted several of them bopping along in the water.
With holidays from £199 in early summer and from £259 during the summer holidays, we think Parkdean Vauxhall is fantastic value for money. So much is included in the cost - day time entertainment for little kids and evening entertainment for all the family, access to soft play, a great playground, a multi-sports court, and a fun swimming pool. Also, the park is located only about a mile from Great Yarmouth's sandy beach. There's a huge choice of paid activities on site - all reasonably priced, and the All-Inclusive food package and activity bundles offer a further helping hand in keeping costs down. It's best to book early to secure the best price. You only need to pay a £25 deposit and the remaining balance can be paid in monthly instalments. Find out more here