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Writer's pictureKerrie

Expectation vs Reality.

Our wonderful family adventure holiday to Peppa Pig World.




FML.... I had the most romantic idea of the four of us (Me, Rich, Rosie and Lydia) going on a hotel break, near Peppa Pig World, around Rosie's 2nd Birthday and then spend a couple of days at the seaside or where ever we so desired. In my imagination Rosie would be looking at us lovingly, so grateful that we are such kind and considerate parents and Lydia would be chillaxing in her chair taking in the new surroundings that she'd never seen before. It was an amazing few days.... in my imagination. We enjoy all the rides at our leisure and take her into the Peppa Pig toy shop (the biggest one in the world I hasten to add) and say, you've been wonderful today sweetheart, choose a special treat! 

The reality couldn't be further away from my very creative and seemingly incredibly naive imagination. Never in all my life have I thought (whilst staying in a luxury hotel), maybe we should just go home. Rather than the loving looks I saw in my imagination, what we actually had was a terrible two year old who's favourite saying at the moment is 'Nnnooooooo Daddy, goooooo away'. When you go to hold her hand to cross a road so she doesn't become road kill to the car driving towards us, she just goes limp and sits on the floor, not giving a toss whether this is in the road, a puddle or even a big pile of poo!

Rosie now thinks she can do everything and anything and with this new found confidence and independence comes all kinds of a accidents waiting to happen and a stroppy little toddler who is embarrassing as hell (at times) and apparently the clumsiest little person you'll ever meet (a trait she definately gets from me).

Rosie is obsessed with you tube (no hating please, she is watching filtered things and it has actually taught her a lot!) we are staying in a hotel with horrendous wifi, so over breakfast when we were tired of her shouting 'jjjjjjjjuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiicccccceeeeeee' 10 million times (she never has juice for breakfast), we think 'let's go to the fail safe form of distraction', you tube.... but it didn't **##@@@**** work. At this point, Rich and I are really gritting our teeth and making all kinds of threats to Rosie under our breath (none of them are threats of violence, just so you all know). Luckily in the end she was happy with 'toetoes' or photos. She loves looking at pictures of herself. We made a swift exit and had ordered room service breakfast ever since.

We scrapped everything we needed for the day together, which is a lot of stuff, having a 2 year old and a weaning 4 month old means you never travel light. Our massive baby bag must weigh about a stone, as I'm working on my fitness I now embrace its weight rather than curse it!

Those who know me well, will know I have a totally irrational fear of wasps and anybody who has spent any time at a theme park in summer will know they are also a haven for thousands of wasps, who I believe enjoy stinging people and actively fly about looking for their next victim. Whenever a wasp has come in my vicinity before children, all I've had to do is get myself to safety. Now I have the quandary of not just getting myself to safety but also my children..... you'd think it would be a natural instinct to forget my fear and rescue the children, but I am ashamed to say that my immediate thought is drop everything and run away from the wasp, after all the children don't know they are something to be feared! I also know you shouldn't show your children fear! Sooooo imagine my absolute horror when I heard Rosie in her pushchair saying 'look mummy, buzz buzz' as she is fingering a gigantic wasp between her thumb and finger! I actually can't believe it didn't sting her but it did fly away and I just thought how amazing it was for Rosie to be so unaware of the 'danger' she faced and that she really wasn't bothered! I hope she stays this way and doesn't turn into a frantic freak whenever a wasp comes near- like her mother!

Peppa pig world was packed, obviously, its summer and the holidays. Rosie just didn't get the whole queuing thing at all. She is at that age where she see's something, wants it, needs it right now and if she doesn't get it then everyone will pay! So I'll say again, Rosie doesn't do queuing very well and let you all imagine what the queuing was like! We went on two rides, Daddy Pigs car ride and Grandpa Pigs train, we queued about 30 mins for both and they lasted 1 minute, if that- she did love them though, so this part of my imagination holiday was accurate! Was it worth the wait though??? I still don't know the answer......



We also met Daddy Pig and she did give him a cuddle. We have a lovely photo of this. The photo looks like my imagination holiday, and in 20 years time that will probably be the image I remember.

We went for lunch, the food options are nothing short of shocking and ended up scrapping together some sandwichs. Which Rosie didn't like (you are probably getting the jist of this now, so you can imagine how she reacted) again not to cause embarrassment we made threats under our breath.... in the end I'd had enough and put her in her pushchair. Which she didn't like, but atleast she was safe and contained and atleast at somewhere like peppa pig world a screaming child just adds to the noise of the thousands of other screaming children, we didn't particularly stand out! Oh, apart from every 2 mins when I was flailing my arms about and screaming and running away from the wasp infestation (who's the embarrassing one now?!)

Stupidly, we still went to the Peppa Pig toy shop. It's quite an amazing place really. Well,

Rosie saw 'George', exactly the same as the one she has at home.... again you get the jist of this, you can imagine how she reacted, it wasn't pretty. 'Mmmmmmmyyyyyyy Gggggeeeeeooooorrrrrgggge, mmmyyyyyyy gggggeeeeeeooooorrrggggeee'. I looked around apologetically at everyone, thinking she isn't a spoilt brat, honest!

Now, I want to encourage Rosie to use the potty, so knowing how much she likes Peppa pig, I thought getting some Peppa Pig knickers will be an incentive (quite a smart idea, even if I do say so myself). I was right, Rosie loved the Peppa Pig knickers so much she wanted to carry them and not let the lady scan them so I could pay, I forcibly removed them from her, paid for them and left the shop, to keep her quiet I gave them back to Rosie who all the way to the exit was shouting mmmmmyyy potty, mmmmmyyyyy potty.

You'll notice I haven't really mentioned Lydia at all in this, she didn't have tantrums, or whine, or throw herself on the floor, or embarrass us.... she's just a baby....All she needed was feeding, winding, changing, feeding, winding, changing, feeding, winding, changing oh and feeding, winding, changing oh and as one of the sickiest babies I have ever known the changing bit is quite full on and quite often! Need I say more.

This isn't a review of Peppa pig world, it's a great place and we will go back there, I already have the romance of how it's going to be next time in my head..... Rosie will be looking at us lovingly and be so grateful that we are kind and considerate parents........oh hang on a second..... when will I ever learn! Oh and if anyone has any tips of how to face the wasps head on, put my foot down and psych them to fly away gracefully without a sound... please, do let me know. 

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