LolliBop 2011..Dodo's *ever so slightly* ranty verdict!

Given the late change of plans to stay and have the twins in London I had done nada in the way of booking fun stuff for poor Dodo. So spotting LolliBop tweets and a quick look at the weather outside I thought it might be an ideal chance to get out in the fresh air and have some festival action minus mud and camping.
In my condition the prospect of a whole day trooping about London with Dodo was a bit daunting so I was very glad that Nana was free and able to come along to help me out. This was to be the best decision of the day given the amount of queuing that LolliBop requires!
We thought we would be clever and get of the tube at Baker Street, which would have been fine if we had then walked the right way..we didn't. What followed was a lot of walking round looking for signs (there was none!) picking up other lost families saying the same thing. We all got there in the end and after parting with our on the door ticket fee of £30 (cursing myself for not being savvy and booking online..in advance!) we made it through the gates..and then we saw the queues.

Almost there! The long walk through Regents Park

One of the great things about Lollibop is that most of the activities are included in the ticket price. When you stop and work out how much the face painting, craft workshops, inflatables and full length stage shows would cost if you had paid for them all separately then the £30 starts to sound pretty good value. Now if you are an organised grown up (I try..and fail) you would have a picnic and a blanket and all that   sorted..if not then you will have to join the mega queue for expensive food! This is where having the other adult helper comes in. If you take it in turns to stand in the line while one of you takes the kids to a nearby activity you can avoid the meltdowns that would ensue, mine most likely. We employed this system in all the queues and it worked pretty well. 

Face painting included..worth the wait!

Dodo got to take part in pretty much everything that she wanted, and for me the biggest joy was having a day where I could say YES to almost everything! I realised how often I have to say no. The look of pure glee on the kids faces with all the fun they were having made all the waiting worthwhile.

There has been talk of the festival being to character heavy, with all the usual Cbeebies favourites in the line up. This didn't bother me at all as there was plenty of great arts and crafts and physical play on offer. Rastamouse was a highlight (for me!) and he seemed to crop up all over the place so no worries about missing him! You could spend the whole day without the t.v characters. I would suggest checking out the line up and when you arrive do a quick dash round and book workshops/pick up tickets for shows that might fill up later.

Mask making..glitter fest!

Tada!

So to sum up..Yes we would do it again..Book in advance (for the Friday if you can, avoid the scrum at the weekend) Take a picnic..Take another adult...Be prepared for queues..and have loads of FUN! We did. Last word goes to a camera shy (it won't last!) Dodo.