Play-and-Stay Blog

Here at the Play and Stay® blog we’ve covered some pretty big stuff. Dubailand for example, or the dangerously exciting Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Usually, these super-duper theme parks are planned for far-off lands, places you probably couldn’t pop over to for the weekend. Grand Scala is going to change all that. The planned new leisure complex will cover 4,900 acres, contain 32 historically themed casinos and 5 theme parks as well as golf courses, horse racing tracks, villas, apartments, shopping centers (noticed nearly everything is plural yet?) hotels and a water park.

Grand Scala is planning to be located in Spain, Aragon to be precise. There is not a great deal in Aragon at the moment, it’s 200 miles east of Madrid and it seems to be popular with tourists on walking holidays, not exactly a white-knuckle location. If plans go ahead and manage to stick to schedule we can expect a first phase opening in 2010. This will transform the previously sleepy desert region into Europe’s “most important” leisure and tourism destination.

There is not an awful lot in terms of details just yet, we can tell you that three of the five theme parks have been confirmed. Spyland, a park themed around the history of secret agents, Aquantica, a historically themed waterpark and Space Port, a space and futuristic technology themed park. The remaining two parks are still a mystery, even to us. Perhaps some of the big players are looking to get involved as they have in Dubailand, or perhaps Grand Scala have just not decided themes yet.

Whatever materialises in the other two parks it’s sure to be on a massive scale, Grand Scala covers over 4900 acres and will feature 32 separate historically themed hotels and casinos. These attractions will be laid out on a “time roadmap” and so far we can expect neolithic, Celtic, ancient Egyptian and space-age areas, each with its own mini-museum.

This ambitious project is going to cost roughly £8 billion. Given the current sorry state of the property market around the world, I remain unconvinced that this very exciting but expensive project will go ahead in the stated timeframe.

Cynicism aside, if this leisure wonderland goes ahead it will be the single most impressive entertainment complex in Europe, it will dwarf Eurodisney. Perhaps the most exciting part is not the complex itself. Disney’s reaction to a competitor so close to it’s european park, a mere three hour flight from London, may well spark an exciting competition between the two resorts. Fingers crossed ladies and gents, I want a european Animal Kingdom.

Even when I am not at work, I still try and find the best things to do with the family.

In my hard earned week off from writing copy, I spend much time (and even more money) on going out with the family to the best family friendly locations in Kent and Sussex.

The highlight of the week for me was Groomsbridge Place and Gardens. If I had to sum this place up in one word, that word would have to be enchanting.

It’s not the cheapest place in the world at almost £10 a head for adults and around £7 per child, but once you are inside you can understand why it costs so much. The first thing you see is the Formal Gardens and Drunken Gardens which we left until last. As a result, I will leave this part of the entry until last.

The first part of the trip involved a stroll past the Raptor Centre, the place where they hold the birds of prey. Among the collection of birds is a great Bald Eagle; a truly magnificent and beautiful creature. They perch on their stands throughout the day and await the chance to show off in front of the crowds twice daily. We are told (by manner of an adjacent sign) that they are free to fly off and come back by choice. We weren’t in time to watch today’s morning show so we head off up hill towards the Enchanted Forest and the adventures that it promised.

My wife is eight months pregnant making this part of the trip pretty hard going. The initial up hill climb through the vineyards almost brought on a premature birth, but the perfectly placed bench at the top of said hill not only provided amazing views across the valley, but also came as a welcome resting point before carrying on.

The adventure trail was next and took Stan and I along a half mile course of bridges, ladders, tunnels and rope swings. This trail was unsuitable for my wife so we left her to walk the long way round, stopping to see the wild deer en route.

Next came the bit that I was most excited about: The Swing Trail. The Swing Trail consists of approximately ten swings hanging from the trees. Unsuitable for children under ten and pregnant women, I had to oblige and have a play.

The ropes of the swing were approximately 30 ft long (maybe longer? - have a look at the pictures) and made the swing almost impossible to maneuver. Taking a long run up and leaning back with all your weight really doesn’t work on these things. I spent the best part of 20 minutes leaning to and fro, trying my hardest to employ all the swinging techniques that I have learned in my 26 years of life. It didn’t work, and whilst I was left a little disappointed by my outing on the swing, it was still good fun nonetheless.

After the excitement of watching me swing for the last 20 minutes, the rest of the family were keen to check out the rest of the Enchanted Forest. We wandered through many different parts of the woods and stumbled across ancient caravans, a teepee with a couple of actors talking about gunpowder, a peculiar clearing with a Mysterious Monolith in the centre and a collection of freakishly large rabbits.

There are dragons and dinosaurs lurking in the water and a cool adventure playground suitable for younger members of the group. All in all, this part of the trip took just over an hour to complete. At the end of the trek, there is a smaller tree swing that you can get away with putting the kids on. Stan loved it and stayed for even longer than I had on the first set of swings.

Having escaped the forest in one piece, we were able to catch the last of the bird display and watched in awe as the Bald Eagle swooped above our heads in a highly entertaining and informative show.

The last thing to do was to sit and enjoy a delicious slice of carrot cake in the gardens and try not to get attacked by the over friendly resident peacocks (I’m pretty sure that watching Hitchcock’s Birds the day before didn’t help). We wandered through the Formal Gardens which were impeccably kept and the Drunken Gardens which were like something out of an Arthur Conan Doyle book. There aren’t many words to describe these areas, so check out the pictures below for a little imagery.

We left late in the day and headed back home for supper. Groomsbridge Place has a certain effect on the visitor. Mystery, adventure and romance were all found in this beautiful setting and definitely left an impression on me. In the past, I had cited Bedgebury Pinetum as one of my favourite places to escape to, but now, and until I find something better, Groomsbridge Place and Gardens is the place to be.

Groomsbridge Place is located just a few miles from Tunbridge Wells and is open throughout the summer from 10:00 until 17:30.

The Amazing Machines are coming, coming to a LEGOLAND near you…

On the weekend of September 13, 2008, LEGOLAND will play host to one of the most spectacular shows of any theme park in the UK with the arrival of monster trucks, an 11 ft high half pipe and the RNLI.

They are all aimed at giving visitors the ultimate theme park break (and, of course, easing those back-to-school blues). Ride the rides, visit the shops, then watch in amazement as monster trucks perform crazy stunts and world-renowned skaters perform aerial aerobatics, tens of feet above your head.

Those of you brave enough to want to learn some new tricks are welcome to join Team Extreme on the half pipe. Special coaching sessions will be held throughout the day giving you valuable tips on how to perfect that Superman Seat-Grab or the death-defying Christ Air.

If skating isn’t extreme enough for you, then check out Big Pete, Europe’s number one monster truck team. They’ll be battling it out in the special events arena throughout the day with their combination of car jumps and wheelies.

Due to prior engagements and the imminent birth of my first baby, I will not be able to attend the day. Any of you who are going and read this blog, I implore you to take some pictures and let me know how the day went.

Any of you who haven’t got your tickets just yet, check out our main site at Play and Stay, where you can get theme park access and a top local hotel for the night in one great value package.

In the mean time, I have tracked down some footage of Big Pete and Team Extreme for you to enjoy.

As anyone who has read this blog or spoken to me for over 25 seconds will know, I am very excited about the upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. My excitement has now reached a level which forces me to obsessively scour the internet for any news on what is clearly going to be the single happiest, funnest and potteriest place on earth. Today’s fevered clicking has actually uncovered some legitimate news which may be of interest to the general public rather than just me.

Firstly, Universal’s Flying Unicorn coaster is now hidden behind construction walls. Apparently this kid-friendly coaster is being redesigned to fit in with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Considering unicorns in the “potterverse” don’t fly I should imagine that the ride will become a hippogriff or thestral theme coaster. As the coaster is aimed at children a hippogriff seems the more likely choice, thestrals are a bit scary after all.

Elsewhere, Hogwarts itself seems to be well underway. A gargantuan framework has been constructed and speculation is rife as to what will be housed inside. Rumours have been fuelled by patents recently filed in the US. They describe a very exciting interactive dark ride which uses RFID technology to allow guests to cast spells with specially designed wands. These spells will apparently effect the outcome of the ride, very very exciting stuff (and pleasingly similar to my predictions made months ago). Although these patents have been filed that does not necessarily mean that Universal intend to use them, they could well be a red herring but this is doubtful as there is little evidence of any other conflicting patents being filed. Chances are, in my humble opinion, that the interactive RFID wand ride will go ahead, and that is most certainly good news.

Other similar attractions, such as Magiquest in South Carolina allow guests to purchase and customise their wands. This allows guests to have a perfect souvenir of their day and the wands interact with various objects outside of the attraction, a nice touch that I doubt Universal will have failed to notice. The potential for a highly interactive Hogwarts environment is the best news I have heard since they invented crustless bread. The Various applications of the RFID wand are equally awesome. Fans of this blog will have no doubt heard about Alton Towers Resort’s use of RFID bracelets to track and film guests in their park allowing them to create customised movies of guests days out. I would not be surprised if Universal had similar intentions, after all they could have simply used IR or Bluetooth® in the wands design. The use of RFID suggests (to me) something far more impressive than simple point and click interaction.

The RFID wands are not the only exciting new technology being used in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Kuka, the designers of the robotic arms behind Islands of Adventure’s breathtaking The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man simulator have apparently granted exclusivity on the use of their newest and most sophisticated arm to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This is exciting enough in itself, the Kuka arms really are the Rolls Royce’s of the robotic arm industry. Having personally ridden the Spider-Man simulator several times myself, I can honestly say it is the best simulator I have ever ridden and I’ve been on more than my fair share. We are talking about technology far more advanced than those overpriced space-shuttle simulators you get at upmarket games arcades. Kuka’s arms produce a totally immersive, believable experience when combined with the correct visuals. This impressive technology has been the subject of a great deal of online chatter. Some have suggested that it will be used to create a simulation of Mr. Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia. Others have suggested that it will be used in combination with released and hastily retracted designs for a flying bench type ride which takes guests to a variety of locations from the second novel including the Basilisk’s Lair, Aragog the Acromantula’s nest and the Forbidden Forest.

Needless to say I’m ridiculously excited about the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Not only will it be a theme park based on my favourite series of books ever, it will also use cutting edge technology thus catering for both my love of all things Potter and my technolust. Patents for a “punch-through waterfall” and “transforming scenery” have only served to further inflame my childlike excitement. See you at the front of the queue sometime in late ‘09.

My RSS feeds and Google Reader is literally awash with news on Mutiny Bay at Alton Towers Resort right now, so I thought it would be rude not to jump on the bandwagon and supply you with a little snippet of information on the area.

This swashbuckling land of pirates is the newest area of Alton Towers and offers guests a wealth of cut throat action and a jolly good soaking to boot. Keeping in tune with the resort’s quest to be the top destination for the whole family, Mutiny Bay offers more light hearted rides than the vicious Oblivion and crazy Corkscrew.

There are three new rides (Battle Galleons, Marauder’s Mayhem and Heave Ho!) and a fantastic new show, Pirates of Mutiny Bay.

With so much to see and do at Alton Towers these days, you really need to make use of the fantastic accommodation available. Alton Towers Hotel and Splash Landings offer the best access to the park, but there are a wealth of hotels near Alton Towers if you’d prefer to leave the park behind at the end of your day.

That’s me for now, i’ll fill you in and supply some new pictures within the next month. We’re off to Alton Towers very shortly….

It was only yesterday that I was reporting on the news that Alton Towers were releasing various artwork in the style of a certain Mr Warhol, and yet here I am again unveiling the theme park’s latest franchise: DVDs.

‘YourDay’ is a DVD of… well, your day at the resort. The DVD captures you on various rides around the park and captures the expression on your face as you plunge to your peril on the likes of Oblivion and Nemesis.

Visitors are given an RFID bracelet to wear as they go round the park which tracks them as they walk from ride to ride. The bracelet then registers when they go on one of the major rides and films them.

At the end of the day, visitors hand over their bracelets in exchange for a comprehensive DVD of their day at Alton Towers. Sounds cool huh?

The best thing is that you don’t even have to hand over any cash until you have actually sampled the footage, so customers who fear buying something that doesn’t show them doing anything at all can rest assured that they won’t be wasting money.

Alton Towers are currently the only theme park offering a service like this, but if it proves a success, I’m sure the rest of the parks will follow suit.

I haven’t personally sampled this technology yet, but I am secretly hoping the bosses are reading this and want to send me on an educational trip to Alton Towers Resort VERY SOON. As soon as I have, I will surely update you on how I get on.

The Alton Towers Resort has long been the UK’s number one theme park offering families the ultimate theme park break, but did you know that Alton Towers Resort has branched out into the world of art?

That’s right, Alton Towers Resort are celebrating 80 years of Andy Warhol with the release of eight pictures in the artists cool pop-art style.

“But what has Alton Towers got to do with Warhol?” I hear you ask. Well, the answer is, not that much. But it did give them the chance to make some very interesting (if at times slightly garish) looking pictures, made up entirely of ride images.

The images are the ones that you pay a fiver for when you get off the ride which depict you with either a) a horrified grimace or b) a gleeful smile, depending on how hardcore you are. They have then made a collage from these images and made some really fantastic images of legendary icons throughout the last 80 years.

Britney Spears, Madonna, Jackie O and Liz Taylor are just a handful of stars who have had their faces replaced with ride images and it is claimed that Jonathan Ross, Chris Evans and McFly are actually hidden within the depths of the artwork (magnifying glasses at the ready please folks).

If you have been to Alton Towers Resort lately, there’ s every chance that you too might be lurking within the depths of the images. Drag them to your desktop and zoom in on the images for a better look and who knows, you might be famous too!

Marilyn Monroe

Audrey Hepburn

Britney Spears

Jackie Onasis

Kylie Minogue

Madonna

Liza Minnelli

Liz Taylor