Wednesday 11 June 2014

Tips for visiting In the Night Garden Live


In The Night Garden Live is back on the road again, and after having such a great time last year I am really looking forward to taking Leo along again. Our tickets are booked and we are currently in the process of deciding what extra’s we want to book prior to attending. Last year we added in the goodie bag and even got to meet Iggle Piggle himself! I found that these additional touches made the day extra special for Leo, but of course this did mean an additional cost to foot and it certainly isn’t a cheap day out in the first place..

Tickets

My first piece of advice to anyone considering a visit to a In The Night Garden Performance would be to consider when you want to visit, the prices of tickets vary depending on the day you will be visiting. Prices start from £17.50 per person for standard seating and £28 per person for Premium seats. Last year we sat in the standard seating and these were absolutely fantastic due to the way the benches have been arranged, it means that everyone gets a perfect view. This year we have treated ourselves to the premium seats just to see how it differs from the standard. If you are going to be taking a baby along it is worth knowing that you will have to pay for them, even for babes in arms. This is an aspect that really surprised me last year when we took along my friends 6 month old, it turns out that babies under 6 months old get half price tickets… But for babies over 6 months old  it is then full price. I still do think that this is a expense that isn’t necessary, but I do appreciate that this experience is completely unique so if you’re like me and want to go, sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and let it go for a day.


The Pinky Ponk Show & The Ninky Nonk Show

There are two different shows to choose from, The Ninky Nonk show see’s Iggle Piggle loosing his blanket and all of his friends try to help him find it. In the Pinky Ponk show Makka Pakka plays a prominent role, and goes around washing everybody’s faces. Until of course… His sponge gets stuck in Upsy Daisy’s megaphone! I have only had a personal experience with the Pinky Ponk show, and we loved it so much that we are going to watch it again!

Goody Bags

One thing that I do think is essential, and that is to look ahead of time at the extras and pick out what if any you would like to include within your visit. Will you want a goody bag for your little one? Will you want them to meet a character at the end of the show? In my personal experience I found it much easier to total up the costs ahead of time and pay for it ahead of time, rather than going along on the day and splurging without having budgeted for it. They do special before show prices on the goody bags which brings them to £24.00, if you want to buy the same goody bag on the day of the show the prices go up to £29.00. If you are interested in purchasing a goody bag I do highly recommend doing it ahead of time to save yourself some money.

The goody bags are generous and come with a good range of items, I did come away from the show last year really pleased with the goody bag that Leo received. I will definitely be pre-ordering a goody bag for our next visit. What I did think was really good is that they switch up what is in the goody bag each year, so even though Leo had one last year we won’t be duplicating all the items by having a second one.

This year the goody bags include:
-          Light up Windmill
-          Little Library Book Collection
-          Magazine
-          Wooden Character Set
-          Character Straw
-          Hello Makka Pakka DVD
-          Hand Puppet
-          Bonus Story Book


Character Meet & Greets

So you have now ordered your tickets and pre-ordered your goody bags if indeed you want one, now what about character meet and greets? These are again an additional extra. For £15 you can meet either Iggle Piggle or Upsy Daisy after the show has ended. Pre-booking your ticket ensures that you will get to meet your little one’s hero, but waiting until the day can mean they are fully booked or you have a longer wait. If you are booking a character experience I would personally do so prior to visiting the show, that way the cost is upfront and you know that you will get seen.


The Showdome

In the Night Garden Live takes place in its very own Showdome, a purpose built venue just for the show. It really is rather impressive, especially when you take into consideration that this show travels around the country. It has plenty of toilets, baby changing facilities and buggy parking all under the one roof. The seating arrangements for the show are spread over just 13 rows, this means that wherever you sit you will be able to see everything that is going on. This was great when we took Leo and his friend as 2 year olds, we didn’t have to lift them up high, they could just sit and enjoy the show. 


 Accommodation

In all the excitement we almost forget to consider the most practical of  aspects. In The Night Garden Live is a busy day for kids and grown up’s a like, and then of course there are the travel timings. Sometimes it is just easier to find a hotel for the night, and worry about the journey back the next day after a good night’s sleep. Of course with the expense of a fun filled family day out you don’t want to break the bank, you want a family friendly hotel within close proximity to the London showing. A couple of good options would be the Holiday Inn at Kensington which is only 19 minutes away by car, and the Holiday Inn at Mayfair which is just under half an hour away.

The most important thing is to go along with your little ones and have an enjoyable day, Leo and I had such a great time last year and I know that this year will be just as great. We have opted to see the Pinky Ponk show again as one of Leo’s favourite characters is Makka Pakka.

If you are going along I hope you all have a great time, I am sure you will!



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1 comment:

  1. I'm just looking at booking tickets but really can't justify that £15 for the characters - it is expensive stuff x

    ReplyDelete

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