For the last few years we have visited Longleat Safari park on the lead up to Christmas to see their Festival of Lights, it had become one of our Christmas traditions as a family. But thanks to covid last year and this year they have chosen to only put on an illumination light show instead of their usual lanterns. Thanks to Facebook targeted ads Jon spotted an ad for West Midlands Safari Park’s Lantern Festival…and the ad featured some huge light up dinosaur lanterns. We have previously visited the Safari Park when Elian was a year old, and he loved their Land of the Living Dinosaur section, and he loves Cardiff Museums Dinosaur Exhibit so we knew the lanterns would be a massive hit with Elian.
On Monday evening we took a rather long drive (2.5 hours each way!) up to West Midland Safari Park to see their Lantern Festival, and honestly it was totally worth the drive. We had such a lovely evening out as a family together. Elian did indeed love all the dinosaur lanterns, and they still had their animatronic dinosaurs turned on so they were moving and roaring….Effie was not as keen with all the loud roars mind! But he says his favourite lantern was the giant Yeti (like Monster Inc Abominable Snowman apparently!) Effie on the other hand was pretty much just in awe of all the bright lights having never seen anything like it before, and loved all the flowers and animals.
The lanterns are on Friday – Sunday from now until the 5th of December, and tickets cost between £15-£18 per person. They run 5:30-9:30. Although the animal habitats are all closed off the adventure playground, theme park and restaurants/cafes are all still open so your able to do more than just see the lanterns and can spend the full 4 hours there if you wish.
We spent 2 hours going around the park, then picked up some rather yummy chocolate waffles at the end and ate them sitting outside the main arched entrance before hopping in the car for our drive home. But not before the kids had rinsed me of £7.50 for some light up wands obviously, haha!
So here are a few of our photos from the night
Check out some of our other family travel posts
- Travel // Top 5 Family Friendly Places to Visit in South West London
- Our Adventures // Our Complete Guide to Legoland with a Toddler
- Our Adventures // Top Places to Visit in San Fransisco with Kids – A 48 Hour Whirlwind Trip To San Fran
- Tips for Taking a Secluded Family Friendly Break in Cornwall
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