Latest news with #PeppaPig-themed
Scottish Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I took my family to the perfect first UK theme park for little kids
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AS I wind my way through a spooky mansion in the darkness, a ghostly figure appears. So I point my gun at it and begin zapping away. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Shooting ghouls on the Ghostly Manor ride at the park Credit: Paultons Park 4 A Peppa Pig meet and greet for Tara and one of the twins Credit: Supplied I'm one of the first people to try the new Ghostly Manor ride, which opened this weekend, at Paultons Park, home to Peppa Pig World. The new £3.5million attraction transforms riders into ghostbusters aboard a four-seater carriage and armed with a 'Phantom Phaser' to shoot down as many mischievous ghouls as they can manage. At the end, each person gets a score and those with the highest make it on to the leaderboard. This spooky experience is for guests aged five and above, with a parent, while anyone over eight can ride solo — and it's unlike any other ride at the Hampshire park. I was visiting with my dad, partner Joe and our two-year-old twins Jack and Sienna. When we weren't hunting down ghosts in the haunted mansion, we were checking out the other toddler-friendly rides or posing next to Peppa Pig and her little brother George. They offer meet and greet sessions outside the schoolhouse twice a day, at 10.30am and 3pm. Paultons Park is the perfect first theme park for little kids. Everything from the food to the baby changing facilities has been designed with children in mind, and the toilets were spacious and spotless. Better still, every loo has a mini seat for little bums, which, coming from a mum about to embark on potty training, is ingenious. Inside Peppa Pig World There's plenty to keep little ones entertained, including several playgrounds and a Peppa Pig-themed soft play area. When it came to the rides, we didn't queue more than 15 minutes for anything. Peppa Pig World may be the main draw for many, but there's so much to do elsewhere in the park, too. We loved the dinosaur-themed area, Lost Kingdom, where kids can ride a jeep and travel back in time with The Dinosaur Tour Co Jurassic Expedition, getting up close with prehistoric giants. Jack and Sienna also loved seeing flamingos and rare birds in real life at one of a number of animal enclosures on site. There are penguins too. If you're visiting with older kids, aside from the new Ghostly Manor ride, you should be sure to check out the Flight Of The Pterosaur, a dino-themed suspended rollercoaster. 4 Enter the spooky Ghostly Manor, if you dare 4 Watch meerkats in the animal area Credit: Paultons Park My dad and Joe also sneaked off while the little ones were napping to try out the Storm Chaser rollercoaster, a 16-person thrill ride that spins riders around in circles as well as up and down a winding track. Make sure you download the mobile app before you go as it has an easy-to-use interactive map, which is great for getting your bearings. It also has information about how long wait times are. Plus, it lists where the nearest food stalls are and what they sell. If you're looking for a place to crash nearby, hotel Voco Fareham Solent has excellent interconnecting rooms that are great for families. It is a 30-minute drive from the theme park and anyone booking a short break at the hotel directly through the Paultons Park website will bag a second day in the park for free. And while I won't ever forget the huge smiles on my kids' faces and the excitement in their eyes, the downside now is they won't stop asking when we're going back to visit their mate Peppa.
The Irish Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
I took my family to the perfect first UK theme park for little kids
AS I wind my way through a spooky mansion in the darkness, a ghostly figure appears. So I point my gun at it and begin zapping away. Advertisement 4 Shooting ghouls on the Ghostly Manor ride at the park Credit: Paultons Park 4 A Peppa Pig meet and greet for Tara and one of the twins Credit: Supplied I'm one of the first people to try the new Ghostly Manor ride, which opened this weekend, at The new £3.5million attraction transforms riders into ghostbusters aboard a four-seater carriage and armed with a 'Phantom Phaser' to shoot down as many mischievous ghouls as they can manage. At the end, each person gets a score and those with the highest make it on to the leaderboard. This spooky experience is for guests aged five and above, with a parent, while anyone over eight can ride solo — and it's unlike any other ride at the Hampshire park. Advertisement Read More on Travel I was visiting with my dad, partner Joe and our two-year-old twins Jack and Sienna. When we weren't hunting down ghosts in the haunted mansion, we were checking out the other toddler-friendly rides or posing next to Peppa Pig and her little brother George. They offer meet and greet sessions outside the schoolhouse twice a day, at 10.30am and 3pm. Advertisement Most read in Family Everything from the food to the baby changing facilities has been designed with children in mind, and the toilets were spacious and spotless. Better still, every loo has a mini seat for little bums, which, coming from a mum about to embark on potty training, is ingenious. Inside Peppa Pig World There's plenty to keep little ones entertained, including several playgrounds and a Peppa Pig-themed soft play area. When it came to the rides, we didn't queue more than 15 minutes for anything. Advertisement Peppa Pig World may be the main draw for many, but there's so much to do elsewhere in the park, too. We loved the dinosaur-themed area, Lost Kingdom, where kids can ride a jeep and travel back in time with The Dinosaur Tour Co Jurassic Expedition, getting up close with prehistoric giants. Jack and Sienna also loved seeing flamingos and rare birds in real life at one of a number of animal enclosures on site. There are penguins too. If you're visiting with older kids, aside from the new Ghostly Manor ride, you should be sure to check out the Flight Of The Pterosaur, a dino-themed suspended rollercoaster. Advertisement 4 Enter the spooky Ghostly Manor, if you dare 4 Watch meerkats in the animal area Credit: Paultons Park My dad and Joe also sneaked off while the little ones were napping to try out the Storm Chaser rollercoaster, a 16-person thrill ride that spins riders around in circles as well as up and down a winding track. Make sure you download the mobile app before you go as it has an easy-to-use interactive map, which is great for getting your bearings. Advertisement It also has information about how long wait times are. Plus, it lists where the nearest food stalls are and what they sell. If you're looking for a place to crash nearby, hotel Voco Fareham Solent has excellent interconnecting rooms that are great for families. It is a 30-minute drive from the theme park and anyone booking a short break at the hotel directly through the Paultons Park website will bag a second day in the park for free. Advertisement And while I won't ever forget the huge smiles on my kids' faces and the excitement in their eyes, the downside now is they won't stop asking when we're going back to visit their mate Peppa. GO: PAULTONS PARK ENTRY: Tickets to Paultons Park costs from £45pp, while anyone under one metre in height goes free. STAYING THERE: Interconnecting rooms at the Voco Fareham Solent hotel cost from £492 for two adults and two children, on a B&B basis and including a second day at the park for free. See
Associated Press
19-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Nikola Jokic turns 30 and he's having one of his best seasons, averaging a triple-double
DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets gathered around Nikola Jokic near the 3-point line Wednesday and belted out a rather off-key version of ' happy birthday ' in honor of him turning 30. Usually so poised on the court, the three-time NBA MVP seemed almost bashful. 'I don't like my birthday,' Jokic explained. 'Getting older.' And better? 'Like wine,' he cracked. In a lot of ways, Jokic remains very much a kid at heart, right down to his new Peppa Pig-themed sneakers. But his game has certainly matured to the point where he keeps setting the bar higher and higher for himself and just might be in the midst of his finest season of them all. He's averaging 29.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists. In addition, he's posted a league-leading 25 triple-doubles, which is just four shy of tying the franchise record he set in 2022-23. His coach, Michael Malone, was stumped by just what might be the ceiling for his big man? 'Geez, I don't know. He keeps on pushing the envelope,' said Malone, whose team will host Charlotte on Thursday night. 'When you're dealing with greatness, you never want to put a ceiling on that. We want to give him room to grow and and watch that, because it's really fun to be a part of that process.' Jokic began suiting up for the Nuggets as a 20-year-old kid who needed to improve his fitness and hone his footwork. Over the past decade, he's blossomed into one of the league's most hard-to-contain players and led the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in 2023. He's married now with two young kids. He has a bronze medal he earned with Serbia last summer at the Paris Olympics. His sponsor, 361 Degrees, is getting ready to launch his signature shoe, which is inspired by Peppa Pig, the character in the long-running children's series. ('They made it. I like it. They're going to be cool,' Jokic said.) This season, he's showing off the latest wrinkle to his game — long-range shooting. He's hitting a career-best 45% from beyond the 3-point line. 'He is playing the best basketball of his life,' Malone said. 'At his heart, he's still the same person. He's still Nikola Jokic from Sombor, Serbia. He's never forgotten where he's come from, or who's helped him get here.' Given his style of play, Malone believes Jokic could last in the league at an elite level for a while. 'The way (Jokic) dominates the game is with intelligence and skill, not athleticism,' Malone said. 'He's not driving down the lane and dunking on people every night. So I think that bodes well for his longevity.' That is, if the desire remains strong. He said that sticking around long enough so his kids can see him play is, 'not going to be a factor for me.' Jokic returned to town after competing for Chuck's Global Stars in the All-Star Game last weekend. He had two points in 10 minutes as his squad lost to Shaq's OGs in the final. It wasn't exactly his idea of rest and relaxation. 'Part of the business, part of the job,' Jokic said of his trip to San Francisco for the weekend festivities. 'I would rather be somewhere else ... it's a blessing and a curse.' Now, it's back to work for the Nuggets, who have won eight in a row and are currently the third seed in the Western Conference. They're returning to health, too, with Michael Porter Jr. (hamstring), Russell Westbrook (hamstring) and Aaron Gordon (calf) all going through practice Wednesday. The only player missing was Peyton Watson (knee). They have 27 games remaining to tinker with lineups and find the right combinations for a playoff push. 'People say, 'Oh, that's a tough decision,'' Malone said. 'I look at it the opposite way. I'm really fortunate to have a tough decision to make where you have quality players that have really impacted winning. It's never about one player. It's about what's best for our team.' That's the attitude of Jokic, too. 'He's our heartbeat,' said Julian Strawther, who took part in the Rising Stars event over the weekend. 'It's not always being a vocal leader but leading by example with the things he does and how hard he works. Having him on our side, it makes us feel a lot better.'
New European
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New European
Fancy a selfie with Boris Johnson? That'll be £121, please
His weekly Daily Mail column, despite frustrating his editors by rarely, if ever, delivering a news line, is thought to bring in the thick end of seven figures. His advance for his account of his time in office, Unleashed, was widely reported as paying him a £510,000 advance before selling a single copy (although was outsold by Rory Stewart's). And the man who once told a room of north-eastern business leaders why they should be visiting a Peppa Pig-themed amusement park in Hampshire can still demand upwards of £250,000 to deliver speeches to cryptocurrency investors, insurers and investment bankers across the anglophone world. It is no secret that Boris Johnson has made an awful lot of money since leaving Parliament. Having jumped as an MP before he was pushed, the former prime minister is no longer obliged to report his earnings, but is not thought to be on his uppers. So it's bewildering that he should now be demanding £121.25 – for a selfie! Johnson is giving a live show at Edinburgh's Usher Hall on September 2 with tickets starting at £49 plus booking fee, rising to £75 for top-tier seats. The event page praises the ex-Tory leader for 'enacting the will of the British people' over Brexit (in Scotland, which voted 62% for Remain), and unleashing a 'visionary agenda of domestic policy reform' (in Scotland, to which domestic policy is largely devolved). The advert also hails Johnson as the 'pre-eminent global leader in the effort to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion' less than two weeks after he presciently penned a column headlined 'This is the moment to shock Putin with strength of our resolve – and if anyone can do that, it's Donald J Trump'. After all that, who wouldn't want a keepsake snap with this most statesmanlike of figures? Just an extra £110 (on top of the ticket price) plus another £11.25 booking fee – don't all rush at once!
CBS News
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Legoland Florida to layoff 234 workers, mostly performers, in efforts to be more competitive, company says
Legoland Florida plans to lay off 234 workers, primarily performers, in an effort to be more competitive in central Florida's thriving theme park market, company officials said. The theme park resort in Winter Haven, Florida, said in a notice to the state of Florida last Friday that the permanent layoffs would start at the end of March and last through the beginning of April. Three-quarters of the workers cited for layoffs were performers, and another fifth also was involved in the entertainment side of the theme park, according to the notice. The theme park resort, whose workers are nonunion, has about 1,500 employees. The theme park resort is owned by Merlin Entertainment. A Merlin spokeswoman didn't respond to an email inquiry on Wednesday. Julia Estrada, the company's public relations director for North America, said in a statement to other media outlets that the change would allow it to operate more flexibly in a competitive market. "We will continue to have a core in-house entertainment offering, which we will scale up to meet our brand and guest experiences during the year," Estrada said. Besides the Lego-themed park, the resort has a Peppa Pig-themed park, a water park and a soon-to-open aquarium. Winter Haven is located between Tampa, home to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, and Orlando, home to Walt Disney World, and SeaWorld Orlando.
