Hands up if you always get sick whenever you take time off work? Oh not just me then! This week I have been blessed with a lovely chest infection and it’s already written off the first half of the half term. I needed to find something to suit a wide range of ages. A quick google search and I found The Grand Pier Weston Super Mare was having a week of Halloween events.
Parking
Being a beach front location although there are so many parking options, at busy times it can be difficult to find somewhere to park. I always use YourParkingSpace and we park in Grand Atlantic Hotel which is right on the sea front and just a few minutes walk to The Grand Pier.
Where is The Grand Pier Weston
Marine Parade, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset BS23 1AL
01934 620 238 : info@grandpier.co.uk : Facebook : Twitter : Instagram : YouTube
You can’t really miss it once you are on the sea front, but the What3Words location is ///tapes.swept.wage if you want to know exactly where it is!
It is open every single day of the year except Christmas Day and is generally open during daylight hours so do check the website for exact opening times before visiting.
Entry closes 15 minutes before close.
We were pretty lucky with the weather considering November is looming, it was pretty mild and the sun even came out for some photos.
As you enter through the grand entrance you’ll find a small collection of retail outlets (mainly food!) before you get to the entry turnstiles.
Do you have to pay to go on Weston-super-Mare pier?
Entry onto the pier is £1 for everyone over 80cm tall. You can prebook this online or just pay on arrival, they do recommend you prebook to guarantee entry. You don’t need to print your tickets though you can just show the confirmation on arrival.
Once you are through the turnstiles you’ll have a short stroll along the pier to the main complex building at the end (or you can hop on the train if it is running – it’s 50p per person)
Outside the front of the main building you’ll find some lovely photo opp props including 2 giant deckchairs – One red striped and one blue striped.
How much are the rides on Weston Pier?
You can choose to either pay as you go on the rides on Weston Pier or you can purchase and unlimited rides wristband (only available weekends and during North Somerset half terms)
They also let me wear Oscars band as it is invalid if removed and he would 100% rip it off at the first opportunity. An adult can also go free on rides that require an adult with under 8’s as long as the child has a band.
The wristbands have some sort of scanner strip so you can just scan them at each ride entrance to get onto them.
What rides are at Weston Pier?
Crazy Circus
Min Age: 3 Years / Min Height: 90cms (Under 8’s must be accompanied by an adult)
This is a 3 floor fun house with all sorts of things going on from moving steps to a spinning tunnel. They went on this so many times I lost count, there were live actors within the course some of the times they went round which scared them a little but they still wanted to go back on.
Dodgems
Min Driver Age: 3 Years / Min Height: 135cms (Under 8’s must be accompanied by an adult)
Min Passenger Age: 3 Years / Min Height: 90cms (Under 12’s must be accompanied by someone 12+)
We walked past this a few times as it was one of the few rides that had a queue. We did manage to get on it later in the day though and thankfully it was fine for Miles to take Holly on (although she wasn’t impressed she wasn’t allowed to drive) I was just happy to not have to go on it (hate bumper cars!)
Freefall
Min Age: 3 Years / Min Height: 106cms
This is one of Hollys favourite rides wherever we go, annoyingly Oscar isn’t tall enough for this one even though he was for Chessington which is a shame.
Chloe isn’t great with heights or drops so I was surprised she was so keen to go on this one but she did and said it was good!
Helter Skelter
Min Age: 3 Years / Min Height: 90cms (Under 8’s must be accompanied by an adult)
They were all really excited to grab a sack and run up the steps, until they realised just how many steps there were! (69 in case you are wondering) and you can see them climbing them while you queue for the Go Karts upstairs.
They also have this handy little TV monitor so you can see when they get to the top and which slide they are coming down. They did all say though they didn’t glide down very well and had to scoot most of the way.
House of Mirrors
Min Unaccompanied Age: 8 Years / Min Height: N/A (Under 8’s must be accompanied by an adult)
Oscar dragged me into the House of Mirrors to show me it all. He thought it was hilarious, it also has this colour changing light tunnel you walk though which was pretty cool!
Ghost House (£4 PP PAYG)
Min Age: 8 Years / Min Height: N/A
Although this does say minimum age of 8 – Holly went on it with Miles (much to her regret once she had been) They had live actors along the ride (I don’t know if thats normal or an extra for Halloween) but she was pretty scared when she got off.
10 minutes later she had completely forgotten and wanted to go back on though.
Crystal Maze
Min Age: 3 Years / Min Height: N/A
We started off here and I think they must have gone round it at least 4 times each. If you are around my age this isn’t the crystal maze I was expecting, No Richard O’Brien in sight!
This maze has a mix of mirrors and clear glass blocking your way, it is very disorientating and Holly and Oscar definitely walked into glass several times each.
This one does have a little sneaky help (if you want it) you’ll find little switches on the walls which activate a light in the floor to help you with which direction you need to head to find the way out.
F1 Simulator (£6 PP PAYG)
Min Age: 11 Years / Min Height: 152cm
This was the favourite of the day. It is a 3 seater simulator (Middle seat ‘drives’) and you get to race on an F1 track.
They all loved it and went on it a couple of times so they could take turns driving.
Go Carts (£6 PP PAYG)
Min Age: 12 Years / Min Height: 140cm
Holly and Oscar just had to watch this one (much to their disappointment) but there is a viewing space in the middle of the track so we could get up close to watch them fly by.
The upper floor has a track to race round before looping back down past the entrance, you get around 6 laps.
Laser Maze (£3 PP PAYG)
Min Unaccompanied Age: 3 Years / Min Height: N/A (Under 8’s must be accompanied by an adult)
The laser maze was great however trying to take photos not so much! The idea is to get across the room without breaking any of the laser beams, press the ‘mission complete’ button and get back to the start and press the 2nd mission complete button.
I did have a go and managed to break 6 lasers even though I though I had done really well. There were 4 different levels to choose from each with a different difficulty.
Robo-Coaster – Currently closed for maintenance
Min Age: 8 Years / Min Height: N/A
Sidewinder (£4 PP PAYG)
Min Age: N/A / Min Height: 122cm
This pendulum ride is on the upper floor next to the soft play. None of them seemed overly impressed with this.
Your wristband also gives you access to the Adventure Cove soft play area (£4 PP PAYG) Which is a huge play area with various slides and obstacles to race around. It was mainly a great place for me to have a rest and grab a Costa Coffee while Oscar burns off some energy.
There is also a crazy golf course but I didn’t book onto it you can add it on to your wristband for a reduced price (£1.50 for under 1.2m and £2.50 for over 1.2m) or just pay to play.
Under 12 Years : £3 per child
Adults : £5 per adult
Family (of four) : £13
What Halloween events are on at Weston Pier?
Along with the live actors who were wandering around scaring people, which was quite funny to watch, they also had some child friendly activities on
Facepainting & Halloween Treasure Hunt – Free
Facepainting is available for free next to the main shop on the upper floor. The treasure hunt is also free and once you have found all the hidden letters you can claim your ‘treat’ from the shop.
Pumpkin Carving £7 & Pumpkin Balloon Pop £2
You can grab a pumpkin and carve it out (freehand or they have templates you can use) they also have a balloon pop game for £2 a go and you can win a prize.
They also have one of these photo props too.
Where can I eat at Weston Pier?
We had a food at a couple of different places.
First we had 2 fruit shoots and a bag of malteasers from the soft play cafe (£4.60) They don’t do standard cups or jugs of squash which is usually alot cheaper.
We had our actual lunch in the chip shop by the main entrance, you’ll find plenty of seating in here and also just outside on the pier if the weather allows it. This was £41.85 for the 6 of us.
And lastly we had a second helping from the cafe in the soft play. The Victoria sponge cake was like dust and then the filling was so sweet we couldn’t eat it. Lottie said the brownie was great though.
Tiffanys
Located at the very back of the complex you’ll find Tiffanys. Offering panoramic views of the bay. From Afternoon Tea to Sunday Roasts you can find a wide range of food choices.
Tiffanys is also available for private hire.
You’ll also find the Grand Cafe serving Costa Coffee and sweet treats by the main entrance to the complex.
Lastly there is a large gift and souvenir shop on the upper floor (this is also where you can purchase wristbands if the stand isn’t open) They also have a handy height guide on the wall for all the rides.
Mobile Phone Charging
I love that these mobile charging stations are popping up in more and more places. I am RUBBISH at charging portable chargers and remembering to even bring them so these are really handy for me. Just remember to note what time you took it as they charge by the hour.
How much did our day out cost?
Parking : £9 (£6 + 2 extra hours £3)
Wristbands : £62 (2 x £19.50 + 2 x £11.50 + 1 Free)
Morning Cafe Snacks : £4.60
Lunch : £41.85 (4 x Kids meals, 2 x Adult meals, 4 drinks + 3 Ketchups)
Afternoon Cafe Snacks : £21.45
Total : £139.90 / £23.15 PP
+ Phone Charger £4
We used our Days Out With The Kids membership to get the free wristband this is well worth monthly fee if we can make savings like this each month.
We obviously could have made it cheaper by eating somewhere other than on the pier but I think the little bit extra cost makes up for the time we would lose walking somewhere else to save a few pound.
I would definitely take some drinks with us next time though as they were quite expensive.
Overall we had a really great day, it was far better than I expected and we didn’t even spend a penny in the actual arcade (I think being Haven owners they are bored of arcades now) but we could have easily spent another couple of hours in there if we needed too.
We can’t wait to go back!
ChrissyJ xxx
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