Welcome to our newest contributor Katrina Reid. Katrina is a mum to two young boys and has more fun with her kids than most parents I know. I have recruited her to help us test some of Melbourne’s great family friendly attractions and this post is a result of her first assignment – reviewing Jurassic Creatures. Jurassic Creatures is an interactive walk through event where kids can meet dinosaurs and other pre-historic creatures of the ice. Located at Harbourtown in Melbourne’s Docklands until April 17 and tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.
Jurassic Creatures at Harbourtown.
On Saturday I headed down to Harbour Town to check out Jurassic Creatures. With me I had my 2 boys aged 6 and 3 and a school friend of my eldest.
The kids had known we were going for the past few weeks and were SO excited! And overall it did not disappoint!
We arrived by train( an adventure in itself!) ; I am not familiar with Docklands so I hadn’t realised how far harbour Town is from Southern Cross Station ( about 1.5km) but luckily the excitement was enough to keeping the kids walking happily.
Sessions are timed and you are allowed 2.5 hours ( 10am-12.30pm, 1-3.30pm.4-6.30pm) When we arrived- just 10 minutes prior to our session starting there was an enormous queue, but it started moving right on time, and we entered pretty quickly.
Entrance is through a giant Dinosaur head which the kids loved, and on walking in, it was pretty amazing to see all the life-like animatronic dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures. The kids were enthralled and didn’t know what to do first.
There is plenty to keep them entertained, and I think we sampled everything, from the stage show with dinosaur train characters and songs, to the sand play, fossil digging and making of sand pictures. The kids get their own eye protection and lab coat for the fossil digging which was really cute!
Naturally the kids loved the jumping castle, and the rides- all included thankfully, and can be done as often as you like.. The rides are outside and are more aimed towards younger kids- at 6 and 3 it was just perfect for my kids, with a small train ride, spinning teacups and little rocking pirate boat. I was impressed how well organised it was- because the ride and jumping times were kept short we never had to wait more than one turn to get on, which meant it was easy to do them multiple times.
I was even impressed at the price of the merchandise – I had told the kids they could get something if there was a toy they wanted under $10 – and in fact there were quite a few options for that price including dinosaur laser sticks( thankfully not chosen!) and soft toy T-rex and triceratops.
My only source of dissatisfaction was that there are no toilets actually in the facility – you had to leave the tent and go to some nearby toilets in Harbour town- only about 100 metres away, but with a 3 year old that can’t hang on long- that can be a long way, especially having to convince the other kids to come with me, and leave all the fun, if only briefly.
At $105 for a family ticket it is not a cheap day out. Was it value for money? Well, my kids absolutely loved it, and they were busy and entertained completely for our 2 and half hours, so overall I would say yes. I was surprised how much it did quieten down toward the end of the sessions as I assumed everyone would want to stay till the end- it was great for us though because we could pack even more into that last half hour with fewer people there!
So if you have dinosaur fans, especially in the preschool and early primary school ages, then Jurassic Creatures could be the Holiday entertainment for you!
Win
I have one family pass (two adults and two children) to Jurassic Creatures to giveaway. To enter simply answer as a comment in 25 words or less why you’d like to take your kids to the exhibition. Entry closes March 24th at 8pm.
Jurassic Creatures
To be a Paleontologist my kids would have a ball,
Seeing Jurassic Creatures would rule!!
My 3 year old absolutely loves dinosaurs and would love to take his bestie and her Mum for a day out.
My 4yr old son loves dinosaurs, it’s hard to find things for him as he has aspergers and looses interest quick
This would be a winner
Who doesn’t love dinosaurs?! Kids cannot get enough of them.
How fun! We’d love to go. Someday we’ll get to Australia!
Oh my gosh — that egg photo is SO CUTE! We have been pondering a Melbourne trip in the future with our young children, and knowing there are family-friendly attractions like this there sweetens the allure…
Stegosaurus, Spinosaurus, Brachiosaurus and here we have Crankymumsaurus and Restlesskidsaurus.
So fun and educational, my kids and I will thank you for it!
A day out with the dinosaurs would make my son and his buddy roar
And that they could be paleontolgists would be lots of fun for sure!
There is hardly a kid who does not go through dino loving stage so this park sounds like a winner with families. Did you think that 2.5 hours was enough for a visit?
Looks awesome….wish we were closer!! good luck to all those who enter #veryjelly
The kids are driving me batty,
I’m totally stressed the max,
Dinosaurs are just what we need,
To enjoy laugh learn and relax!
My 2 boys are Dinosaur obsessed, so to win this and keep them entertained these holidays, sounds amazing.
This would be the best prize to win, watching the excitement upon the kids faces as they explore many of precious ancient creatures! I good luck all
I am on a disability pension and would love my to be able to take my grandson as he loves both dinosaurs and dinosaur train
My son had been working so hard at his potty training to get to his final big prize of going to see the dinosaurs.
This looks marvellous and I know my kids would love it. And so would I! I hope it comes to Sydney.
Will share for my Facebook readers who might be coming for the school holidays.