The requests to ‘See Bob’ normally start at about 7am. At my brother’s house this is generally followed by a loud rendition of “Can we fix it?” and a plastic hammer making frequent contact with daddy’s head. My nephew George is an avid Bob the Builder fan – he knows all the characters and words, and he’s only two years old.
But George has suddenly gone quiet, and from his wide-eyed expression I can tell he’s not entirely sure what’s going on.
Along with many other families, we’ve bought George to Butlins in Bognor Regis to see the new Bob the Builder show. All of a sudden his hero is 5ft tall, walking, talking and within touching distance – a bit bemusing for a small child who thought he had Bob all figured out. But it’s not long before there’s a smile on his face. Bob’s Yard is packed full of kids, all excited at seeing Bob, Wendy and Spud’s half-hour show.
Some are even on their parents’ shoulders, keen to see every minute of the action.
And it doesn’t stop there. For kids who can’t get enough of Bob, Butlins lays on two shows per day, a team photo shoot and two tea parties where kids can go and say hello to Bob and his team.
Bob’s Yard opened in February across all three Butlins parks and is only part of the £19 million the company is spending on upgrading the resorts to attract new holidaymakers. And it seems to be working.
Butlins head of entertainment Mike Godolphin said: “Some 76% of our customers come to Butlins for the character entertainment – there has been a huge investment in the Bob shows. He’s here for three years and over time the shows will be developed, new characters introduced and more ‘Bob’ elements added.”
The Bognor Regis resort has come a long way since it first opened in 1960. Now occupying 60 acres right on the seafront, the park offers a whole host of activities to wear out active, excitable kids. Fairground rides, Splash Waterworld, ten-pin bowling, indoor adventure areas, Pop Academy, go-karting and a whole programme of summer entertainment including circus acts from Russia, martial arts displays from China and acrobats from Kenya.
Godolphin added: “Butlins is no longer the holiday camp people associate with Hi-De-Hi. We try to offer something for the whole family, providing something different for them to do every day of their stay.”
So, is Butlins managing to shed the traditionally downmarket image associated with holiday parks? Is the investment paying off?
As we walked around the park, kids everywhere seemed to be running from one activity to another – not once did we hear the cry of ‘I’m bored’.
There was a queue of kids waiting to get into Bob’s Tea Party and in the evening the Centre Stage venue was packed to the rafters with families enjoying the entertainment.
We certainly couldn’t fault the amount of activities available, and the food wasn’t bad either. In fact, George was so tired he nearly fell asleep over his roast beef, peas and gravy.
Butlins will never be everybody’s cup of tea, but with the range of accommodation options now available, not forgetting the £10 million, 160-room Shoreline hotel due to open next month at the Bognor Regis park, customers can opt in or out as much as they like.
George’s mum said: “We had never been to Butlins and admittedly were a little. apprehensive.
“Having said that, the resort is so geared up for the kids George is exhausted. “He’s done so much in the time we’ve had here and as the activities are all on the doorstep, it hasn’t meant much effort for us either.”
- Bob the Builder’s Tea Break Party Pack costs £25. Children receive an exclusive Bob the Builder backpack, including activity books, jigsaws, story books and games as well as an invitation to join Bob and the team at Bob’s Tea Break Party. At the party Bob plays games, sings songs and shares his favourite tea-break food.
