A Let’s Go Mum family, Destination Gold Coast and Jetstar Australia partnership feature

We’ve just returned home from a theme park holiday on Australia’s Gold Coast with Destination Gold Coast and Jetstar Australia, and we had an amazing time together!

The Gold Coast is one Australia’s favourite family holiday destinations for good reason – there’s so many fun things to do there!

In addition to being home to some of Australia’s most beautiful beaches, the Gold Coast also offers great entertainment, shopping and food. This makes it perfect for every family member – from toddlers to teenagers, parents to grandparents, the Gold Coast is a fantastic holiday getaway for all.

Fly Jetstar Australia to the Gold Coast & maximise your fun!

We flew Jetstar Australia to the Gold Coast, and it couldn’t have been quicker – or easier!

Getting the family to the Gold Coast is cheaper than ever thanks to Jetstar Australia. They offer direct flights to the Gold Coast with their low fares every day. As an added bonus, there are frequent Jetstar Australia airfare sales that make a Gold Coast holiday even more affordable for families.

Flying Jetstar Australia to the Gold Coast means you can do so much more in a much shorter amount of time. You can be at the Gold Coast in a matter of a couple of hours instead of a couple of days road-trip from the eastern cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Plus, with my action-packed 3 day itinerary, you can make the most of your time – and fit in as much of that Gold Coast family fun (and sun!) as possible.

The Big 3 Gold Coast theme parks

The highlight of our most recent Gold Coast trip for was exploring one of the Big 3 theme parks each day, so in this feature I’ll tell you the highlights of each park, and then list our 3 (and 5 day extension) itineraries.

The Gold Coast is Australia’s undisputed theme park central and plays host to the three biggest theme parks in Australia – Dreamworld, Movie World and Sea World.

All three of these theme parks cater to all ages, and are in the business of pure, old fashioned family fun. Each one is geared to give your family the best time away together, ever!

Only have a few days to getaway? Follow our 3 day theme park itinerary!

A Gold Coast theme park a day is the perfect recipe to have a great time together and make some very special family memories, but you don’t need a whole week or even two weeks to visit some of the best theme parks in Australia, and have a great time.

Gold Coast theme parks with kids planning list!

Here’s my list of holiday essentials to ensure your Gold Coast trip goes as smooth as silk!

• Book your Jetstar Australia flights – sign up to Jetstar Australia emails to receive the latest Gold Coast flight discounts and sales.
• Book your departure airport parking if needed – airports often have mailing lists with seasonal specials too!
• Book your accommodation – we stayed at and highly recommend both the Main Beach Tourist Park and Sea World Resort
• Book your hire car – we drove an Avis rent a car – don’t forget to include enough room for your suitcases and any baby seats or booster seats in your hire car booking if needed.
• Buy your theme park tickets online before you go so that you can enter the parks without queuing – Dreamworld, Movie World and Sea World are the three major theme parks on the Gold Coast.
• Download the Village Roadshow park app to take advantage of the virtual queue system at Movie World and Sea World so that you can go straight to the front of the queue (once per ride) on several of the popular big rides.

Gold Coast essential packing list – don’t forget!

• Swimsuits
• Sunscreen
• Hats
• Comfortable shoes
• A light jumper or jacket in winter

Three theme parks in three days – our 3-day itinerary!

Having fun on the Gold Coast is as easy as 1-2-3 with our Gold Coast 3 day theme park itinerary. Use it to do all three top Gold Coast theme parks in just three days (with a visit to the Australian Outback Spectacular too!).

Day 1: Dreamworld

9:00am Fly Jetstar Australia into the Gold Coast Airport at Coolangatta (or Brisbane Airport) on a morning flight and pick up your hire car. Load the bags and the kids and drive to Dreamworld. You should be at your first theme park within the hour!

10:00am Arrive at Dreamworld – use your pre-purchased online tickets to be barcode-scanned into the park.

Dreamworld is famous for…

Rides, and lots of them, with a dedicated small children ride area. Dreamworks Popular characters appear for free photo selfie sessions around the park. There is a huge fairy themed, tiger, motor racing and LEGO shop, a dedicated native animal zoo walk through area and fun shows to watch.

How much time do you need to see Dreamworld?

Give yourself the entire day to fully explore this theme park.

Don’t miss…

For families with teenagers & thrill seekers: the Steel Taipan roller coaster – this 1.2km long triple launch roller coaster will have you racing back to do it all again.
For families with small children: ABC Kids World has lots of little kid rides that will delight.
For all ages: Tiger Island – the Tiger Island show is an amazing way to see tigers close-up performing natural behaviours such as swimming and leaping that will have the whole family gasping in wonder!

4pm Dreamworld closes. Drive to your villa accommodation at Main Beach Tourist Park. Drop by the supermarket on the way to grab some supplies for breakfast and dinner. Have a rest or swim in the resort pool before heading out to dinner just a five minute walk away at the Southport Yacht Club, or drive five minutes away to one of the masses of fantastic family friendly restaurants in Surfers Paradise – don’t forget to take a walk on the night-lit famous sandy beach!

Watch our day at Dreamworld video

Watch the video of our day at Dreamworld here!

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here 

Day 2: Warner Bros. Movie World

Sunrise Swim, surf or take a stroll along gorgeous Main Beach just across the road from Main Beach Tourist Park for a great start to your day on the Gold Coast!

8:00am Cook breakfast or have breakfast at one of the cafes around Surfer’s Paradise.

9:00am Drive to Warner Bros. Movie World in Oxenford. The park opens at 9:30am and the rides start at 10am.

9:30am Arrive at Movie World – use your pre-purchased online tickets to be barcode-scanned into the park.

Movie World is famous for…

Being known as Hollywood on the Gold Coast, with themed areas and rides, many DC Comics themed. There are several large thrill rides and a dedicated ride world for small children. There is a stunt car show at set times each day, a 4D theatre, and several character shows throughout the day with numerous character appearances for photos and a main street parade.

Village Roadshow Theme Parks app

Use the Village Roadshow Theme Parks app to take advantage of the virtual queue system at Movie World (and Sea World) that you can use to go straight to the front of the ride queue on several of the popular big rides. You can only book one ride at a time. Aim to use this mostly in the first half of the day on the major thrill rides with the biggest queues like DC Rivals, Superman Escape and Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster. These rides tend to exhaust their virtual queue allocation by around lunch time. Alternatively, you can wait for your turn in line, or purchase an Express Pass/VIP pass at the photo booth at the gate to skip to the front of the ride queues. These can sell out, so don’t leave it until it’s too late.

Ride photos

Ride photos are a must to capture great candid family pics! Pick up a photo wrist band bar code (free) to scan any ride photos taken during rides. At the end of the day, you can pick and choose which photos you’d like to buy at the photo booth, or purchase a Fast Photo $50 all digital photo download package for ride photos at both Movie World and Sea World (we did this and it’s great value as you can end up with several really fun ride photos like the one above taken on the Spooky Coaster!)

How much time do you need to see Movie World?

Give yourself the entire day to fully explore this theme park.

Don’t miss…

For teenager families & thrill seekers: DC Rivals, Superman Escape, Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster and the Batwing – these super thrilling rides will have your heart in your mouth!
For families with small children: WB Kids World with a Mini Driving school, and more fun rides for the smallest thrill-seeker! You’ll also find the smaller but still exciting Road Runner Coaster
For all ages: The Stunt Car show and Scoob 4D movie theatre (several times daily) and Mainstreet character parade (at 3:30pm) are absolute must-sees during your visit.

5:30pm Movie World closes.

Suggested option one: Sea World Resort, Main Beach

5:30pm Drive to your accommodation at Sea World Resort, Main Beach to check in. Perhaps have a pre-dinner swim in the resort pool and let the kids play on the Sponge Bob Square Pants splash pad. Have dinner at the resort’s family-friendly Shoreline Restaurant. It not only has every kid-friendly meal you can think of such as spaghetti, nuggets and chips, it also features live music for mum and dad, plus face-painting for the kids!

Suggested option two: Australian Outback Spectacular Heartland show

6:10pm Go to the Australian Outback Spectacular Heartland show. The whole family will love this unique family-friendly dinner show that tells a great Aussie outback story. An experience featuring a stunning light show with real animals – including horses, dogs and cattle. Everyone gets a free cowboy hat too! Enjoy pre-show drinks, live country music entertainment and photo opportunities with the animal stars of the show! Read more about the show in our feature here.

9:30pm After the show ends, drive to your accommodation at Sea World Resort, Main Beach.

Watch our day at Movie World video

Watch the video of our day at Movie World here!

Don’t miss another of our Australian family YouTube videos! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here 

Day 3: Sea World

8:00am Enjoy the huge selection at the buffet breakfast in the Sea World Resort at the Shoreline restaurant

9:15am Check out of the Sea World Resort

9:30am Exit the resort to directly access Sea World via a door located near Reception, scanning your pre-purchased online digital ticket as you go. Walk up the ramp and straight into Sea World. It doesn’t get more convenient than that! You will find yourself near the Dolphin arena and Castaway Bay water play area. The park opens at 9:30am and the rides start at 10am.

Sea World is famous for…

Its sea animal shows and enclosures. There are also several large thrill rides and a dedicated ride world for small children. There are sea animal displays, extra animal experiences available to purchase, and a stunt show at two set times each day. There are several walk through aquariums, a water play area, and climbing structures for the more energetic kids. New feature rides are currently under construction, so stay tuned!

Village Roadshow Theme Parks app

Use the Village Roadshow Theme Parks app to take advantage of the virtual queue system at Sea World (and Movie World – the two parks are owned by the same company) that you can use to go straight to the front of the ride queue on the popular big rides. You can only book one ride at a time. Alternatively, you can purchase an Express Pass/VIP pass to skip to the front of the ride queues, or just wait your turn in line.

Ride photos

You can also use your Movie World photo wrist band at Sea World to scan any ride photos taken during rides.

How much time do you need to see Sea World?

Give yourself the entire day to fully explore this theme park.

Don’t miss…

For families with teenagers & thrill seekers: the Storm and Jet Rescue Coasters, and the Vortex will spin you into another dimension!
For families with small children: Nickelodeon World has a carousel, mini roller coaster and several more fun rides for little ones.
For all ages: The seal and dolphin shows are an absolute must-see, and the stunt show is also great fun. For $9 you can purchase a cup of fish to feed to the rays at set times. See the penguins who currently (September 2022) have a huge fluffy baby, neon-lit jelly fish, resident polar bears and the incredible underwater world of Shark Bay. Book a dolphin experience for life-changing memories – we’ll never forget ours!

5:00pm Sea World closes. Return to the Sea World Resort to pick up your bags and car and drive back to the airport to drop off your hire car and catch your Jetstar Australia evening flight home.

Add these two days for a 5 day Gold Coast theme park itinerary:

Day 4: Consider visiting Paradise Country – described as an authentic Australian farm experience with wildlife presentations and koala experiences available. See Shaun’s Aussie Adventure Show (Meet and Greets available), the Stock Horse Arena and Billy Tea Show. Stockman Show. There are also pony rides. Operating hours are 10am-3pm.

Day 5: Consider visiting one (or both!) of the Gold Coast water parks – Wet N’ Wild (year round – 10am-5pm or 4pm in the colder months) or WhiteWater World (WhiteWater World is a seasonal theme park closed for winter, reopening September 10 2022. Opening times vary 10am-4pm/5pm).

Gold Coast family accommodation

Whilst on the Gold Coast we were hosted by two outstanding family accommodation options.

Main Beach Tourist Park

Main Beach Tourist Park is an incredible Gold Coast holiday park located right across the road from Main Beach, next door to Surfers Paradise! You can read all about our stay at Main Beach Tourist Park in our feature article here.

Sea World Resort

The Sea World Resort is the famous family themed accommodation resort with direct access to the Sea World theme park! You can read all about our stay at the Sea World Resort in our feature article here.

Even more fun Gold Coast attractions and activities

Of course, the Gold Coast isn’t just about Australia’s biggest and best collection of theme parks. There’s so much more to do and see!

No trip to the Gold Coast would be complete without a visit to one of the many stunning white sandy beaches. There are multiple fun attractions all over the Gold Coast, with lots located in and around Surfers Paradise. Don’t forget to snap a photo under the iconic Surfers Paradise sign while you’re there!

Seasonal whale watching cruises always seem to find a whale or ten to see, and Sea World run their very own whale watching cruises so that you only have to walk out of your accommodation and onto the boat!

The Gold Coast has some of the best shopping in Australia with several massive shopping malls like the huge Pacific Fair, Robina Town Centre and Harbour Town outlet shopping centre.

Getting to the Gold Coast

How long does it take to fly to the Gold Coast?

It’s faster than you think to fly to the Gold Coast, or alternatively to Brisbane.

To get to the Gold Coast Airport of Coolangatta is a 2 hour flight from Melbourne Airport, 1 hour and 20 minutes from Sydney Airport and 1 and a half hours from Canberra Airport.

To fly to Brisbane Airport is a 2 hour and 10 minute flight from Melbourne Airport, 1 hour and 30 minutes from Sydney Airport and 1 hour and 40 minutes from Canberra Airport.

So you’ll be arriving in the Gold Coast in no time!

Car Hire at Brisbane or Coolangatta Airports

There are numerous car hire companies available at both the Coolangatta Airport and Brisbane Airport, with competitive rates. We drove an Avis hire car from Brisbane Airport, and it was one of the closest hire car stations to the main airport terminal. The hire car was quick and easy to both pick up and drop off with a petrol station located next door to the airport to top up the fuel tank – everything went without a hitch.

How long does it take to get from the Coolangatta Airport to the theme parks?

It takes around 35 minutes to drive to the Coomera (Dreamworld) and Oxenford (Movie World) theme parks from Coolangatta Airport, and around 45 minutes to drive there from Brisbane Airport.

It takes around 30 minutes to drive from the Coomera/Oxenford theme parks to Sea World Gold Coast at Main Beach. It takes around 40 minutes to drive from Coolangatta Airport or one hour from Brisbane Airport to Sea World.

It’s time to book your Gold Coast family holiday and go have some fun!

So, there you have it! You can book for the Christmas school holidays now – but really, there’s no time like the present to fly to the Gold Coast.

Book now for your next Jetstar Australia Gold Coast holiday with the kids. It’s a great way to reconnect and spend time laughing and having fun together. The memories you make will be absolutely priceless – ours certainly are.

The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Destination Gold Coast and Jetstar Australia for this Gold Coast visit

Like it? Pin it on Pinterest!

The post Fly Jetstar Australia to the Gold Coast & do 3 theme parks in 3 days – includes full itinerary! appeared first on Let's go Mum.

Read our Gold Coast theme park holiday guide here

Sea World Resort is Australia’s only theme park resort

We loved our stay at the Sea World Resort. If you’re looking for family friendly accommodation on the Gold Coast then this beautiful hotel and resort makes a great choice.

Australia’s only theme park hotel resort, Sea World Resort is a resort in every sense of the word, as it offers a huge range of features and entertainment.

From the stunning resort pool and water park to its family centric restaurants – and free Wifi – Sea World Resort has it all. There’s even a convenient Sea World gift shop located inside the resort!

As if all that wasn’t enough, this gorgeous resort is situated on the Broadwater waterfront, right next door to the Sea World Marine Park. A stand-out feature of the resort is that it also has direct access to the Sea World Marine Park!

A resort pool and water park

The fun never stops at Sea World Resort, with a beautiful resort waterfall swimming pool, heated to a comfortable temperature year-round and surrounded by palm trees and pool lounges. There’s also a hot spa to relax in.

There’s a fun splash pad area too, perfect for children of all ages, and the resort even runs evening light up fun sessions!

 Character meet and greets & more kid friendly entertainment

Kids even get to meet their favourite characters. Sponge Bob Square Pants, Patrick and even Dora the Explorer make appearances every morning on site at the gazebo!

The kids zone is a fun indoor play space and the games room is another popular activity in the hotel.

A Massage & Beauty Salon plus a guest Gym

It’s not all about the kids at the Sea World Resort though – mum and dad get spoiled too, with a massage and beauty salon, plus a fully fitted out gymnasium with lots of up-to-date exercise equipment and weights.

Sea World Resort rooms

Our Sea World Resort family room

Our Sea World Resort room was located in the gorgeous Garden Wing.

Modern and elegant, our Deluxe Room was spacious and spotlessly clean. It featured a lovely light coastal theme with two very comfortable Queen beds.

The large Smart TV on the wall opposite the beds was able to connect to our own devices easily to access our own streaming services using the hotel’s high-speed free wi-fi.

In an age where most of us carry our favourite channel accounts with us no matter where we are, this is a brilliant in-room entertainment advantage.

Our ensuite bathroom was modern, light and clean with lots of luxury toiletries, fluffy towels and a great shower.

A guest laundry with coin operated machines was available to use to catch up on the family laundry during longer holiday stays, or for those with big families who perhaps don’t want to arrive home with suitcases full of dirty laundry!

There were tea and coffee making facilities and glasses in the room, and a small bar fridge.

Our Sea World Resort room met all of our needs and was a very comfortable and relaxing space to rest at the end of a long, fun day!

Sea World Resort restaurants and bars

There are two restaurants and a large bar off the foyer at Sea World Resort.

The Lobby Bar

The large Lobby Bar is the great place to relax and catch up after a full day of Gold Coast fun. Situated in the resort lobby, this is the perfect place to soak up the lobby atmosphere, grab and snack and kick back with a wine, beer or cocktail.

The Shoreline buffet restaurant

We loved eating at this large, family friendly restaurant. Not only did it supply everything we could possibly want to eat on holidays as a family, it was great fun!

Serving as the breakfast room in the morning, you could get every breakfast food imaginable with its full buffet breakfast, complete with a pancake machine and even an ice cream machine!

Parents are well looked after too thanks to the skilled and oh-so flamboyant egg chef – delicious!

At night the restaurant offers a buffet smorgasbord of Chef carved meats, salads, seafood – and just about every kid-friendly food on the planet!

Spaghetti Bolognaise, nuggets and chips – you name it, the Shoreline has your family’s favourite meals.

Whilst you eat you can enjoy live music, and even face painting for the kids. Family dining on the Gold Coast doesn’t get more kid-friendly than this!

Even more family friendly restaurants

Sea World Resort’s own Hatsuhana Japanese Restaurant offers yet another delicious dinner option with all the fun of live cooking, plus sushi, sushimi and desserts. The Melrose Italian restaurant offers pizza and pasta comfort food that everyone loves. Meanwhile, the Boatshed Bar and Grill and the Waterfall Cafe offer outdoor dining on the waterfront next to the resort pool. If you’re too tired to make the effort, you can simply call room service and dine in your room!

All these dining options make it so easy to feed the family without even having to leave the resort!

Sea World Whale Watching & sightseeing cruises

Sea World Resort Broadwater sightseeing cruises are a great way to spend an afternoon to see the beautiful homes lining the waterfront at the back of the Surfers Paradise strip, or you can catch a dinner cruise to see the lights of the Gold Coast Broadwater.

Sea World even has its own whale watching cruises. The boat is moored at the waterfront right in front of the resort. You can bet the whale watching cruise guides would be some of the most knowledgeable in Australia!

Sea World, Outback Spectacular discounts and more

Being a guest of the Sea World Resort comes with benefits and gives you lots of discounts to all kinds of activities, including combined theme park discounts for Sea World, Movie World, Wet ‘n Wild and Paradise Country. There are also discounted tickets to the Australian Outback Spectacular, Spooky Nights Halloween at Sea World and even a complementary dolphin experience at Sea World!

You really can’t go wrong booking your Gold Coast accommodation at the Sea World Resort – especially if you’re travelling with kids. The atmosphere is one of joy and excitement for a reason – it’s a great fun place to stay with the family!

To find out more about Sea World Resort, go to their official website here.

The Let’s Go Mum family partnered with Destination Gold Coast, Sea World Resort and Jetstar Australia for this Gold Coast visit

Like it? Pin it on Pinterest!

The post Sea World Resort review – Gold Coast family accommodation appeared first on Let's go Mum.

Dreamworld is the Gold Coast theme park we go to for the best variety of fun rides for young kids. ABC Kids World is amazing for toddlers and very young children, and for older kids, Dreamworld ride height minimum limits are lower than some other Queensland theme parks. This suits my primary school-aged kids perfectly. That’s more rides for them to enjoy, which means great value for money for parents – plus the rides are just as fast and thrilling!

Stop! Before you go anywhere in Dreamworld, get one of these…

To kick-off our day at Dreamworld, we arrived right on 10am – opening time – and got a Ride Express electronic device. This clever electronic virtual queuing unit will save you a heap of time for an extra cost. There are three waiting-time options – bronze ($25), silver ($40) or gold ($65). Gold is the fastest option -90% less queuing time – and we found ourselves waiting no more than five minutes at most rides with our Gold Ride Express – fantastic.

School holidays tip: Of the 3 big Gold Coast theme parks, Dreamworld is the only one which still offers virtual queuing during the school holidays

Let’s go – Dreamworld family thrill ride guide

Gold Rush World

River Rapids

For our first rides of the day, we headed straight off into Gold Rush land. Here you’ll find the terrifying Buzz Saw (“Keep walking children!”) and the “get wet” rides – which are a huge hit with everyone in the family – young kids, teens and adults.

A few goes down the rollicking River Rapids rides started the day off on a hilarious note as we rocked, rolled and spun our way down the rapids. I love the way that this ride gets everyone squealing and laughing together – family, friends and even the strangers sat opposite you!

Don’t forget to watch out for the folk on the banks with the water guns – their only aim is to soak you! You’re going to get a little – or maybe even a lot – wet on this ride!

Rocky Hollow Log Ride

Next-up was the Rocky Holly Log Ride – we were already wet, and decided we couldn’t get much wetter! As usual, the Log Ride didn’t disappoint. We had to tear ourselves away after three rides on this one.

You can see what the Log Ride is like for yourself, by clicking Play on the Youtube video below!

Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster

Next we headed off to our first Big 9 Thrill Ride – the Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster.

This zoomy ride will bring tears to your eyes due to it’s speed, but it’s such a lot of fun you can’t help laughing – that is, if you can possibly draw breath!

Even younger kids (who meet a minimum height) are allowed to ride this one – they can hop in one of the side car motorcycles with mum or dad if they are not yet big enough to hop aboard a motorcycle. The Mick Doohan Moto Coaster’s last two carriages are a parent bike and sidecar. At Dreamworld, few kids are left behind!

ABC Kids World

We love ABC Kids World – it’s an absolute gem for parents of little kids and toddlers.

The Wiggles World Little Red Boat, Little Red Car and Dorothy’s Tea Cup rides, Hop and Hoot ride, the Bananas in Pajamas’s maze, Playschool Art Room and Giggle and Hoot pirate ship – there’s just so much to do!

It’s the most colourful, fun playground around which my kids still enjoy – if you have little kids, make a bee-line for ABC Kids World and let the ankle-biters run-riot!

A variety of lunch options

By this time we were all hungry and I managed to talk the kids into pausing for a moment to eat. It was lunch time, and we headed for the large covered central dining area.

Here you can choose from gourmet pizza, chips and burgers, or if you are completely junk-fooded out at this point in your holiday like we were, there is a healthy sandwich and salad bar called “The Sandwich Shop” – pesto salad for me and wraps for the kids – perfect!

Madagascar World

Madagascar theatre show

Onward to the nearby Madagascar theatre show. This popular show plays twice daily at Dreamworld, and is a real hit with families – it also gives mum and/or dad time for a breather!

Jungle Jam tree house

Then off to the Jungle Jam tree house which the kids always love. Kids will be kids, and this is a big house of fun they can go wild in!

The Jungle Jam tree house is full of kids climbing, laughing, firing foam guns and generally having a good time – great for little monkeys of all ages.

Madagascar roller coaster

When I finally managed to drag the kids out of the Jungle Jam tree house, we headed off to the Madagascar roller coaster. This ride is a must for families – smooth, short but still thrilling, this roller coaster will have you all smiling at the end. Lots of fun for everyone.

Ocean Parade World

Hot Wheels Side Winder

Lulled into a false sense of roller coaster security after the Madagascar coaster, we then headed off to take a ride on the Hot Wheels Side Winder (formerly the Cyclone roller coaster).

We excitedly climbed aboard the brightly coloured Hot Wheels car-styled carriages. This huge coaster pumps out the latest tunes whilst it cork screws, loop-the-loops and seemingly jet-propels you down the rails on a thrill-ride which leaves your heart in your mouth – but don’t worry, you can still squeeze a scream out!

Terrific fun at a gazillion kilometres per hour – no wonder the Hot Wheels Side Winder is one of the Big 9 Thrill Rides!

Tiger cubs on the loose!

Upon emerging from the Hot Wheels Side Winder, we came upon a wonderful surprise – a real-live tiger cub sitting up on the gift shop counter!

Dreamworld’s Tiger Island is currently being renovated and improved for the tigers, with the new-look Tiger Island re-opening this September. In the meantime there is a Tiger Kindy nursery playground where you can watch the adorably cute Dreamworld tiger cubs and their big brother Kai play with their toys.

Plus in the afternoons around 2 to 3pm, the young tigers are taken for leash walks around the park for people to walk alongside, and even pat when they stop!

Professional tiger handlers are with the cubs at all times and make sure they are safe and sound, yet are allowed to lead and explore. These gorgeous little-big-cats are just like oversized kittens – only with really, really big paws! They climb on walls, seats, roll around on their backs and generally have a good ol’ time!

There are opportunities for a professional photographer to take your photo with these young tiger-ambassadors too – a percentage of the price of these photos (which cost $10 each) goes to the Dreamworld Wildlife Foundation (DWF) to help save their tiger-cousins in the wild, of which only 3,200 remain. DWF is the largest zoological donor to tiger conservation in the world – now that’s amazing! Donate and learn more at the Dreamworld website here.

The Wipeout

When we could finally tear ourselves away from the tigers, we headed over to the Wipeout – I like to think of this rides as – well, terrifying to be honest, but if you ask my ten year old, Brooke, she’ll tell you it’s ‘awesome fun’, and not scary at all if you close your eyes! The Wipeout twists, flips and hangs you upside down for good measure – this is yet another Dreamworld Big 9 Thrill Ride, and it’s most-definitely built to thrill!

The Tailspin

This year we decided to be brave and go on the Tailspin. This high-flying ride looks quite intimidating, but it was actually the most beautiful ride to experience. You really feel like you are flying on the Tailspin! Although it does reach some pretty lofty heights, it’s really just a peaceful glide-ride – a thrilling feeling to whoosh through what surely must be the clouds! But if you’re after even more of a thrill, don’t worry – you can use the wing control handles on your “plane” to set you spinning around and around and around…..don’t miss this one!

The Shockwave

Finally, our last ride of the day was The Shockwave. This ride is another favourite of ours. A massive wheel which rotates and zooms along a short and wavy track – it looks scarily powerful, but is just pure FUN! We had to go on this one a few times, right up until closing. Once you’ve had one ride on the Shockwave, you just can’t stop!

A dedicated Lego store is coming soon to Dreamworld!

Everything is awesome!

As if the amazing Fairytale Treasures, Hot Wheels, ABC Kids World and Madagascar shops weren’t enough to excite the kids into a frenzy, Dreamworld is about to add to their shopping fun with a LEGO® Certified Store!

Opening in November 2016, there will be giant LEGO statues, a LEGO wall, LEGO building areas and everything LEGO! We just can’t wait for the new Dreamworld Lego store to open, just in time for the summer school holidays – awesome!

There’s so much more to Dreamworld than we could ever fit into one day, but we certainly got a large number of rides and fun in!

I hope you enjoyed our round-up of Dreamworld fun for families. Now don’t just sit there – go and visit Dreamworld for yourself – you’ll all have a fantastic family day out!

Let’s Go Info…

Opening hours
Dreamworld is open 7 days a week: 10am – 5pm (excepting Christmas Day)

How to get there
You can get to Dreamworld by car (self-drive easily from your Gold Coast hotel – 20 mins).
Many companies run tour coaches to the Theme Parks – enquire at your hotel reception to book and for pricing.

Tickets
There are some great value passes to Dreamworld available – you can buy an annual pass from $109.99 which also gives you entry to the attached White Water World and the (well-worth a visit) SkyPoint Observation Deck too.
For a full listing of tickets and discount online prices, visit the Dreamworld website here.

All prices are accurate for July 2016
We reviewed this theme park as guests of Dreamworld

Has your family visited Dreamworld? Did your kids love the rides – and did they have a favourite? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Dreamworld – the Gold Coast theme park with more for kids appeared first on Let's go Mum.