A Wonderful Family Experience – Our Sooty Land Review at Crealy Theme Park
Disclosure: We were invited to the Sooty Land press day launch at Crealy Theme Park free of charge in exchange for this review. All words and photographs belong to this blog.
Without doubt, one of the longest-running and most beloved mainstays of British children’s entertainment is the Sooty Show. Even now, when I watch new episodes of the show with my five-year-old, I recall those times in my own childhood when I watched the loveable yellow bear magic his way into and out of countless entertaining situations, accompanied by Sweep, Soo, and then-presenter Matthew Corbett. Sweep was, without doubt my favourite – and still makes me crack up, even now!
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Sooty Land at Crealy Theme Park & Resort
When we heard that Crealy, the biggest family theme park in Devon, had teamed up with Sooty, Sweep and Soo to launch a brand-new area of their park, everyone in our house – and I absolutely include both adults in this statement – was incredibly excited and, upon being informed that we’d been invited along for the launch event, both Rex and Grace were literally (used in the most accurate sense of the word!) jumping for joy. This exuberant display was a first for Rex, as we’ve never seen the young lad do that before and it’s been a while since we’ve seen it from 15-year-old Grace too (although, admittedly, her excitement was also due to our having been invited to stay in one of Crealy’s Hot Tub Lodges, something she’s always wanted to do).
Sooty Land within Crealy does a fantastic job of introducing classic children’s entertainment characters to a new generation with the three puppets front and centre in a large section within the park. Sooty, Sweep and Soo are simple to understand and easy to love, and involving them with several new attractions at Crealy adds considerable character to the rides and experiences.
The Sooty Land Rides
The new Sooty-themed rides have been well thought through – we were impressed that they hit the right balance of being thrilling without being too daunting for younger riders, yet remaining enjoyable for more grown-up kids (myself included).
For anyone 90cms and over, Soo’s Sweet Balloon Ride is an elevated tea-cup ride where passengers can choose how much and how fast – or, indeed, how little and how slow – they’d like their balloon to spin.
Those standing 105cms or more can also enjoy both Sweep’s Flying Circus (a simple round-and-round ride which engages the junior pilots by giving them control over the height at which they fly and sound effects via a couple of in-plane buttons).
Sooty’s Magic Bus is an elliptical swing ride which, at its peak, is about as high in the air as many adults will care to go!
While for those who measure 120cm or above, Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Dizzy (a spinning ride similar to traditional rodeo or juggler attractions) is a real thrill. All of these enjoyable rides are situated close together to ensure that little legs don’t get tired out too quickly (and short attention spans aren’t subjected to long delays between rides either!)
What Other Attractions are there in Sooty Land?
While the rides are the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about an amusement park, there’s so much more about Sooty Land than initially meets the eye – within the Pier area of the park, considerable amounts of time could be spent enjoying the huge range of indoor attractions which include carnival games, a magic mirror maze, spider-climb duo slide, jigsaw Tetris, a dance studio and the South West’s first interactive strike arena. Also within the Pier resides the Hall of Fame, a wonderful exhibit for those grown-up kids to look back at 70 years of the Sooty Show, including memorabilia and complete original sets from the Sooty Show that you’ll no doubt recall from your own youth, as I did mine.
There is also a fantastic gift shop where you can purchase countless amounts of magic tricks, a light-up Izzy Whizzy wand (particularly good for the Big Top Show) and your very own Sooty, Sweep and Soo to take home with you.
Sooty Land Refreshments
There are plenty of options here for food and drink, with Sooty’s Diner, Sweep’s Hot Dogs, and Soo’s Café and Seaside Spuds. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch in Sooty’s Diner, a welcoming, brightly-lit and charmingly decorated environment with plenty of space for grown-ups to take a breather while kids with energy to burn can occupy themselves in the impressive and sprawling nearby soft-play.
The menu doesn’t overcomplicate matters, sticking to traditional fast-food style choices, and the portion sizes are generous with quite reasonable prices. Amongst us, we had chicken burgers and bacon cheeseburgers, plus fries, and everything delicious.
The Sooty Show Live Performance
After lunch and our tour around the Pier, we journeyed on to the Big Top for what turned out to be a notable highlight of the day – a live performance of The Sooty Show! Held in a proper carnival tent with candy floss, generous tubs of popcorn and other tasty treats available at the entrance, the experience kept everyone entertained from the word go with an interactive Sooty-themed pre-show quiz. Everyone in the arena could play along via their mobile phones as trivia questions appeared on big video screens, with points awarded at the end of each question and an ongoing leader board keeping track of totals – a very clever way to keep everyone amused, even those not playing along, while waiting for the main event to begin.
The live Sooty Show itself whizzed through its half-hour running time, keeping everyone’s attention throughout and striking the right comedy notes for all generations, putting smiles on kids’ and adults’ faces alike. The Sooty Show makes good use of the big screens with new Sooty owner and presenter Richard Cadell appearing via video during the show to interact with the engaging on-stage presenter Sam and, of course, Sooty, Sweep and Soo. It’s great to see that real thought has gone into all off this to ensure that, while the show benefits from a level of nostalgia among the older attendees, is doesn’t rely on it.
Our Final Thoughts
The timeless quality of the three puppet characters themselves, each of whom have their own distinct traits and quirks, is in part is due to Richard, the man who brought Sooty and friends back to the spotlight. When speaking to us in person at the launch event, Richard’s lifelong enthusiasm for Sooty is both infectious and endearing, and the feeling of genuine love and joy is palpable across the wide range of Sooty-based attractions at Crealy.
While Sooty Land is worth the price of admission alone, there’s so much more to see and do within Crealy, with rides including rollercoasters Maximus and Twister (the former a fast-paced runaway train attraction, the latter spinning throughout the ride for huge thrills), double-drop Tidal Wave log flume, easy-going old-fashioned Carousel, elevated chain swings, Vortex waterslides, big and small Pirate Ships, Aqua Blasters and much, much more. There are also kart driving experiences for kids and adults alike, and huge play areas scattered all around the park. I’m confident that even if every single ride had been shut, Rex still would have found more than enough to do with the multiple soft-play areas and outdoor activity areas, slides and climbing frames. With so much to explore and experience, it really is no wonder that Crealy has been voted the Best Day Out in Devon for 10 years running.
I used to have a Sooty and Sweep, so it’s no surprise either that upon returning from the park with a Sooty of his very own, Rex has given his new cuddly yellow friend pride of place in his bedroom. When it’s time to go to school, Sooty comes along for the ride and if our little lad is feeling poorly at night, it’s Sooty who soothes him by rubbing his tummy (with a little help from Mum or Dad of course!), allowing him to drift of into dreams of future visits to Sooty Land at Crealy.
Crealy Theme Park & Resort is an award-winning family attraction located just minutes from junction 30 of the M5 near Exeter. The theme park has over 60 rides and attractions set in over 100 acres of glorious Devon countryside. We are proud to be a park that caters for the whole family, from the smallest children to parents and grandparents alike. There are over 100 animals, 30 outdoor attractions and a variety of other activities to choose from. With heart-stopping rides for thrill seekers to soft-play and animal petting for younger guests, Crealy is the South West’s number one family day out
WE almost went to Crealy when we were in Devon, I wish we had now. I love Sooty! My kids are too old now, but my oldest kids were big fans just like I was. We owned loads of Sooty videos which would be played over and over. The whole experience looks really exciting, colourful and so Sooty. Maybe if I get some grandkids I can visit in the future.