It was a quiet midweek day outside of the school holidays and I had the urge to go on some rides. I decided today was the day we go to Gulliver’s Valley. My husband works weekends so normally we wait until then and go as a family but this time me and my daughter decided we’d try it solo! Hoping to beat the crowds we thought we’d give the midweek day a go!

I grabbed my new Gulliver’s Annual Pass that I bought on my recent trip to Gulliver’s World and hopped in the car. When we arrived, the site was huge with tons of parking. On a sunny day it felt like I was driving into one of the major resorts in Orlando. The heat was building and we were ready to jump out of the car.

It was very obvious which direction to head in from the car, the entrance gates you can’t miss!

Before we entered we were greeted by some very colourful lions that my daughter, Hilda, loved! She met them both and we took some photos. Looks like they were part of @prideofyorkshiretrail

As my second visit to a Gulliver’s park in the same month it was difficult not to compare Gulliver’s Valley to Gulliver’s World. If you’d like to read more about my trip to Gulliver’s World, take a read:

This time I was visiting a Gulliver’s park on a weekday during term-time so I was expecting it to be quiet, especially compared with a Saturday. The moment I walked through the entrance the park was completely different. I entered an indoor area full of stores and all sorts to look at. To the left there was the information point and to the right the gift shop. Onwards I could see lots of cafes, ice cream and all sorts of decorations.

I didn’t really know where to start but luckily I was given a paper map that came in useful to follow and choose a starting point. We decided to head straight for the outdoor rides and enjoy the sunny weather.

The first ride we came to was the Lilliput Carrousel. It’s hard to miss right at the top of the ramp as you enter the outside of the park. We hopped on as there was no queue!

The interesting thing about this ride was you needed to be over 100cm to ride on a horse. We are quite used to this as it’s the same case at Butlin’s and at Disney you can ride a horse with an adult standing next to you when under 90cm. This time this wasn’t an option but instead of the usual carriage to sit in there were a couple of options. Hilda chose the Elephant to sit on and we watched the horses go up and down as we went round in circles.

Whilst we sat on the carrousel we could see other rides in the distance including the elephants from the Jumbo Jetters. A quick check on the map to make sure we’d be tall enough and then we were off. I didn’t want to disappoint my clever 3 year old with more rides we weren’t able to go on.

Luckily that wasn’t the case and we enjoyed bouncing up and down, in circles, making elephant sounds.

The next ride we came to was the Wiggle Coaster. Now, this ride is almost identical to the one they have at Lightwater Valley that we happily rode last year. Even at just 2 years old, this was Hilda’s first ever rollercoaster! But here at Gulliver’s, she’s too small for it. It was difficult to explain why she was able to ride that one but not this one. Luckily with the queues none existant today, I was able to walk to the front, have the ride attendant measure her and once she physically saw she was too small she always took their word for it. My word wasn’t good enough but i’m used to the mind of a toddler by now.

We walked past lots of big rides and some little ones but all were for children over 90cm so unfortunately we couldn’t ride them.

So, we headed down to the Gears section of the park where Hilda loved getting photos at the photo opportunity spot.

After we’d taken 9000 photos in the same spot, we walked across to Carfari for our next ride.

This was a cute little car ride that followed a short loop along some trees. Truth be told this ride had nothing to see and is probably better suited to babies and toddlers who like gentle rides. A few decorations wouldn’t go a miss! When you’re limited to what you can go on with your under 90cm, it’s tricky to avoid rides like this but I wouldn’t rush to head back for this in future.

Next up was lunchtime and to save money i’d brought a packed lunch. We picked out a wooden crate to sit on and it was in a lovely and peaceful location. We even had the reindeer to watch as we ate!

Gulliver’s Valley actually has animals in the park to see so after we said hello to the reindeer we decided we’d head back to view the animals later. For now, it was time to find some more rides.

The next ride we found was Crazy Planes, another ride similar to the elephant one only this time you could use the lever to make the plane rise really high. It went up far higher than I was expecting and even tilted towards the middle slightly causing me to lean into Hilda. I held on to her tight and we enjoyed a bit of a thrill for a change. She enjoyed it so much that we went on twice in a row!

The park was very quiet as to be expected on a mid-week term-time day but what I didn’t anticipate was the amount of schools visiting. Of course this makes sense because without them there would literally be about five families within the entire theme park and it wouldn’t be worth opening! The schools made the atmosphere a little less like a ghost town but I enjoyed the fact it didn’t impact our visit. Apart from the odd queue for the toilets or food outlet, school children weren’t really visiting the same rides we were. That was the benefit of having a small toddler I suppose! We enjoyed atmosphere without the queues.

In the Gears part of the park there are some faster rides including a roller-coaster that looked like a lot of fun but was too large for us to go on, perhaps in a couple of years as she grows taller! There was also a little museum full of old cars and service vehicles. It was a little random but a nice addition. Towards the back of the museum there was home to a working model fairground. It looks like it tours around the country and is currently located in Gulliver’s Valley. Whilst it wasn’t all lit up and working due to current refurbishment it was still really impressive to see..

Next stop was Western World for cowboys and more adventures. Very popular with the school kids on a hot day was the huge water ride Apache Falls. Hilda liked to stand in the queue and watch the rafts come down and she took some convincing that once again she was too small. Luckily I managed to bribe her away and we went on Sioux City Express instead. A little train ride the same format as the others going around on a track. This one in particular Hilda told me she didn’t like. It was rickety and the Indians were scaring her. Mental note never to ride this one again. The ride next to it with the ponies looked like fun but again, she was just too small for it.

There were lots of play areas in this area but the heat from the sun meant a lot of the slides were far too hot to go down. This was a shame but she made the most of what we could before we moved on.

When checking the program for the day it told me The Very Hungry Caterpillar would be around at 2pm today. Knowing what a favourite he is to Hilda I knew we couldn’t miss this one. What toddler isn’t a fan of the iconic books? So i’m super glad we stuck around for this meet in Lilliput Theatre.

I must admit, I was pretty impressed with the costume!

With not too long before the end of the day we ventured around Lilliput Theatre and enjoyed some of the soft play area inside. It was fun having the whole place to ourselves! There was even a little ride inside we were able to ride later before we went home.

After dumping some of our bits at the car we decided to head back into the heat and explore the other side of the park. We headed for Smugglers Wharf after another ride on the carrousel. This time we opted for the spinning teacup which didn’t go down very well with Hilda since she didn’t like it and wanted to get off as soon as it started moving. Will have to try the carriage next time instead.

Finally we rode the Spinning Barrels. We’ve always been a fan of pirates and we had the whole land to ourselves! At first Hilda didn’t want to ride this one but after we’d done it once we stayed on for a second time straight away. I love that you have the ability to control how fast your barrel spins and that it goes around once in each direction. Rides are great when they have no queues but this was definitely one of our favourites.

Since closing time was looming and we wanted to get away before the bulk of the motorway traffic we decided to try see some of the animals before we left. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect so we grabbed an ice cream before we ventured out.

It may look small but the scoops were huge and we were able to choose two different flavour dollops for £4.50. She went for chocolate caramel and I went for Candyfloss! We then walked around slowly whilst doing Hilda’s version of sharing where I get one lick for every 10 of hers. What can I say, she loves ice cream!

The animals were a nice addition but not something I’d visit the park specifically for. There weren’t many but it was a nice break from the nosier side of things. We saw meerkats, prairie dogs, llamas, tortoise and reindeer. We really enjoyed this section actually and it looks like they are working on making some new additions to this too.

Annoyingly the doors to the Playzone were open and we passed this whilst looking at the animals. Because we could see a giant bouncy castle inside and Hilda absolutely loves these, it meant she was now asking to go on this for the entire rest of the day walking around. When it was time to head back and finally head for the bouncy castle, you can imagine what came next.. Too small again!

How do you explain to a toddler they are too small for a bouncy castle when they’ve spent so much of their life going on them? It’s so difficult having a short 3 year old because she’s so aware of things and more than mature enough for a lot of the rides and activities. 99% of three year olds are taller than 90cm according to the growth chart. Therefore Hilda is one of the few children in this position and as I describe to the staff, she’s a child in a baby’s body. She outgrew a lot of the baby rides mentally a long time ago but we have had to just make do with it because of the rules. I understand a lot of them it’s due to safety, the last thing you want is a child slipping out of the restraints. But sometimes, i’ll see a ride perfect for her and she isn’t able to go on because the assumption is that a child as small as her is normally a baby and won’t have the ability to hold on tight or ride alone. I understand the height requirements are there as a blanket rule and i’m thankful that it at least means we don’t pay entry fee for her but I do look forward to her growing those few centimetres more and being able to ride the ones she can’t wait to go on!

We finished the day with a princess meet and a quick stop at the gift shop for an obligatory magnet. Hilda chose the pink unicorn one.. Of course.

We didn’t quite have time to get round all the park so we’ve left Tombstone Mine, Construction Zone and The Lost World for next time. It’s always good to have a reason to head back… Especially when you have an Annual Passport! Another great visit to Gulliver’s Resorts and i’m looking forward to returning here again. I can only hope we get a quiet sunny day like this next time.

~ Visited Gulliver’s Valley, Rotherham in July 2026 ~

Useful Bits

Website: https://www.gulliversvalleyresort.co.uk/
Location: Rotherham, South Yorkshire
Entry Fee: Prices differ throughout the year and vary depending on the seasonal events, day of the week and height of child. The annual pass costs £99 currently and allows entry to all four Gulliver’s Parks.
Bonus Factors: Free parking and plenty of it. Picnic areas if you want to bring your own food. Looks to be some great thrill rides for big kids and adults. You must have a child with you to enter this park which makes it very family friendly. The animal encounters were a nice little addition to the theme park.
Verdict: We had a great day here but struggled with some of the attractions being for over 90cm. We look forward to returning when she’s bigger but will definitely make the most of the free entry whilst she’s little. There is still a lot of fun to be had here and I can’t wait to ride some of the big rides another time!
TripAdvisor: Gulliver’s Valley