8 June 2019

Review: Coral Island Blackpool


We love a good staycation or two and this week we visited Blackpool since the kids were off school for a couple of days. We visited Blackpool three years ago but it's a place you can return to again and again. There's lots to see and do in Blackpool but one of the best activities has to be the arcades and 2p machines! It just takes me back to my childhood when I would visit with my Gran and Di. So when the lovely people from Coral Island asked if I'd like to bring the family along for a day out I couldn't refuse.


I wasn't really sure what to expect but oh my goodness Coral Island is amazing! It's the biggest free entry attraction in Blackpool and totally worth a visit. We popped in on the second day of our holiday (Tuesday) at 10.30am and never left until 5pm. It was such a fun packed day that the time flew by.


So what is Coral Island exactly? Well it's a massive indoor entertainment centre full of amusement arcades of every kind imaginable from the good old 2p machines to a pretty cool VR machine. There's several different restaurants to keep you fed and hydrated plus indoor rides, family friendly prize bingo, camel derby and tons of memorable photo opportunities. It's the first amusements arcade I've seen that looks really professional and I think it might just have it all!


As you can imagine, inside Coral Island is a major feast for little eyes with flashy lights and fancy machines galore all buzzing and beeping. The kids were super excited so we decided to start on the 2p machines. There's tons to choose from and a lot of them give out prize tickets as well as the usual 2p coin and some small prizes. We managed to acquire a lot of tickets, some sweeties and key rings. The kids couldn't wait to collect lots of tickets and cash them in for a prize.


Next up we thought we'd try a few of the arcade machines. Harlow went for a few of those plants vs zombies machines which fires water to destroy the zombies. There was also a machine that shot balls at dragons which was super fun to play. Whilst exploring the arcades is when Logan happened upon the VR Machine. He absolutely loves VR so must have had at least 4 goes on this machine. Worth every penny as it looked really good.


After trying to win as much tickets as possible we headed over to the family friendly prize bingo to try our luck. The machines are really easy to play and all electronic. The lovely lady helping out the caller that day got us all set up and even brought us some drinks and biscuits, such great service. The other half and I won nothing but Logan won twice and Harlow got a shout too. They were ecstatic! Logan picked a lovely jigsaw and some sweeties with his points and Harlow decided to have more games of bingo with hers. 


As I mentioned there's some nice indoor rides within Coral Island. The mini rollercoaster was perfect for Harlow. She jumped on for a few turns and loved picking which carriage she could ride in. The smile on her face was priceless. There's also the Pirate Flyer which is a pirate boat shaped carriage that takes you round the very top above the whole arcade area. It really was like flying around and exploring. You get amazing views and can spot some machines you'd like to try next. The kids loved this and had several goes. Us adults really enjoyed it too.


By this point we were all starting to get peckish. It's hard work having fun you know! Coral Island has a variety of places to enjoy some food and refuel, one of which is The Buccaneer. It's a family friendly bar with a wide choice of dining options. Kids also eat free with a paying adult all day every day at all restaurants within the venue which is definitely worth noting. The staff were super friendly and dressed up as pirates. The kids thought this was ace. There was plenty of choice in the menu for starters, mains and desserts and all reasonably priced.


The food was brought to us in a timely manner and was well cooked and tasted delicious. Staff come over at different intervals to make sure everything was ok with our food which is always a nice touch. I noticed on the menu that they can cater for people with different dietary requirements so that's really good.


Feeling all full up and very satisfied we headed out to try our luck at the Camel Derby in the hopes of winning a cuddly toy. I've played the horse derby a few times and it's great fun but never Camel Derby. It's just the same but with camels and you roll the balls up as fast as you can and hope they land in the holes which propels your camel to the finish line. The kids really enjoyed this fast paced game and I came in a close second but the other half was good at winning. He won the kids a prize each, a cute bumblebee for Harlow and Superman cushion for Logan.


We decided to try out more of the arcade machines to see how many tickets we could accumulate. The kids wanted a good nose at all the prizes they could possibly win too so we browsed for a good while. I was really impressed at some of the prizes you could win with your tickets. A Nintendo Switch was one of them, how amazing would that be!!


There was also plenty of opportunities for some fab photos within Coral Island. We hopped on the Giant Deck Chair and asked a member of staff to take a snap, they were more than happy to help. You could pretend to be a pirate or pose next to Jack Sparrow outside The Buccaneer. You could even stick your head in the photo board and become a super hero. It was great fun. 


We really enjoyed our day out at Coral Island and the fact we spent all day there really says something. My kids can get bored or fed up quite easily but they were kept busy, entertained and well fed for the whole day. I loved that the whole place was indoors so you can visit no matter what the weather. It's definitely a fun family friendly day out and one which I'd recommend to family and friends. We'll make a point of coming back here the next time we visit Blackpool.


I was given a VIP pass and meal voucher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

1 comments on "Review: Coral Island Blackpool"

Susan Mann on 10 June 2019 at 14:50 said...

I love Blackpool and this looks like fun. x

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