Come what May ! Which theme park to visit ?

You may remember that last year, we were lucky enough to win an Annual Family Merlin Pass. The girls absolutely wanted to visit Madame Tussaud's to see one Direction (no surprise there !) so we popped off for an amazing weekend in London.

It was great fun and we managed to pack loads in, including ...

 the amazing Poppies at The Tower

the Natural History Museum

and a spectacular trip on the London Eye.

Well, now that the theme parks have opened up for the new season, I've decided we need to head off on our jollies again, this time visiting one of the theme parks in the Merlin group before the cards run out. We have the choice between Legoland Windsor, which I know nothing at all about (probably tied in with a trip to Windsor Castle?), Chessington World of Adventures or Thorpe Park, both of which I haven't been to for about 30 years ! What would you recommend, bearing in mind that the Madhouse kids are 5, 10 and 13 and not keen on the huge whiteknuckle rides?

With perfect timing, just as I was about to have a scout about for any cheap hotel deals,Ibis got in touch with news of their latest promotion. This spring, the earlier you book the cheaper you stay with up to 15% off when you book up to 15 days in advance - rates start from £37 at more than 69 hotels across the UK and Ireland so that definitely sounds worth investigating.

Let me know if you've seen any other unmissable deals and whether you've visited any of the aforementioned themeparks. Feel free to drop me a link below to any blogposts you may have about them.