AD | Butlins provided us with a dining plan during our visit
During our half term break to Butlins Bognor Regis, one of the things we all enjoyed the most was the shows. Butlins has shows on both during the day and in the evening on a half-term break and to get the best experience possible, I wanted to share some top tips with you.
Download the Butlins app
One of the absolute best things that you can do is to download the Butlins app relevant to the location you’re staying at. Before your holiday, and during, you will be able to see everything that is on every day and what time it’s on. This will really help you to plan what you want to do and see.
Book in advance
Two weeks before you’re due to go on your break you’ll be able to book activities and shows on the Butlins app. Technically, you’ll get an email to let you know when the booking is open but I was able to book a couple of hours before this. It’s worth starting to check from around 9am on that day. Some things, especially, the big-name acts do book up very quickly and you might find yourself unable to get the shows you want otherwise.
Queue early
The doors open for shows 30 minutes before the show is due to start. Queues are likely to start forming around an hour before this time so say 6pm for 7pm doors opening. If you want to get good seats then you’ll have to queue early.
Something we noticed a lot of people doing is to have 1 person from your group join the queue early and join them later. Queuing for an hour and then waiting another half an hour inside a venue is quite a long time for young children so I do understand why people do this. We did this on 2 occasion and it meant that Erin got about 40 minutes before of going on rides in the Skyline Pavilion before the show.
No one minds if you do this either because so many people do it.
Download the B-Serve app
One of the great things about Butlins is their B-serve app. This allows you to order drinks and snacks in the venues and staff will bring them right over to your table. This means no missing the show to queue up at the bar and it means you don’t have to worry about what to do with the children if you’re on your own. We used the app a few times and the drinks service only took around 5 minutes each time.
Join a Facebook group
Something I found more helpful than anything was to join a Facebook group about Butlins. I joined one specific to Bognor Regis but I’m sure there are others for the other sites. In this group I was able to get loads of hints and tips about my stay and the shows.
Some of the shows have meet and greets afterwards, and some like Stephen Mulhern and Jay and Joss had merchandise available to purchase. It was nice to know this in advance thanks to the Facebook group and it meant that we could ask Erin ahead of time if she wanted to do any of this. Having photos taken with the performers was a highlight for Erin so I’m glad we knew about it in advance. The queues can be quite long and there can be a bit of a wait so if you know where the queue will start etc. that can be a huge help.
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