A couple of weeks ago Lucas and I were invited to review Sea Life in Manchester and LEGOLAND. I am going to write separately about LEGOLAND Manchester.
The Sea Life centre is situated at the Trafford Centre so it is easily accessible from the motorway and has an incredible amount of free parking. I hadn’t been to Barton Square in the Trafford Centre and it’s fab, there was a beach set up and various fairground rides. It is also the home of the bigger homeware stores in the Trafford Centre.
We have been to the Sea Life centre in Blackpool a couple of times and really enjoyed it. The Manchester one is smaller than Blackpool but I didn’t feel as though anything was missing. As you go in, you have your photo taken then queue to start with a talk and show about turtles. It is in a dark room with a small beach set up and using lights, turtles come to life while the staff discusses them. This was a really lovely way to start the centre. I could have actually listened to the lady for a lot longer, the room is so relaxing and she was very informative. Did you know that the temperature of the sand where the turtles are nesting determines the sex of the babies? If the sand is under 26.8°C the babies will be boys, if it is over 26.8°C they will be girls.
After the talk, you continue into the centre where you can find an array of underwater creatures with fab tunnels, walkways and globes for the little ones to explore. Lucas was a lot more interested in going around here than in Blackpool so I think the smaller centre is good for smaller children as it is less overwhelming. The is also a soft play area halfway through that Lucas loved. There isn’t a café in the centre but there are vending machines by the soft play if you want to get a snack or drink.
There are lots of special offers online so if you do plan on going, I would recommend you book before. You can even get a ticket for an adult and toddler (3-5 years) for £15. Under 3’s are free. There are also combination tickets to visit the Sea Life Centre and LEGOLAND on the same day. Make sure you get your hand stamped when you go in, this means you can re-enter during the day if you do go to LEGOLAND or want to go into the Trafford Centre for shopping or something to eat x
