Sheaf District Beavers take over Gulliver's Valley Theme Park
By Leslie Rochester
On Friday 24th February 2023, 50 Beavers and 13 Leaders/adult helpers arrived at Gulliver’s, ready for an amazing adventure. We had a mass Beaver sleepover at Gulliver’s. Madness, I hear you say, No, it was fabulous having an event dedicated specifically to the Beavers of Sheaf only.
On arrival, we took our belongings to a storeroom, our sleeping destination was a different place. Sheaf District took over Gully Town. Once the house keeping had been covered, we set off to explore. We had exclusive use of the climbing wall, Gully Town and laser tag. Next it was time for tea, it was so loud having 50 Beavers in one place, buzzing about the activities they had completed. It was heart-warming, watching Beavers from different groups mixing together and realising that other children were Beavers too!
After another session of exploring the indoor areas of Gulliver’s it was time to make our beds in Gully Town. Once ready for bed, pyjamas on and teeth cleaned, everyone settled down to watch Toy Story.
Then it was lights out (except for the emergency lighting). All children had settled down by midnight dreaming of which ride to go on first in the morning.
All was quiet in Gully Town… until the silence was shattered (around 5 am) by the elephant footsteps of the first Beaver running to the toilet gauntlet. The challenge was not to wake up the dragons, alas the Beaver failed the first challenge of the day and gradually the noise level grew until every Beaver and Leader was awake.
The first task for the Beavers was to get dressed, pack their bags and find lost items. Once all belongings were neatly packed away, it was time for hot chocolate and biscuits while watching cartoons. This was our starter breakfast, then it was down to the dining area for sausage sandwiches before more exclusive use time.
The rides opened at 10:30am and we split into our groups to explore all the rides. Groups came together for packed lunch and a chance to warm up. After a quick refuel, we headed back out to the rides and got as many thrills as possible.
Then came the inevitable – home time. Parents started arriving from 15:45 to collect their tired Beavers.
We had an amazing time at Gullivers and hope that this will become either an annual event or a bi-annual event.
The Gulliver’s booking team were fabulous with their organisation and the crew members during our visit were fantastic, many going that extra mile for the children.
“Massive thanks to Leslie, the Leaders and adult helpers who made the Sleepover a success. It sounds like the Beavers had an exciting experience and benefited greatly from mixing with other Beavers from across Sheaf” – District Team
