Trips With Kids

Guide to theme parks with kids

On Monster Island near Elbląg, motion sensors set off sounds from the bushes and the pond, and the Loch Ness Monster, an octopus and a Yeti were waiting in the water and in the forest. The girls believed the monsters were real, and one of them didn't want to cross the bridge because a monster was swimming under it.

We have been visiting theme parks with our kids since 2014. It started with a big dream: a whole day at the very first Legoland in the world, in Billund. Then came Polish amusement parks, science centres and water parks, and we found Nowa Holandia, the Illusion Farm and Pacanów on our Eastern Poland road trip 2015. We went to Tatralandia during our winter holidays in Slovakia, to Gardaland on a May holiday in 2018, and to Disneyland and Parc Astérix on our trip to France in 2019.

You can watch videos from these days on our playlist Parki rozrywki / Amusement parks, and our other trips on our YouTube channel. On this page you will find:

  • big theme parks with roller coasters and water rides,
  • Polish parks with illusions, inflatables and a mini zoo,
  • water parks, even for a winter day,
  • science centres, fairy tales and miniature worlds for days when the weather is not on your side.

Theme parks with kids at a glance

  • Our visits: 12 parks and similar attractions in 5 countries, from Legoland in 2014 to Disneyland and Parc Astérix in 2019.
  • For little ones: at Legoland we had a child under 3 with us, Gardaland has gentle rides and carousels for the youngest, Tatralandia has a paddling pool and shallow pools, and the Copernicus Science Centre had a separate zone for kids up to 5.
  • For older kids: roller coasters at Legoland and Gardaland, the crooked house and the Ames room at the Illusion Farm, experiments at Copernicus and the 210 m slide in Zielona Góra.
  • How much time: plan a full day for a big theme park, Nowa Holandia, the Illusion Farm or Pacanów. At Copernicus and at Tatralandia we spent 6 hours each.
  • Tickets: buy them online. We queued for an hour at the Legoland ticket office and for 2 hours outside Copernicus, while people with online tickets used a separate line. Today some places sell online tickets much cheaper, and some sell them only online.
  • Food: the rules differ. You can bring your own food to Legoland and the Illusion Farm, but not to Nowa Holandia or Tatralandia (as of November 2026), so check the park rules before you go.
  • Height: in big parks some rides have height limits, and kids are measured at the entrance to the ride. At Legoland they use Lego bricks for this.
  • When to go: on a weekday and outside the high season. Legoland was still crowded on a Monday in August, but at Gardaland in May the queues were much shorter.

Theme parks in Europe and Poland

Denmark

Legoland Billund

The first Legoland in the world was one of the must-see stops on our road trip around Denmark in 2014. What we remember most:

  • the Miniature Park, where trains and ships move on their own and kids can start some of them with buttons,
  • boat rides through a world made of bricks and roller coasters, some of them wet,
  • the underwater world with aquariums, where you can pick up a real crab.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • the park is open seasonally, and in 2026 it also opens for Christmas, from 28 November to 31 December,
  • tickets bought online are much cheaper than at the entrance,
  • you can bring your own food and drinks, and there are picnic areas in the park.

More in our post Legoland Billund.

Italy

Gardaland

The biggest theme park in Italy is a short drive from the campsite in Peschiera del Garda where we spent our May holiday at Lake Garda. There are gentle rides and carousels for the youngest, roller coasters for the brave and water everywhere: again and again one of us came back from a ride wet, but smiling.

At the end of the day a huge storm came, and we got back to the campsite soaked to the skin.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • the 2026 season ran from 28 March to 1 November, and in winter the park opens for Magic Winter, from 5 December 2026 to 6 January 2027,
  • children under 90 cm get in free,
  • every ride has its own height and age limits, and children under 120 cm ride the TransGardaland Express with an adult.

More in our post Gardaland with Kids - A Theme Park at Lake Garda.

France

Disneyland Paris

We went to Disneyland near Paris in 2019, on our trip to France. We haven't written a post about that day yet, but you can see our impressions of the park in the video below, and the whole trip on the playlist Francja 2019.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • children under 3 get in free,
  • tickets are sold online, and an undated ticket must be registered for a specific day in advance,
  • when your little one is too small for a ride, parents can take turns without queuing again (Rider Switch).

Parc Astérix

On the same trip in 2019 we also visited the Asterix theme park near Paris. You can see how it went in our video.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • the park is open from April to early January, but not every day, so check the calendar before you go,
  • children under 3 get in free, and the cheaper dated tickets must be bought at least 7 days before your visit,
  • the Baby Switch service lets parents take turns on rides without queuing again,
  • picnics are allowed only in the marked areas.

Poland

Nowa Holandia near Elbląg

A family amusement park among canals, with small bridges and pedalos. Our favourites were:

  • the Giant Lion, a 28-metre inflatable slide, where it was hard to get the kids off,
  • a cruise on a water tram past a replica of Stonehenge and an island with Moai statues,
  • Monster Island, the best attraction in the park for us,
  • a gold mine with plenty of gold stones to find.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • the season starts on 1 May, and in July and August the park is open every day,
  • children up to 3 get in free,
  • the park rules still do not allow you to bring your own food and drinks,
  • children under 7 can use only part of the Giant Lion: the soft hill from age 3 and the climbing hill from age 4.

You can see the kids' reactions to the monsters in the video below, and the whole day is in our post "Nowa Holandia" Family Amusement Park in Elbląg.

The Illusion Farm in Trojanów

An amusement park near Dęblin, where we planned to spend the whole day. We started with a huge crooked house, where gravity works differently and even the grumpiest people burst out laughing. Then there was:

  • a mirror maze and an Ames room, where a person in one corner looks like a giant and in the other like a small child,
  • a wicker maze, a pirate bay and a raft crossing,
  • goats that we fed with carrots,
  • giant chess and giant furniture.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • in the summer holidays the park is open every day, and outside the season only at weekends and on public holidays for individual visitors,
  • online tickets are valid for the whole season, with no time slot,
  • you can bring your own food and drinks (no alcohol),
  • the illusion attractions alone take at least 4 hours.

Watch our video from the Illusion Farm and read our post The Illusion Farm Amusement Park.

DELI Park near Poznań

An educational family park on the edge of Wielkopolski National Park, on road No. 5 between Stęszew and Poznań. When we went there in 2015, we found:

  • mammoths and other Ice Age animals,
  • miniatures of famous buildings, from Mount Rushmore to Machu Picchu,
  • a mini zoo with alpacas, kangaroos and lemurs,
  • a village on platforms hanging in the trees and a train for kids.

It was very windy in the open, but there was also an indoor part with a big playground. More in our post Mammoths near Poznan.

Water parks

Slovakia

Tatralandia in Liptovský Mikuláš

A year-round water park by the Liptovská Mara lake, where we spent 6 hours during our winter holidays, our record. In winter some outdoor attractions were closed, but there was still plenty to do:

  • the Tornado slide, where you ride a tube outside for a moment and end up in a whirlpool,
  • a pirate ship with a chest of gold and a rope bridge,
  • shallow pools and a paddling pool for little ones,
  • outdoor pools with warm thermal water that is naturally green.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • children up to 6 get in free, up to two per adult,
  • the rules do not allow you to bring your own food, except baby food,
  • the slides are open for fewer hours than the pools.

More in our post Tatralandia with children.

Poland

Recreation and Sports Centre pool in Zielona Góra

A pool complex by road No. 32, 2 km from the S3 expressway, which we visited on a Friday afternoon to avoid the weekend crowds. The best attractions are:

  • a water balloon 15 m in diameter that you climb up on ropes,
  • a wild river and a climbing wall,
  • a 210 m tube slide, reached by a glass tower that rises above the forests around the pool.

Children under 13 must be with an adult, and the attractions run in turns from 10 am, at weekends from 9 am (as of November 2026). Watch our video from the pool and read our post Zielona Góra pool.

Science centres, fairy tales and miniatures

Learning through play

Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw

A few hundred experiments in physics, chemistry, optics, biology and electricity, and you can touch everything and see how it works. Kids up to 5 had their own zone called Bzzz!, with a water channel where they controlled the flow themselves. After 6 hours we still hadn't seen everything.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • all tickets are sold online, a few weeks ahead, so buy them early,
  • children under 2 get in free,
  • you can eat your own food in the marked areas,
  • the centre is open all year, but closed on some Mondays.

Take a look at our video from Copernicus and our post Copernicus Science Centre.

Fairy tales and miniature worlds

European Fairytale Centre in Pacanów

In Pacanów, Koziołek Matołek, a little goat from a famous Polish children's book, is everywhere: in the market square, on the walls of houses and even on a postbox. At the European Fairytale Centre the kids followed a guide through a land of fairy tales:

  • they rode a fairy-tale train through the depths of the ocean and into space,
  • they listened to stories sitting in water lilies,
  • at the end they got a map of the route and stickers.

Walking around the town, we also met a man dressed as the goat, who gave the kids a high five.

Good to know (as of November 2026):

  • the Fairytale World route, the Soria Moria land and the cinema are being renovated, and the Fairytale Academy park is open,
  • you need to book and buy tickets for the attractions online in advance,
  • the centre is open all year, from Tuesday to Sunday.

Watch our video from Pacanów and read our post Visiting European Fairytale Centre in Pacanow.

Mikroskala in Konin

Models where a button starts a train, turns on the lights or plays sounds, because, as we heard from the staff, "buttons are there to be pushed". Trains run through tunnels in the walls, Polish cartoon heroes and the Smurfs wait on the platform, and further on there are the Titanic, Noah's Ark and Star Wars scenes.

Since our visit, Mikroskala has moved to a new place at ul. Leopolda Staffa 5 in Konin, and individual visitors can come on Saturdays and Sundays (as of November 2026). Watch our video from Mikroskala and read our post Mikroskala Konin. We show a similar miniature world in our post Kolejkowo Wrocław.

All our theme park posts

Last updated: November 2026