Past
Attractions Canal Boat Ride
Farm-A-Rama
Milking Parlour
The Barn
Old MacDonald had a farm ee-aye-ee-aye-oh.
And on that farm he had some guests ee-aye-ee-aye-oh. With a Tractor
Ride here and a Bish Bash there, here a ride, there a ride, everywhere
lots of rides!
Old MacDonald's
Farmyard is situated just behind Towers Street and is an area aimed at younger children.
They can drive a tractor on
Old MacDonald's Tractor Ride, look out for their favourite farm yard animal on the Riverbank Eye-Spy
boat ride
or even hop on the back of one for a ride on the Doodle Doo
Derby.
There is also the Berry Bish Bash, which is located in the
farmyard's old barn which used to house many
animals.
Redevelopment in the area continued for the 2007 season with
the redevelopment of the Riverbank Eye-Spy to include 3D
animals and the introduction of a new playground, The Dung
Heap, constructed on two of the old animal paddocks.
Another
of the old paddocks became home to the farms first news
animals in five years as Giant Bunnies came to the park for
children to pet and feed. 2008 saw even more animals to
return to the farm, with the arrival of the Miniature Donkies and the new Furry Friends area which gives
youngsters even more opportunities to get close to the
growing menagerie.
Area History
When it opened in 1989 to celebrate National Food and
Farming Year, this area started out as the
Britannia Building Society Farm. Unlike the other areas of
the park, the farm was more of an educational resource
with only one actual ride included, the Canal Boat Ride,
which took guests on a leisurely tour through the farm's
animal paddocks.
Other
attractions included the Milking Parlour, where guests
could go to see the cows being milked and Farm-a-Rama, an
thrilling exhibit of modern farming techniques. In 1991
the park's pottery studio also came to the Farmyard as
well.
In 1992 area became Safeway Farm in 1992, and surprisingly
the Farm-a-Rama didn't survive this transition. At the
same time the Milking Parlour became know simply as the
Barn, where guests could get more hands on with the
animals.
Old MacDonald took up residence in his Farmyard for the
1995 season, which saw an impressive expansion of the
area's attractions, with the addition of the Doodle Doo
Derby, which was built over half of the farm pond, the
Tractor Ride which took residence in the paddocks at the
front of the farm and Old MacDonald's Singing Barn, which
replaced the Pottery Studio.
2002
saw the Farmyard change dramatically when Foot and Mouth
lead the park to decide to get rid of the Farmyard's
animals, to prevent any chance of them catching or
spreading the disease. With the animals gone, rides became
the main focus of the area, with the Bish Bash opening in
the barn for 2003 and the Dung Heap filling two of the
animal paddocks for 2007. 2007 also saw animals begin to
return to the area, with the introduction of Giant
Bunnies, Miniature Donkeys and Chickens.
The
latest arrival at the farmyard is Santa and his
Reindeer's, who moved in for the 2009 festive season,
having previously been staying over at the Alton Towers
Hotel.
