Father's Day Family Fun Day - Doncaster Racecourse June 2013

Our toddler was looking forward to meeting her grand parents and Peppa Pig at the Doncaster Racecourse Father's Day Family Fun Day on the 16th June.

We arranged to meet our relatives in one of the car parks at Doncaster Racecourse, as they had our entry tickets. Traffic was heavy, but we managed to get parked up after queuing for a while. Our relatives were stuck in traffic due to an accident elsewhere. After an hour of waiting in the car park, being entertained by a security man who may have been Father Damo from the Father Ted series (unintentionally funny but inappropriate), we decided to walk to the entrance, as our little-one could see the funfair.

Unfortunately we had to buy new tickets. We were in for a surprise, as when we tried to enter the family funfair area, we were confronted by a mass of people of all ages, sitting and standing. It was difficult to move around, and hard to distinguish the queues for the funfair rides.

After a few minutes we realised that there was nothing enjoyable about this whole experience, and we were concerned for our safety, should anything happen. Our little-one asked to 'go home', and we agreed. We tried to get a refund from the box-office but they refused.

Our toddler never saw Peppa Pig (highlight of the day), but we did see our grandparents, who were just entering the car park (3.30pm). They parked up, but left with us soon after.

Returned home, we recounted our experiences to the management, who admitted having underestimated the record crowd (not surprising as it was a race-day as well), but they didn't seem to realise that families have different intentions and requirements from normal race-goers. Much more parking is required, as nearly all families will drive there, and a massed crowd sitting and standing like that (some were having picnics) needs more space, when (drinking) adults are mixed-in with children of all ages.

No refund was given, but we were offered tickets to an adult show, however our circumstances changed, so we had to miss that show too.

We would NOT recommend this type family fun day at Doncaster Racecourse, unless the space and safety in the family area, and child-friendly parking requirements are completely reassessed.