Splash Landings with Konfidence

We’ve worked hard to help POD lose ‘the fear’ over the last couple of years. We saw an exciting development last summer and she started 1-2-1 swimming lessons in January which we hoped would help build her water confidence. We’ve seen tremendous improvement since then – she’s even put her head under the water a few times! Having turned a corner, we couldn’t wait to get to Alton Towers with Konfidence to see how she got on.

Alton Towers is located in Staffordshire so we left early doors so we were able to really make the most of our visit. With an afternoon check-in at the Splash Landings Hotel, we headed straight to the Alton Towers Waterpark. Themed like a tropical lagoon, it has waterfalls, geysers, water cannons and a whole host of rides, such as the Wacky Waterworks Treehouse, the Master Blaster ‘watercoaster’ and the Lazy River with its water jets. Quite possibly the most exciting place on earth to five year old POD who squealed with delight when she first saw it!

Konfidence has a huge range of swimwear on offer from baby swimming essentials to swimming aids, including their renowned jackets and floatsuits, to wetsuits and beachwear. POD started off in her Konfidence floatsuit although changed into her Konfidence shortie wetsuit when we realised she’d probably be in the water a while! Made from 3mm neoprene, it’s soft, flexible and provides 100% UV protection too. POD hadn’t worn her shortie before but clearly found it very comfortable as she was straight in the water clutching her Konfidence Divestiks! These are brilliant for encouraging kids to get more confident in the water and they’ve certainly helped POD. The one she had in her swimming class was nicknamed ‘Mr Seal’ and going to retrieve it encouraged her to put her face in the water. Before the Divestik fun however, POD headed off with the POD Father to discover what the Alton Towers Waterpark had on offer. Beaming like a cheshire cat as she did so.

Swimming pools have certainly been POD’s nemesis even though she’s happy as Larry splashing around in the bath. It was great to see her looking comfortable as she stood beneath the waterfalls getting a thoroughly soaking and giggling at the same time. It wasn’t long before the goggles were on and she was in the pool – larking around with her Divestik and heading under the water to retrieve it. The pool was deeper than the one she has swimming lessons in but she didn’t seem to mind. It was amazing to see how far she’s come over the past few weeks especially.

While the Konfidence Divestik certainly helped when she was first in, it wasn’t long before she was trying to swim – even beneath the surface. Not only that, she let the POD Father throw her (which we all know almost always results in going under) and she loved it! She didn’t get water up her nose either which in itself was a miracle. Although POD loves climbing and jumping at every available opportunity, she’s point blank refused to jump in a swimming pool. Until today when she’d built her confidence up to such as extent she launched herself off the side. A little too close to the edge on occasions but oh my goodness what a turning point. I just want burst with pride when I see these photographs. It’s not the easiest trying to capture her brilliant efforts poolside, while trying to avoid others and not get the camera wet, but you can clearly see how happy she is. There was no stopping her either – she was down slides, bouncing in rubber rings and dodging water jets too! POD is a confident sociable child who is pretty much up for anything so to see her finally break that water confidence barrier is just superb.

Being a #swimologist family couldn’t have come at a better time and we’ll hopefully be able to share images of her learning to swim before too long too. I suspect her gymnastics skills will help tremendously now she’s happier in the water. It won’t come as a surprise to hear that POD spent HOURS in the Alton Towers Waterpark. Even right to the end she was dancing in the water despite being absolutely exhausted! What a turnaround though – she was just amazing.

After all the excitement in the pool, we were all starving so we headed to The Shack in the Caribbean themed Splash Landings Hotel where a buffet-style feast was greatly appreciated! Fed and watered we had a look around, having a nose at what seemed to be a Morris Minor as well as fish and of course trying out a giant chair. After retrieving the rest of our luggage, we checked in and headed to our Beachcomber room.

Our accommodation included a double bed for us, a bunk bed for POD, an ensuite and all the mod cons you could ask for. We particularly liked the attention to detail – the old school style telephone (although it’s not really as we remember them!), the pineapple style light and the beach themed carpet – the latter was a huge hit! We’d often play a game which involved standing on the sand banks while avoiding the sea and trying not to being eaten by crabs! Our room was lovely and quiet, well apart from our excitable five year old, and we even spotted a pheasant outside our window.

After a short rest and a much needed cup of coffee, we headed out for dinner. Less than ten minutes walk from the Splash Landings Hotel is the Rollercoaster Restaurant which is located in the Forbidden Valley. It’s the UK’s first rollercoaster restaurant and a lot of fun. You order your food from your table via a tablet and then eagerly watch it appear down the tracks. There was lots of entertainment on at the hotel when we returned but opted to sleep as we were heading to CBeebies Land for the first time the following morning before heading southward.

A huge thank you to Konfidence for the most incredible weekend. We couldn’t have asked for such a turnaround in the pool and POD had the best time too. If you’d like to be in with the chance of winning a £50 voucher to spend on Konfidence goodies, check out this competition we have running until 12:00 on 24th July 2016.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Konfidence for our superb weekend at Alton Towers which included a voucher towards dinner at the Rollercoaster Restaurant. Opinions are as always our own.