Visit Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse Blackpool

Take part in an exciting adventure in the Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse Blackpool! Burst through the pages of your favourite stories into a magical place of imagination, creativity, discovery and play.

Take a look inside…

Visit Fylde Coast was invited to a special media preview event, the day before the official opening on 19.5.23.

Take a look inside and explore the attraction, plus interviews with former Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan, Kate Shane (Regional Director of Merlin) and Alexandra Sanson (Magic Light Pictures) to discover how the Gruffalo came to life!

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We were among special guests to first experience the enchanting 3D world. It brings to life popular characters from The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, Zog, The Snail and the Whale, Room on the Broom and The Highway Rat.

Helen Flanagan said: “”My children and I are huge fans of Julia Donaldson and have read many of her books. The Gruffalo is a particular favourite – my son Charlie even has a Gruffalo bedroom! We have been so excited to visit The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse. It is incredible and really brings the books to life. Charlie and I have both had a wonderful time and we are already planning our next trip to Blackpool and The Gruffalo & Friends Clubhouse.”

Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse Blackpool

Find it on Blackpool promenade, next door to SEA LIFE – Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse Blackpool is a 75 minute experience that’s perfect for all under 10 adventure seekers. It’s also absolutely IDEAL on rainy days!

Adapted from some of the UK’s most loved children’s stories by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, your little adventure-seekers will come face to face with beloved characters from The Gruffalo, Zog, The Snail and the Whale, Room on the Broom and more…

Please Note…

**You must have a child in your party to visit Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse. An adult is classed as aged 15 and over. Children are classed as aged 14 and under. Children under the age of 1 are free but require a booking.

PRE-BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL – Please pre-book tickets online before you visit any of the Merlin attractions in Blackpool.

CASHLESS ATTRACTIONS – Blackpool Merlin attractions are all cashless. Please be ready to make on-site payments using a ‘contactless’ bank card.

What’s Inside

• Deep, Dark Wood Adventure Play
• Deep, Dark Wood Soft Play
• Room on the Broom Toddler Play
• Gruffalo’s Child Sensory Room
• Zog’s Dragon School Challenge
• The Snail and the Whale Seaside Play
• Gruffalo’s Meet and Greet area
• Cafe
• Gift Shop

Tickets and Opening Times at Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse

Open every day! Please check the Gruffalo Clubhouse website for today’s exact opening hours.

Generally 10-3pm or 10am to 4.30pm (changes through the year*). Please check with the operator before travelling.

*Closing times vary depending on the time of year, with earlier opening/later closing times during school holidays and Illumination weekends.

Making the Gruffalo Attraction in Blackpool

Back in 2022 Blackpool Council’s Executive agreed a scheme to redevelop part of the Golden Mile Centre on Blackpool’s famous promenade, investing £2.3 Million into a new attraction. After an extensive procurement process, Merlin Entertainments was selected as the operator. They’re the regeneration partner which will transform and redevelop the key site. It’s the first phase of redevelopment the south end of the site. The is space on the ground floor between Golden Mile Amusements and Funland.

For twelve months the units below the Sea Life Centre had been empty and hidden behind blue boards. Kate Shane, then regional director for Merlin Entertainments, said it would be another IP led attraction. Which means it’s going to be based on another brand, licensed from the creator.

With planning permission granted, a new glass storefront will replace the external roller shutters. According to the application, the new facility will also include a retail area. We went to take a look at the site on a cold, wet and windy day in January 2023 –

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But early in 2022 the Blackpool rumour-mill had got itself confused with the announcement that something new was coming to the Golden Mile Centre at central seafront. It soon became clear that the 2022 reveal was the new Peter Rabbit attraction, which opened on 12 February ’22. But that left another substantial vacancy between it and the Sea Life… We knew that another new Merlin attraction was coming to Blackpool and construction has been underway on site for some weeks…

On 21 Feb ’23 the announcement was made that the The Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse was coming to town! We now know that this brand-new attraction opened on 19 May 2023.

2023 – The Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse is announced

The 21 Feb announcement revealed that the world’s first ‘The Gruffalo and Friends Clubhouse’ would open in May 2023 on Blackpool promenade. The £2.3m attraction took 18 months to deliver and is a partnership between Merlin Entertainments, Magic Light Pictures and Blackpool Council. Internal photos: © Magic Light Pictures Ltd. 2023

Once in this magical 3D world you’ll meet different characters such as Room on the Broom, the Highway Rat, the Snail and Zog – and of course The Gruffalo himself. This indoor play adventure includes six of your favourite stories. Explore the Gruffalo’s deep-dark wood and Princess Pearl’s castle. It’s an adventure of imagination, discovery and play, with separate play areas for children under 3 and under 10.

The success of The Gruffalo…

The Gruffalo is written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It’s phenomenally successful having sold over 13.5 million copies and winning several prizes for children’s literature.

Donaldson was the Children’s Laureate between 2011 and 2013 and honoured with a CBE in 2018 for services to literature. Axel Scheffler is the award-winning illustrator whose artwork has even featured on 50p coins, and stamps from Royal Mail and Deutsche Post. Julia Donaldson is the #1 UK author across all publishing and Axel Scheffler is the #1 illustrator.

So far, ten books by Julia and Axel (published by Macmillan Children’s Books and Scholastic) have been adapted by Magic Light. They’re now Oscar nominated and BAFTA winning animated specials for BBC One.