A look inside Blackpool's new Peter Rabbit: Explore & Play attraction

Gazette reporter Charlie Mulholland was invited to visit the famous giant bunny in his new home in the resort. Here’s what he found.

The Peter Rabbit: Explore & Play is exactly what its name suggests … a fun and interactive experience for all the family to enjoy.

There are four amazing areas to explore and discover more about Peter and his friends … and there’s even a secret area.

The new venue is based on the books by Beatrix Potter and the animated series on CBeebies.

I was very impressed with the detail you can find throughout the experience.

I walked through the Garden Gate, and could hear and experience the music and sounds of the show itself.

Here there is a statue of Peter, and I could see the young guests were immediately excited to be there.

In the first of the four zones, Jeremy Fisher’s Sensory Pond, there are all types of musical instruments. There are projected style fish on the floor, which was quite fun to play with.

Around the walls, Peter and his friends look on, as there are more interactive things to find.

Then next it’s on to Mr McGregor’s Garden.

Here kids can enjoy all types of playground activities, but with a twist to look like they have been taken straight out of the show.

There are slides, a tunnel and giant carrots to run through.

While it looks like it is too small for adults to take part in, there’s plenty of room for parents to rediscover their inner child and join in!

I then checked out The Burrow.

There’s the chance to make recipes for Peter, and enjoy fun games like spinning mazes, food puzzles and interactive colouring.

I love puzzles, and enjoyed this room the most out of the four zones.

There’s so much detail with the cookery books and the fridge full of vegetables in the corner of the room.

And finally, I made my way to Mr Bouncers Workshop.

It’s a paradise of discovery. Youngsters (and grown-ups) can try all sorts of different inventions, like a plasma ball, find out the colours of fruits and vegetables and much more.

The children who were visiting at the same time as me, loved this room the most, as they were able to have fun with all the different things to play with.

And finally ... there’s a secret bonus if you visit all four zones and collect four stamps.

Because that opens the door to the Secret Treehouse Club to meet Peter himself.

The children’s faces just lit up with joy.

It didn’t take me long to realise that this destination will provide lots of fun for children who love the books and the series. This attraction is a must visit for all to enjoy.

The facts:

Merlin Entertainment invested £1m into the attraction, next to Madame Tussauds Blackpool, and it took 18 months to develop.

Stuart Jarman, the general manager of Merlin Entertainment Golden Mile, told the Gazette that the popularity of the character on children’s TV and books was the reason for opening the exhibit.

He said: “Peter is really popular. It is one of the most popular series on the TV channels.

"We need to know what our younger audiences are watching, and naturally, Peter was the choice for us to open and have something that is not in the market here in Blackpool.

“We firmly support Blackpool’s overall ambition to be the UK’s number one family seaside resort and with such a fabulous family-favourite brand joining our Blackpool cluster of attractions, we can’t wait to ‘hop’ to it and get the experience open for Saturday.”

To find out more about the Peter Rabbit: Explore & Play attractions, go to www.peterrabbitexploreandplay.co.uk/blackpool