The Ice Cream Farm Reopens July 13th #Blog

Briony Wilson
6th July 2020

THE ICE CREAM FARM TO RE-OPEN WITH NEW SAFETY MEASURES TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Award-winning family attraction, The Ice Cream Farm, will be reopening on Monday 13th July and has revealed the safety measures it is taking – including online pre-booking, allocated time slots and an improved ‘Drive-Thru’ service.

The trusted family tourist attraction, based just outside Chester, has been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now lockdown restrictions have been eased the business can breathe a sigh of relief as it has been announced that outdoor play can reopen. The Ice Cream Farm is adapting to the ‘new normal’ with the introduction of a series of safety measures that will allow visitors to get out of the house and enjoy some quality time outdoors.

Adhering to government guidelines throughout and providing the safest possible experience, visitors must now pre-book online before their visit. A small booking fee of £2 per person will be required to secure a slot, or a discounted £1.80 per person for VIP Play Pass holders (as well as free admission for infants under 12-months old). This will put a cap on visitor numbers to ensure families and The Ice Cream Farm team are kept safe at all times.

When visitors arrive, they will be guided to the overflow car park opposite the site, which offers easy access to The Ice Cream Farm via a pedestrian crossing. Blue badge holders will still be able to use disabled parking bays on the main on-site car park. All visitors will have a 3-hour allocated time slot, which gives as many guests as possible the opportunity to visit whilst still being able to safely comply with social distancing guidelines.

To give visitors further peace of mind, The Ice Cream Farm has been granted the Visit England ‘We’re Good to Go Industry Standard’ accreditation, which demonstrates that the attraction is adhering to the respective Government and public health guidance, has carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and has checked it has the required processes in place.

Although indoor activities will remain closed, The Ice Cream Farm’s much-loved outdoor play areas will be open, including Daisy’s Garden, Strawberry Falls, Adventure Golf, Rocky Road, Silvercone racing track, Mini Scoop, Mini Tractors, and Gemstone Cove. VIP Play Pass holders can continue to enjoy discounts on plays and ice cream.

Visitors will be able to recharge their batteries at plenty of food & drink outlets dotted throughout the site, including The World’s Largest Ice Cream Parlour, The Pit Stop, Pizza Piazza and Chips & Bits. For those who are more comfortable bringing their own food, The Ice Cream Farm now has a designated picnic area on site.

The newly launched ‘Drive-Thru’ service will also still be operating as part of the attraction’s wider ‘post Covid-19’ strategy, with hopes that it will become a permanent fixture. Offering 30 flavours of Cheshire Farm Ice Cream, Drive-Thru customers can now order their favourite flavours at a manned kiosk with contactless payment. Ice cream is available to purchase by the scoop, as well as take-home tubs, milkshakes and cold drinks. The Drive-Thru is open 7 days a week, and from 13th July will operate with extended opening hours from 11am-5.30pm.

Director of The Ice Cream Farm, Jonathan Fell, comments: “We want to give as many people as possible the chance to visit us safely this summer. Whilst the scenes will look different to a typical summer here at The Ice Cream Farm, the safety of our visitors and our team is of utmost importance. By implementing these safety measures, we hope to offer light relief for families looking to have some fun after months of stringent lockdown restrictions.

“As things change, we’ll adapt – we are carefully monitoring the government guidelines and adhering to whatever protocols are required to keep everyone safe. Our focus is on using this situation to look at how we can improve things for our visitors – keeping them safe is paramount, but if we can also improve the visitor experience at the same time, we hope something positive can come out this crisis. As a business we are still not out of the woods, potentially trading with restrictions throughout winter is worrying, but hopefully a successful summer will help us navigate through.

“From ice cream enthusiasts to families wanting the full outdoor play experience, we look forward to welcoming everybody back.”

The Ice Cream Farm is reopening on Monday 13th July at 9.30am. It will be open daily, 9.30am-5.30pm. Bookings on the website will be live later this week so please keep checking.