Famfestlive Reviews 

Absolutely shocking event,£29 for a family ticket and then rides £5 each when inside,all acts and inflatables been cancelled or not as advertised

Avoid

If I could give less I would.
Having attended the event in Plymouth on 15/08/26, I believe there were significant failures in the service provided compared with the event that was advertised and purchased. These issues also raise serious concerns regarding accessibility, inclusivity, welfare and crowd safety.

1. Multiple advertised attractions were not provided

The Plymouth event was advertised as including a wide range of family activities and entertainment, including:

* inflatable park;
* zorbing balls;
* face painting and meet-and-greets;
* children’s yoga;
* giant robots and walkabout acts;
* other family activities and experiences.

In reality, we experienced the cancellation or absence of a significant number of these advertised attractions, including the inflatable attraction, zorbing, face painting, children’s yoga and giant robots/robot entertainment.

I recognise that the inflatable attraction was cancelled because of the heat. However, the cumulative absence of multiple advertised attractions meant that the event we actually received was materially different from the event advertised.

2. Accessibility and disabled children

We attended with our disabled children and the changes made by FamFest had a particularly significant impact on our ability to access and enjoy the event.

On-site parking was withdrawn after tickets had been purchased. Your subsequent parking communication instructed attendees to use local/public parking and walk to the event.

Camping chairs were also subsequently prohibited, despite your FAQ stating that customers are welcome to bring camping chairs.

Once inside, there was virtually no shade and only approximately two picnic tables, leaving extremely limited seating.

These arrangements created a substantial disadvantage for our disabled children. A blanket on the ground is not necessarily an equivalent or reasonable alternative to suitable seating for a disabled child, and additional walking from off-site parking is not simply a matter of convenience for a family with additional needs.

3. Heat, shade, water and welfare

The inflatable attraction was cancelled because of the extreme heat, demonstrating that FamFest recognised the heat as a significant safety consideration.

However, when we attended, there was virtually no shade, extremely limited seating and no water-refill stations.

There were also fewer than approximately 15 portable toilets for the entire event, based on what we observed.

Given the heat and the number of people attending, I am concerned that adequate welfare provision was not available.

4. Crowd capacity and safety

The queues and number of people attending appeared extremely large in comparison with the available space.

I was genuinely concerned that the density of people queuing and the limited available space could present a health and safety and crowd-management risk, particularly in the heat and for children and disabled attendees.

5. Dogs

FamFest’s published FAQ states that well-behaved dogs are welcome, and other published Plymouth event information also advertised the event as dog-friendly.

However, dogs were refused entry despite customers having purchased dog tickets.

6. Additional costs and affordability

The rides that remained available were charged at approximately £5 per child.

I appreciate that your terms state that rides are an additional cost. However, when multiple advertised/included activities were unavailable, the remaining paid attractions represented a significant additional cost for families.

For families on lower incomes, paying £5 for each child for individual rides substantially restricts the activities they can realistically access.

This is particularly relevant given FamFest’s own marketing describes the festival as offering lots of activities included within the ticket and providing family-friendly value.

Crap!!! No transformers or foam party! Everything you have to pay for nothing included!! Spent £30 ontop of the £20 to get in! Not a festival but a glorified fair! My boy was really upset as I’d promised there would be robots and transformers!! Scam!!

Family tribute music acts ❌
Trails & BMX Stunt Show
Giant robots and walkabout acts ❌
Stilts walkers and bubble fairies ❌
Educational shows and live demos ❌
Hands-on experiences
Foam party and kids disco ❌
FamFest kids rave ❌
Games Fest and Nerf Wars ❌
Inflatable park and zorbing balls ❌
Face painting and meet-and-greets ❌
Arts and crafts and workshops ❌
Kids yoga sessions ❌
K-pop Demon Hunters sing-along ❌
Bluey and Bingo sing-along fun
Family-friendly dance and activities ❌
Mad for Animals experiences ❌
Educational animal shows ❌
Interactive discovery sessions ❌

When booking your tickets don’t bother wasting your money.
We booked the inflatable activity area thinking that meant we had booked our space - wrong. They wouldn’t let us on (they had over sold massively) and never gave us our money back. Wasted £11!
We booked 2-4 and queued for about 30 mins (we got there about 1:50 ready for 2pm) when we got to the front we were told there were too many people on the inflatables already and there were still around 80 families behind us!! While we were waiting there were children coming off the inflatables crying because there were too many on there and children were getting hurt

Save your money and avoid.
I’ve emailed asking for my money back at the very minimum and been ignored several times.

AVOID - This year's event has been cancelled. I was offered entry into another event on a different weekend and at a venue 30+ miles away. Trying to get a refund is near impossible. No contact details except an email address. If I don't get a refund soon I will consider this fraud, and will treat it as such. Considering legal action.

Avoid!!! We want to the one in Lincolnshire at Belvoir Castle- the “super early bird tickets” turned out to be more expensive than what you paid for it on the day which you could do on the gate- an absolutely con. It was completely falsely advertised- half the things weren’t there that they said would be. Basically paid to get into an overpriced fair… which you then have to pay for the rides on top of. There were cables running right across the field making it unsafe for children. Queued for an hour to get in to just the car park. Absolute shambles. Don’t bother booking!

Agree with most other reviewers
- toilets as cesspits
- no food and drink allowed in and massively inflated prices (£6 for an ice cream)
- fairground exorbitant £20 for a family of 4 for a 3 minute ferris ride
- blocking everyone with negative reviews on social media
- shows on the big stage rubbish and v limited other entertainment.
They are absolutely fleecing attendees.

Awful!
Won’t let you bring food or drink but there is one single tap for drinking water for the entire place, so people were queuing 30 mins + for water. At a “family friendly event”?! No shade provided, only one small area which accommodated around 40 people. The singers were abysmal and most of the advertised entertainment wasn’t there. You had to pay high prices for every single ride. It was just an overpriced fairground experience.

We went to fam fest yesterday at Belvoir castle. My expectations were very low as I had read the reviews before going. We didn’t get there until 3 as I had read you couldn’t take food or drink in so fed all three kids before going in, however the rest of our group got there at 1 and had no issues taking in a picnic. For a family of 5 in cost us £11 to get in as we had a discount code. Yes rides was expensive but no more expensive than if you were to take your kids to a local funfair. The entainment wasn’t the best but I don’t know what you expect for such cheap price tickets, it still entertained us and the foam party was great. The family rave was just someone playing Lenny Pearce songs and trying to pass them off as their own but Lenny Pearce is a big hit in our household any way so we loved it. I didn’t buy food as we were only there three hours and we didn’t get done everything we wanted to. Drinks were expensive as they always are at a festival so was to be expected. The bike show wasn’t the best but entertained the kids. We are from a low budget house hold with three small children and met up with another 3 families there with all small children and everyone had nothing but positive things to say. Honestly I wish we had done all three days that was on the kids had a great time. I don’t understand what people expect when the entrance fee was so small I would love to know where people take the their kids on a day out where the entrance fee is £11 and want everything for free while they are there. If it’s on next year we will definitely be going again and be doing the other two what they put on the days prior.

I genuinely don't know where to start. We attended the Lincolnshire event today and it was one of the most disappointing family events I've ever been to.

To be fair, parking and getting into the event were well organised. We didn't have any issues there.

What really annoyed me started before we even arrived. I bought early bird tickets, which you'd naturally expect to be the cheapest. I paid £23 for two adults and one child, only to see the same tickets later being sold for around £11, with tickets for other events advertised for as little as £3. That's not illegal, but it feels like a slap in the face to those who booked early and supported the event.

Even worse, my tickets clearly stated the event finished at 8:00pm, but it actually finished at 6:00pm. We were sold an event that was advertised as lasting two hours longer than it did.

The website promised:

Live music and sing-alongs
Interactive workshops and discovery sessions
Family-friendly entertainment throughout the day
Calm spaces alongside high-energy activities
Character appearances and themed entertainment
Yoga and mindful movement sessions
Creative play and gentle workshops
Educational shows
Inflatable play and soft play
Funfair rides (charges apply)

In reality, there was one loud main stage, a BMX display, two people on stilts, a small circus area with a handful of toys, food stalls and expensive fairground rides. That was about it.

The "circus area" consisted of a few hula hoops, balance cups and spinning ribbons that occupied children for maybe half an hour. The member of staff there was also incredibly rude. My two-year-old daughter was happily playing with one of the ribbon toys after it had come loose from the stick. Instead of simply fixing it, he took it off her completely and walked away. There was no explanation or attempt to swap it. Who does that to a happy two-year-old?

Most of what was advertised simply wasn't there. No yoga. No workshops. No character appearances. No Bumblebee. No creative play. No educational shows. The fire engine ride wasn't included either—you had to pay extra.

The whole event felt like a glorified travelling funfair with expensive food and rides rather than the family festival that had been advertised.

To make matters worse, there was what I consider to be a serious health and safety issue. There were electrical cables running across the ground in public areas with no proper cable covers, creating obvious trip hazards for children and adults. I've reported this because it's simply not acceptable at an event like this.

We stayed for around two hours before leaving because there was very little to do unless you kept paying extra. I wasn't prepared to spend more money after feeling like we'd already been misled.

I've also noticed the organisers appear to be deleting negative comments and blocking people who criticise the event, which doesn't inspire confidence.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but families work hard for their money. This event did not deliver what was advertised and, in my opinion, was seriously misleading. I would encourage anyone who had the same experience to request a refund and, if necessary, speak to their bank if the organiser refuses.

I certainly won't be attending another FamFest event.

Where do I even start.

I suggest you read the other reviews as well as mine. We are all saying the same thing.

This company is a scam! Pure and simple.

As a low income family I had to save over several months to be able to afford to go to this ‘festival’ at Belvoir Castle. I paid £23 (super early bird ticket) that covered 2 adults and 2 children although there was only 1 child, plus a little spending money and petrol to get there. It was about an hours drive.

To keep costs down we brought a homemade packed lunch and drinks for all of us.

The weather was pretty hot the day we went.

I found it strange that it didn’t open until 12.

When we arrived in the area we parked up at the Belvoir Castle car park. We paid for parking and went to the desk. Showed our tickets only to be told that the Fam fest event wasn’t even at the castle. It was in the grounds a way away. Too far to walk. Signage was non-existent. I asked if I could get a refund for parking because we were there all of 3 minutes. They said they don’t deal with that.

So my husband packed up my mobility scooter, loaded it into the car and as we were trying to get out of the car park we found atleast 20 other families doing the same as we just did. My husband was telling all the families that were driving in to the car park, not to make the same mistake we just did.

We then drove out and joined a queue to the FamFest which was very long and barely moving. It was a total nightmare.

When we did eventually reach the car park we were ushered to the disable parking area by a very polite and helpful man.

We then joined the second queue on foot which was huge! We got to the front to find that our bags were being checked. No issues there but we were told no food and drinks allowed!!!

Once we passed that and finally got in after 1.5 hours of queues we headed to the first ride. You have to not only pay for entry but also for EVERY SINGLE RIDE/GAME TOO. It would have been perfectly reasonable to pay the £23 to enter and then pay £2, £3 or even £4 a ride but no. The first thing we did was the duck catching game. £6 just for that! Then another £10 on a roller coaster and then a further £8 on a haunted house type ride. Extortionate!! That was all we could stretch to. 3 rides.

On the website it states that many things will be going on. That is a lie. Half of it wasn’t even there!! So you ended up not getting what you paid for.

There was barely any shade. The toilets were filthy. There were health and safety issues everywhere. After an hour we just left. It was total shambles.

Leaving the car park was a nightmare too. No signage!

But we thought oh well, at least we can go around the castle.

We drove back to the castle car park only to be told the ticket didn’t include castle entry!! I’ve never been to an event (FamFest at Belvoir Castle) on the advertised grounds (Belvoir Castle) and not be covered for the building (Belvoir Castle) that the event is renting from. Oh no. You’ve got to buy that too!!!

We left. My son was upset. Us adults were furious!

I wish I had checked Trustpilot first. Even social media have been having negative comments removed by the event.

I’m gutted that I saved money for this. They are scamming people like me that can’t afford much.

STAY WELL AWAY!!!!!!!

If I could give this zero stars I would. This has got to be the most shittest event I've ever been to. Definitely not as advertised.. Proper rip off. So badly organised.. Laid out. £15 for a 44 second ride in a fire engine.. £5 per ride. If uve booked a slot and paid for bouncy castle and miss it due to queuing.. Tough shite.. The entertainment was awful, My dead cat could sing better.. My toddler asked to go home! Never again

I dont even know where to start. It was that bad.
Firstly we didnt have any parking issues, or Entry issues. We attended the Lincolnshire event today.
Fairly fast to get in.
I bought early bird tickets. Definition of early bird means your generally getting cheaper tickets. I paid £23 for 2 adults, 1 child. Yet their website now is selling tickets for us 3 at £11. Massive difference. Not illegal but definitely morally wrong. Even saw they was selling tickets at £3 each for other sight events. Guessing to get the numbers. But what is wrong is on my tickets the end time was 8pm yet they changed it to 6pm. So we was sold 2 extra hours which we didnt get!
Pretty unfair and miss selling.
On arrival they said and i quote from their own sight :
Live music and sing-along moments
Interactive workshops and discovery sessions
Family-friendly entertainment throughout the day
Calm spaces alongside high-energy fun

Character sing-alongs and themed music moments
Dance, movement and interactive shows
Family-friendly performances suitable for all ages
Scheduled breaks to avoid kids burn out

Kids yoga and mindful movement sessions
Pop-culture sing-along moments
Character-led music and dance activities
Creative play and gentle workshops

Inflatable play (charges apply) and soft-play zones
Interactive discovery sessions
Educational shows designed for young minds
Funfair Thrill Rides (charges apply)

But in reality there was one small loud main stage, a bmx show, 2 people in stilts and a circus area which had toys for about 30 mins, this included 6 huluhoops, stilt cups and swirly sticks hardly anything there. The guy who run this was SO rude. My little girl was playing with one of those material spin sticks and it was off the stick and he took it from her, i thought he was fixing it but nope completely took it off her. Who does that to a 2 year old. She was happy.
This event had no yoga, no workshops, no characters, no bumblebee, the fire engine ride you had to pay for, extortionate prices, no creative play, no educational shows, you get the gist. Everything they said was there pretty much wasnt. Only things was food stalls and over priced rides. It was a glorified fun fair. Absolute con artists. Should be ashamed of yourselves taking money from hard working people and not doing anywhere near what you promised and advertised.
This company deletes all negative comments, blocks those who have a voice including me to make them look good.
There was also a massive health and safety breach today they had loose wires running randomly uncovered in the field. Very dangerous, all wires should be covered legally at a festival. Its a trip hazard. So they have been reported.
Just awful at every turn. I stayed 2 hours and thats all we could take with nothing there to do. I refused to pay more to anyone there when I feel I was conned at the £23 they got from us. Nothing was included. Except main stage.
Avoid avoid avoid.

Please do contact the company to ask for refunds and then go to your bank! Everything offered and advetised literally wasn't there!! False advertising and severely miss sold!!

Not remotely as advertised. We were charged for what was essentially a traveller fair. On entrance, 3 shops full of fake needohs, bucket hats and overpriced camping chairs.
£3 bottles of water, and then a bunch of fair rides and bouncy castles. Event ran 2 and a half hours shorter than tickets said. Wires trailing across the ground without the legally required safety strips. No big top circus. No family yoga. Just rubbish fair ground rides and food trucks with inflated prices due to the captive audience, and a teeny tiny stage at the very furthest end of the field that was drowned out by the sound of the single monster truck. I want my money back

Great fun day at Lincolnshire famfest. Staff were great and friendly, busy lines however staff did what they could to speed things up checking tickets up the lines so no time wasteing, id recommend getting there early like we did. Entertainment was fun for adults and children. Great food and rides, expensive but expected at theses types of events.

The place was hard to find as postcode took you to a different place signs/directions would be helpful for future events

Lovely family day out.

Horrendous “festival”. Queues to get into site by car for over 1 hour 20 minutes. Huge queues to get into the festival. No food allowed in even for people with babies. The toilets were disgusting. The inflatables were pre booked which was not explained on the website. There was very little to do for our 4 years old. We were stung for a few over priced rides as there was nothing else today. There was a fire engine ride that was causing dust to spread across the site blaring out the siren. No staff on site. The worst part was one of the singers was dressed completely inappropriately at a festival with young children present. She was wearing a see through negligee and suspenders and a corset underneath! Dancing sexily on stage! Outrageous and disgusting!

The most awful organisation event I've ever been too. Where to start
Paid 10£ per person to get in for early bird tickets but the week before they did it for 5£ per person.
The getting there was awful was stuck in traffic on the roundabout for an hour. Because how poorly it was managed, than the que to get into the place was over an hour, there was 3 people on checking bags we missed bluey and bingo. They were more interested in checking for pack lunches than they were for checking for anything like drugs or any thing dangerous. Toilets were disgusting they weren't clean from the previous event and the ques were bad for it. Everything was expensive and no free water. Saw evidence of drugs in the toilets. The inflatables were over booked so people who pre-booked couldn't have their slot as it was to many people. And even than it was like 15£ .
The rides were over price and the food was 15£ for some rubbish fish and chips.
There wasn't things that were promised. It was shambles.

Shambolic event

Couldn’t even get in due to the ques and having small children with us, no food/drinks etc allowed and expected to stand in the hot sun with no toilets, no shade and no communication. A very poorly organised event and absolutely zero response when asked for a refund. The event organisers should be ashamed of themselves. Especially handling the backlash by “apologising” taking zero responsibility and pretending the event was going well on social media, and then deleting everyone’s comments. It shouldn’t be allowed!

The health and safety sounds like it was non existent. The activities not as advertised and everything overpriced.

Hard avoid. Do not fall for this absolute scam.

If you’re thinking of booking a FamFest event, I’d strongly recommend reading reviews first, if you can find them. We noticed negative comments seemed to disappear from their social media, which made it difficult to see other people’s experiences.

Our experience was terrible. The event was extremely disorganised. We spent hours in traffic followed by over an hour queueing to get in. It became so chaotic that staff eventually stopped checking tickets and bags just to clear the queue.

The event didn’t match what had been advertised. We couldn’t find the dinosaurs, reptiles, Transformers, kids’ yoga, creative play, gentle workshops or educational shows that were promoted. There was also no calm area, despite this being advertised. Instead, it was one loud field with blaring music, inflatables, food stalls and a fire engine repeatedly driving around with its siren on.

The tribute acts didn’t feel suitable for young children, the BMX show was tucked away with very limited viewing, and the food and drinks were extremely expensive. There were no vegetarian options that we could find, and what we ate was poor quality.

For us, it was an expensive and incredibly disappointing family day out, and we certainly won’t be booking another FamFest event.

The FAMFEST LIVE West Sussex on Sunday 26th July 2026 at Fontwell Park Racecourse was a DISORGANISED, TERRIBLE SHAMBLES of an event.

We travelled in 2 cars. Approximately 2 miles from the Fontwell roundabout we joined the queue on the A27, it took just over 1¾ hours to get to the Fontwell roundabout. The roundabout itself was gridlocked and every now and again a car would get through.

One of the adults took 4 grandchildren (10, 9, 5 and 4 years old) and walked to the event. The queue to get into the event stretched through the carpark, no shade, no toilets and took over 60 minutes to get through security, which was totally inadequate for this event.

Once inside the event they went straight to the Inflatable Theme Park area as we paid extra for that and found the inflatables were deflated. They decided to go and get ice creams and had to queue for 20 minutes. The ice creams were extremely expensive. Toilets were disgusting. Eventually the inflatables did get inflated, but the queues were horrendous and the children were fed up with queueing and just wanted to leave the event.

Our plan was to get to the car park and then join the rest of the family inside the event. However, as the queue to get inside the event was so long, we were not prepared to join the queue and wait for over an hour with a child and dogs, so we did not go into the carpark.