Half-Term and Winter Weekends: Is the Day Out With The Kids VIP Pass Worth It? I Did the Maths
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The Day Out With The Kids VIP Pass keeps coming up whenever half-term or a run of winter weekends leaves families looking for somewhere to go without spending a fortune each time. I went through the official membership page to work out what you actually get, what it costs, and when the maths genuinely works out.
The three membership options
1. Monthly, with a trial. New members can start with a 30-day trial for £1, which then renews at £4.99 a month unless you cancel first.
Why it suits some families: low commitment if you are not sure you will use it regularly.
Honest drawback: at £4.99 a month, a year of monthly membership costs more than the annual plan.
2. Annual. The annual plan is £29.99 a year, renewing at the same price. Day Out With The Kids states on its own site that members “typically save over £357 per year,” though this is the company’s own marketing claim rather than an independently verified figure, and your actual saving depends entirely on which offers you use.
Why it suits some families: the cheapest way to hold membership for a full year of school holidays.
Honest drawback: you pay the full year upfront, so it only pays off if you actually go out and use it.
3. Lifetime. A one-off payment of £89.99 covers membership for life, with no renewal.
Why it suits some families: no renewal date to remember, and it breaks even against the annual plan after roughly three years.
Honest drawback: the highest upfront cost of the three, which is a lot to commit to before you know how often you will actually use it.
Cancelling or pausing either paid plan is handled through the “Manage Membership” section of your account, and the site states both options are available at any time.
What you can actually see before joining
Specific member discounts are not shown until you join, so I am not listing percentages here. What the membership page does show publicly is the range of categories covered, including theme parks, zoos and wildlife attractions, cinemas, aquariums, outdoor adventure venues, trampoline parks, go-karting, museums, water parks and bowling. Named partner brands shown on the public page include SEA LIFE, Flamingo Land, Drayton Manor, West Midlands Safari Park, Blue Planet Aquarium, Twycross Zoo, Zip World, Hobbledown, Conkers and Odeon, among others.
Doing the maths with real gate prices
To work out when a pass like this pays off, I looked up full, undiscounted ticket prices on a few of the named partners’ own sites, rather than guessing at a saving. A family ticket for up to four people at Flamingo Land runs from £168 booked well ahead to £224 on the day. A single adult or child ticket at most SEA LIFE centres sits roughly between £15 and £28 depending on the venue and how far ahead you book. A dated adult ticket at Drayton Manor starts from £27.50 booked in advance, rising to £45 on the gate.
Monthly plan: £1 for 30 days, then £4.99/month
Day Out With The Kids
£1 trial / £4.99 per month
Set against those figures, an annual VIP Pass membership at £29.99 does not need a large saving per visit to be worthwhile. If a single family day out already costs £150 to £220 at full price, even a modest saving on that one visit covers most or all of the membership fee, before any further days out across the rest of the year. The company’s own “£357 typical saving” claim becomes more believable once you see what a single big theme park trip actually costs at the gate, though it is still worth treating as their marketing figure rather than a guaranteed number for your own family.
Honest drawbacks before you buy
The membership page itself shows the heaviest concentration of named partners around theme parks and larger attractions, several of which cluster in the Midlands and the North. If most of your days out are smaller, local or city-based rather than big attraction visits, the publicly listed categories suggest fewer directly relevant offers. The pass also only pays for itself with regular use. A family that manages one big day out a year is less likely to see it break even than one that is out most school holidays and a few weekends besides.
Zip World (example partner)
Day Out With The Kids
see app for member offers
Good to know
Price range: £1 for a 30-day trial then £4.99 a month, £29.99 a year, or £89.99 once for lifetime membership.
Where to join: Day Out With The Kids VIP Pass.
Cancelling: manage, pause or cancel at any time through the “Manage Membership” section of your account, as stated on the official site.
Takeaway
The annual Day Out With The Kids VIP Pass is the plan that makes most sense for most families on paper, at £29.99 against gate prices that regularly run into three figures for a single outing. Whether it is worth it still comes down to how often you actually go, and whether the named partners near you match where your family already likes to go.
