Sovereign Hill General Entry Ticket

Summary: We had a blast, we learned a lot, went down in the mine, lots of fun! we watched how the old wagon wheels were made, it was very interesting.

Summary: All family members have lots of fun. Gold made people rich and Melbourne big. It is the first multiculture historic site in Australia

Summary: Went with my 3 year old son. The staff were consistently accommodating and lovely. And when they weren’t, they were even nicer. They engaged my son and looked after him. It mare a nice experience a great one. Thoroughly recommend.

Summary: Brilliant day out !! Lots of walking so bring good shoes as it is on dirt. ( it is 1850). All the shopkeepers, presenters and shows were OUTSTANDING!! This is the best way to get the most out of the day - Go to every “show” you can - the pantomime is a must!! We listened to the digging talk and building Ballarat - (not sure of the name) the lad who was from Yorkshire - was hilarious, informative and generous of his time. Everyone was informative. Some shows crossed over by 10 min, so that was hard, but understandable. If you asked questions they enthusiastically responded in Character. We went mid week, it was a nice day- took our own food, but spent money in the shops on experiences and coffee. Terrific for all ages, all day … lots of places to sit and rest… if you needed to. A must for all and would be an amazing school excursion for kids/ teens.

Summary: Great day out going back in time. Interesting conversation with a "shrouding woman" in the funeral home who explained the role of shrouding women in 1800s Victoria. The mine tour and gold pouring were great. An enjoyable day out.

Summary: Fantastic experience for all of the family, we spent half a day there with three kids 4-9 y.o. The various attractions like musket firing, gold pouring and boiled lollies being made were first rate - very entertaining. Bakeries and food were good too. A must see in Ballarat.

Summary: After reading some other reviews, we did some advance planning by deciding which activities were of most interest to us and arrived shortly after opening time. I printed a map at home and noted down the times things were on, to the extent they were listing on the Sovereign Hill website, and noted a few other times, such as gold pouring, confectionery making and show performances as we were wondering around during the day. On arrival we purchased mine tour tickets. We were at Sovereign Hill until closing at 5pm, and had a full day, which was enjoyable, albeit tiring. We were able to fit in the activities below, and by having information on a page about what was on when, we took a family vote about what to do next after we finished the things we decided before arriving were the ones we were most interested in (which were the mine tour, panning for gold, the gold pour and confectionery making). You won’t be able to do everything in one day. We brought our own lunch, and one person got a pass out to swap the lunch boxes for some snacks and refill water bottles with some cold water from a freezer bag in the boot. - 10:30 diggings tour - 11:20 mine tour - confectionery making - 12:30 entertainment tour - 1pm gold pour - 1:30 riffles from the theatre balcony - 1:50 wheel making - writing with ink pens at the school - gold panning - 3:30 battery blasting - 4pm show at the theatre - confectionery store visit - play at the play ground. Other than having a rest out of the sun, you could skip the show - our 5 year old enjoyed it, but our 8 year old was less impressed. The children both liked the playground, which had a Sovereign Hill theme. There were lots of people queuing at opening time, but everyone spread out inside. The only thing we had to queue for was the confectionery store at the end of the day.

Summary: What a great place to take kids and anyone who is interested in Australian history. Lots of activities from gold panning, yes they do put gold in so you could be lucky, candy making, mine tours, carriage rides, look at old buildings etc. Plenty of rest areas, shops and places for drinks and food. A good days activity as well as a wonderful learning activity. My kids stopped complaining about their rooms.

Summary: Top tips for Sovereign Hill: > Pre-plan your day using the online map and times so you don't miss out on anything > Get the 2 days pass for a little extra so your visit isn't rushed. On the first day, you can browse the shops and on the second day you can buy what you want - saves from major impulse buying. > Wear sneakers - use are walking on wooden boardwalks, sandy and hilly unsealed roads and there is horse manure > Once you arrive, book the carriage, gold pour and mine tours first up because they go fast > You can get a half-hour pass for lunch etc if you want to duck out for half-hour to purchase more affordable food or head to the car for something [head to the front desk and ask - they will stamp your hand for re-entry] > You can also get a free half-hour pass to go to the shops as well - so you can duck in for a half-hour without paying for the ticket. > If you don't want to pay for the gold mine tours, you can go to the Red Hill Mine for free - it is a walkthrough one with multiple layers of steps, ladders and low beams > Gold pan in the creek for real gold bits [they add more each day] > Relax with a book in one of the cottage gardens [especially if you have a yearly pass]

Summary: Thank you Sovereign Hill for the most amazing day out for our young family. It has been a while since we have been able to travel anywhere and I think everyone had the same idea as it was so busy there today. After reading some reviews, we decided to arrive early and made sure we did the candle dipping, bowling alley and Lolly factory early. We missed out on the show in the Theatre but there was plenty happening to keep the kids occupied. We got a pass out and left just after lunch to return to our hotel for a rest and freshen up and then went back in at 5.30 - just when the lights came on for the Winter wonderland. It was so magical - the look on our kids faces was priceless and to see so much joy around us was really special. One of the staff suggested we make our way to do the fairy lights on the cottages first. This was great advice as the Main Street was really busy when the show started. We also decided to go back to the bowling alley and it was almost empty so the kids had another bowl which they loved. Thank you Sovereign Hill for a great family day out. It’s a shame there are negative comments on here. It seems that the staff are doing the very best they can under the circumstances. I’m sure they would have had to let go a lot of staff when they were closed during covid. We will be back next year!