FRIENDSFEST 2018

Last weekend my sister and I headed over to Preston Park in Brighton for the return of FriendsFest!

This wasn't my first visit though - while I was at uni last year we managed to get tickets to the Chelmsford FriendsFest at Hylands House (London always seems to sell out in minutes of release).

We had such a fab sibling day out we decided we had to get tickets again for this year. Although I have to say not much had changed and there were only a few new additions to the mix - more food (yay!), the 'Pivot!' photo op and Ross's Apartment but still a great morning out especially this year with the sun shining away! I'd definitely recommend a first time visit to any serious Friends fan, especially if you love a good photo opportunity as much as me!

Tickets cost approx £25 and you get access to the site with several photo opportunities and of course the set tour that takes you into Joey and Chandlers Apartment, Monica and Rachel's and now new for 2018, Ross's too. You have the opportunity to explore each set, act out your favourite scenes and out on the main grounds they play the best Friends highlights on a large screen.

Food this year at FriendsFest was also a serious 10/10. It goes without saying there was the full sized replica Central Perk Coffee Shop where I had to get in on a good hot chocolate. They had a Pizza stand, Hot Sandwiches/Hot Dogs/Burgers, Cheesecake Van and even 'Pheobe's' vegetarian and vegan food cart. 

My sister may have gone slightly overboard coming away with a seriously HUGE Joey sized Pizza slice, halloumi fries, normal fries, cheesecake and ice cream... But I have to say it all looked insane. 

Having recently found out I have a gluten intolerance I did note a bit of a lack on site with the only GF option being the fries. I feel there's definitely still some improvements to make at outdoor events in the future with regards to dietaries.

However, if you're heading to FriendsFest this year or planning to nab tickets for 2019 you are in for a treat! Be sure to remember the weather when you go though. Last year we almost froze in the queues at Hylands House, it turned out to be a real grey blustery day but luckily the rain held off! This year the blazing hot sunshine made it a dream to sit and eat lunch outside.

Also something else to note is travel. Of course it's the event student still in me critiquing all the little things but we were really disappointed to find no parking amenities at Preston Park this year. We were really lucky having left early Sunday morning we managed to find a parking spot in a residential area about 10 minutes walk away but if we hadn't found this I really don't know where we would've left the car, so be sure to pre-plan your route in too.

Be sure to remember a lot of the day you will find yourself queueing for your photo ops so if you can get down as soon as it opens and get an early set tour you'll also be able to avoid the worst of this!

Now hopefully my travel worries haven't put you off a visit! If I've managed to tempt you into going you can find tickets here... there may not be any left for 2018 but I'm sure it won't be long before 2019 dates go up! 

Thanks for reading, Izzie x