It can be easy to miss Kryal Castle in the distance as you make your way into Ballarat, but as you draw closer up the drive, you will start to appreciate the size of this structure and just how well it must reflect the castles of long ago.
ENTRY
The park is worth the price of entry, but no more at this point in time.
- Families $89 (2 adults and up to 3 children)
- Adults $31.00
- Children (4-16 years) $19
- Children (under 4) Free
- Concession $25
- Students (4-16yrs, min. group size 15 people, self-guided) $14.50
- Education Discovery Programs (min. group size 15) $16.50
ACTIVITIES, ATTRACTIONS & SHOPS
There are a number of activities and attractions to view as you wander through the castle grounds.
Castle Arena Show: This incorporates Knights jousting and a skill-at-arms display. They were performing a live rehearsal for a new performance whilst we were there, so while we did enjoy the show, we weren’t able to fully experience it but can appreciate that the end product will be something families will enjoy seeing.
Torture Dungeon and Museum: Definitely not for the faint-hearted! Susie squirmed her way through part of it and just couldn’t handle others at all, and we would not recommend this for young children or those with a more sensitive disposition. There are signs up warning of this, so enter at your own risk!
Knights Round Table and Throne Room: We really loved seeing the authenticity of the Round Table with the flags hanging above and took the opportunity to fight over who wears the crown upstairs in the Throne Room.
Kings Britches Costume Emporium: This is one part of the Castle that we had really been looking forward to – dressing up! However, when our picture was taken on arrival we were greatly disappointed but understanding when told that they were doing an upgrade of all their costumes so it was currently closed. We were even more disappointed later in the evening, however, when told by other previous guests that it had been that way for some time.
Maze: It would have been great to explore the curved brick walls of the maze, however due to an act of vandalism (unsure what exactly) the maze was closed during our visit.
Castle Chapel: A lovely little chapel which would make a great location for a real wedding, but we were a little disappointed that it was barred off at the entryway, so we could only look in instead of exploring.
Sword Fountain: Try your hand at pulling out the Sword in the Stone.
Ancient Cemetery: This was one of our favourite parts of the Castle, reading all the inscriptions on the tombstones. Definitely take the time to stop and read each one!
Mountain Inn Bakery: Hot and cold food, and sweet treats, at usual theme park prices.
Tooth Fair Lolly Shop: A store with lots of sweet goodies, but many unlabelled and it was overall lacking in a bit of character given the location.
While they do list a number of attractions and shows on the brochures, we found that many were closed, or just offered nothing more than something to look at. The grounds and buildings offer such potential, and it has come a long way in a few short years since being closed down, however it could be so much more. It is not like other parks where there is a lot for children to do. Even the animals are kept in a pen where you can pat them, but not join in as in a petting zoo. There was more than one rehearsal going on for the limited theatrical events, so we weren’t able to fully experience those unfortunately.
Overall, we are glad we went and saw it, but there just wasn’t enough there to entertain us for longer than a couple of hours. Children will find it fascinating to see, but there’s no real activities for them. It was worth the cost of the entry ticket, but no more.