a man with idea
Back in 2020 just as the pandemic hit, I fount myself at a loss of what to do when both my children's parties were cancelled. This lead me to think how many other children had missed or were going to miss out on birthdays or seeing there favourite tv/film characters. Having been a cosplayer for many years and having an old trike in my garage, I decided to put my old Captain America costume on and get the trike back on the road, to see if I could make people smile through the pandemic. And on April 1st 2020 the first ride around took place in Blidworth, where I grew up.
mini visits and parties
When the pandemic had finished my little Facebook page, Captain Mansfield, had grown to over 1000 followers and thinking that was it for my stint as a superhero I carried on with my normal life. Only to start receiving messages for birthday parties and mini visits. So wanting to give Mansfield a cheaper and more affordable but still maintain a high quality superhero visits Captain Mansfield Ltd was born. Over the next 6 months we grow our brand and won countless awards from Best Children's Entertainer to Local Hero Award. Again coming up to our first Christmas thinking I was due a bit of rest a rest we went back into lockdown. This is when I changed a blue suit into a red jolly Santa suit and took Mansfield and the surrounding areas by storm and cementing our reputation as one of the top children's entertainers in the area.
the big shows and events
After Christmas we wanted to bring our customers a new experience for children that weren't into superheroes but still wanted a visit. After doing some market research our Jurassic dinosaur experience was born and boy did it take off. Not long after this we were being approached by farms, pubs, festivals, schools to bring our unique shows to a bigger audience. During this time we noticed that we a lot of young talented people needed a flexible and fun place of work, so we got hiring and started to build our team, with a very special mission statement that everyone can be Superhero, Princess or Dino trainer.
the arcade
After countless bookings and happy customers one thing we were hearing was our customers we asking the same question, why don't we have a venue? So me and the team got our heads together and decided that we wasn't going to open just a boring sparkly room with basic characters. We wanted a safe place for children of all ages to have different experiences not only with there friends but there parents too. This lead us to open up Captain Mansfield's Stars & Stripes Party Centre with Mansfield's only retro arcade.
affordable for all
When we opened up on 1st April 2022, two years after first starting, one thing that was apparent was the cost that other companies were charging, so here at Captain Mansfield we decided that we were going to offer the same service at an affordable price for all. That's why our arcade entry fee is only £5 for an hour per person, this was to allow less fortunate children that might not have the luxuries to still have the same experiences as there peers and still our prices have remained the same throughout the cost of living crisis we're currently going through.
bigger and better every year
Every year we think of new innovative and affordable experiences for all our costumers. Last Christmas we had thought a lot about children with autism and other learning difficulties, so we offered a different Christmas experience with our snow globe and Santa at a time that would suit there needs without having to be pending in a que waiting. Going forward we aim to be an industry leader when it comes to children with additional needs. This year 2023 we aim to lower the cost of first aid courses too as this is a skill not just adults should be able to afford but to get children to learn these skills to in a fun exiting new way, So look out for Captain Mansfield's Mini Carer classes.