A couple days ago, late at night before Dan and I headed to bed, we decided on a whim that we wanted to visit Wimbledon with kids the next day.
We’ve loved living in London this past year, and one of the major perks of that is all the incredible things to do right in our backyard. We originally thought we’d skip Wimbledon this year; we’d attended back in 2018 and it just felt like a really busy time of year for us with our kids finishing school in a couple weeks and planning for summer vacation.
But then at 11pm on Saturday night as Dan and I were headed to bed, I did a quick Google search for the process of getting in. It seemed relatively straightforward so we figured, hey – let’s go for it! And we decided to go the very next day. We knew the finals the following weekend would be MUCH busier, and we couldn’t go during the week with school pickup / dropoff schedules (plus, we wanted to take the kids along). So we figured the next day was our chance!
How We Got Wimbledon Grounds Tickets with Kids
If you’re at all familiar with the Wimbledon queue, you’ll know that it’s a BIG deal. Essentially, Wimbledon has a ballot system where people can buy tickets via lottery nearly a year in advance (they typically go on sale the September prior). Odds of getting the chance to purchase tickets (up to 2 per person) is about 1 in 10 from what I can tell. You cannot choose which court or day for which you’re offered the chance to purchase tickets if you are offered a ballot.
The other option for purchasing tickets is to enter the famed Wimbledon queue. For this, people line up each day of matches in the wee hours of the morning (or sometimes even the night before and camp overnight) for the opportunity to purchase tickets. There are a LOT of rules surrounding the queue (including size of tent, how long you can leave the queue for food/toilet, etc. – see the 2024 queue guide HERE). People are given a queue card with a number, and when it’s your turn, you can purchase tickets. In 2024, 500 tickets each are offered for Show Courts (Centre Court & Courts 1 & 2; Centre Court queue tickets are not offered the final four days of play), and a few thousands Grounds Passes are offered. Kids under age 5 do not need a ticket. They may enter the grounds to watch any open matches, but are not allowed in Show Courts.
Which Wimbledon Tickets Should I Get?
Especially with a bunch of kiddos, we were not interested in arriving at 5am to queue for Show Court tickets, especially knowing our two youngest kiddos couldn’t come in to the major courts and that we’d be switching off. So we decided to just try for Grounds tickets, which were £30 when we went on day 7 (they go down to £20 later in the tournament since there’s less to see on the outdoor courts). It was perfect for our family!
Purchasing the Grounds tickets meant we could walk around, watch the outdoor courts (there were some professional doubles matches happening when we were there, along with some girls’ and boys’ singles), watch Centre Court on the big screen on The Hill or elsewhere, and eat some delicious strawberries & cream. We were also able to watch an exciting match in Court 3, which is included in the Grounds passes. Kids under age 5 are not allowed in this court, so Dan and I switched off with the two youngest to each get to watch some. The timing worked perfectly with multiple rain delays over the day!
What Time Should I Arrive to Queue for Wimbledon Tickets?
Again, we didn’t want to go super early to queue for Show Court tickets, especially since our whole family couldn’t go in together. So we decided just to enjoy Grounds passes, which was perfect and such a fun atmosphere. On Day 7, there was plenty of activity on the outdoor courts for us to watch – we were really happy with everything we got to see (in between the multiple rain delays!).
Wimbledon says they release several thousand Grounds passes each day but don’t give a set number. We arrived around noon or 12:30 after attending church that morning and waltzed right through the queue – we had no issue at all going through. It was rainy on and off that day, so I don’t know if that was why it was so easy, but Grounds passes were no issues for us to get!
Ticket resale is also available for Show Court tickets if people return them to the booth if leaving early. For these, after you enter on a Grounds ticket, you head over to the Ticket Resale booth near The Hill and enter into a virtual queue. If your number comes up in the queue (based on how many returns there are), you’re permitted to purchase tickets to a Show Court. (Again, these are not open to kids under age 5.) This is very dependent on the day, as well, as fewer people are likely to return these tickets further on in the Tournament, as the matches get more exciting.
How Much Do Wimbledon Tickets Cost?
Tickets vary by type and date. For Grounds tickets, we paid £30 per ticket on day 7 (we needed 6 tickets – 2 adults and 4 kids over age 5). Grounds tickets become less expensive as the tournament progresses as there’s less to see outdoors. On the flip side, Show Court tickets become more expensive as the Tournament progresses. However, Ticket Resale tickets don’t change in price – they’re always really affordable at £10-15 each, and the proceeds go to charity.
How Did We Get to Wimbledon?
Since we were coming from church, we decided to drive (in our electric car). Dan put one of our bikes in the boot, and he dropped us off, then parked a mile or two a way and quickly biked over. It worked great for us, especially since the District line of the Tube was down that day. Other options are public transit (this is almost certainly your best option via Tube or bus – I recommend going to Google Maps to see the best public transit option, checking the TFL journey planner, or using the Wimbledon journey planner. You can find more info on getting to Wimbledon HERE.
Another great option is cycling. This is what we originally planned to do, but since there were several downpours forecasted that day, we changed plans!
Should We Get Strawberries & Cream?
Yes. Absolutely yes. They’re delicious. The strawberries are picked fresh each day, and the cream is yummy. They also only cost £2.50 per order (which includes about 10 strawberries). The line is long but moves very quickly.
There are plenty of other food options available (we brought sandwiches for lunch, and got pasta for dinner in Southern Village), and you are allowed to bring your own food. Next time we’ll bring more with us!
Should We Visit Wimbledon with Kids?
One of the biggest questions is whether it’s worth visiting Wimbledon with kids, especially those too young to enter the Show Courts. I think absolutely yes! The atmosphere on the grounds is so fun and exciting, and our kids absolutely loved watching the outdoor courts. We also loved seeing the match on Court 3. Even if you can only get Grounds tickets, I think it’s 100% worth the experience. It would be a great thing to add to a 1-week London itinerary with kids.
Any other Wimbledon questions? It was such a fun time and honestly just the atmosphere there was exciting and fun. Everyone cheered when the sun came out, everyone was kind and helpful and had good attitudes huddling from the rain, and it’s just really exciting to be there watching some of the best in the sport.
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