to be so let down by the ZSL London Zoo Santa [fsad]

[cityangel]

I had a pre-booked slot at 11:15 - for my 6, 4 & 2 year old to see santa. £8 each - yes under 3 is also £8. Daddy had to work.

Last year great, ticket holders only allowed the allotted time slots to queue, had gingerbread making elsewhere, reindeers opposite Santa's grotto etc. all fun.

This year was a nightmare & yes this is a rant . You have to queue at the Town Hall of Elfville to show your £24 ticket to get an identical piece of paper to join a giant free for all queue (no checking of time slot at the back of the queue).
I joined at 11:10, Santa at 11:55, queued to see photo, fed up kids who'd eaten the snacks for the day so didn't want lunch at 12:15.

No weather shelter for a 45min queue, lots of questions about why there are pigs & not reindeer. Plus a very spiky thorn bush at the end of queueing. Elves who aren't great & then try to suggest 4 year old boys would love to colour after 20 mins of doing so & can't feel their hands.

Santa himself was just fine, but next year no way for Mummy :0(

I hpoe you complain to zoo op.

See this is why my kids only ever saw Santa at the school fair for £1.00 if the queue wasnt to long, they have made it to late teens with no lasting effects, who on earth would pay £8.00 to see a man dressed up as santa

I don't think the snack issue is relevant at all!

In sorry for you op. lots of people turn this into a big special event (and its billed as such), many families budget it into their Xmas plans .
It sounds awful. Complain .

the snack issue is relevant as zoo snacks are very expensive - so we bring our own to space out over the 4 hours or so.
The kids ate them all in the queue, so we ate late lunch and left early.
I complained to ZSL, Ham & High, London Live, Evening Standard etc.
Waiting for 45 mins for santa in the cold is a small fry complaint, and those with more resources & minions would never have to - so will just have to chalk it up to one of those unlucky diappointments.

We have a nice set up near us at big chain store that lets you see Santa for free with the option of buying the photo if you like it. I would never pay for my child to sit Santa's lap unless it included the photos in the price.

teenagetantrums Fri 19-Dec-14 22:08:15

We paid more than a £1 and we got an amazing gorgeous magical experience and the memory will last my life time and my childrens....thats all we at the end of the day the sum of our memories...

Writing to two newspapers is a bit excessive mummy.

I'm failing to see the problem. Children cold in late December shocker! Mummy with no foresight hands out all the snacks! Not news. And you sound a bit of a moany tit.

You lost me at the £8 per child. That has 'rip off' written all over it from the start. A chance to make money from very little. A fool and his money are soon parted is the phrase that comes to mind. Put it behind you, OP, learn from it and move on.