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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

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Original poster

Hyde park winter wonderland

22 replies

jelliebelly · 29/09/2015 20:08

Thinking of taking ds(10) and dd(6) the day after they break up from school - is it worth it? The website looks fab but I'm always s bit cynical - would love to hear others experiences to help me decide!

OP posts:

happsymum · 29/09/2015 23:56

We go every year with my dd10!
she loves it! so do we! its magical! especially the first time.
just be aware it can add up to be quite pricey very quickly. book some attractions beforehand for discounts (and to get in, as they get booked up fast!) the other small fair-like rides are scattered around the park and are on a token basis. tokes cost ?1 each but some rides can be from 3 to (worst) 7 tokens each! per person.
its become tradition for us 3 to always get something to eat, a hot choc to walk around - gets very cold! and white chocolate covered churros at the end on our walk back to the underground - divine!

i def recommend it though, really is lovely.

o, theres a ride with mirrors at the end (forget the name) which all 3 of us always do together, have photos of it every year as such a hit! if you spot it , or someone else knows the name of it sorry, useless do it :) i think when we went it was 5 tokens each.. but personally find worth it every time, its just a lovely evening out (all the magical lights on, never been in the day as think wont be the same atmosphere without christmas lights on)

GarlicBreadItsTheFuture · 30/09/2015 00:12

I'd agree with happsymum it gets very expensive but I wouldn't describe it as magical or lovely.

It gets very busy, most of the food is grim and overpriced, the rides are short and cost way too many tokens and it can get very very busy and crowded. My kids thought it was disappointing and not very Christmassy.

PesoPenguin · 30/09/2015 06:50

£7 for a ride?!?!?! you need to get yourselves up north! We moan when it's more than £2!

Savagebeauty · 30/09/2015 06:54

It's appalling.
Overcrowded,and overpriced.
Dcs thought it was crap.

ButtonMoon88 · 30/09/2015 06:56

I absolutely love it and I think it's magical too, but then I love anything Christmassy. You can't deny the cost of some of the rides there, but we are still getting away with that with our DD. Entry is free so it's up to you what you spend once inside. Agree evening is better, however I went on a lovely winters day last year with bright blue skies and it was really quiet just loads of pre school children and that was great for us!

LaLoose · 30/09/2015 08:16

It depends what you like. We went last year (two nearly six-year-olds) and we won't be coming back. Basically, it's like a three-times-bigger fairground attraction that lands on anyone's local common. Plus it's rammed. And as soon as it gets dark (early in the wintertime) the teenagers come out boozed up.

Plus, as others have said, it's very, very expensive.

Septembersunrays · 30/09/2015 08:33

it depends on the crush and time you go you cant enjoy anything when you cant stay together as a group, cant move, cant breathe etc.
however its nice if you can walk round weithout the crush, but not magical no.

very nice though and better than zilch which is what was there before!

I intend on going next year however I will be saving up for it as a proper expensive day out, not standing there moaning at prices, I wil save up and be prepapred for the insane prices and book stuff to do there too.

south bank is lovely too, has a few things on

Septembersunrays · 30/09/2015 08:35

op I guess it depends where your coming from and how much of an effort it will be and without a dount, have a back up plan if its too busy.,

MyballsareSandy · 30/09/2015 08:37

It was lovely and magical when it first started, prob about 5/6 years ago, but each year it gets bigger and the people running it become greedier. Over-priced, over-crowded and best to give it a miss.

MorrisZapp · 30/09/2015 08:37

We have a similar thing here in Edinburgh. The local paper ran a feature about how mile for mile, you'd be cheaper taking your kids on the Orient Express than the Santa Train

MackerelOfFact · 30/09/2015 08:40

It's just a glorified overcrowded and overpriced funfair really. I had some nice mulled cider and currywurst the first time we went but other than that I tend to just wander through it and check I'm not missing anything, then wander out again.

I wouldn't make a special trip for it, but if you're going to Hamleys or Selfridges or going to see the Christmas lights, it's probably worth popping along since it's free to get in.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/09/2015 09:08

My DC are teens now (this Christmas they'll be 16 and 13.6)
We've been 3 times-
3 years ago
5 years ago
7 years ago

First time it was gorgeous, bit smaller and fewer rides but minimal queues and lots of toilets DC loved the slalom slide.

Next time we booked the Wheel but there was a blizzard by the time we got to London and half the rides were shut

The last time (and it will be the last time) the queues to get in were 30 minutes.
It was muddy but they'd put loads of plastic track down.
Lots of buggies and dogs so took longer to get round.
Queues to all the rides and the price of rides was higher (plus my DC were older so paid more anyway)

We didn't eat there, DH and I are vegetarian (though the hog roast smells lush)

On our first trip, a man gave me a handful of the tickets (he refused an offer of money for them) - you can't get a refund from WW.
So on my last trip, we bought tickets and my DC were meh , we used some and handed the remainder to a family on the way out .

tigress23 · 30/09/2015 09:55

Winter Wonderland looks too crowded for me. I've been to Winterville in Victoria Park, though, and it was great! The entry is free and the food fair was amazing (food from all over the world at good prices. There were also gluten-free options, which I appreciate a lot)

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/09/2015 11:44

I had a search for Winterville (I'd never heard of it but it only opened last year)

Reviews are mixed .

tigress23 · 30/09/2015 13:09

Well, I don't have children yet and didn't try any of the rides. My friends and I got our faces painted, ate at the food fair, went to the roller disco, browsed the stalls (lots of cool vintage stuff) and had photos done in the mobile photo booth. Kids on the ice rink and on the rides looked like they were having fun.

What I liked best is that it wasn't super crowded, like Winter Wonderland is.

ButtonMoon88 · 30/09/2015 13:52

RE winterville: it was the first year so I expected mixed reviews, I think this year will be better!

AFewGoodWomen · 30/09/2015 14:32

I want to go to Kensington Palace on a Sunday in December with the DCs....does anyone know if we will be able to get in and out without being (a) overwhelmed by the WW crowds (b) will it be too enticing for the DC?

I want to take them to see the exhibition of dresses at KP but would hate for them to be wistfully looking over at WW and totally disappointed by KP.

WW is not really my cup of tea so I would rather avoid it....

happsymum · 30/09/2015 14:41

Ooo never heard of winterville tigress thank you :) Will hopefully be able to give it a try this year! Always fun finding new places!

tigress23 · 30/09/2015 15:10

You're welcome, happsymum I particularly recommend the brownie stall... They had brownies in many different flavours

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 30/09/2015 15:53

If there are gluten free brownies tigress I could be drawn there ...

We went to Kew Gardens Lighted Walk the first year it opened, reviews said it's got better over the years.

One review (of Kew) said something like " My son was amazed at the light up scanner for the tickets...........that was the most exciting bit "

TBF, it was peeing down when we went which doesn't help.

tigress23 · 30/09/2015 16:31

70isalimitnotatarget, they definitely had gluten-free brownies last year... And they were delicious!

Original poster

jelliebelly · 01/10/2015 20:13

Thanks for all the comments - they really are mixed - shame you can't plan for beautiful crisp winter weather which I suspect makes a difference! We are only an hour by train away so might go anyway and have a planB up my sleeve in case it's needed..

OP posts:

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