Bedgebury is holding a Christmas 'Lapland UK' Experience

[TheDuchessOfNorksBride]

... covering a part of the forest with fake snow, Christmas village, Raymond Briggs 'The Snowman' ride, Father Christmas visit, mulled wine to fortify parents, reindeer, husky dogs, trumpeters and all sorts. I'm soooo excited. Er, for my children, obviously...

It's quite expensive though (I just paid £167 for a family of 5). Here is the link. And here is the itinery.

And it's selling out quite quickly.

Any suggestions on what we can do to make our day better? We go on Tuesday.

take your own food and a scrabble board. Seriously, there were some things that ds enjoyed, but the groups of people herded around were too large and you were made to feel like cattle a bit. Ds was pleased to see Father Christmas after the marathon wait though. Dress very warmly, obviously.

But it's supposed to be "tradtional story telling", "world class special effects" and "nordic culture"! [stamps feet]

sorry to be the bearer of bad news...

Its going to be fantastic. It is it is it is.

Or I'll write to that nice Nicky Campbell and his Watchdog team. That'll show them. Or that Mr Rogue Trader feller.

We went today with much lowered expectations than I had originally held and had a really nice day. Our "flight" was at 2pm. The ride could have been better, the idea being the children sit in a row of chairs and parents stand behind to make a barrier over which the man sprays the snow, unfortunately, as soon as the snow started to fall half the parents ran around the front to take pics and the kids could see the man if they turned around. Also the chairs were too close to the screen so they had to crane their necks right up to see (my DCs are 4, 3 and 11mth DTs), would have been better to have sat the children further back with the man hiding behind a barrier so as to keep the illusion.

Once we arrived and came out the whole crowd "oohed" and "ahhhed" as we caught our first glimpse of the square, it looked lovely in our opinion. Only downside was that DS1 saw the man on the roof and said "it's not real snow, that man's making it".

The man in charge, Mike? was walking around telling people that they didn't have to stick to the timetable and he went out of his way to fit the double buggy with DTs in into the toy workshop. My DCs enjoyed doing the puzzle and having a ride on the rocking horses but are very little, not very challenging for the older ones. Afterwards the elves sing a song which they seemed to think the 3yr olds could read from the board.

We also went into the gingerbread house early as the organiser told us we could. Mrs Christmas was really nice and again allowed in the buggy and even offered gingerbread to the DTs.

The story teller did read from printed pages, but he had a really nice manner and went out of his way to make us welcome so couldn't fault him and the huskies were so cute. The reindeer man offers to take pics of the reindeer with your camera if you want as the fences are quite high, so he climbs up.

The post office sells postcards for 30p (we bought a Snowman one for the DCs box) and they stamped it with a reindeer and lapland stamps, meant for posting to Santa but again the staff were all really willing to help. They told us the post box was real and you can buy stamps to post your letters/postcards if you want.

The santa was fab. We had about a 20min wait in a teepee which was warm and dry (it was pouring down by this point) and they had elves entertaining the children with drawing and bubbles. Santa was so unhurried, first he chatted to DS1 and DD1 and then he held the DTs as well for pics and then we had family pics as well. It was all really nice and finished the day on a high note. The little shop where you view the pics was full of really lovely things I could have spent a fortune on if I had the opportunity, esp the husky baby walker.

Erm, what else, we got there over an hour early, parked up and had an in-car picnic so no need to buy food/drinks there. You pass toilet facilities on the way in and a cafe, although there are also toilets in Lapland. No exp of a wheelchair, but we didn't encounter any probs with the double buggy. We also took in some drinks/snacks.

Although there were disappointments for me, my DCs enjoyed the whole day. I think the Lapland UK people are taking on board negative criticism and trying to make improvements, just don't expect too much (hard I know, but I guess when you factor in the gifts, parking, staff etc it's not that much) and you might be pleasantly surprised.

I seem to have typed an essay and no I'm not an employee lol.

ah well, we weren't allowed to go anywhere early, we had to queue outside in a large group and then trudge in en masse. and our appointment with Santa was very delayed. Perhaps they've started to see what doesn't work now.

ah well, we weren't allowed to go anywhere early, we had to queue outside in a large group and then trudge in en masse. and our appointment with Santa was very delayed. Perhaps they've started to see what doesn't work now.

ah well, we weren't allowed to go anywhere early, we had to queue outside in a large group and then trudge in en masse. and our appointment with Santa was very delayed. Perhaps they've started to see what doesn't work now.

Pixi, how did you cope with the lo's in the rain? Was it OK?

I think both reviews are really helpful. Thanks. I'm really looking forward to our trip.

and I'm really looking forward to having a chat with the owner if he's mingling.

I'm sure people going closer to Xmas will have an even better time as they will have had more time to iron out the kinks. I wonder if the early ticket prices also took into consideration that they would need some practise?

On the way into the site we passed a children's climbing area. Not sure how much it cost, but it looked fab. Also the area itself was really nice, I've never been before, and if I wasn't taking the DTs I would have gone early to explore the woods a bit more first.

For people going later in the day, the lights look magical in the dark.

we had to ferry ds past this huge pirate ship on the way in, as i know we wouldn't have got him into the lapland thing if he'd seen it! would like to go back to the forest, think it is a lovely day out in itself.

For most of our day the rain was minimal so we were really lucky. It was only on the way to see FC that the heavens really opened. Mine were all done up in rains macs etc so no probs, but be prepared, I saw one lady with really high heel boots tottering around. They do have loan umbrellas for people queueing outside the gingerbread house incase it rains.

The hill into the site is a bit on the steep side, although several people with walking sticks made it, they did need to rest a few times, so some people might need to allow extra time.

There is one big tent with benches for people wanting to sit down to eat/feed and the main attractions are undercover.

There is a more warts and all review in the Mail today which reflects many of the negative comments. Journalist will be going to the real Lapland next year instead.

ruty & pixi - thanks for reviews. A normal day at Bedgebury costs £5 for the car park, regardless of how many children you've squashed in! All the childrens pirate ships/sand pits and trail attractions are free. There are picnic tables scattered about and loos are free and clean.

There are excellent cycle trails, take your own or hire when you get there.

They do run childrens events which cost money and I think the Go Ape thing might cost extra. But I spend several days of our holidays at Bedgebury, 5 of us for £5 is brilliant value - and you can arrange to meet loads of friends there which is even more fun.

Duchess, is now £6 or £28 for a year.

Also as I mentioned earlier anyone getting DLA can get a free pass as although there are blue badge spaces they still have to pay an entry fee (£6).

If you go to the LUK website and click on the links there is a picture of the 'transporter', for those of you who want to see it.

Actually, the way it is lit I think it actually looks OK in an igloo type way. Its certainly different and better then I expected.

Hi there this is my first post here. I found your site, probably like many others, searching for reviews of lapland uk. This is my story and thoughts about it all (for what it's worth!!)...

It all started by someone we know telling us about what was happening at Bedgebury. A few minutes later we were on the site reading 'About Your Day' and that was it, I wanted to take our 3 1/2 year old . My other half said 'No! It'll cost a fortune - which I quickly retorted with 'yes but... she get's an invation, can help make toys, there's snow, when she meets Father Christmas he'll know all about her likes, that she want's a scooter....' Anyway, I managed to convince him. £107.50 later we had booked for 16th Dec.

Then.. we read it might not happen.. this fantastic, magical experience, for my darling daughter might not happen, her Christmas will be ruined.

Yes, of course, I had fallen into the classic parent trap of wanting to create the most magical Christas ever for her. And this fantasy in my mind and the 'reality' of Lapland UK could make this all come true.

As the days drew nearer and nearer to opening day.... with the drama of whether the Planning Committee let it go ahead... would it be everything I dreamed of... I became an avid reader of this thread.

Then arrrrgggghhh I'm being ripped off!!! The reviews can't be true, this is a disaster, how could I have been so stupid. I'm getting desperate now, I must hear positive things pleeeeeease.

Once the shock, anger, sadness, etc. wore off and (I must admit) I started hearing some positive reviews I started to think more realistically about it all.

At first I got a bit caught up in the fantasy and wanting everything to be perfect but even looking at it from a cynical business point of view it's simply not possible. To be fair, look at what's included:

Pre-Christmas Price includes:

1. Personal invitation from Father Christmas. (that's simply the equivalent of ticket no actual value)
2. Hand finished Wooden Puzzle in jute gift bag per child (RRP £10)
3. Certificates and Stickers. (I'd pay no more than £1)
4. Beautiful Heirloom Christmas story book per family (RRP £12.99)
5. Gingerbread. (say, £3 to decorate a biscuit)
6. All day parking at the Bedgebury Pinetum (£6).
7. Adult complimentary Mulled wine/hot berry juice. (£2.50 each I'd pay for small glass... so £5)
8. Letter from Father Christmas received in the post. (I'd pay £5 for that)

That gives a total of £43.

Outside of Lapland UK I'd pay £10 to see a good quality father christmas(which is what he sounds like)

That leaves £54.50 as entry fee for the 'experience' - call it £18.20 each entry.

What was I really expecting for that? Some multi million pound film set quality venue?? And to be honest that would go against the eco-friendly nature of the event. (although I feel that is just a marketing ploy to cash in on everyones green conscience!)

To go and see the local panto would cost us £45 (and no big stars in that production!)

I think I got caught up in the magic and 'hype'. At the end of the day this was a business venture for Mike and he did it very well. I can't blame him for bigging it up in his marketing (just read some of the stuff the major theme parks write about their venues rides etc.) and yes, he probably has exercised a little bit too much 'poetic licensed' in the 'flight' claim and certainly he tapped into a market which had people doing anything to try and get a ticket.

Let's just enjoy it for what it is! I for one will do everything to enjoy our day and I'm sure it won't live up to my original fantasy. But the little one will love it, I'm sure. And I doubt I will be queing any longer for the attraction than a theme park at the height of their season! Roll on 16th Dec, but I'll just keep my eye on the reviews... just in case of course!

fio - I was told that Notcutts Santa was wearing a digital watch last year. Absolutely shocking!

fio - I was told that Notcutts Santa was wearing a digital watch last year. Absolutely shocking!

Nicola, I liked your post - reflects how I feel (minus my slight obsession!)

Glad to see some more positive reports. Bit more of a balanced one in the express on Saturday.

Have just seen on another site that they have shut the forest down today due to adverse weather. They contacted all those going today yesterday to tell them and offered refund or alternative day. Am not sure how they will accomodate that when it's sold out
We had neighbours left here yesterday to go tommorrow and have stayed in hotel for weekend anyone know if it's on tom ?