Yorkshire's 'Magical Winterland' closes after less than a day following complaints
It promised a ‘fully immersive’ Christmas experience, with reindeer, a festive market and, of course, Santa’s grotto.
But visitors to Yorkshire’s Magical Winterland found it to be far from magical and barely wintry.
Children were left in tears as they entered a desolate warehouse with cardboard boxes and random material strewn all over the ground.
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Yorkshire's 'Magical Winterland' was closed less than 24 after opening following a barrage of complaints from parents about the rubbish-strewn hallways and shabby exhibitions
Families were promised a chance to feed the reindeer, who were found to be in a dirty enclosure surrounded by a sprinkling of straw
Parents complained about the creepy-looked mannequins and statues of an ice queen (left) and one which looked like an attempt at the Grinch
And parents who were promised a ‘fully immersive’ Christmas experience for £20 a ticket were left distinctly unimpressed at being charged for extras – including £10 for a photograph with Santa.
Many were unhappy that the ‘grumpy looking’ Santa did not even stay until closing time. Others complained about the conditions that two reindeer were kept in.
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ShareAlso among the litany of complaints were claims that the Christmas market only contained four stalls – while concerns were dismissed by rude staff.
Mother-of-two Leanne Potter said: ‘It was truly awful. The event was clearly just planned to make as much money as possible. They weren’t bothered about the quality of the event.’ The organisers of the event at the Great Yorkshire Showground, in Harrogate, were forced to close the event after only 24 hours after visitors said they were ‘appalled’ by the experience.
It comes less than a month after a winter attraction designed by TV presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was closed after just a day.
Families were left stumped by many of the exhibitions in the winter walk, saying it was unclear what the scenes were supposed to represent
Yorkshire's Magical Winterland said the event had 'fantastic features', but many of the decorations were found to be dirty and deflated
There was a three-hour wait to visit Santa, who was guarded by another pair of elves who were reportedly Incapable of answering basic questions about the event
The halls at the Yorkshire Event Centre were empty and families said the fairground rides were overpriced and there were only four stalls
The ‘Magical Journey’ at the Belfry Golf Club in Warwickshire attracted more than 1,000 complaints about rude staff, a sweary Father Christmas and elves that ‘sat around smoking’.
The Magical Winterland reopened yesterday, with the promise it would be ‘better than ever’.
However, parents and children were still underwhelmed. Some attempts to improve it had been made – enthusiastic elves who encouraged children to throw paper snowballs, and there was an increase in decorations and fairy lights.
However, further inside, the attraction appeared to be the same sorry situation described by the parents who walked out in disgust on its first day – including a three-hour wait to see Santa. Suzie Smith, 32, from Barnsley, who brought her two-year-old daughter Heidi to the attraction, said: ‘I thought we would give it a chance and come and make my own mind up but it’s really very, very poor.
‘I had a vision in my head of a really magical place for kids to come before Christmas but to be honest it’s just a bit depressing.’
The festive nine hole golf course promised 'twinkling Christmas lights, fantastic gifts to overcome and even Santa Claus himself'
Richard and Danielle Taylor, both 34, who brought their two-year-old son Jacob said they would be asking for a refund following their visit
Parents complained that as soon as they walked through the doors into the 'desolate' space they were hounded to pay for 'extras'
Suzie Smith, 32, (left) who brought her two-year-old daughter Heidi and her friend Alex Bowler, also two, described the attraction as 'depressing'. Becky Numm, 31, (right) and her daughter Eliza said they would not be coming back
THE CURSE OF WINTER WONDERLAND: HOW A LONG LINE OF ATTRACTIONS HAVE FAILED TO IMPRESS
THE MAGICAL JOURNEY - BIRMINGHAM
The 'Magical Journey' winter wonderland designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen closed after just one day – after rude staff, a sweary Father Christmas and elves that 'sat around smoking' left children in tears.
More than a thousand parents complained about the experience at the Belfry Golf Club in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, last month which costs upwards of £50 for a family of three.
The attraction was deemed 'tacky' and 'unsafe' by families, but it was re-opened after three days of design improvements.
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The 'Magical Journey' winter wonderland in Birmingham, designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, closed after just one day last month
WINTER WONDERLAND - RUISLIP
The Ruislip Winter Wonderland in north London was cancelled two days before it was due to open earlier this week.
Former I'm a Celebrity star and singer David Van Day and wife Sue Moxley were earmarked for the 'star-studded' opening performance.
The announcement has left hundreds of families and children disappointed.
WINTER WONDERLAND - MILTON KEYNES
A winter wonderland event in Milton Keynes was cancelled on its second day in December last year after complaints from visitors.
Families had paid up to £65 in advance for various attractions at the town's Campbell Park, including meeting Santa, ice skating and seeing huskies and reindeer.
But its Facebook page was deluged by people angry at what was on offer. Santa's Grotto was said to be staffed by young, thin men and an ice rink was described as 'a few plastic sheets'.
LAPLAND NEW FOREST - DORSET
Two brothers were jailed for misleading thousands of customers at a Lapland-themed park on the Hampshire and Dorset border.
Victor Mears, 67, and Henry Mears, 60, ran the Lapland New Forest attraction in 2008 but it closed within days after hundreds of complaints.
In February 2011 they were found guilty of eight charges of misleading the public.
Two brothers were jailed for misleading thousands of customers at a Lapland-themed park on the Hampshire and Dorset border where the nativity scene was just a muddy field
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