Events | 2009.12.04
Cheer up – if you can afford the prices
• Families complain at cost of Christmas attractions
• Venues offer discounts as public vote with their feet
Chill air heady with glühwein and lights warming a night sky, London\'s Winter Wonderland heralds Christmas from a corner of Hyde Park.
But what price good cheer? "We\'re looking at all the rides first to make sure we choose the right one," said Rupert Campbell, visiting with his wife and three children, "because we can only afford one.
"That will be £20 for the five of us and we\'ve just paid £8 for a photo with Santa and £3.50 on six small doughnuts," added the restaurant owner from Manchester. "The industry really needs to look to itself. These prices are shocking."
It seems for the Campbells, and many others, Christmas in this recession-hit year is proving a rip-off. And the public are voting with their feet.
LaplandUK in Kent is offering last-minute "buy two, get two free" tickets on selected dates. The "Narnia-type" experience, which promises snow-covered forest, reindeer, huskies, smiling elves and a one-to-one with Santa, costs £87.50 a person at peak times for a five-hour visit. The special offer, say organisers, reflects today\'s straitened times.
Meanwhile, plans for the Wembley Ice Experience, due to open next week, allowing skaters to glide around the hallowed turf and under the stadium\'s iconic arch, have been scrapped. At £36 for a family of four, the 6,000 advance tickets sold meant the venture was not financially viable.
Mumsnet is full of warnings about the cost of such venues. "Set the TomTom to pedestrian and found an ASK [restaurant]," wrote one mother of searching for affordable food near Winter Wonderland. With burgers costing up to £7, a bratwurst hot dog £4.50 and fish and chips £6.50 from the food stalls, many others might follow her example.
"The rides are expensive, especially as you have to accompany children so it costs twice as much," said Sally Marshall, from Crawley, West Sussex. After less than an hour at Winter Wonderland she and her husband Daniel, a police officer, had spent £50 entertaining sons Ben, 5, and Tom, 3. "That\'s just with the ice-skating and one ride on the Spinning Baubles," said Sally, 28, who works for the UK Border Agency. "We came really for the skating."
At £34 an hour at peak time for a family ticket, Hyde Park\'s prices are roughly similar to those at other central London outdoor rinks – Somerset House, Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and the Natural History Museum.
However, Wembley is not the only venue realising the outdoor rink market might be on thin ice. Kew Gardens has abandoned its rink this year.
Winter Wonderland\'s organisers believe their combination prices – £70 peak time for a family ticket for the big wheel, skating and circus – are extremely competitive, and claim to have kept the cost of the rides as low as possible, with children\'s tickets starting at £2 and adults at £3.
Over at the O2 Christmas Fair , an online one-day unlimited rides pass for children can be bought for £17.50. Why not a similar scheme in Hyde Park?
"People come for different experiences," said a spokeswoman, pointing out that entrance was free. "Unlimited passes were not practical."
Numbers were up, she insisted, with a record 30,000 during the opening weekend. "This year we believe we will attract over 2 million visitors."
LaplandUK, too, insists it has got its pricing right, despite continuing availability.
Not to be confused with Lapland New Forest, which gained notoriety last year for its muddy field and tethered huskies, and where Santa – caught having a sly cigarette – and three of his elves were attacked by angry parents, Lapland UK is set on the Bewl Water Estate at Lamberhurst in Kent.
"Absolutely brilliant," wrote one mum describing on Reviewcentre.com how enchanting it was to watch the slow, shy smiles of children as they posed with Santa for £10 a photograph.
Others are less generous, especially those who paid full price for tickets in advance only to see prices slashed at the last minute. "Cold, wet and robbed," wrote one.
"What an absolute rip-off," wrote another on the site. "The elfs were the unhappiest bunch of full time layabouts I have ever seen … my seven-year-old saw two Santas changing over. For a family of four it is almost cheaper to take one of the actual flights to Lapland … LaplandUK? – more like Crapland UK."
A spokeswoman said the event sold 50,000 tickets last year at "very similar" prices, and the price reflected the quality of the experience. As to the recent discounts: "The recession has presented very different business conditions this year and offering discounts at certain times is standard practice on the high street and in most consumer business.
"LaplandUK\'s success is due to the consistent delivery of a first class experience."
Back at Winter Wonderland, Lisa Enright, from Harrow, watched with other family members as her son, Padriag, three, pelted down the Helter Skelter. "So far we\'ve spent £50," she said. "But it\'s worth it. I always come. Winter Wonderland is the start of Christmas."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2[...]d-christmas-attractions-costly
