Winter Wonderland
Hyde Park, London
www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com
23 November 2012 – 6 January 2013
Reviewed by Claire Agasee
We were so lucky with the weather that evening when we visited Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park. Whilst it was a little blustery, the rain kindly held off until we’d left the park!
As soon as you step in to the entrance, you are transported in to such magical surroundings that you have a smile on your face for the duration of your visit.
If you enjoy all the Christmas markets, you will love the wide variety of stalls that you come across as you enter Winter Wonderland. From warm winter hand-made woollies, to novel decorations, to hand-made crafts, there is an awful lot available.
We headed straight for the “Ice-Age 4” ice-skating. It’s extremely well organised but you do have to deposit all bags at the desk for £1 (unless you have willing spectators with you!), as they are not allowed on the ice. The “Ice-Age” theme is a little deceiving as all it entailed was advertising boards around the rink. We also got a bit of a shock on entering it as it was covered in small puddles of water, although we weren’t sure why. We just had to make doubly sure we didn’t go falling over in it!! We were treated though to some amazing live singing which again, added to the atmosphere.
The children were then keen to go on as many of the rides as they could. There’s something for all ages, which is nice and most of them had a Christmassy theme to them which added to the authenticity. The best of them all had to be Santa’s Sleigh Ride – a mini rollercoaster which went around three times, not at all fast (or you wouldn’t have found me on it!!) but just enchanting.
There are a huge number of food and drink stalls and plenty of variety. The German theme was predominant – from Gluhwein to Hot Chocolate and Bratwurst to Schnitzels, with plenty of Candy Floss and Waffles for those with the sweeter tooth. Not the cheapest of take-away foods but then again that’s not uncommon at these types of events.
We then headed to the Circus and were “treated” to the Cirque Berserk. There seemed to be some kind of a tale being told but we couldn’t quite make out what the plot was! The ring-master took the form of a “lady” in a white dress and the clowns were monkeys. The latter performed some good acrobatics and in addition there were trapeze artists and tightrope walkers. The highlight of the show had to be the motorcyclists who rode around one another in this rather small cage – not for the fainthearted though! Unfortunately, we didn’t stay for the duration and neither did half of the audience watching. Not the most family-oriented show (there is also the more family friendly Zippos Christmas Circus).
We spent three and a half hours at the park and had an extremely enjoyable evening. Obviously, the drier it is, the more you will enjoy it but we would certainly recommend it for getting you in the mood for the festive season!
For more information or to book tickets visit www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com