Lapland New Forest (and Lapland West Midlands) Reviews & Discussion!

just seen the most recent messages. The reason that I am posting for the first time is I am trying to help other people avoid the mistake of forking out £30 each on an utter con. I am not one for complaining normally but the experience was so bad today something really needs to be done.

 

I'm gonna try to get my money back i think.

 

susan1962

what were the gift then?

 

Removed.

 

so are you not commenting because you haven't been or because you have been and disagree with the comments

in which case lets see what you thought

bear in mind also that comments will only appear from a google search after the attraction has opened which will be from new members (like me)

 

Removed.

 

I'm new here - what does removed mean?

are you the lapland owner by any chance?

 

things like craft kit, toy cars/buses, tatty Shrek soft toys, not much for girls

 

so anyone got photos?

 

Please DO NOT waste your money on this rubbish - we went today, and stayed for about an hour. The website makes it seem so exciting and magical, but the truth is that it is a complete con.

1) The fake snow was virtually non-existent
2) They have a nativity scene that is a painted wooden wall at the other end of a field3) The huskeys are chained to the floor in a pen viewable from about 15 meters away
4) We saw 2 reindeer (again from a distance behind wire fencing)
5) There was a 3 hour wait to see santa
6) You cannot take pictures of your child with santa, but instead have to pay £10 for the picture that they take
7) You get a gift for your child that you would never actually choose to buy and is probably worth about £2
8) The "authentic" log cabins look like garden sheds with absolutely nothing worth seeing or doing in them
9) The fair then charges you for every single ride as well

We travelled 80 miles and spent £160 on this rubbish, and will be looking at what options we have available to us to recoup some of the cost.

All in all I would recommend going to your local garden centre to see their santa's grotto instead - it will be much less of a disappointment to your kids.

 

We're going today too (Sunday), and we're now very nervous having read all this I was just Googling to see what people had thought of it when they went, not sure if it's better to be forewarned about it being awful or not though. It was supposed to be a surprise for the children, they don't know about it yet. It was £150 for the 6 of us, it had better be worth it! We usually take the Santa Special steam train at Swanage to start the month off and get us in the festive mood, but thought we'd try this instead this year.
If they don't even get to speak to Santa unless we pay out a tenner for a photo
though...
Will report back tomorrow, wish us luck!

 

squiddy's Mum says it all unfortunately.

I admit I am a new member here - I joined purely to advise other people not to go - it really is a terrible con.

I am a real person and father of two! I don't have any interest in any competing events.

We watched our children be so disappointed today; it broke our hearts. We'd hate for any other parents to go through this.

nic & Debbie Doye.

 

If I thought for one second that the new member posts were part of a dirty tricks campaign I would have removed this thread. Unfortunately after doing some checking I would say that concerns raised here are valid. If anyone could actually post some pictures it would go some way towards giving others an idea of what to expect.

Was wondering why we were getting a lot of members signing up just for this.
Good ole Google huh :
https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=lapland+new+forest&btnG=Search&meta=

S.C>

 

i just had alook can only find bad reviews and no pictures glad i decided not to book but you would think since it opend on the 28th there would be atlest one good review buts there none on the website and no updated pictures to show what it looks like now its up but i wish all of you who are going good luck and lets hope its better for you

 

Squiddy's Mum is SPOT ON. None of us are part of any silly competition slurring campaign - we're just honest families who are gutted at having our wallets and children conned. We have only joined this site to warn others. We went yesterday and tried to call the local Council (who granted the licence) and the Trading Standards - both of whom were closed on a Saturday. We felt desperate to try and warn others, and we also want to see some justice, as this kind of scam at the expense of children, should not be allowed. We contacted the News Desk at the local paper - Evening Echo, and have asked them to investigate. We didn't take photos unfortunately, and in hindsight should have, but there was nothing to photograph and the disappointment just took over. We left after 15 minutes feeling angry and cheated. If you don't believe this feedback then go, but we guarantee you, you'll be 100% let down and feel as angry as the rest of us. We will be complaining to the Council and Trading Standards tomorrow, and I even read on one site that someone had asked the local TV station (Meridian) to get down there and speak to parents. Any suggestions or ideas on how we can either close this event and seek redress are VERY welcome.

 

45 mins to depart time - can't wait!!!

we'd rather not go but how can we tell the kids?

just tried calling the lapland office and spoke to the fax machine

 

We went on sat 29th november.We came all the way from eastbourne and once we got there we were back in the car within an hour.I felt so disapointed for my son, i have been telling him all week that he was going on a suprise weekend.Please save your money or try to get a refund.we started to line up to see father christmas as soon as we got there but gave up in the end.They give you the impression on the web site that tickets were limited,but they seemed to be selling them at the gate.£90 i spent on tickets plus £100 for a hotel and £30 fuel.£220 total and all i had was a disapointed little boy and two upset parents.The location is so bleak it looks like its in a dissused race track.

 

Look what you caused

 

Feel desperately sad for you bh1. I want to say I hope you find something redeeming about it...but I really don't think you will. Please take some pictures so people can see how bad this place is. Have a safe journey. No doubt we'll hear from you later.