Below is a copy of what we've just sent to a national paper, Watchdog and The Evening Echo. We've also telephoned 2CR to ask them to suspend the advertising for this mockery. Tomorrow we intend to speak with the Council (who on earth granted a licence for this? Should there be some kind of quality assurance?), Trading Standards, the local Tourist Office (the experience is also being offered by Travel Agents as a 'packagae' and people are forking out for travel and accomodation on top of the entry fee), and we'll even speak to the local MP - ANYTHING to get some support and awareness. This scam is not fair to the children and their families. I IMPLORE people to do the same. The more we speak up the more likely something can be done. Here it is:
I write in the hope that you can help to investigate and ultimately help stop a most cruel seasonal scam.
Particularly cruel in the current economic climate, where everyone is feeling the pinch, but even more so because it's a scam that preys on children and shatters their hopes and dreams.
I'm referring to 'Lapland New Forest' at Matchams (nr Ringwood in Dorset), billing themselves as 'the seasonal themed event to see in the South East of England'. The website and advertising looks great. A winter wonderland brought to the UK, where those of us who can't afford the real Lapland get to experience the next best thing... From snow covered authentic log cabins, to sled dog running, from ginger-bread making to seasonal food, a bustling Xmas market, a fantastic outdoor ice-rink, a tunnel of light and the North Pole Post Office. Oh, and did I mention the magic dust for the envelopes to help make the childrens' dreams come true, and the welcoming elves who escort you on your journey... Could it get any better? No we thought. And like so many other families, stretched ourselves to the whopping £25 per head (5 of us, so total of £125). But not bad, conisdering this 'amazing frozen world of Lapland Village' was only an hour and a half drive from here, and was infinately more affordable than the real thing. Besides, from the description and photographs, and the fact that 'the attention to detail will WOW you' it sounded almost as good, especially as they recommend we should allow a good 4-6 hours to take it all in!
How wrong could we be? And where do we start? OK, so having looked at the website again, we now notice the disclaimers relating to the photography - that it's for illustrative purposes only (although it's not illustrating anything remotely resembling what we saw), however, it does also state that 'they are certain the live show will far exceed these representations'.
So, to recall, we arrived at Matchams at just gone mid-day, parked and joined the huge queue that stretched away from the entrance. Alarm bells immediately started ringing...we had understood there were only a limited number of tickets issued each day. It was then we noticed all the caravans and trailers - was this a travelling Lapland? After a 40 minute wait, we entered through a tree lined path where the firs were covered in fake snow - not a bad start. The path led to the Nativity Scene, where any hopes for a truly magical Lapland experience were immediately quashed. There, behind a five-bar gate, set back in a sandy pit, was a painted board, propped up by some kind of scaffolding. And that was it. Our eyes darted round the field hoping to find more - but to no avail. All the parents looked at each other frantically. Were we missing something or, as people started to point out, was this just the start of something terribly tatty, over-sold, totally mis-represented and utterly disappointing?
As we continued along the path we entered the village. On one side 2 chained reindeer (sleeping) behind a large fence and on the other, a group of seemingly underweight chained huskies also behind heavy fencing. We walked a little further and spotted several pens containing geese, a pig and some donkeys. We then saw the sheds, oops I mean log cabins - which were nothing more than cheap sheds/cabins from the likes of B&Q - with nothing in them! The ginger-bread making shed had run out of ginger-bread (1 hour after opening on the second day of the event).
Ah, the spectacular tunnel of lights - nothing more than a 50ft string of fairly lights strung between the fir trees covering the walkway - and they weren't even on!
The outdoor ice rink? Not actually really outdoors or even in the village. It was situated in the adjacent fair-ground, and was under-cover. And to top that off, it wasn't even working!
What next? How about the friendly elves that meet and greet and escort you on the magical journey. Well, we weren't met, or greeted, but we did see between 4-6 'elves' sporting ill fitting and ill made costumes (2 part set - top and trousers, no hat or shoes or similar). They were being worn by guys probably aged between 18-24, who were more accustomed to manning the waltzer that they were asking small children what they wanted for Xmas or whether they had written Santa a letter. We didn't see a single 'elf' interact with a single child. And frankly, it was quite a relief.
Then there's the Seasonal Fodder. Of course, there's nothing more seasonal or festive than a greasy undercooked burger. To be fair, I think we did spot a mulled wine hut, nestling between 8-10 fairground fast-food counters on wheels. I heard lots of people complaining about the price of the food, so we gave it a miss (that, and the fact that as I'm pregnant, Listeria is high on my list of avoidables).
And what of Santa? As we joined the queue we were advised there would be between a 1.5 to 2hour wait. Were they kidding? Again, they made a point of stressing on their advertising that there were a limited number of tickets for each day. But in reality it was heaving and I can't see there was any restriction - the more the merrier...or the more the richer the organisers! What was particularly disgusting though was the fact that, unless you were prepared to pay £10 to have a photograph with Santa, we were advised our children were not allowed to approach Santa but could simply wave from a distance as we passed through the grotto. You were not allowed to take photos yourself, and were given a token to exchange in one of the two gift huts. As was now expected, you take your pick from the lavish plastic tat on offer. We didn't bother, and left without seeing Santa
Snow was limited. It certainly wasn't anything like the scenes from Narnia that the advertising had inferred. The only snow was on the trees, and not a drop under-foot. Good job the kids wore their snow boots, or they'd never have made it across the authentic tarmac!!
As for the enternainment...there simply wasn't any. Not unless you wanted to pop next door to the fair-ground where the entertainment was an additional £1.50-£2.50 a go.
Don't even get me started on the 'bustling Xmas Market'.
All in all, it took us no more than 20 minutes to take in the 'Winter Wonderland' and half of that was spent queing. It was the most hideous, blatant rip-off I've ever had the misfortune of experiencing. My children were gutted and completely bewildered. I have never seen so many unhappy children or parents, and as we left the event we spoke to numerous people who felt exactly the same way.
You will probably sense a certain flippancy in my tone, and I don't mean to make light of this situation because we feel nothing but disappointment, anger and complete contempt - but it's the only way I can express these feelings without being abusive.
I would implore you to investigate this further. It should not be allowed to continue, and those responsible should be held to account. Unfortunately, unless people act fast, I have a nasty suspicion that the whole event is an extension of the fairground (and thus run by the same - i.e. travellers?) and will move-on without a trace when they've well and truly cleaned up (and I'm not talking about the mess). Please, please expose this for what it is. Thousands of people will be stretching themselves to take their children to this event and it's not fair. I've read on the internet about many families who have have travelled great distances and have forked out on hotels - spending between £300-£600 on this event, and are left utterly dismayed. In fact, it quite literally makes me cry to think of those families who would have made many sacrifices or saved hard to take their children to this event, and it will no doubt be the only one they can afford this year. We're fortunate, we can weather the loss, and we'll take our children somewhere else to compensate, but there are many others who can't. And what about the poor children who whose expectations and dreams are just shattered? Let's get this thing shut down - NOW!
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