Showing posts with label Christmas attractions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas attractions. Show all posts

Sunday 8 October 2017

Dates for your Diary - Manchester's Biggest Indoor Christmas Attraction is Back!

One of our favourite annual events on the festive calendar has to be Winter Wonderland, which is a wonderful indoor attraction, held at EventCity, next to the Intu Trafford Centre Manchester. This fabulous family event will be returning for it's fifth consecutive year and looks set to be the very best yet.

The giant 22,000sqm exhibition space at EventCity will be transformed into an unbelievable wonderland extravaganza, featuring over 50 family rides and attractions all under one roof.  As well as the rides and the bright lights, there will be a dazzling array of colourful shows and this year, Winter Wonderland is delighted to welcome the nation's favourite children's TV characters Zippy and George from Rainbow, who will no doubt bring lots of magic, mayhem and comedy capers!

The spectacular Christmas Circus will also be making a welcome return and is sure to have audiences marvelled and amazed with their daily performances.

Santa Claus and his reindeer will also be taking time out from their busy schedule for meet and greets with all the children, every day up to and including Christmas Eve. In addition to all of this, there will also be fairies and elves on hand to chat and play with the children, a host of games stalls and an array of food and drinks stalls where you can purchase hot snacks or sweet treats.


Winter Wonderland operates on a session basis to ensure that visitors can enjoy the experience without overcrowding, offering families four hours of non-stop fun and entertainment. Organisers Kingpin Events are urging families to book now to make sure that they don't miss out on this magical festive family adventure and to ensure they secure tickets for their preferred date. Last years event saw record ticket sales of 100,000, so it is sure to be popular once more for 2017!

Group, family and individual tickets are on sale now for this wonderful Winter Wonderland event, which is guaranteed to create that enchanting Christmas spirit and spread joy across the whole of Manchester.

You can book your tickets now at www.winterwonderlandmanchester.com

Listing Details

Event - Winter Wonderland Manchester
Venue - EventCity (next to Intu Trafford Centre), Phoenix Way, Off Barton Dock Road, Urmston, Manchester, M41 7TB. Free Parking Available.

Ticket Prices - 
Adult £20.50 (plus £1.50 Quaytickets booking fee)
Child (3-16) £20.50 (plus £1.50 Quaytickets booking fee)
Family of 4 (2 ad + 2 ch or 1 ad + 3ch) £70 (plus £1.50 Quaytickets booking fee per person so total fee of £6)
OAP £15.00 (plus £1.50 Quaytickets booking fee)
Under 3's are Free (Ticket not required).
Groups 10% discount (when booking 15+ tickets)
School rate: £9.50 per child (under 12's) with some teachers free from Tuesday 13th to Friday 16th December (morning session only).

All rides and attractions are included in the ticket price (excluding games and food stalls) and each session lasts for 4 hours.

Session Times - 

December     
Sat 9th & Sun 10th: 11am-3pm and 4:30pm-8:30pm
Tue 12th, Wed 13th & Thurs 14th: 10:30am-2:30pm
Fri 15th: 10:30am-2:30pm and 5pm-9pm
Sat 16th & Sun 17th: 11am-3pm and 4:30pm-8:30pm
Mon 18th & Tue 19th: 10:30am-2:30pm
Wed 20th: 10:30am-2:30pm and 4:30pm-8:30pm
Thurs 21st, Fri 22nd & Sat 23rd: 11am-3pm and 4:30pm-8:30pm
Tue 26th: 1pm-5pm
Wed 27th, Thurs 28th, Fri 29th & Sat 30th: 11am-3pm and 4:30pm-8:30pm
Sun 31st: 11am-3pm

January
Mon 1st: 1pm-5pm

To book please visit www.winterwonderlandmanchester.com or alternatively you can make a booking by telephone on 0843 208 1842. For group bookings please call 0843 208 6003.

Disclaimer: Details can be subject to change, so I would always recommend visiting the events own website to obtain the most up to date information.

Friday 6 October 2017

Dates for your Diary - Christmas at Dunham Massey

My family and I absolutely love attending Christmas events and we are always on the look out for something new and exciting to visit. Like most families, Christmas is a really magical time for us, so we try and enjoy as many festive activities as we can together, in the run up to Christmas Day.

We were therefore really excited to find out about a brand new Christmas Light trail, which will be at Dunham Massey in Cheshire, from the 1st to 30th December 2017. This magical, after-dark illuminated trail, will be brought to you by leading events producers Raymond Gubbay, in partnership with the National Trust and will see Dunham Massey transformed into a beautiful winter wonderland.

The trail has been specially designed to appeal to visitors of all ages and there is something for everyone at this festive time of year, as the one mile sparkling path winds its way through the historic Dunham Massey woodland. Greeted by the sights and sounds of Christmas, visitors will wander beneath tree canopies that will be illuminated in seasonal shards of light and larger-than-life snowflakes and baubles.


Father Christmas sees you on your way through twinkling tunnels and a swaying lawn of colour reflected in the water. Duck between sparkling hedgerows, discover the Singing Trees rising high into the night sky and experience Pealight Heaven, a canopy of over 100,000 fairy lights. Once you reach the festive finale, you can take a moment to pause and enjoy the brightly coloured water jets dancing in time to some much loved Christmas classics.

Complete your stroll under the stars with a hot drink or some mulled wine, enjoy a ride on the vintage carousel* , toast your own marshmallows at one of the fire pits, or even take the opportunity to do a spot of Christmas shopping in Dunham Massey's shop.

*Separate charges apply.

For further details please visit: National Trust - Dunham Massey

Listing Details

Event - Christmas at Dunham Massey, the magical, after-dark, illuminated trail

Location - Dunham Massey, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 4SJ

Dates - 1st December to 30th December

Admission

Advance - Adult £16.00, Child (5-16) £10.00, Family £48.00
On the day - Adult £18.00, Child (5-16) £12.00, Family £56.00
National Trust Member - Adults £14.50, Child (5-16) £8.50, Family £42.00


Disclaimer: Details correct at time of writing, but can be subject to change. Therefore please always check the events own website for the most up to date information.

Thursday 21 September 2017

Dates for your Diary - The Snowman Flies into Manchester this November

The Snowman is flying into Opera House Manchester this Christmas to delight audiences both young and old. Based on the book by Raymond Briggs, the film directed by Diane Jackson, and produced by John Coates, The Snowman will be heading to the stage with a wonderful mix of storytelling, spectacle and magic.

The Snowman comes to Opera House Manchester, from Wednesday 8th November through to Sunday 12th November 2017. The enchanting show will take families on a journey to the wintry world of a boy and his magical snowman, and will tell the story of a young boy's adventures, when his snowman miraculously comes to life on Christmas Eve.

 Photo Credit - Tristram Kenton

The show features a dazzling array of colourful characters including dancing penguins, magical reindeer, a beautiful Snow Princess, her wicked beau Jack Frost, and of course, Father Christmas himself. The Snowman is a Christmas treat for all the family and a perfect introduction to theatre and dance for the very young. Since it's premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1993, the live stage show of The Snowman has been seen by more than one million people worldwide, and has thrilled audiences at London's Peacock Theatre for a record-breaking 20 years.

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre production features music and lyrics by Howard Blake (performed by a live orchestra), choreography by Robert North, direction by Bill Alexander, design by Ruari Murchison, and lighting by Tim Mitchell. The iconic song Walking in the Air will feature in a new arrangement by Howard Blake and sung by Aled Jones duetting with his younger (recorded) self, as released on Aled's chart topping Classic FM album, One Voice at Christmas.

The Snowman first appeared as a beautifully illustrated picture book by Raymond Briggs in 1978. It subsequently inspired the classic Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning animated film featuring Howard Blake's wonderful score. It was first transmitted by Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 35 years ago.

Photo Credit - Herbie Knott

The film's signature song Walking in the Air reached number 3 in the UK charts when sung by choirboy Aled Jones in 1985, and the song was voted number 2 in a poll conducted by Classic FM to find out children's favourite pieces of classical music - beating Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy among others.

The Snowman is presented by arrangement with Snowman Enterprises Limited (A Penguin Company) and Chester Music Limited.

You can book now at ATG Tickets or by calling the box office on 0844 871 3018

Listing Details

The Birmingham Repertory Theatre Production of The SnowmanTM  

Venue: Opera House Manchester, 3 Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3HP

Wednesday 8th November 2017 - 7pm
Thursday 9th November 2017 - 10:30am and 2:30pm
Friday 10th November 2017 - 7pm
Saturday 11th November 2017 - 1:30pm and 5pm
Sunday 12th November 2017 - 11am and 3pm

Tickets: From £15*

To book please contact the box office on 0844 871 3018 or visit the website ATG Tickets

*Booking transaction fee applies.


Friday 9 December 2016

Our visit to the DreamWorks Lights Lantern Experience in Liverpool

You may have seen several posts from me lately on events in Liverpool, having recently visited Disney On Ice presents Frozen, and Santa's Magical Grotto. Well it would seem that Liverpool is definitely the place to be at the moment for festive fun, and having recently learnt about the new DreamWorks Lights Lantern Experience in St George's Hall, we decided to take a look a find out what it was all about.


The DreamWorks Lights event is a first for the UK and is part of One Magical City, which is a programme of festive activity that is taking place throughout Liverpool. DreamWorks are responsible for the feature films Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar, which are all popular family movies, and this makes it a great experience for the whole family to enjoy. Described as a "Shrektacular" event, we couldn't wait to visit!

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool said "Bringing this event to the city is a major coup for Liverpool and is sure to pave the way for more experiences of this stature".


The venue of St George's Hall, is located directly across from Lime Street Station, which makes it easily accessible by public transport. You will have no problem finding it as even if you somehow manage to miss the big banners directing you there, you definitely couldn't miss the giant Shrek located on the roof!


Our time slot was for 11:30am til 12pm, and we arrived at 11:40am to find that there was no queue to get in. I presented my mobile tickets on my phone to the lady on the till which she scanned and welcomed us to the event. Immediately we noticed the huge 40ft dragon from Shrek suspended from the ceiling of the Great Hall which was amazing.

Although it was busy, it wasn't overcrowded which suggests that the organisers have planned it just right with assigning allocated time slots for arrival. There were larger crowds around some displays more than others, but we didn't struggle to get pictures of any of the lanterns.


Each display was set out nicely, and the lights were lovely and bright. The first few sets were all Kung Fu Panda themed, and looked fantastic. There are clear signs directing you which way to go, which helps to make it run in a one way system, however if you do want to go back to look a particular display, you are able to do so.


After all the Kung Fu Panda themed lights, we came across the Shrek displays which were my favourite. Shrek is one of our favourite family films, and so my kids were really excited to see all the characters.


My daughter's favourite is Donkey, and so she couldn't resist asking for a picture beside him.


Following on from Shrek, came the Madagascar displays. I love the characters from Madagascar as they are so funny, and the lights looked absolutely brilliant, whilst still displaying the humour that each one represents in the film.

Some of the larger displays throughout the attraction also had the added bonus of large projector screens showing excerpts from the movies.


At the end of the attraction, you can have your photo taken on a green screen, and then choose from a selection of backgrounds. The pictures I saw on the screen looked great, however I found that because of where it was located, it did make it slightly difficult for guests with prams to exit, as the queue was large and therefore partially blocked the way out. The photos were £6 each which I think is reasonable for a fun and unique family photo.

As with most attractions, there is a gift shop on your way out that sells a nice selection of goods and memorabilia. The products weren't cheap, but they also weren't overpriced so there was something to suit most budgets.


In total we spent just over an hour here, and really enjoyed it. For 2 adults and 2 children it costs £36 which may seem slightly expensive for an experience that isn't a full day out, however it is something unique and enjoyable and I feel that the cost is reasonable for what it is. There is also so much to do in Liverpool at the moment, so if you wanted to make it a full day out, you could easily combine it with Santa's Magical Grotto, a pantomime, or even the World Museum which is great fun and also offers free entry. There is also a small Christmas market just outside the Dreamworks Lights Lantern Experience, selling a lovely selection of goods to get you in the festive mood.

The Dreamworks Lights Lantern Experience is open daily between 10am and 7pm until Sunday 15th January. (Exceptions to this are early closing 2pm on Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve, and full day closures on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day).

Entry is via allocated time slots which begin every 30 minutes, and online booking is advised to guarantee your preferred entry time and date.

Tickets cost £10 for adults and £8 for children. Babies under 12 months are free of charge. Some pay on arrival tickets will be available, but will be subject to demand.

If you would like to book your tickets, you can do so here - Dreamworks Lights Lantern Experience

Disclaimer - I was provided with complimentary access to this event in order to provide an honest review and opinion of the attraction. All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.