Magical tour to Santa’s realm
This will be a great consolation prize for thousands of families who were left high and dry with more than 5,000 worthless tickets for a rival Santa experience after that company collapsed earlier this month.
Winter Wonderland director Adrian Smith was planning to host another Santa event at the Curragh Racecourse but the plug was pulled on the operation after it emerged that he had no event licence.
Now disappointed parents can make it up to their children by bringing them to the biggest Christmas attraction in Europe - Santa’s Kingdom at Punchestown.
Organiser Gerry Bolger said last year’s Santa’s Kingdom was a huge success but this year’s event will be much bigger with a new exhibition centre at Punchestown that can cater for 7,000 visitors a day.
This year 10 million has been invested in bringing Santa’s Kingdom here and to London, Birmingham and Glasgow.
“We are absolutely delighted to be able to bring Santa’s Kingdom to so many people in both Ireland and the UK and we are sure that everyone who visits us this year will have an unforgettable experience,” Mr Bolger said.
This two-and-a-half hour adventure for the whole family replicates a fantasy trip to Santa in his homeland. A super shuttle will depart from Punchestown and land in the heart of Santa’s magical kingdom.
Visitors will enter Santa’s realm through the Ice Cave and move into his village to meet favourite characters like the Ice Queen, the Grumpy Elf, Shiverrr the Snowman, Pepper the Penguin and Bernard the Post-Bear.
Children will also get a chance to meet the Big Man himself to tell him what they would like for Christmas and get a free present. There is free supervised parking and tickets are €24.50 each.
Meanwhile, Winter Wonderland director Adrian Smith has said he has no cash to refund disappointed families because all the money he collected was put into getting the event off the ground.
Anyone who booked that event through credit card will be refunded and Mr Smith said that if he manages to reschedule the event next year he will honour the tickets purchased by cash and cheque.
