WINTER | BIGGER PICTURE
Yule pride
What: Winter Wonderland
Where: Hyde Park, London
When: 14-28 October
Image: IMG
Suzy Griffiths, event director, Hyde Park Winter
Wonderland by IMG, talks to Access:
What is new this year?
As ever, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is full of new
attractions and features. Highlights include Ice Sculpting
Workshops, Peter Pan On Ice, Teletubbies Christmas
Show, Comedy Club, new shows from Zippos Christmas
Circus and Cirque Berserk, and the return of The Magical
Ice Kingdom with a sparkling new theme – ‘The Secret
Forest.’ We’ve also partnered with themed cinema
experts, Backyard Cinemas, and Penguin Ventures
(part of Penguin Random House) to celebrate the 40th
anniversary of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman with
‘Backyard Cinema Presents: The Snowman Experience.’
Logistically, we’ve made a few enhancements to create
an even more streamlined visitor experience. Firstly, we
have installed contactless payment systems across the
entire site. In addition, we’re now offering tap-and-ride
access onto all of the rollercoasters with our new ‘Coaster
Pass’ with Connect&Go, which can be purchased in
advance and topped up at the box offices on site or online.
We’ve also partnered with Google to enable the 41 pods
on our iconic observation wheel with Google Assistant.
This will bring the festive experience to life, from playing
visitors’ favourite Christmas songs to revealing fun facts
about Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.
What were the build and logistical challenges this year?
One of the biggest challenges this year has been
redesigning the entire event site to accommodate all
of the exciting new additions, including two brand new
entrances. There’s now an entrance especially for pre-
booked ticket holders and another one for families leading
directly into Santa Land. Additionally, many of the trees’
leaves haven’t dropped yet due to the mild autumn we’ve
been experiencing, meaning fitting in our fabulous
new eight-metre-high Santa’s Grotto has been a bit of a
challenge!
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