Well back from a wonderful weekend with two very happy little girls who now completely believe they have seen the real Father Christmas.
Set off at 8.30 and ended up going straight down the A1/M25 (a friend had done the same journey the day before without problems so decided it was the easiest way). Ended up getting there in loads of time so found a nearby garden centre and wandered around the Christmas displays for an hour.
I have to say that although it was very expensive, the experience was well worth it and they really do go to lots of effort.
@pezza – tips…
They tell you to get there 30 minutes early but don’t panic about it – all you do is check in which takes a minute or two, then you can exchange £££s for JJJs (Jingles) so your kids can buy things ‘abroad’.
If your kids are into cuddly toys, don’t let them (as we did with one of ours) buy one with their money as the gift they get from Father Christmas is a really quite decent cuddly toy (a Husky). I have no idea if *everyone* gets the husky all the time but all the kids had them on our visit. I didn’t notice if boys got something different.
Finally, when you get to the final bit of meeting Father Christmas, you need to ‘check-in’ at the waiting area so they know you are there (I assume you don’t need to be there exactly dead on the time marked in the ‘Passort’.
Have fun.