London’s Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

As Christmas approaches, one of the main attractions Londoners look forward to is London’s Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. As the name suggests, it is just literally a wonderland in winter season. It is set in London’s Hyde Park. You get to enjoy a lot of attractions and rides; there is a massive Christmas market, Santa Land, a number of shows for the kiddies, cafés, restaurants, bars and everything festive. As I mentioned, truly a wonderland.

The best time to visit Winter Wonderland

There is really no best time to go as there is something different as the hours go by. Most families (with children) tend to go in the morning and early afternoon as it is still bright; however, by evening, Winter Wonderland transforms to this magical place with sparkling lights. This is my 4th consecutive year of going so you can see that it is an atmosphere I truly enjoy.

This was the first time I was going in the daytime and it was so much fun. Other times, it’s been myself and Mr E and we would get there around 5pm and stay till about 9pm. This time, I went with my 12 year old brother, so I knew that it would be more fun for him during the day instead.

It is open from November and usually does not get so busy until December. Most people wait until December to get in the full Christmas spirit before going. It stays open until the 1st week in January. This means that if you want to miss the pre-Christmas rush, there is still an option of going after Christmas; when it will most likely not be as busy. Open times are 10am to 10pm every day.

Getting There

As it is located in Hyde Park, you have various options. However, the best is by public transport as parking will be non-existent or you’ll have to pay an exorbitant fee for no reason! If you go underground (my most recommended way), the nearest tube stations are Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Green Park, Bond Street, Victoria and Knightsbridge. I got off at Green Park as it works for me and we walked about 10 minutes to the entrance.

There is so much info on the website if you would rather come by bus, car, bicycle etc. It also gives you information on accommodation, taxi park, coach and luggage facilities.

We got to Winter Wonderland at 11.30 am which was perfect timing as it had only been open an hour and a half and was not yet crazy busy.

What to wear to Winter Wonderland

Look, it was cold AF. I recommend layers and layers. The sun was shining but don’t let that fool you, it was freezing. Yes, you want to look cute (fair enough) but don’t expose your lungs or else you shall freeze. I recommend layers, a scarf, gloves, hat and very comfortable shoes because you will be walking a lot. The venue is outdoors and open space so all the wind will blow freely and locate you whether you like it or not.

I wore my hat, cosiest coat, my gloves and trusty Timberland boots came along for the ride. This meant that I could enjoy myself without feeling cold. If you are visiting the Magical Ice Kingdom, it is worth noting that you are going into -10 degrees of cold so dress appropriately. I had a blanket with me because you know; man cannot come and die on top cold.

What to do in Winter Wonderland

There is so much to do. Some attractions you need to reserve before the day; others, you can just turn up and pay on site. There is an ice skating rink, there are rides, games, santa land and most importantly a Christmas Market. You actually don’t have to get on any rides – I didn’t because frankly, I’m not a fan of rides (too chicken for them lol), and you can just spend your time there wandering around, eating and drinking. Oh there is also a concert area where you stand around and listen to tunes!

I pre-booked Ice Skating for 12pm and Magical Ice Kingdom for 1.30pm. Both were so much fun. I don’t know how to skate (my growing list of things I can’t do won’t stop looool. Let’s add riding a bicycle and swimming to this list, shall we?!). Anyway, the fact that I cannot skate did not stop me having the time of my life. We just rented penguin aids for £5 each to help us not fall flat on our faces. It is another £1 to store your belongings as you are not allowed any from of bags on the ice rink.

Note that for every attraction, it is advisable to get there about 20 mins prior to any pre-booked attraction or ride; as you would need to join a queue and check in.

Phone Policy

Phones are not allowed on the skating rink and if you need your picture taken, there are photographers for that service. 1 photo is £15*, 3 are £25 and 5 are £30. The packages are expensive as with everything else in Winter Wonderland; however, the picture quality is really good and we opted for the 3 for £25 package, which also came with e-copies of our selection.

We also visited the Magical Ice Kingdom, which was a new attraction for 2019, and the theme was A Christmas Carol. It was a snow filled attraction which was freezing at -10 degrees Celsius. The weather was so cold but honestly, the experience was worth it. It was sooooo good.

When we were out, we had hot drinks, which helped thaw our frozen bones.

There is also a souvenir shop to spend all your coins on things that you absolutely don’t need and most likely won’t use.

Tickets

For all pre-bookable attractions, the website it the place to book. 

Tickets sell out quickly so once you are sure of the date you would like to go, book your ticket slots. They are non-transferable, non-exchangeable and non-refundable so if you don’t turn up, you lose the tickets.

For the rides, you buy tokens or use your contactless payment card to pay. These tokens are bought from booths, which are all around the site. Each token is £1 so for £10, you get 10 tokens. Some rides are £3 (3 tokens) for adults and £2 (2 tokens) for children; others are as much as £9 for adults and £6 for children – this is useful in knowing how much token to buy or how much to budget for.

To note – if you buy a token for the day, it has to be used on that day and cannot be saved for another day so make sure you only buy tokens that you will use on the day. My advice is to buy them as you go. Don’t spend £50 buying tokens and trying to use them all up; buy £10 worth and use them up first then buy more as you go along as you need.

Better still, use your card to pay as you ride.

Food and Drinks

The first thing I will mention is that there was water available everywhere so if you have a bottle, you could ask any bar to refill it for free. There were drinking taps around the park as well so you could refill your bottle as you went along.

The Fire Pit – loved this one as you could toast your marshmallows around the fire and enjoy a drink with your family. I loved that it was family friendly and if you wanted more food, there were food stalls around to chose from.

By 3.30pm, we had spent 4 hours there, it was getting so crowdy and we were tired. Winter does this to you. It was a lovely day and Bobo’s 1st time in Winter Wonderland which he loved so much. 

Winter Wonderland was a lovely day out for the family and it is one of those places that everyone is happy and just feeling positive; you know, like Disney Land! All Londoners are suddenly less grumpy (shocker!) and everyone is smiling at each other and it is just so festive. It has slowly become a Christmas tradition for us and it’s one we will most like continue every year.

Festive Posts:

CLOS MAGGIORE – THE MOST ROMANTIC RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD AT CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS AT CLARIDGES

BILLS COVENT GARDEN AT CHRISTMAS

I wish you Christmas joy and lots of exciting festivities this season. Until my next festive post…

…Bisous, ‘Bugo x

*All costs are valid as at time of publishing.