Taking children to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland this Christmas
When three-year-old Big Girl received juggling balls from Father Christmas in the Christmas Grotto at Harrods on Friday she knew exactly why he’d picked those as a gift for her. She happened to have been at Zippos Circus in Hyde Park Winter Wonderland the day before, watching a talented juggler.
We had been invited to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, which I think I’ve visited every year since it opened nine years ago, and every year I’m amazed at how it’s grown from one year to the next.
The park is immense now. Entry is free, and I think it’s amazing to have Hyde Park Winter Wonderland on our doorstep, making it an essential London family day out.
We went at 5pm last Thursday, and I can recommend going early, as in previous year it has seemed busier closer to Christmas. There were no long queues now that I could see, and there are a large number of fairground rides, including a number of rides suitable for young children in the Santaland section of the park.
For many it will be more than enough to visit the park itself, but optional extras include a visit to a Magical Ice Kingdom, where visitors can go on a walk past a number of ice sculptures and try sitting on an ice throne. It was extremely cold in the Magical Ice Kingdom, so we didn’t stay there for long, and I was happy to receive hand and foot warmers upon exiting.
To keep warm in Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, it’s essential to wrap up warm, but one activity that is good as a nice warm break is Zippos Circus. Zippos Circus has a 45-minute daytime family show in a dome located in Circus Town, a new area in Winter Wonderland. It is warm inside the dome, and I think the show was a good introduction to a circus for three-year-old Big Girl and I liked that there were no animal acts involved.
I think the Zippos Circus performance is particularly good to go to for families visiting on a cold day, as it would then be an opportunity to warm up for 45 minutes and watch a family-friendly show with acrobats, dancers, a juggler, a clown and a laser lightshow.
With a mix of fun activities and shows, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a unique central London destination for a festive family day out.
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