Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland logo
Frequency Annually
Location(s) London, United Kingdom
Inaugurated 11 December 2007[1]
Founder PWR Events
Royal Parks of London
Attendance 2.5 million[2]
Website http://hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is a large annual Christmas event held in Hyde Park, London, typically from mid-November to early January each year. It is one of the biggest, and most well-attended such events in the world, featuring several festive markets, over 100 rides and attractions from across Europe, a Giant Wheel, numerous live shows, including a circus, ice show, and live music, as well as numerous bars and restaurants.[3] Since its launch in 2007, Winter Wonderland has attracted 14 million visitors.[4]

The event is open from 10am to 10pm each day, except for opening day, and Christmas Day[5]. The main entrance is near Marble Arch, with a secondary entrance on Serpentine Road.

Main Attractions

  • Ice Rink - The UK's largest temporary outdoor ice rink, set around the park's permanent bandstand, often featuring live music[6].
  • Magical Ice Kingdom - an indoor walk-through exhibition of ice sculptures, and interactive exhibits e.g. ice slide[7].
  • Bavarian Village - Large German-themed food and drink village, featuring numerous bars and eateries, and live music[8].
  • Christmas Markets - Numerous markets around the site, selling food, drink, and gifts[10].
  • Santa Land - Children's area, featuring smaller rides, and Santa's Grotto[11].
  • Zippo's Mega Dome - Circus tent featuring three shows: The Sooty Christmas Show (mornings)[12], Zippo's Christmas Circus (afternoons)[13], and Cirque Berserk (evenings)[14].
  • The Imperial Ice Stars - A festive ice show, based on fairy tales, performed by 18 World, European and National Championship skaters[15].

Main Rides

  • Ice Mountain - A Wild Mouse style roller coaster with spinning cars, enclosed within a specially designed building[20].
  • Hangover - An 85 metre freefall tower ride.
  • XXL - A 40 metre tall swing ride with spinning gondola[22].

History

2005-6 - A small, unsuccessful funfair operates through the Christmas period at the edge of Hyde Park. The lack of success leads The Royal Parks to look at alternative events.

2007 - The Royal Parks invites bids to run a Christmas Market, temporary Ice Rink, Giant Wheel, and a small selection of amusement rides inside Hyde Park. The successful bid is for a joint production by AEG Live and PWR Events, the latter of which has organised several outdoor ice rinks, as well as the Hampton Court Palace Festival.

2008-10 - The event grows substantially, introducing the Bavarian Village (a German style food and drink centre), Zippo's Circus, Santa Land (an area with smaller rides for children and families), and the introduction of several larger rides, such as the Power Tower 2 freefall tower.

2011 - AEG Live pulls out of the event.

2012 - Large expansion of the site. Introduction of Wilde Maus XXL roller coaster; Magical Ice Kingdom (a walk-through exhibition of ice sculptures); Bavarian Village expands to include The Great Hall; an Oktoberfest style beer tent with live music.

2016 - Introduction of Munich Looping, the world's largest portable roller coaster; The Imperial Ice Stars ice show; and The Sooty Christmas Show (a live show featuring Richard Cadell).

References

  1. ↑ "Winter Wonderland: About Us". Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  2. ↑ "Winter Wonderland visitors rise to more than 2.5 million". Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  3. ↑ "London Hyde park hosting annual family-friendly Winter Wonderland". Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  4. ↑ "Hyde Park Winter Wonderland". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  5. ↑ "Plan Your Day - Opening Times". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Ice Rink". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Magical Ice Kingdom". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Bavarian Village official website". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. ↑ "Carousel Bar official site". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Markets". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Santa Land". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  12. ↑ "Sooty Christmas Show". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "Zippo's Christmas Circus". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Cirque Berserk". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Imperial Ice Stars". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "Mellors Group - Giant Wheel". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  17. ↑ "Rides & Games". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Munich Looping / Olympia Looping official site". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  19. ↑ "Wilde Maus XXL official site". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  20. ↑ "Mellors Group - Ice Mountain". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "Mellors Group - Star Flyer". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  22. ↑ "XXL - Manufacturer's description". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
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