When we were recently invited to the opening of Conkers Winter Wonderland we jumped at the chance. Lots of friends had recommended it and we were excited to see what it was like.
It’s somewhere we haven’t visited before for a Santa visit, but we’d heard lots of good things about it.
Conkers is located in the heart of the National Forest, not far from the A42. It only took us 30 mins from our home in Nottingham.
On arrival we were given a map, various tickets to redeem for treats and told to head to the amphitheater to meet our elf who would show us the way to Santa.
The site is split over two areas, with a festive train connecting them. We decided to walk to the amphitheater and then get the train back.
When arriving at the amphitheater we were given the opportunity to redeem the adults mulled wine and treat ticket that comes as prt of the package. We were then shown the way to the avenues of lights that lead to Santa’s grotto. Along the way there are various Christmassy attractions to look at that really got us in the festive spirit.
Whilst on the walk to the big man’s grotto, the children were given a gingerbread man from the cute gingerbread area, which went down well.
After a short walk we arrived at Santa’s grotto and were told by the two elves to ring the bell. The children then spoke to Santa. Due to covid they couldn’t get too close and basically stood at a hole in the wall to talk to Santa. It was a bit different to what I was expecting but was done well and definitely didn’t spoil the experience.
After we’d had a chat with Santa, we headed to the Elf Village where we made reindeer food and redeemed our gift tokens for presents for the kids. The presents were pretty good and got a thumbs up from our three.
We then boarded the train and headed back to the Discovery Centre. We were booked in for the 4D cinema experience at 12 but we asked if we could move it to 11am instead. Whilst we were waiting the kids played in the play area, which they really enjoyed.
The 4D cinema experience was pretty good and was the perfect length for younger kids who would struggle to sit for a long time.
After the 4D experience we had booked the kids in for ice skating (£5 pp extra) which they loved. It wasn’t a proper ice rink though so think it was quite tricky for them to skate on it properly but they weren’t bothered in the slightest. It’s also a bonus that it’s located inside as the day we visited it was absolutely freezing and Storm Arwen was in full swing!
We had a fantastic morning at the Conkers Winter Wonderland. It’s probably best suited to those families with younger kids. Although saying that ours are nearly 12 and 9 and they all really enjoyed it!
For more information and to book tickets visit: https://www.visitconkers.com/events/winter-wonderland/
Disclaimer: we were invited to experience Conkers Winter Wonderland but were under no obligation to share our experience. As always we’ve shared our honest opinion of our experience.