If you're going to Lapland UK this year, make sure you read this guide to visiting Lapland UK first. Or if you're thinking about it for next year, this blog post aims to let you know what you need to know ahead of booking.
How to book tickets for Lapland UK
Let's start at the beginning. Tickets go on sale in March, and you have to be ready because they sell out within the day. You can join their newsletter (on their website) to be told when they'll go on sale. Before you go to buy them, make sure you've worked out a list of dates you can go. Then, on the day, you go into an online waiting room, before you then go through to buy. The cheapest dates will be starting in mid November and the prices go up in increments as you go later in the day. So the later you go in the day, the more expensive they will be, and the later into December you go, the more expensive they are. The cheapest ticket you could get when I was booking was £65 and that was for an 8:30 a.m. slot in mid-November. You then also then have to pay an additional booking fee on top of £5. Lapland UK is the same price per person for adults and kids.
Lapland UK is in Whitmoor Forest in Ascot, near Windsor (near Legoland actually) which is a bit of a trek for a lot of people. So if you want the cheapest tickets - e.g. early in the day - be prepared for a very early start. Or you add a hotel, but then that's making everything more expensive.
Preparing to go and arriving at Lapland
You will get an invitation in the post beforehand, to allow you to do like a "reveal" to the children. We did ours in the fireplace the day before, but I know someone else who put theirs in the freezer overnight so they were icey cold when the kids found them on the front door step. The invitations tell the children why they've been asked to help Santa at Lapland UK - a story around needing help to make toys.
I'd say to get there a minimum of 30 minutes before your official slot because you can go to the toilet, wander around the little Elf bit outside, and take some pictures. The car park is also quite spread out so it might take you a while to walk to the entrance. They'll then call you through ready for your visit!
Top tip: Take a change of socks on the day for when you go ice skating because your feet will get wet where people have put their feet on the floor with the ice skates on and it soaks up the water.
Top tip #2: The other thing I'd say is don't buy food whilst you're there because you don't get a lot of free time to do the ice skating and explore the elf village. So take an abundance of snacks and an abundance of drinks (because you can't get free drinking water there either).
You have an account on their website when you book your tickets so you can upload info about the kids and their interests / friends before you go, so that Father Christmas knows all about them when they speak to him! You can do this when you're there, by filling in a form with an Elf, but doing it via the app before you go is one less thing to sneak past them on the day.
What to expect on your visit to Lapland UK
Once you get there, you go in and literally everything for the first hour and a half is completely scripted.
So you go in, there's like a pre show where they kind of tell the story of the woodland forest, then the doors open up magically and you go into lands of fake snow, and then you go into a toy factory and the children make a penguin (last year it was a different animal, this year it was penguins).
Very important note: Pre-warn the children, that the penguin (or whatever toy) they make, will be a gift for somebody else, because they make the toy and then it goes on a conveyor belt and is gone. So make sure your kids realise that the toy they're making isn't a toy they're going to keep / go home with. (But you will see these penguins / toys again - keep reading.)
In the invitation it says they've been invited to make a toy because the the Good List has gotten so long that Santa needs help. So that's the purpose of the invite: to make the toy that they will then give away. They need to be prepared for that because they will put their penguin on the conveyor belt and it will go, so just make sure they don't get too attached to it.
Then they go into Mrs Christmas' Kitchen where they all decorate a gingerbread cookie, and a little show goes on there. It smells phenomenal!
All the movements you do are through a forest. They literally they make it colder and there's snow everywhere and they blow out the smell of pine; it's so immersive.
Is Lapland UK inside or outside?
Lapland UK is mainly inside apart from when you're walking between places, and you go through forestry areas. The site is a wood, or forest, with real trees everywhere and fake snow. So you walk through real trees and it's all lantern lit with fairy lights everywhere. Obviously if you go later in the day, the lights might be more impressive, but it's more expensive later in the day and everything was very immersive on our morning visit.
Lapland UK Elf Village
Next up you go to the elf village, where you have an hour and a half until you go to see Father Christmas. In there is a covered ice skating area... and it's a carnage. You don't really know where you're supposed to go, or where you're supposed to get your skates. It's a little bit chaotic, but there was no queue. There are ice skating penguins for younger children (you know the supports / like a walker) so they can hold something to guide them around. It was super icy like on the rink, a really good ice rink.
Then you go into the Elf village and there they can go to the post office and post a letter for Father Christmas. They won't get a reply, but they can post it in the magical post, so you might want to take a letter with you.
Once there, the kids get a passport which is stamped with the different places you visit as you go around. And there are shops in the Elf Village. They have a Christmas shop, a sweetie shop, they have food places you can eat - but as I said, you wouldn't have time for that because you have 90 minutes in the Elf Village and we did 45 minutes ice skating, and had a quick drink and snack. There are loads of elves wandering around, interacting with everyone!
Lapland UK has it's own currency: Jingles. I think you can buy them in advance and on the day, and you spend them in the Elf village (you can use real money in the shop at the end).
Visiting Father Christmas at Lapland UK
You have a window to go see Father Christmas, ours was between 11:30 and 12 (they check your time on your passport). We went through at 12. When you go through, you see real reindeers and you can pay extra to make reindeer food. You then go and have a picture if you want to in the sleigh. You get a free complimentary picture that you print out at the end or you can pay £25 for all the pictures to be digitally done.
You then check in then to see Father Christmas, at a big check-in desk with elves, and then you go through a door and an Elf will take you to see your Father Christmas. They simultaneously have 10 or so Father Christmas lodges that you can't see because they're all hidden behind different routes through the trees. (Obviously the kids don't realise this.)
But your Father Christmas will be expecting you, as you fill in information before you go about your child. My friend's kid was gobsmacked that Father Christmas new the name of his best friend and what was already on his Christmas list.
You get about 15 minutes for Father Christmas, and he gives them each a sleigh bow, and their own husky - which link conviently to books they sell about their Husky Heroes. My friend said that on the way to see Father Christmas, other kids were walking back on their route, carrying their huskies, so you could see the gift you were about to get. But I think those kids were walking a way they weren't supposed to. Our kids didn't see anyone like that, but there is a chance you could overlap which could lose the magic of it.
Your gift as you leave
As you leave, when you go to get your photo, they will pass you a penguin for each child (remember those penguins they made in the workshop initially?). The idea is you smuggle these home and the kids get them with their stocking on Christmas morning, so it's like they were on the Good List and Father Christmas brought them one of the penguins he got made. I took an extra big Percy Pig bag which my children (all 4 of them - so lots of penguins) couldn't see in. I passed it to the guy on the counter and he filled it for me before giving it back. The toys are in emporium bags - brown paper bags - but then, to avoid questions, I wanted those bags hidden. My husband meanwhile took the kids to the toilet whilst this was going on.
My friend was concerned how she would manage this bit if she was going on her own, but then her husband went too and could take the kids to the loo. But the people (Elves!) there do try to help make it discreet.
Exit through the gift shop
One thing that annoyed me a little bit is that they got given these amazing huskies and as you walk out through the gift shop, they literally are selling husky outfits, a bit like Build a Bear (where you take your kid and they actually build the bear), and so I was having to tell them "no, you can't have an outfit", "you can't have a jacket". They even sell dog leads and husky drinking bowls and Lapland dog beds - but it was £18 for a Lapland little puppy dog velvet bed. So no, I went to Home Bargains and I got one for £8 the week after that looks almost the same.
Would I do Lapland UK again?
Is Lapland UK worth it? I would say it was great to do it whilst my kids were at the right age (11, 10, 7, 5) because it is magical, but I wouldn't do it again. Largely because it's so expensive - plus it's a day off school (and I'm a teacher!) unless you go at the weekend which is super expensive.
Visiting Lapland UK FAQs
How long do you get at Lapland UK? How long does it take?
You get 4 hours there - and you need to arrive at the right time for your slot.
Do you need wellies for Lapland UK?
No because the snow is fake! But you could wear them if it made it feel more "real"! Our boys wore trainers they could walk in all day and the girls wore Ugg-style boots.
Is the ice skating free at Lapland UK?
Yes, it's included in the entry price.
Do kids get a toy at Lapland UK?
Yes, they get given a lovely cuddly toy (huskies the year we went) when they see Father Christmas, and you get given another toy to bring home with you to surprise them with on Christmas morning - in our case this was a cuddly penguine.
Can adults go without children to Lapland UK?
Do you know, I'm not sure - I'm looking into it - but I kinda expect not as the whole experience is completely built around the kids making a toy in the factory and then seeing Santa (and the adults don't take part in those bits, although you're obviously right there with your kids).
Is there parking at Lapland UK?
Yes there's free parking for your visit.
What's the best time to visit Lapland UK?
Well that depends on what you mean by "best" - we went for a morning slot in mid November as that's the cheapest way to do it. And it did leave us all feeling very festive - our tree went up the weekend after we went!
What's the best age for Lapland UK?
I've heard people say it's wasted on anyone under 3 - I mean, they'd probably still have a nice day out but if you're spending that money and really want them to know what it's about, then 3+ is probably a good idea. Personally I'd say 4 or 5 as the youngest age because then they really "get it" and the excitement is all the more wonderful. And then it's up to whatever age you think your kid would still feel the magic... my eldest is 11 (we also took a 7 year old and 10 year old) and it's still a special, festive day out no matter their thoughts on the subject!
How many Jingles should I buy for Lapland UK?
Personally I don't think there's any time for buying food there, and the gift shop at the end accepts real money. You can also change your unused Jingles back I believe (but maybe double check that when you buy them incase they change the rules). So you might just want to set a budget per person for soemthing like a hot chocolate in the Elf Village, or a momento from the Christmas shop in the village (although the kids will get 2 toys from the day, and you'll get a photo).
How much is Lapland UK?
The cheapest ticket I saw (8:30am arrival, November) was £65 per person. Generally though you seem to be looking at about £500 for a family of 4. It's expensive, but it is magical and well executed. So it just depends on your circumstances and preferences.
Can you take your own food to Lapland UK?
We took lots of snacks! And drinks as there's no free drinking water available.
Is Lapland UK accessible?
Their accessibility information is here.
Is Lapland UK worth it?
I would say it was magical, we had a great day, and I'm glad that we did it - but we don't need to do it again.
Is the Lapland UK Golden Experience worth it?
From what I've read - having not done it myself - I'd say no. It's an extra £200 - £300 per person (!!) to be greeted by someone, given some food, and a few other bits and pieces. Oh, and a limited edition Christmas bauble! That wouldn't be worth £1800 for our family of 6! The full comparison is on their ticket page.
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