[2025 Event] Christmas Wonderland
- Thread starter Elise
- Start date
The worst thing they ain’t saying what really anything is. Like the Elf thing for £20
On the website, there is a separate event for this, but not very clear from the e-mail or the main christmas event.
Elftoria at Drayton Manor – A Magical Christmas Elf Experience
Step into Elftoria, Drayton Manor’s all-new Christmas experience filled with elf mischief, festive fun, live shows, snowball fights, and more! Tickets just £20 – perfect for ages 4+.
yep...had an email with early booking options..for a family of 5 as we are it would be an expensive day out...
We are a family of three and for us would be £120 if we did all of it, so for larger families would be a lot more obviously and if not a passholder then it would be at least another £60 for park admission. No discount for passholders this year. A family of 5 non passholders would cost at least £300. I assume cost of living crisis has ended as far as the Manor are concerned and we are all very rich! That is assuming they don't buy anything or want to eat!
Businesses like Drayton Manor face cost of living themselves people do forget that part energy costs and running costs are higher for them to
Actually I fully understand. However they need to think about this and if people can't afford to go, then they will fail and it has been in administration previously. I can see this being the final year after last years fiasco and a 400% increase to do the full event this year. If you look at their latest set of financials the cost base has not increased by 400%. (it actually decreased slightly last year). The park has seen decline in revenue last year and the general feeling I am hearing from passholders is that they will not attend. The bad publicity that the park is getting at the moment is justified and aided by these things. Admittedly it may be good to go to if the park is quieter as it will be unless they drop these prices.
I would rather they drop the event and put the money back into the park new rides, shows and improving the areas
I agree, but I think it is a money spinner so they are exploiting it and their customers. Ethically its completely wrong. They tried the up charging with the Halloween event and failed, they should try and capitalise on a value for money offering. The park seems to be losing its way this year. If they had offered these events as an add on but kept an offering of the grotto with some added bits. The grotto is actually a downgrade as the theatre show is clearly gone as is the hot chocolate event. They need to revisit the 2023 and go back to the magical Christmas event. Its very sad. I wonder how many passholders have booked. They know that kids will want to do more if its there. They forget that they have a lot more competition now than when the event started back over 10 years ago.
My annual pass is also up for renewal in August. Is it worth renewing with all the things going on at the moment.
Last edited:
Drayton has not lost its way it knows its a family park now to cater for everyone and is a in a much stronger position compared to a few years ago
I happily paid £20 for the Santa experience, Train if it’s like the 2023 version and the pantomime but not paying £20 to ride rides that I can go on anyway during the season.
Thats what them markings were for then
Thats what them markings were for then
Drayton are doing pretty well this year, with the most vistors since 2020, so i don’t justify them “struggling” currently.
Elise
Administrator
Though consider this year, the amount of ticket offers / free entry / free returns and other things that have been promoted. There's been a lot of deals and things promoted like that to draw in visitors
However, that isn't the purpose of this thread so I won't go further into that.
I feel like £20 for something which is completely new without much information is a bit of a concerning pricetag. I understand that it seems tied to an IP of some sort, but it's still a hefty upcharge considering it costs more than seeing Santa. £40 per person for all activities, not including entry is quite a bit, especially for an adult accompanying their children. (thats £160 for a passholder family of 4!)
From the get go, the event is quite expensive - without considering food,drinks and other charges along the way - i.e tickets for non passholders & parking
I really hope that those who attend get their moneys worth with this.
Will you be attending Elise? I like your videos which explain a lot more about the event. Helps me to know if the visit is worth it.
Elise
Administrator
I will most likely be attending, to scope it out and create another event-guide
however the considerable amount of upcharges is quite off-putting to me, especially as an adult with no children ^^' (Did the grotto last year though which was a fun experience)Filming one for Waterfest this weekend actually
The pricing on the website is so confusing. Like my Wife, mum and Mother in Law want to come with me and my 2 kids. We decided not to do Elftoria but we enjoyed the train in 2023 and the Santa experience and they also want to do the pantomime but there’s no option on the website just to book them 3 attractions.
When I was looking before if you click the park only, the train and Cinderella are on the next page. Would admit it's very confusing