Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park | Blogmas #11

For the last 3 years, it's been mine and Jacks tradition at the start of December to take our annual festive trip up to Winter Wonderland, based in London's very own Hyde Park. Of course, it's only right that we pop to Oxford Street beforehand to visit Lush and various other amazing shops *ahem*Selfridges*ahem* followed by a Wagamama (Chicken Katsu Curry = life).

Winter Wonderland starts on the 18th of November and runs until the 2nd of January. It is open 10am-10pm every day (apart from Christmas Day) and is free to get in. This year, they were celebrating their 10th anniversary - I can't believe it's been around for that long! 

It is jam packed with tonnes of fun Christmas-sy activities, which include Ice Skating, Rides, A Magical Ice Kingdom, The Zippo Christmas Circus and many more! Not only that, there's huge Christmas Markets and plenty of themed bars and places to eat, including an Bar Ice!

 

First stop, the market! Usually, this is absolutely heaving, although this year I think we got lucky and avoided most of the crowds before it got too busy! Some of the stands are so unique, Jack ended up getting a few gifts for people and the rest of the time was spent wandering around doing a bit of food tasting, before heading to the bar! 

I grabbed a mulled wine (of course!) and Jack got himself a pint of German Beer before we headed towards The Magical Ice Kingdom. I think we've been to this every year, as it's such a cool and different experience each time. All of the ice inside is hand carved - it's incredible to think people have such talent!

Inside, it's -8°C, so if you're doing this attraction make sure you wrap up like never before! There is a different theme each year and this year was 'An Arctic Adventure'. It had all sorts from wolves to eskimos, even a shipwreck! Not only that, my favourite part is the Ice Slide at the end! In previous years, I've always got stuck on it! Thankfully, the lovely steward gave me a tip to slide down on my back and it worked.. I bloody flew down haha! 

After the Ice Kingdom, we headed towards the rides. As we are pretty much creatures of habit, we always go on the Wilde Maus XXL which is the most hilarious ride ever. It's about £8 each which is fairly expensive, but it's worth it for the experience. You don't just pay for the ride, you also queue in a funhouse style way! SO GOOD.

The rest of the evening we just spend walking around, drinking and listening to some of their live music (not to mention scoffing a waffle with Nutella!). In previous years, me and Jack have usually done other things such as the circus and the observatory wheel, but this year was a fairly quiet one. I think next year we will branch out and do more again, as it really is so much fun and worth the pennies!

I really love Winter Wonderland because it doesn't matter if you're 13 or 30, there really is something for everyone and it's great for getting into the festive spirit! If you live or are visiting London around these times, I'd highly recommend you take a trip here! Whether it's fun you're looking for, or the perfect gift, you don't want to miss it!

Have you been to Winter Wonderland before? :)