Children were left in tears by a ‘blatantly fake’ Santa Claus accused of ‘ruining the magic of Christmas’ at a popular festive event.
Tickets cost nearly £70 for a family of five to see Santa read The Night Before Christmas at Winchester’s long-running Santa’s Grotto Experience.
Rather than a ‘memory-making adventure that your family will treasure’, as organisers had promised, they found a ‘fake’ Santa there instead.
Visitors to the city’s 900-year-old Great Hall were furious when they saw an actor in a ‘blatantly fake beard’ and ‘cheap red suit’ beneath a bare tree.
Among the disappointed was Matthew Fernandez, 38, who recently visited with his kids – River, nine, Lennox, six, and Winter, four.
‘My children were polite but as soon as we left they were in tears regarding the situation and said they knew he was a fake’, he said.
‘This was just a guy dressed up in a cheap red suit with a blatantly fake beard and he wasn’t very talkative at all – he didn’t seem very jovial.
‘It ruined the experience. It almost reminds me of when they had that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory experience – it felt like that to be honest.’
Children fled in tears and more than 800 refunds were issued after families promised an ‘immersive event’ left Glasgow’s Wonka Experience so ‘underwhelmed’ they called 999 in February.
Such a comparison won’t flatter the organisers who invited families – at a cost of £18.50 per child, or £6 per adult – to walk ‘down Candy Cane Lane towards The Great Hall’ where they’d be met by ‘one of Santa’s friends’.
But it wasn’t always this way, according to Mr Fernandez, and not just because accompanying adults are now charged a fee.
Last year, the Santa Claus had a seemingly real, bushy white beard. And he would remember children and make the experience ‘a very special one for them’, Mr Fernandez claimed.
‘It’s always been about the amazing Santa that’s what drew the people to the great hall and sadly now it’s completely lost that appeal’, he said.
‘You could see that in our kid’s faces. This wasn’t there with the new Santa. He wasn’t as jovial and he wasn’t very talkative either.’
Lisa Catherine, who took her newborn granddaughter, was similarly disappointed by the ‘very haphazard reading’ beneath a tree decorated with ‘a smattering of baubles’.
She said: ‘Honestly I wanted to laugh, I’ve seen better Santas rolling around town on their way to Christmas parties, it was a very, very cheap suit, with maybe a cushion tucked into it, a lady dressed again in a Christmas sweater, but with glitter on her face.
‘Santa sang jingle bells I think, whilst ringing a bell and holding, for some reason, a carrot.’
Her experience was so bad she said ‘it’s one we’ll never forget.. and for all the wrong reasons’.
Laura Garrett said: ‘The Santa asked my children what their favourite song was then, forgot the words to ‘Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer’.’
Claire Partridge said: ‘So very glad we decided to go elsewhere this year…it was too much of a risk to take on your new Santa being the usual fake-bearded character, and sure enough it’s exactly the same as you get anywhere.
‘Your management have really missed the mark here, everyone loved the Great Hall for the real big man and his chief elf, and for the fact it was simple and enchanting – you’ve sold out in an attempt to make more money and in the process ruined what was a magical experience.’
Ms Catherine suggested organisers ‘close this shambles down’ or offer refunds to people left ‘so bitterly disappointed by your version of a cut price, shambolic non candy lane Santa experience’.
Others are considering complaining to Trading Standards.
The unpopular changes – like the departure of the original Santa and Grand Elf duo – followed the Hampshire Cultural Trust to manage the 13th century building.
Organisers blamed the disappointment on ‘teething’ problems and offered refunds to people who expected an experience ‘the same as previous years’.
A spokesperson for the Great Hall said: ‘We certainly don’t want to ruin the magic of Christmas for any of our young visitors.’
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