Winter Wonderland: tips to make the most of it

Happy December! And what better way to break in the season to be jolly than with a trip to Winter Wonderland? 'It's good but cold and expensive' is the response I got from every person who has been there so far- and I have to agree. But I'm going to share some hints to make your cold and expensive evening a little more special.

First of all, there are 3 entrances to get into Winter Wonderland. Hint number 1: go through the MARBLE ARCH entrance! This is the way to go if you want to be greeted by the classic Winter Wonderland sign and feel the magic as soon as you step in. The other entrances aren't as good, and you have to walk a little way in before you get to the main attractions. 

GET THE CHURROS. Freshly made and piping hot. The particular stall we went to had an option of chocolate sauce and Nutella- Nutella was more expensive and arguably tastes better but don't be fooled- if you choose chocolate sauce you actually get more  ;)

There’s a big popcorn stall with weird popcorn flavours like cinnamon, raspberry, chocolate etc. We saw a lot of people get some and then not like the flavour. Ask to try them, they will give you some! I don’t think people were brave enough to ask, and ended up spending money on a flavour they didn’t really like. I tried the cinnamon one which was really nice, and I wanted to try the raspberry one, but something about bright blue popcorn was a bit offputting….

Also, make sure you go when it’s dark! I know it gets dark really quickly anyway, but the lights are just so beautiful at night. If you want an amazing view of London at night- go on the Ferris Wheel or the really high rides. But it is SO cold so definitely wear layers, hats, scarves, gloves (it sounds extra but it's genuinely freezing, it even started snowing when we were there).

Probably the most important- GET CASH OUT BEFOREHAND. We didn’t think this through and didn’t have much cash with us. And the cash machines there charge £3 just to get money out. We were really craving hotdogs and we ended up walking round the park a couple of times just to find this one hotdog stall that accepted card payment (I also wouldn’t recommend that stall - the onions that came on the hotdog were RAW not fried????? the other stands looked much better). 

There’s also a really cute photo spot where the Cinderella on Ice show takes place. It’s a little out of the way if you aren’t going to see the show, but it’s got lights shaped into huge baubles, which is such a nice place for a photo that’s a bit different to the classic luminaires. There's also a really cool Carousel Bar, if you don't get too dizzy from the constant spinning.

It is natural to want to win one of those massive stuffed toys, and we spent ages going round the different games and choosing which games gave the highest chances of winning (I know this sounds sad but it was really fun and we had the whole evening to waste time). So, do NOT play the ones where you have to throw a basketball into a hoop. If you read the small print, it actually says that the hoops are not regulation size, so it's super hard to get the ball to fit in the hoop. The racing ones as well are pretty hard because you're competing against other people.

LOOK AT THESE 2KG TOBLERONES

By the way, despite all this calculation we didn't actually win a big stuffed toy (there goes £20 down the drain #noragrets). But a lovely lady gave me a unicorn (whoever you are, you are wonderful) as she had won so many she couldn't carry them.

Overall, I had such a good evening at Winter Wonderland. I was shocked to see how Hyde Park was completely transformed, and just so festive and colourful. Yes it’s cold and expensive, BUT it doesn’t have to be. Entry is free and to be honest you could spend a couple hours just walking round, trying samples and taking in the views. Even if you weren’t trying to be stringent, would you really pay £12 for a festive candle? It’s all about the atmosphere!

Stay merry