2016 brought the 10th anniversary of the well-known Winter Wonderland event to Hyde Park in London, and so we went to see what was changed for the occasion.
This year the event ran from 18th November to 2nd January, and brought even more festive fun in terms of rides, attractions and atmosphere. They were keen to let everyone know this was the 10th anniversary, cleverly placing the windseeker attraction and ferris wheel to create the number '10' in the sky as you approached the park, which created a fabulous impression before you even entered the event! As per usual, the event was very busy, and as bag searches were required upon entry, this resulted in some rather long queues for some of the entrances.
However, it wasn't long before we were in and could experience all the event had to offer. This year, the event changed its layout, which we felt was much more ergonomic than before, and which made the event look great from all angles! The event has also increased in size, allowing space for some new headlining attractions - in particular Olympia Looping! For the very first time, the world's largest roller coaster had come to London, and it was great to see so many roller coaster enthusiasts brought together to ride this fantastic coaster. However, at £9, it certainly wasn't cheap! Despite this, it was running extremely smoothly, and with excellent operations, sometimes seen running on 4 trains simultaneously. Also notable was that shortly after opening, the length of the trains was increased from 6 to 7 cars to help ride capacity! However, interestingly, all of the Olympic imagery was removed or hidden, and the name of the ride temporarily changed to Munchen looping, presumably due to trademark issues with the International Olympic Committee.
The event also was home to a number of rides from past years, such as the 86m Hangover drop tower ride, which gave an incredible rush (and was one of few rides that's made us genuinely terrified)! Alongside this, the usual circus, ferris wheel, ice skating and ice bar returned, except this time also featuring the brand new Nutcracker on ice show, adding more to the lineup of the event. The magical ice kingdom also returned, displaying a number of impressive ice sculptures similar to previous years! Although very cold, we recommend having a look, as it is a very unique attraction! Not only this, but a host of food stalls and the
Christmas markets helped complete the festive ambiance. We also particularly enjoyed the Bavarian Village, which brought a lot of atmosphere and music (and beer) to the experience!
Overall, the 10th anniversary improved upon the event in a number of ways, while still keeping the charm Winter Wonderland is known for. It's clear the event is also growing with popularity each year, as more and more people come to experience the festivities. The addition of Olympia Looping to the ride line up was also a fantastic surprise, and we hope it will return for future years.
We are very excited to see how Winter Wonderland develops in the future!