Disney decided to expand its offerings to New York City for the Christmas season, opening up “Disney’s The Santa Clauses’ Winter Wonderland” on a rooftop at Pier 17. Instead of being a cute Christmas event, however, the Winter Wonderland was a Winter Hell for parents, who described the event as being extremely frustrating.
As background, the Disney version of a Christmas village (though its name studiously avoided any reference to the reason for the season, Christ and Christmas), is a massive, 65,000 square-foot attraction in the Big Apple that features everything from dining cabins to a synthetic ice skating rink.
Announcing the event on X, The Rooftop at Pier 17 said, “It’s TIMEEEE!❄️ Disney’s The Santa Clauses’ Winter Wonderland is officially 𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙉 tmrw! Join us all szn long to spread some holiday cheer and take in the iconic views of Manhattan’s only rooftop skating rink ✨🌃🎅⛸️”
But, as usual for Disney, it was expensive. Just to visit as a general admission guest costs $15 per head, and a ticket that gets one into the more fun events, such as the ice skating and entry into the North Pole VIP Lounge, costs $30, according to the website for the event.
And the event wasn’t just expensive for families. It also was a very disappointing and frustrating one, with parents who took their kids to the “Winter Wonderland” taking to social media to shred the event, saying that its minuscule skating rink, a disappointing (skinny) Santa, and dangerous slide made the event more than a bit disappointing.
One parent spoke to the New York Post about the event, which she said she attended with her two young children, paying for the more expensive VIP tickets so that they could enter the North Pole, get the Santa hat and hot chocolate, and hopefully enjoy the event a bit more.
They did not. Describing what it was like to the NYP, that mom, Kamilla Cohen, said, “It was a s–t show. The whole experience was frustrating.” Continuing, Cohen said that the slide hurt both her and her kids, telling the NYP, “It cracked my back so badly. I probably need a visit to the chiropractor. We asked our daughter if she wanted to go again, and she said no, I think she hurt herself. It’s so unusual for her not to go back to a slide.”
She then added that, horrifically, a young boy’s ankle snapped when he went down the slide: “It was so loud. I thought he was laughing at first and then I realized he was probably crying. People started to come up to him and someone said his bone was exposed – his ankle snapped.”
Another parent, posting on Instagram about the slide, said, “The slide is dangerous my daughter sprained her ankles, many kids complained that the fall is painful. The drop is fast and hard for adults and children. I wouldn’t recommend having your kids play on it. I went 11/25 at 6pm.”
Still another parent, complaining online, said, “I spent $98 at Disney’s The Santa Clauses, for two people, to get two VIP tickets. Which in addition to not having anything from Disney was the worst money spent in my life!! The ticket included access to the lounge, very disappointing because on the menu I had two different types of fondue (sweet and savory) but only one stove available for the whole place, a combo on the menu of three savory dishes and two sweet but it was not valid for the lounge. It also included access to an ice rink, tiny and without ice. In addition to this, it also included a free hot chocolate even though both the bar and the house set up specifically for the distribution of these hot chocolates had run out of the drink. We ordered a coke and a beer and a menu was taken away because they didn’t have enough. Tourist trap, recommended only if you want to spend $100 to take photos on Instagram.”
Featured image credit: Pier 17 Twitter
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