Our day started with being greeted by an elf who gave Jazmyn an ‘elf ears’ hat and welcomed us to the Hop Farm.
We arrived slightly early so we let the children play in the park and miniature world for 20 minutes.
It felt really festive walking down the path past the Christmas Market and the ice skating rink to the undercover area on the way to The Magical Kingdom. Here we were greeted by another elf who checked our tickets and joked and played with the children! Incidentally, although you are told to leave buggies in the buggy park for the Magical Kingdom they did let buggies on board the train and into the Kingdom.
At 12.45 we caught our train which took us around the corner to Santa’s Magical Kingdom. There were two trains one which looked just like a real steam train and the other was a white one, the sort you usually see at fetes. Once we got off into the Magical Kingdom we were greeted by several very playful elves, who remained in character the whole time. The children then had their magical kingdom cards )which they could keep as a souvenir) stamped to say they had started the journey.
In the Magical Kingdom, the floors and walls were all lit-up with Christmas lights and white ‘snow’. We walked past several displays where you could see model elves working behind the glass screens putting up lights and spilling paint and at each one the children could press buttons to make them move and light up.
After several displays we came to a warm, cosy area with long tables and lots of pens and paper. Here the children each got a chance to write their letter to Father Christmas whilst an elf gave us a card to fill in for Santa with each child’s name, age and what they wanted for Christmas. We had to then give them to an ‘elf’ later on before going in to see Father Christmas. Once Jazmyn had written her letter, an elf read it and talked to her about what she wanted. Jazmyn then posted her letter in a postbox on the fireplace and we then watched it get sucked up the chimney!
We then walked past a few more amazing displays showing elves and penguins and into another room where we were greeted by a lovely Mrs Claus who hugged both children and talked to them and asked Jazmyn if she’d like to make a tree decoration. After stamping the kids’ cards she sat us down at a big table with some pens and a tree to colour in. Occasionally the elves helped as they danced and played around the tables. Once finished Jazmyn assembled her tree then popped it back in the bag so we could go see the reindeers before the puppet-show started.
We had a quick toilet stop here before seeing the reindeers who each had their own hut with their name written above it. Again here the children got their cards stamped and spent some time watching the reindeers before moving on to the puppet show.
At the puppet show there were lots of chairs and a café area to grab a quick hot drink. The prices were very reasonable and the area was very clean. We sat and watched two elves do a very brief magic show and dance with the children before the puppet show started. The puppet show did seem to be aimed more at older children but that didn’t stop Jazmyn and Joshua laughing at the talking moose on the wall to the point where Josh grew rather attached to the moose and didn’t want to leave it!
After the puppet show we were led into the Magical Kingdom area for elves and ticket holders where we enjoyed several magical displays. At this point we met the naughty elf who then asked the children who needed their cards stamped. He took them, threw them on the floor and stamped all over them! She was then told off by the other elf who stamped the children’s cards properly. We then joined the queue to see Father Christmas. The queue was very long but there were fantastic, magical, lit-up displays to look at all the time - such as elves decorating a giant tree that was spinning and polar bears fishing .
After a while of queuing some of the children were getting a bit fed up so a group of elves turned up and played dancing and skipping games with them and got everyone to sing Christmas songs. All of a sudden the lights went out, there was a power cut due to the bad weather outside! But true to form, the elves remained in character and said it was the naughty elf misbehaving again and she had turned the lights off. Within minutes the lights were back on anyway.
When we got to the front of the queue another elf stamped the children’s cards and was getting Jazmyn rather excited about seeing Father Christmas. We were then greeted by a very lively elf who was skipping everywhere and she asked Jazmyn and Joshua if they were ready to see Father Christmas and took the card that I had filled out when Jazmyn was writing her letter. We skipped down the path where there were lots of curtains (obviously more than one Santa!) and behind each curtain was a door. We waited here whilst the elf woke Father Christmas up (I presume this is when she gave him our card). We were then shown in to a very cosy, Christmassy room with a warm fire and a red carpet where Father Christmas was sitting on a chair by a Christmas tree.
Father Christmas looked and sounded amazing and both children’s faces lit up, He greeted them both by their names and made Jazmyn’s day by saying ; ‘Now Jazmyn you are 5 and you’re a very good girl’. He then went on to comment on her elf ears and how she looked like his elves with those on, and he then asked her if she’d like to be one of his elves. After about 5 minutes chatting, Father Christmas then told Jazmyn and Joshua to clap 3 times which we all did and 2 gift bags fell down the chimney - one with a pink hippo cuddly toy and one brown cuddly teddy with a scarf. Both kids loved this and thanked him very much. Father Christmas then asked to have our pictures taken with him so we all huddled around and had our picture taken. Before leaving he told them both about going to bed early on Christmas Eve and said to Jazmyn how she was just like me when I was little and how I used to try and stay up all night to see him but usually fell asleep after 30 minutes (which was very true)! We then said our goodbyes and were escorted out by the elf who showed us out of the Magical Kingdom to where we could purchase the photos. We bought one photo which is about A4 size in a folder for £6. This was the cheapest they had although they did have other packages like a big photo and some key rings, photo mugs and t shirts.
After leaving the Magical Kingdom we then went to the circus show where we had to leave the buggy outside. However they did allow buggies in if the children were asleep but you had to sit at the front.
The circus was amazing and I have never heard my daughter laugh so hard! All Joshua kept saying was ‘Oooh look!’ The theme for the circus was early Christmas where Santa had let them have their toys early. One elf had a BMX bike and performed stunts such as hanging off the side to jumping over a girl ( my husband loved this as she was wearing hot pants that had ridden up a bit too much!) Another elf had hula hoops for her present and at one point had 25 gold rings flying around her body. Another was wearing a giant UV slinky and they switched the lights off as this slinky monster danced around stage which was truly amazing to watch! We then enjoyed watching other circus acts. Towards the end we were told the green man (as they weren’t allowed to call him ‘The Grinch’) was trying to steal their toys and we all had to yell out ‘He’s behind you’ whenever we saw him. As you could imagine every child loved this! Eventually ‘the Grinch/ green man’ was caught and all the children were invited down to sing Christmas songs with the elves and circus performers before leaving.
After this we paid to go ice skating on the ice rink which was £6 a child and £7 an adult for 1 hour skating. I obviously couldn’t go on being pregnant so I stayed with Joshua and grabbed a hot doughnut whilst James and Jazmyn ice skated. Children and adults were able to hold on to big plastic penguins to help them skate around. Although the rink wasn’t big it was big enough and in the middle was a seating area for skaters with a Christmas tree which was lovely as by this point it had started to get dark.
After ice-skating Jazmyn had a go on the huge Victorian Carousel which was placed in front of a lovely, big lit-up Christmas tree which seemed magical! We then browsed around the Christmas Market which, to be honest I wasn’t impressed with as it seemed liked usual market stall stuff but at least it was nice and warm under the marquee! We then went back to the stand with the doughnuts so the others could have one. There were a few stands selling doughnuts, teas, coffee, hot chocolate, fish and chips etc but I would strongly recommend going inside to the café as the stands were quite pricey with tea at £2.50, coffee for £3.00 and hot chocolate £5! Doughnuts were 3 for £2 and the café was very reasonable (usual café prices) and had warm seating areas with a few highchairs and baby-changing facilities.
Although originally hard to find, mainly because of the gale-force winds, the toilets when we found them, were very clean with disabled and baby changing facilities. There was lots of other things to do but unfortunately we ran out of time as it was now 6.30pm. We made a quick dash to the gift shop which again was very reasonable and I brought Jazmyn a light-up snow globe for £1.50 and a felt colouring board of Father Christmas for £1.50. They also sold the usual toys, sweets and Christmas decorations.
Overall the staff were very friendly and every one at the Magical Kingdom remained in character the entire time even when unexpected situations occurred such as the power cut. They interacted with the children of all ages brilliantly and the children really did have a fantastic time.
I would advise getting an early time slot or arriving early so you could visit the Christmas market, ice skating or other attractions first but either way you’d definitely need a whole day as there really is something there for everyone! The only thing I could fault about the whole day is at first in the magical kingdom you were very rushed but then had to stand around waiting 30 minutes for Father Christmas. I would say a visit to Santa’s Magical Kingdom is well worth the money! I don’t feel it’s one of those things you could do every year but maybe the year after next we’ll go again so all 3 will be able to enjoy every last bit.
The ticket price to the magical kingdom included: Santa’s Magical Kingdom entry with a toy from Father Christmas and decoration with Mrs Clause. Circus tickets also the Christmas market was free and the park.
We all had a fantastic day.
Lucy Timcke & family (Jazmyn 5 and Joshua 14 months)
FREE! FREE! FREE!
Entrance to The Hop Farm & Christmas Market Village
Come and discover this new Christmas Extravaganza at The Hop Farm in Kent where the beautiful grounds have been transformed into a magical Christmas land with snow covered trees and carols. This fantastic festive experience includes a traditional Christmas Market Village http://www.santasmagicalkingdom.co.uk/ with indoor and outdoor stalls plus a fantastic funfair, superb undercover ice rink and all The Hop Farm rides.
FREE entrance to the public so don’t miss this stress free shopping experience!
*Please note. There is a small charge for parking.
Free Ice Skating Special Offer
If you purchase tickets to visit Santa's Magical Kingdom on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday during November then you will enjoy our special offer of one FREE session per person on the fantastic undercover Ice Rink PLUS one FREE session per person on all The Hop Farm Rides and Attractions that are open.
If you would like to take your little ones to see Santa in Santa's Magical Kingdom, then BOOK HERE.
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Give The Gift of Life This Christmas
