LaplandUK

tmcr67

Hi there,
my problem is... i wanted to take my 3 yr old to lapland uk and wanted to go when it was dark as my friend said that was the best time when she went a few years back. I phoned the operator and asked the itinerary and he seemed a bit vague but said that the whole thing would last around 2.5 hours & that they had made it cheaper this year as they had taken out the cost of the meal.
I have now received the itinerary and it is not 2.5 hours it is 4 hours long. This is no good as my daughter will be asleep by the time we get to see Father Xmas. I can see where the operator has gone wrong. The extra hour and a half is set aside for us to visit the restuarant (1 hour) then half hour to go skating.
I tried phoning the number but it goes through to their ticket agents 'See Tickets' who are not interested and said to email Lapland UK direct. I emailed them a week ago and have received no response. i emailed them again today and have received the email back as undeliverable this time! Maybe they have blocked me?
I cannot find a direct phone number and the ticket agent said that they will not move the time back an hour despite having availability (which is now in limited supply - i checked today).
My question is what can i do about this? I have paid £200 out for my little girl to have a really special time and now she will be asleep when we go.
Why cant people just be nice and give you what you paid for in good faith? Or at the very least respond to your complaint?

ADLI

Hi TMCR67 Soory to hear that you are having problems. I've never used Lapland UK, but I imagine they are super busy at this time of year. Wonder if you emailed them again? They may just have had an influx of requests that they are trying to work through and their inbox is so overloaded its sending mail back? Their website certainly looks professional, so I'd be surprised they'd black list you just for asking a question. I did look at their FAQ on their website it says :

How will our LaplandUK experience work?
Your visit to LaplandUK is a timed experience similar in protocol to a theatre production, so punctuality is essential.
The LaplandUK experience begins at the time you choose when booking and follows a fixed itinerary throughout your visit. The initial Journey, Toy Factory and Mother Christmas Kitchen experience lasts 1.5 hours in total. Thereafter families have a 60 minute interval to visit the Nordic restaurant, Post Office and Sami exhibition.
Following the interval families are automatically booked a 30 minute 'ice' skating session (should they wish not to skate, they will have an interval of 1.5 hours to enjoy the village square).
Next it will be time for the personalised meeting with Father Christmas. The reindeer and gift shop are also located in the woods; families can visit these at their leisure after visiting Father Christmas. Most daytrips last 4-5 hours.
NB: Unfortunately, failure to arrive on time for a timetabled activity will result in the loss of this session as we are unable to reschedule missed activities due to other customer bookings.
Kindly note, while every effort is made to make the skating as safe as possible, it is undertaken at your own risk.

How long will my LaplandUK experience last?
A day trip to LaplandUK lasts approximately 4-5 hours.

So it looks as though your tour is booked according to their standard terms and conditions?

I know that you are worried that your three your old will be asleep, but surely they'll be so excited from the whole event that they will be wide-eyed with wonder and not sleep till the journey home?

I hope you get through to them.

If it's a genuine problem please post back as I would hate to think that companies like this don't give great customer after care.

adviceforall

The same as above a 3 year old who in excited by the whole thing is unlikely to fall asleep even if it is past their bed times ( especially if not in a push chair)

happi_2

I went to this last year and think you should be okay as there is so much going on. You will find that the time flies as you move from one activity to another that your daughter really won't want to sleep. There is lots to do during the 1hr/1.5hr break, along with having something to eat (I didn't rate the food very highly last year but could be better now), you can visit the reindeer, watch the skating, write a letter to santa etc so lots to keep you all busy.

One of the highlights last year was how authentic looking santa was - I was looking at the pictures of the one we saw last year compared to the one from Selfridges and couldn't believe the difference.

Have a great time.

vikingaero

Hopefully you've paid for the experience by Credit Card in case anything goes wrong. Last years Lapland was put into administration and a new phoenix company with the same owners is running the 2010 experience.

kerry49

vikingaero wrote: »

Hopefully you've paid for the experience by Credit Card in case anything goes wrong. Last years Lapland was put into administration and a new phoenix company with the same owners is running the 2010 experience.

Was this the Lapland UK at Bewles Water Estate? I know the one in the New Forest was put into administration, but not heard anything about this one.

vikingaero

kerry49 wrote: »

Was this the Lapland UK at Bewles Water Estate? I know the one in the New Forest was put into administration, but not heard anything about this one.

Lapland UK at Bewl have nothing to do with Lapland New Forest which is currently going through the Courts with the Mears brothers.

The original Lapland UK 2008 at Bedgebury went under, so did last years Lapland UK 2009 at Bewl. The current Lapland UK at Bewl is run by the same family as the previous two.