Ad disclosure: we were invited to Winter Funland for the purpose of this review.
Friday evening Lydia brought her friend Sophie home from school, and the five of us jumped into the car and headed over to the NEC to attend the opening night of Winter Funland.
Winter Funland is an indoor festive fairground, complete with an ice rink and circus. Sheltered from the winter weather, you get four hours to explore the huge hall full of funfair rides, with nothing but time limiting how many rides you enjoy.
With over 30 funfair rides, there is something for everyone to enjoy – from toddler friendly kiddy rides to thrill rides suitable for teens & adults, fun houses, a pirate ship & ferris wheel, and even huge slides and inflatables – including the largest bouncy castle I have ever seen. I even saw two rollercoasters – a tiny one for tots and a pretty decent sized kiddie coaster too.
There are two circus shows & two stunt shows per four hour slot, so you have a few chances to sit down and enjoy some entertainment in the circus tent, and catch some pretty impressive motorbike riding in the stunt area.
A large food court is situated down one side with plenty of seating and stalls to choose from, and there is a bar & a range of sweet treats at the seating area by the ice rink. Elves roam around the hall entertaining kids wherever they go – they even had an elf riding a bubble machine around.
The girls spent the first few hours we were there enjoying a variety of thrill rides – James joined them on a few of them, and all five of us had a great time on the Waltzers – a long time family favourite. There were a lot of laughs on the dodgems, and a fair bit of squealing on the Extreme Frog ride – especially when it started to spin backwards.
In between funfair rides, they also strapped on some skates for a good go on the (actually real and pretty big!) ice rink, with mixed success.
Georgie’s had lessons in the past and has spent the year going out on her roller blades so I was pretty impressed with her skills, Sophie was a natural with only two previous experiences under her belt, and Lydia… well, she spent a fair amount of time holding onto the edge and left the ice with a bit of a wet bum!
They all thoroughly enjoyed themselves though, and had to be cajoled off to explore the funfair some more. The ice rink is open for four years or more and offers 20-minute sessions. However, you can rejoin the queue for another session, just like you can with any other attraction.
We all were happy to rest our feet for a little while & snack on some popcorn while we watched the circus show, which included some impressive roller skating, jaw dropping aerial work (attached by her hair!!), festive clowns, stunning slack-lining, and a few ‘Globe of Steel’ motorbike stunts for the finale.
With only fifteen minutes left James went to watch some more skilful motorbike riding at the stunt show, while the girls opted for another spin on the Waltzer. They had just enough time to choose some sweets before it was time to go home – all of us exhausted but happy.
Winter Funland is on at the NEC until 1st Jan 2025, with one or two four hour sessions available per day. Under 3s are free (but will need a booked ticket), and an adult or child ticket (age 3 – 16 years) will cost you £31.50 plus a booking fee of £3.80. A family ticket is £125 + £15 booking fee, and can be one adult & three children, or two and two – so not really much of a saving (just £1.20!) but I guess every penny helps.
Adults can’t go on their own; as it is an event aimed at families, you can only go when accompanied by a child. This is the same policy that Legoland Discovery Centre uses, and I do appreciate it as it means the kids can really enjoy the experience.
Everything is included in the ticket price at Winter Funland, with the exception of the pay-to-play game stands and food & drink stalls – these are typical event/fun fair pricing – so more than you’d like to pay, but not so expensive that you’ll totally bankrupt yourself!
The girls spent around £35 between them, and got a huge tub of popcorn topped with m&ms, a decent sized bag of sweets each, and a go each on a ‘prize every time’ hook a Dalmatian game stand. James & I got a couple of bottles of water at around £2 a bottle (it changed depending on which stand you went to), and shared some totally scrumptious & fresh from the fryer churros for £8.
Parking is booked separately via the NEC, and a free shuttle bus runs from the car park to the NEC entrance. I’d advise you to aim to arrive half an hour before your slot to give you time to get through security & get your ticket scanned too.
It may not be the most affordable event, but you get four hours of genuinely enjoyable fun for your money. With all the rides included, you won’t have to worry about declining the “just one more go on…” pleas. I think it makes an excellent day out, especially considering it’s all indoors and warm! It would make a fantastic Christmas treat for your kids. The three we took along definitely enjoyed themselves.
Lydia says: I think Winter Funland was AMAZING!!! Everything they had to offer was all very fun. I especially liked the Waltzers and the Midnight Express because they were really fun and fast. The food we did buy was very nice, and the M&Ms and popcorn was a great combination! All the acts in the circus were incredible and everyone was very talented.
Sophie says: It was really fun especially the waltzer ride!!! The food was very good and they had a big variety to choose from! The circus was entertaining and interesting. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
