Christmas 'Magical Journey' Closes After A Day

A Christmas-themed attraction by celebrity designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has been forced to close after just one day.

Organisers of The Magical Journey, at The Belfry hotel in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, said they were temporarily closing the attraction for three days while "improvements" took place.

Llewelyn-Bowen apologised on Twitter for his silence, saying he had been away.

"Sorry for Radio Silence, just got back from a charity weekend in Scotland to find Elfgate @TMagicalJourney Time for sleeves to be rolled up!"

The venue's Facebook page saw hundreds of messages posted, with some visitors describing how disappointed they were with the attraction.

The company has hired more staff and offered refunds for guests who visited on the opening day on Saturday, as well as those due to attend while it is temporarily closed.

Emma Birch, writing on the attraction's Facebook page, said: "Terrible experience for us too today no 'magical journey' as described, no Xmas spirit, bags of snow sitting on pallets, unfinished rooms, electric cables covered with tape running along floors...

"Llewelyn-Bowen should be ashamed of himself my eight-year-old could have designed a better magical journey!"

Another Facebook comment said: "This place is an utter disgrace I didn't see one Xmas decoration, heard no songs, no clues to find train broke down three times on its short journey kids were so bored. It states it lasts 90 minutes but doesn't say 80 minutes of that is waiting time.

"There's nothing magical whatsoever about this so all prepare yourself for a big disappointment."

A statement on The Magical Journey's website said: "Following our opening this weekend, we have taken our customer feedback seriously and this, combined with the recent weather conditions, has resulted in us taking the difficult decision to temporarily close The Magical Journey from Sunday 23 November to Tuesday 25 November, reopening on Wednesday 26 November.

"We will take this time to ensure that improvements to the journey are made so that we can reopen with an experience that is truly magical for all.

"We are extremely sorry for any disappointment this may cause and would like to assure our customers that the journey will be what has been promised when we reopen on Wednesday 26."

The attraction, which lasts up to 90 minutes and includes a Santa's Grotto, cost up to £22.50 for a child's ticket and £15 for adults.

It comes as parents in Dundee complained after the Overgate Centre replaced visits to Santa's Grotto with a live video link to Lapland, where children instead talk to Father Christmas on smartphones and tablets.