Families’ fury as North Pole Experience axed
DISMAYED CUSTOMERS WANT REFUNDS FOR THORESBY PARK EVENT
FAMILIES have shared their anger at the North Pole Experience at Thoresby Hall being completely cancelled.
Organisers emailed customers who had bought tickets n Tuesday evening to say the event was cancelled after its opening had been plagued with problems.
The opening of The North Pole Experience at the estate had been delayed since it was due to open at the start of November, with the company citing a number of reasons for not opening, such as supplier issues and the weather.
The set-up on the grounds was “half completed”, according to a statement from Thoresby Estate.
The estate confirmed they are seeking legal advice, saying: “The North Pole Experience has failed to meet their obligations to us and the public.”
Customers who bought tickets are angry at having to rearrange their Christmas event for their kids at the very last minute, and want their money back as soon as possible.
Derbyshire mum Katie Wass, from Creswell, who is a nursing sister for the NHS, spent just over £200 for her, her husband and her two children to go to the event.
She said: “We purchased the tickets in August, I’d seen the advertisements [on Facebook], I was expecting it to be like a winter wonderland, a magical place, you’d have the post office where you’d do the Santa letters and send them off to the North Pole.
“We’d heard that it had not opened up when it was supposed to, and there were some rumblings on Facebook saying there was something dodgy going on but that was all hearsay.
“Then we had the bad weather and it didn’t open again, they then sent an email out saying they’d had delays so they got behind with setting up but with our booking being December 18, I thought everything would be up and running by then but then we had a statement from Thoresby themselves.”
Sarah Spencer, 37, a police officer who lives in Duffield in Derbyshire, bought eight tickets at a discount for her and her extended family, including her kids aged five and two, but still paid just under £200 to visit on December 12.
She said: “We pulled going to Center Parcs this year because of the pandemic and one of our kids has severe asthma, so we shelved that to see Santa this year. If anything, we’re quite relieved it’s been cancelled as we’d rather that than turn up having paid all that money for it to be a shambles and a waste of everyone’s time.”
The email from The North Pole Experience was also published on its website, and it said: “It is with deepest regret and sadness that we have to send this message to you, our valued customers that unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances The North Pole Experience at Thoresby Park has been cancelled.
“Our team have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to build, create and deliver a magical experience for families this season.
“With every obstacle thrown at our team we have overcome it. However, we are now in a position that unfortunately leads to this situation we are in now. “From all of us we do sincerely apologise as we understand the heartbreak and stress this will cause to you.
“Unfortunately we are not in a position to be able to provide you with further details at this moment in time.
“All ticket holders have been contacted via email and the only communication channel available is through info@thenorthpoleexperience.co.uk. “A further email will be sent to the email address used at booking, we aim to do this within the next seven working days in regards to an update about the refund schedule. We are working on getting this out as soon as possible.”
The North Pole Experience has been contacted for further comment.
Thoresby Estate did not wish to provide an updated comment, but in a previous statement Gregor Matheson Pierrepont, director of the estate management company at Thoresby Park, said: “We were approached by The North Pole Experience Ltd who were looking for a venue for their winter festival.
“They seemed competent had were able to provide references and we hoped to enable another successful event to wrap up the year. Unfortunately, this has not come to pass. The continued failure by The North Pole Experience to open, despite half completing their set up has disappointed us as much as anyone else.
“We encourage members of the public to obtain redress from The North Pole Experience Ltd.”
The North Pole Experience has failed to meet their obligations to us and the public
Thoresby Park