Thanks to our writer Bethanie for this post which is based on a visit in November 2023. Please check with venue direct for the most up to date information.
This weekend we made the trip to the Metrocentre, to see what their Winter Wonderscape was all about. I was a bit worried I had chosen the wrong weekend to visit, with it being the Black Friday weekend and only a month away from Christmas.
With so many Christmas events happening across the north east, I wanted to give an honest
review of the Metrocentre’s Winter Wonderscape, to help you decide whether to book tickets
for this experience.
- Winter Wonderscape is an interactive show taking you to the North Pole + silent disco experience
- It's all indoors (opposite Primark at Metrocentre)
- It feels magical and is a good light trail alternative
- An ideal experience for those looking for indoor festive fun with OR without a Santa visit OR something for one adult to do with the kids while the other shops
- The experience lasts 15-20 minutes and can feel a little pricey for larger families visiting in peak time (£36 for a family of 5). However smaller families visiting off-peak will receive better value (£11 for 2 people for example
- Quiet / SEN sessions available weekly
- You can easily combine with the FREE Synthetic Ice Rink outside NEXT
- Or add a visit to Santa onto your experience for just £3 extra per child which feels like good value
- All welcome but best for ages 10 and under. Under 1s go free
- Our reviewer's children enjoyed their visit and gave the experience a 7/10
What is the Winter Wonderscape?
There are two events you can enjoy as a family at the Metrocentre this
November/December. The Winter Wonderscape: A journey to the north pole AND a magical
visit to see Father Christmas. These are two separate events and you will need to book
tickets for each one.
The Winter Wonderscape is an immersive experience with an interactive show to start your
journey to the north pole. After the short show, you then move into a room filled with hanging
lights, and take part in a silent disco.
We booked our time slot for 4pm. The cost for all of us (family of five) was £36 inc. booking
fee. The website says they accept walk-ins if there is space, however when we went they
were turning people away as the time slots for that afternoon were full. So to avoid
disappointment, I would book your time slot ahead.
The Winter Wonderscape is easy to find, in Exhibition Square right outside Primark in the
Yellow Mall. We arrived five minutes before our designated time slot, our tickets were
scanned and we joined the queue along with the other people booked in at 4pm.
Everything ran on time so at 4pm we were welcomed by a Christmas elf and shown into a room with large bean bag cushions on the floor and a few rows of chairs. It was a bit of a squeeze and I sat on the floor with the kids while Steve had to stand at the back.
Three walls of the blacked out room were covered in full length screens and it looked
magical, with falling snowflakes captivating the children as we waited for the show to start.
The show itself lasted around 10-15 minutes and had the children getting up and touching
the walls, which were interactive. Magic sparkles appeared when they touched the walls and
they all had good fun moving their hands across the “north pole” and watching sparkles
follow their fingers.
A number of characters also appeared and the elf chatted to them about
how they help Santa get ready for Christmas.
Unfortunately, because it is in the Metrocentre, the background noise is still quite loud, mixed with excited children shouting out, it was quite hard to hear the elf talking, he perhaps could have done with a microphone.
When you come out of the Winter Wonderscape you can then join the queue to see Father
Christmas if you have booked tickets to do this. We didn’t visit Father Christmas this time but if you do, you can have your photo taken with him and buy merchandise afterwards and children
receive a gift. He looks like a good Santa! Pop over to Metrocentre's Social Media for photos.
Price of tickets:
The Winter Wonderscape
Monday - Thursday
- Adult: £5.50
- Child (aged 1 - 12 years): £5.50 Under 1: Free
Friday - Sunday
- Adult: £6.75
- Child (aged 1 - 12 years): £6.75 Under 1: Free
Visit to see Father Christmas
Wednesday - Sunday
- £3 per child all ages (adults go free)
Opening Times:
Winter Wonderscape
- 20th November 2023 to 7th January 2024 (except 25th Dec and 1st Jan) 11:00 - 19:00 Daily (11:00 - 17:00 on Sundays)
Visit to see Father Christmas
- 20th November 2023 to 24th December 2023. Wednesdays - Saturdays - 11:00 - 19:00 Sundays 11:00 - 17:00
Good to know...
The time slot you book for meeting Father Christmas is the time you join the queue, not the
actual time you will see him. It may be worth factoring this in when planning your visit if you
are going for food etc afterwards.
Every Wednesday at 11am, there is a SEND session for Winter Wonderscape, where they
quieten down the music and have a reduced capacity.
You can book to do the Winter Wonderscape and the visit to Father Christmas, or choose to
do one or the other. After our visit, I think the visit to Father Christmas is good value at just
£3 per child, however I feel the Winter Wonderscape is a little pricey for the time you actually
spend there. (Around 15-20 minutes in total.)
If you head up to The Forum, second floor outside of Next, there is a small ice rink which is
there throughout November/December until the 31st.
This is a synthetic ice rink and donations can be made to the Metrocentre’s charity of choice, which this year is the Gateshead Food Bank. When we went (by this time it was nearly 5.30pm as we went for food first), it was very quiet and only one child and their adult were using the ice rink.
The ice
rink is very small and the adult was just walking next to the child who had ice skating boots
on. Definitely one for younger children I would say, but an exciting extra to your trip to the
Metrocentre this winter.
You can make bookings for the Winter Wonderscape and visit to Father Christmas on theMetrocentre website.
Find out more about the ice rink in the Arctic Experience here: Arctic Experience Website
Overall, it was an exciting addition to a trip to the Metrocentre, especially if you have young
children. I just felt it was a little pricey for the whole experience as it didn’t last very long and
you took nothing away at the end of it (not like some places where you may get a hot drink,
chocolate treat, craft activity etc) unless of course you see Father Christmas and get a gift.
Having said that, I think it is because there are five of us and we went on the weekend. If you
went as just one adult and one child mid-week, this would only cost you £11, in which case I
would say yes, it would be good value for money.
My oldest son is ten and he still gave it a 7/10 review which I thought was pretty good. The
kids' favourite part was the silent disco.
Other ideas for things to do with kids in the Metrocentre:
- The LEGO Store often runs FREE LEGO build and trails instore
- Book a FREE Workshop at the Apple Store
- LUSH often runs bathbomb making workshops
- Bowling at NAMCO
- Amusements at NAMCO
- Clip n Climb
- Treetop Mini Golf
- Loads of shopping opportunities and restaurants to choose from (our faves are Zizzi, Popeyes and Doppio Malto)
I hope you find this helpful when planning your Christmas adventures this winter.
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