A Santa s Village attraction at a shopping centre has been shut down after furious families demanded refunds due to the dismal state of the Christmas installation.
Families vented outrage after forking out $132 for a group ticket, or $38.50 for individuals, to the Santa s Village at Colonnades Shopping Centre in southern Adelaide.
The fallout was so extreme that the landlord for Colonnades owner Vicinity Centres ordered the venue be shut down on Thursday and refunds issued to attendees.
Organisers promoted the event as a truly unique white Christmas to remember featuring a train ride, ice skating and photos with Santa.
Instead those who bought tickets were met with a sparse array of amateurish installations scattered around the concrete floor of a vast warehouse, such as a maze made of crowd barriers covered in tinsel, and a polar train which was made of flimsy carriages pulled by a mobility scooter.
Christmas Santa event cancelled after parents complaints go viral on social media
ThuThursday 17
Photographs of the event, posted online, show makeshift features.
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An Adelaide family Christmas village event has been told to shut down after complaints that it was overpriced and misleadingly advertised went viral on social media.
Key points:
Parents complained it was too expensive and that photos advertising the event were misleading
Some visitors have defended the event, saying their families enjoyed themselves
Organisers of Santa s Winter Village, at Colonnades shopping centre at Noarlunga, described the event in promotional material as including a polar express train ride on a snowy trail through an enchanted forest , a giant candy land game and an amazing maze .
Colonnades shopping centre Santa s village slammed, likened to Fyre Festival geelongadvertiser.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from geelongadvertiser.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A mother has taken to Facebook to tell people not to waste your time or money on a Christmas event held in Adelaide s south. Picture: Facebook An Adelaide Christmas event has been slammed by parents for its shocking and disappointing experience, and likened to the failed Fyre Festival by social media users. As well as meeting Father Christmas and having photos with him, the Santa s Winter Village event at The Ice Skating Edge in the Colonnades Shopping Centre promised lots of fun Christmas activities to do . They included a Christmas Ice Show, stories with Mother Christmas, an art and craft station for children, ice skating, a giant Candy Lane game and nine-hole putt putt golf, a Polar Express train ride and food and drinks available. according to the Eventbrite page.