I took my children to Santaland at Castle Stuart. This is an event that the Castle puts on in December for children. The fee for entry is £5 per person.
On our arrival at 11am, we were greeted by rudolph at the gate. Rudolph told us that we had to wait for the fat controller to come for us. In the meantime, we were able to look at chickens, ducks and ponies. We waited outside for approximately 20 minutes, by which time a large queue had formed behind us. Lucky for us, we were at the front of the queue.
The fat controller came along to let us in and what a jolly soul she was! We ascended some stairs and entered a bedroom to be greeted by a mouse - Stuart Little. From a door in the bedroom, Snow White appeared and invited my children (both girls) to try on some princess dresses. (I noted that boys were given a toy sword). The children were told that they could wear their dresses all around the tour if they wanted to.
The next room was Mrs Clause's kitchen. Mrs Clause and her younger sister invited us to make gingerbread men. The gingerbread is already baked so no hot burns. The children are given the gingerbread to spread cream or chocolate on and decorate it with whatever takes their fancy. The long table is adorned with lots of sweet treats: cupcakes, candy canes, millions, rainbow drops, jelly beans, chocolate drops, fruit gums - to name just a few. The children are given mini ice creams and there is hot chocolate on offer to drink. There are Christmas decorations everywhere and ornamental singing santas, in addition to teddy bears. Before leaving this room, Mrs Clause's sister hands the children a bag with a teddy bear and a packet of sweets to take home.
Next, we visit the room which houses Santa and his elves. This room is gorgeous. It is beautifully decorated with large candles, rows upon rows of moving ornamental santas, A huge Christmas tree, an ornamental santa climbing up and down a ladder to put up lights, life size ornamental carol singing choir, life size ornamental rudolph and sleigh and a huge wooden table. The childrenfirstly are allowed to try on varying costumes from elfs to jesters to santas. After this, the children went to speak to Santa. He was sat on a chair and had a stool next to him for the children to sit on. This Santa is the santa to end all santas. He really took time with each child, to ask them their names, what they wanted for Christmas and whether they had been good children - he didn't rush it like a lot of Santas do. His elf Twinkletoes noted the name of the child and wrote a card out. The card is a reward card for good behaviour. Santa then produces a toy from his sack (a soft toy) for the children and Twinkletoes presents the children with their good behaviour reward card, along with a 'medal'. The children are then invited by another elf to decorate a crown. The children are given a paper crown with seasonal pictures on and a box. The sit at the large table and colour in the pictures and the box contains items such as 'gems' to stick to the crown. The table is filled with pens, pencils, glue - everything a child needs to decorate their crowns.
The next part is where we exit this room. We are greeted by huge polar bears (stuffed toys - and believe me when I say they are massive). There is also a polar bear chair for the children to sit on for their photo (your own camera). It looks like the bear is holding the child - very nice. The children are invited to either have their faces painted or dress like a polar bear. We are then led to a small staircase where we are greeted by an elf who lets us stroke the long haired rabbits that he has. Don't worry - he has hand sanitizer and puts it on the children after they have handled the animals. The children then leave any costumes or swords they have been wearing and that concludes the inside of the tour.
Outside, the children go on trains which they pedal by themselves. There is also a garden - make sure not to miss it. It is decorated with life sized ornamental seasonal objects in addition to smaller ones. You will find snowmen, santas, polar bears and disney characters. It's really superb.
We spent two hours there. For a fiver each, it's great value. Particularly when you consider all the items they get for that fiver. The staff appear happy and really do seem to enjoy what they do. A lot of these places, you find will rush through the children as they are just money making schemes and have little interest in whether the kids actually have fun. Not this one. This one ensures a great time is had, the staff are happy to be patient whilst you take photos, they are all smiling (even rudolph outside was jolly though he must have been frozen). All of the staff contribute to the magical essense that is Santaland. The one and only criticism I have is the wait to get indoors. At this time of year it's cold, and the girls were shivering whilst waiting to be invited in - but that just goes further to show how popular the venue is. I'd be more concerned if there wasn't a wait. And wee tip - wear boots outside as it is muddy and slippery at this time of year, and wrap up warm in case you have a wait.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
