This annual event in London has been well publicized, so we knew what Alisa saw marked the beginning of WINTER WONDERLAND!
http://www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com
Ever since we relayed this information to the kids they have been very eager to experience this epic annual event.
Several nights we had taken the bus back from downtown and passed by Hyde Park. A giant extent of the park is all flashing lights, canopied big tops, and always dominated by the brilliant Big Wheel (it seems every ferris wheel in London needs a moniker). Each night the boys see the night sky lit up and ask to go.
Well, their time finally came! We planned to meet Alisa at the Winter Wonderland in the afternoon and stay for a few hours into the night.
To make this venture a success, I had to ensure Sammy napped and Joey rested. This sounds straightforward but isn't. Fortunately it did work out that both Sammy and Lanna napped after an especially rigorous time at Coram's fields, but it was a struggle.
After everyone awoke, we had a hearty snack and went to the bus. We took Joey's favorite bus, the 390. (It's his favorite because he can say "390" with a spot-on British accent).
The bus dropped us off outside Hyde Park as the evening dusk deepened to dark. We made our way towards Winter Wonderland with the boys barely able to contain themselves.
And there it was.
We made our way inside. It was big. It was bright. It was loud.
It was fantastic.
We hung out and ran around near the Big Wheel before Alisa arrived and enjoyed the carnival like atmosphere.
When Alisa showed up, we were off! Joey immediately got hooked up in a 5 point harness on a trampoline and Sammy went down a tower with a slide encircling it. Once her older brothers were done, Lanna enjoyed a spin on a carousel.
From there we walked this huge park and saw the different sights and sounds.
Given we were there on a weekday, it was not crowded at all. In fact, when the boys went on a ride, the ride ran just for them!
Sammy was the sole passenger in this train ride. He still chose a middle cabin.
Here he is within the backdrop of this epic carnival.
Joey rode on a roller coaster. He had been on one already and was now becoming quite the aficionado.
Despite being an aficionado, he still was too short to ride alone so I went with him.
These rides certainly built up an appetite, so we wandered through the park looking for a suitable dinner.
As we walked, we spotted what looked to be a mechanical man in the distance. The closer we got, the more we realized it was a mechanical man. We soon realized this was the largest mechanical man we had ever seen.
Roughly 60 feet tall with an appropriately sized bird sitting on his picnic table sized hand, his hair blew in the breeze as he and the bird sang "That's Amore."
Naturally this freaked Sammy out.
He could not be anywhere in sight of the giant man which housed most of the "good" eating establishments in the Wonderland.
Joey was able to stick around to have that video taken before we moved away from the mesmerizing, bizarre and creepy carnival-bot.
We had a quick dinner out of sight and sound of the giant man and then explored the park some more.
As I looked around, I saw quite a few things that would only result in a lawsuit in America. Most of them were the style of rides were you walked through an obstacle course that could spray you with water, cause you to fall, or move abruptly enough to give you whiplash. (I was looking for any internet documented cases of absurd carnival lawsuits and didn't find any specifics, but it's a nice waste of time if you have it to spare).
Then I saw a game to pop balloons for a prize which would never, EVER be available in the good old USA:
That's right! Real arrows shot from a real bow!
We strolled through a while longer and the boys rode a few more rides before we felt it was time to head out.
The boys went on a magic sleigh ride (again, they were the only ones on it) which they both liked.
While they were up in the air, I took a selfie with Lanna.
After that we treated the boys to some cotton candy (which they call candy floss here).
On the way home, we walked through Marble Arch (also known as the BEST PIGEON CHASING PLACE EVER). The pigeons were at home roosting, so a bubble guy took over the square.
We popped a few bubbles and walked to the bus as the lights and sounds of the Winter Wonderland faded behind us.
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