Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Every winter the east side of Hyde Park turns into a Christmas fairground, with the UK’s largest open-air ice rink, a 70-metre wheel, rollercoasters, a circus and a Bavarian beer hall behind four gates. Here’s what to do once you’re in, and how to plan the visit.

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Things to Do at Winter Wonderland

There are more than 150 rides, attractions and shows spread across eight zones, from Santa Land to Thrillville. These are the ones worth planning a visit around.

The Ice Rink

The rink is built around Hyde Park’s Victorian bandstand under a canopy of lights, and it’s the largest open-air ice rink in the UK. It sits in Skater’s Corner, nearest Blue Gate. Sessions last 45 minutes, skates are included (from a children’s size 8 up to an adult 13), and you can bring your own as long as they pass a check. Speed skates aren’t allowed.

Be at the rink 20 minutes before your slot. Phones and cameras stay off the ice, so the photo has to come from whoever is watching at the barrier or from the rink’s own photographer. Children aged 3 to 12 need a skating adult with them, penguin skating aids are there for children under a metre tall, and wheelchairs are allowed on the ice. It opens in all weather, so on a wet day a spare pair of socks earns its place in your bag.

The Giant Wheel

A giant wheel has been part of Winter Wonderland since the first one in 2007. At 70 metres this one is the world’s largest transportable observation wheel, and a flight of about 10 minutes gives you views across London’s skyline, from Hyde Park to the City.

New this season, the wheel puts on a light show after dark, set to a soundtrack inspired by ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, so it’s worth watching from the ground as well as riding. Private pods take up to six people, and a limited number of fast-track passes are sold each hour. At busy times you may share a pod, pushchairs can’t go on, and the last flight is at 9.30pm.

The Thrill Rides

The big rides live in Thrillville, nearest Red Gate. Munich Looping, made famous at Oktoberfest, is the world’s largest transportable rollercoaster and takes you through five loops (you need to be 1.3m tall, and under 1.4m with an adult). Airborne lifts riders 65 metres and flips them upside down, and Blizzard spins you through 360 degrees above the park. Both need you to be 1.4m tall.

Rides are paid for one at a time or with a pass. The Five Peaks Ride Pass covers Munich Looping, The Hangover, Aeronaut Starflyer, Airborne and Blizzard with fast track on all five, and the Coaster Pass covers five coasters with fast track on three of them. Some ride queues close up to an hour before 10pm.

The Magical Ice Kingdom

The Arctic Circle, nearest Gold Gate, is where the ice lives. This season’s Magical Ice Kingdom is Neverland, carved from more than 500 tonnes of ice and snow into hundreds of sculptures. You start in the Darling family nursery with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, pass through the Lost Boys’ camp and the mermaids’ pool, board the Jolly Roger and take on Captain Hook, with frozen slides along the way.

A walk round takes about 15 minutes and it’s kept at minus 10°C, so keep your gloves on. Pushchairs and wheelchairs can go round, under-12s need an adult with them, and you can take as many photos as you like. A donation from every ticket goes to Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.

Bar Ice

Next door, Bar Ice is a snow cave where the walls, the tables and the glass in your hand are all carved from ice. It’s kept at minus 10°C, so they hand you a parka and gloves, and a festive cocktail is included in the ticket. There’s a life-size walrus and a giant mammoth to pose with, and a DJ playing.

Sessions last 20 minutes and you need to arrive 20 minutes before yours, because late arrivals aren’t refunded. The atmosphere suits adults best. Under-18s need an adult with them, and under-12s aren’t allowed in after 7pm.

The Circus

There’s been a circus at Winter Wonderland since 2009, in the big top in Show Town, nearest Blue Gate. This season it’s the Gandeys K-Pop Dragon Circus, a 55-minute show of dragons and magic that mixes K-Pop music and dance with circus acts. Seating is warm and theatre-style, with ringside seats sold separately.

Shows start at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm, with extra 12pm and 8pm performances on some days. Get there 20 minutes early, because late entry is at the circus’s discretion. Expect flashing lights and loud music. Pushchairs can’t go inside, but there’s a buggy park for circus ticket holders.

Christmas by Candlelight

New this season, Christmas by Candlelight is a concert of singalong Christmas classics performed by West End singers, lit by candles. It runs on just six evenings, 5, 6, 11, 13, 20 and 23 December, starting at 8.30pm and lasting about an hour and a quarter.

Seats are first come, first served, so arrive 20 minutes early, and book an entry slot that gives you time to cross the site first. There are no age limits, and under-twos go free if they sit on a lap.

Santa Land and Santa’s Grotto

Santa Land, nearest Red Gate, is the corner built for younger children. Its gentle rides include the Flying Jumbos, Dragon’s Nest, the Reindeer Ride and Santa’s Runaway Train, and a Santa Land package gives unlimited goes on 16 of them. The new Spinning Racer is a family coaster with a 1.2m height limit, a good next step for children ready for something faster.

Seeing Father Christmas costs nothing beyond your entry ticket. The grotto is open every day until 6pm, first come first served, and each child gets a small gift. He’s away on Christmas Day, of course, and back from Boxing Day to 1 January to collect thank-you letters. The queue can close early on busy days, so go in the afternoon rather than leaving it until evening. Take your own photos or buy one from the official photographer.

The Bavarian Village

The Bavarian Village is Winter Wonderland’s beer garden, with wooden chalets, outdoor seating, bars and restaurants, nearest Green Gate. At its heart is the Bavarian Hall, an Oktoberfest-style beer hall with steins, bratwurst, live music, DJs and dancing.

Your entry ticket gets you into the village but doesn’t guarantee a place in the hall. On some days the hall closes at around 5pm to get ready for the evening, when it’s over-18s only from 6pm to 10pm with ID checked. The only way to be sure of a table is to book one through the Bavarian Village before you go.

The Christmas Market and Luminarie Lane

Winter Wonderland began in 2007 as an open-air Christmas market, and the market stalls are still here in Market Square, nearest Green Gate. There are street food traders too, and every bar and stall takes contactless.

Luminarie Lane, nearest Gold Gate, is the walkway under arches of lights, and the spot most people pick for a photo. Wandering the market and the lane costs nothing beyond your entry ticket. You can’t bring your own food in, apart from baby food or food for medical reasons, but sealed bottles of water and empty reusable cups are fine.

Tickets and Entry

Everyone needs a timed entry ticket, whatever their age, booked on the official Winter Wonderland tickets page. Nobody else sells it. Entry gets you in to walk round, see the lights and the market and visit Father Christmas. Rides, attractions, food and drink are paid for separately.

• Three price tiers: Off-Peak is the cheapest and covers Monday to Thursday all through November, Standard covers many mornings and afternoons, and Peak covers evenings and weekends
• Getting in free: book enough rides, attractions, a package or a meal deal in the same advance online order and the entry ticket costs nothing
• Book by 23:59 the day before: that’s when advance prices end; on the day you pay more, and popular slots may already be gone
• Children under two go in free but still need a ticket
• Packages bundle several attractions with ride credit and unlock free entry, and they’re sold online only
• Changes: tickets aren’t refundable, but you can move them to another date up to 72 hours before, for a fee

Booking fees are now included in the ticket price. If you want someone else to do the planning, the new VIP Tour Experience is an 80-minute guided tour for groups of up to six, with fast-track entry, and it runs only from 3 to 6 December.

Plan Your Visit

Insider Tips for Visiting Winter Wonderland

More Christmas in London

Winter Wonderland is one part of a London Christmas. Pair it with these.

Nearby Attractions

Winter Wonderland takes up the eastern end of Hyde Park, so a daytime walk round the rest of the park or a museum in South Kensington makes an easy first half to the day.

• Hyde Park – the rest of the royal park, with the Serpentine lake and the Diana Memorial Fountain, right outside the gates
• Kensington Palace – the royal palace at the far side of Kensington Gardens, across the park from Green Gate
• Harrods – the Knightsbridge department store, by the Hans Crescent exit of Knightsbridge station
• Natural History Museum – the free museum on Cromwell Road, in South Kensington
• Buckingham Palace – the King’s London residence, through Green Park from Hyde Park Corner

Did You Know?

It started small and has grown every year since. A few things from its history:

1. The first Winter Wonderland, in 2007, was an open-air Christmas market with a few fairground rides, the ice rink and the Giant Wheel.
2. The 2026-27 season is its 19th. The only year it didn’t happen was 2020, when it was cancelled because of the pandemic.
3. For one year only it had a log flume. Water rides in a London winter turned out to be a bit too chilly.
4. Munich Looping, the world’s largest transportable rollercoaster, arrived for the event’s 10th anniversary.
5. Money raised from events in the park goes back to The Royal Parks, the charity that looks after Hyde Park and London’s other royal parks.

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