Princes Quay Shopping Centre, Kingston Upon Hull

Went to the PQ express today. My daughter is 7. We pre booked so only waited 10 minutes. I have to say from start to finish it was fantastic. The train conductor was as excited as my daughter the ‘ train ride ‘ was so magical. The Elf’s in the activity room was so lovely and chatted away to my daughter who was very excited when her number ticket was called out. Then Santa himself was great she chatted away he asked her all sorts he was funny and friendly shaking our hands and high fiving Eva as we left. She hasn’t stopped talking about it 1 very happy little girl

UPDATE: I have changed my rating to five stars today, not for the PQ Express, but for Marcus Heald, who works for Princes Quay Customer Services, I had a bad experience on 1st December and complained to Tony from Agility Events, who promised me the earth and delivered nothing. I reviewed on here and Marcus contacted me - what a lovely, professional man, he was new to his job and he has worked hard to solve the issues I had - he is a definite asset to the Princes Quay!





I originally left a 1 star rating for this experience - On Friday 1st December I brought my 5 year-old daughter for supper with Santa, we arrived at 5.50pm and joined the queue for the PQ Express. At 6pm the doors opened and we were allowed in, my daughter, went to queue for a balloon animal while I confirmed our booking.



After about 5 mins, an announcement was made to say the train had arrived, slowly the queue moved until we were only behind a couple with two children. The conductor then, told the couple the train was full and we would be boarding soon. We then waited a further 40 minutes before we boarded the train, during this time other people were taken through and we were told they were only seeing Santa! Eventually, after waiting an unacceptable length of time with an over excited 5 year-old, Type One Diabetic we went through.



When we arrived at 'The North Pole' we were ushered through only to see Santa leaving the tiny dining area, we were encouraged to go for face painting and my daughter then went into see Santa. When we came out, I was anxious that my daughter needed to eat, we went to the food which had been well picked through and no plates or napkins, I asked a staff member to be told they had run out of plates. She went off to find something, she came back with a plain white thermal plate and no napkins - we then had to find somewhere to sit in the middle of dirty, discarded plates of food. My daughter was then offered a fruit shoot or water as they had run out of juice cartons. After she had finished her food muffins and cookies were offered, they had run out of cookies by the time they got to our table. Santa then came out for a brief chat (5 mins at most) before returning to the grotto to see the rest of the children. My daughter was then really tired so we left. I am really upset that this experience was spoilt for her, she was so excited that she was going to have supper with Santa and it was such a disappointment - no games, no Mrs Clause, no supper with Santa, no story time, just a total disappointment. I spoke to Tony from Agility Events on Saturday 2nd December, who was full of apologies, I confirmed the details of the shambles in an e-mail and I've heard nothing, no refund, no free visit, no vouchers for the centre, nothing. Just added insult to injury, a total CON not what you expect from a major shopping centre!!!

This is for the polar express, took my friends little girl and she absolutely loved it. Santa was great, talked to her and really made her believe in all the magic. We took her after school so it wasn't busy and we managed to get through really quickly. Will recommend to friends

This is a review of the PQ SANTA EXPRESS experience - sorry to read below some of the negative experiences people have had - but I wanted to reassure future people that the problems seems to have been rectified. We turned up ( not pre booked) on Sunday 26th Nov around 12:30 - we joined the inside queue and collected our golden train ticket, we were told the number on the ticket related to the number in which we would be called to see Santa �. After around 10/15 min wait we were moved into the ‘train ‘ room and started the journey to the North Pole , then we were ushered into the Elves � room, where there were activity sheets and colour in sheets ( agreed with someone else’s comment that a fresh pack of pens would be good as some were dried out, broken bibs etc !) and there was an xmas movie � playing (Home Alone - fab choice) it was a little crowded in there, then we were called in to see Santa �. Now I must comment that this Santa was fab, realistic looking, asked the kids ages , names, what they wanted to get for Xmas, stay on the good list, leave him a mince pie out and then we had a pic taken. Through to the end where we chose a good pic and had it made into an xmas tree decoration for a good memory piece. All in all cost £19.50 - well worth it, we had a lovely time ! Would def recommend and hopefully it’s there again next year .

(On a side note my 7 year old did pick up on the fact that because they Hadley such a big deal about us ‘getting the train and travelling to the North Pole to see Santa- that once we left the grotto she said “how are we going to get back to Hull “ !!!!! As we were just kind of told to go through the door and then that’s the exit / paying area !!! ��

Santa very engaging, my son thought it was hilarious that he was dabbing � The good list app and fidget spinner made Santa up to date and cool to my son and a lovely experience all round. The "train" journey at the beginning added to the experience too and staff very helpful.

Had a great day shopping here on Saturday. Was gutted to have won £15 to spend on a scratch card at 4.10pm to be told to go back in half an hour to claim my voucher but our bus was leaving at 4.30pm. Managed to find a nice lady to give it to who lives in Hull, hope she managed to get something nice. Maybe one of the few empty shops could be turned into cafes as we felt this is something the shopping centre lacked. Apart from that it was a great day ��

Today I took my 4year old daughter to visit The PQ Express. We were first seen by the ticket man who give my daughter her individual ticket with her name on. We then waited to board the train (if im honest it isn't as good as I thought it would've been) however we went on our trip to the NorthPole & entered the Elves workshop where we were welcomed by 2 very friendly Elves. My daughter was taken aback a little but this didnt stop her colouring the pictures left for children to colour (I even had a turn colouring whilst waiting) we were then taken into another room where Santa was sat waiting. Santa was also brilliant he made my daughter feel very comfortable & at ease as she gets very shy. He was very chatty & polite. My daughter loved her present which she received (a jigsaw perfect for her age) I would recommend to friends & family. Merry Christmas everyone xx

I must have been one of the only people to enjoy the polar express. My 2 daughters (she 2 and 10 loved it)

The idea of it was fantastic. And a lot of effort is made by the staff to make it magical. Staff even took there time to pose for photos and interact with the children. We was one of the first ones there on the day so was in straight away. Took around 15 mins from start to finish.

Santa and his room was fantastic. He spent about 5 mins talking to girls and asking what they want, and how they have behaved. He was even talking to my daughter about all the different paw patrol characters.



Only 2 let downs is the price and the gift. My daughter got a book designed for a baby and she is nearly 3, the other got juggling balls. Also £6 seemed a bit steep for what you got (however I’m happy paying that because I know all proceeds go to charity)



After reading everyone else’s reviews I’m thinking it is better if you book it for when it first opens to avoid queues

Polar express was a bag of mixed feelings. Almost 2 hours wait, which we endured patiently, knowing it would be worth it. The Train Conductor was lovely, and the "ride" was decent enough. However, we were in the craft area less than 2 minutes, so didn't get to write letters or do anything, and Santa greeted my children with "Hey, how you doing?"!!!!!! No Christmas cheer, and certainly no Christmas spirit. Really let down after all the hype and wait. The presents were decent, but in all honesty, the experience wasn't worth 2 hours �

went to vue. got there early. no seating unless you pay for ticket first. sat on the next floor down in seating area and got told to move on! what the hell is the point of seating areas!!!

Review for the PQ express, ok for £6 per child you expect not to expect a Tom hanks look a like for the rip off of the polar express lol but...



At least hire staff that look remotely interested in the children Waiting, have them interact, sing songs.... do I dare say SMILE? The "ticket" people didn't even crack a smile once and spent most of the time slouched over the ticket booth gossiping to each other, 3 ticket staff not one showed any interest to the kids. They came round with chocolate from a tub whilst we were waiting looking like they were at a wake. Even my daughter who's 8 noticed how sad they looked.



The female conductor was lovely! She was spot On! Give her a bonus! But it was a brief encounter before we were ushered into a room with really miserable elves who literally kept slamming the colouring sheets down on the desk.



You ask on you're advertisement for people to be Santa's elves, when looking for staff online. But you couldn't have failed in hiring the most unhappy team of people!



I literally felt like shaking some Christmas spirit into your staff.



Remember children PAYING children think you are the REAL deal! Hire staff that won't ruin that.



The overall experience was poor and I wouldn't recomend anyone go. I think if the staff acted like elves and not hungover university students the whole experience would have been bearable.



Even the kids left disappointed

My Mum and I Went to see the maze with my Niece and my Nephew . They loved the maze and free sweets. However the customer service was terrible. A male member of staff shouted at my Niece as she fell into the table. He shouted saying don't push the table. As he had his head down he didn't see that in fact my Niece fell. My Mum told the man that my Niece had fallen and not pushed the table. The man didn't ask if my Niece was okay. He just gave us a dirty look. As we turned to walk away a Lovely young man from Hamleys asked if my Niece was okay. Thank you to him!

The man from princess quay however started to whisper to the women also another member if staff whilst looking at us. When we walked past he went quiet. I have emailed about this situation and been robbed off saying that the member of staff was really busy that day and doesn't remember this. The staff are basically denying it. Why would we lie? I'm not happy been called a lier. So therefore I thought I'd share my bad customer service with you in this review. All I got was an apology but yet it didn't happen? What's that all about?

Not good I hope that no one experiences what me my mum niece and nephew did. He had no right to shout at my Niece for falling she did nothing wrong! Luckily my Niece is now okay and hadn't hurt herself.

Karen B

This review is for the polar express/meeting Santa which I can say i am really disappointed, we pre booked for 5pm didn’t get on the pq until half 6 cus they was a technical issue. Which I kind of thought ok cAnt be helped, we got off the pq and went into the the little room to do activity’s while waiting for Santa. Peoples numbers where getting called out (we wasn’t giving a number as we had pre booked) so when I asked the “elf” he said oh you need to just go stand at the door now. So we could of been sat there for hours. When we finally got through to Santa the first thing he said was “hello shall we get a picture” after the picture the “elf” asked how old my daughter was, when I told her she said oh sorry we have ran out of presents for that age (even though I had put her age in on the Internet when I pre booked) so she had to have an older gift which luckily was just colouring book. After the present was handed the elf said “right Santa I will go see if there is some magic dust to get them back to hull” didn’t ask what she wanted for Xmas or anything I had to say about her leaving him a cookie and some milk and a carrot for Rudolph. They just wanted us out the room was very rushed and felt like all the workers just wanted to get home. My daughter is 2 and a half and when we left she said “he didn’t even say ho ho ho” even she knew what a let down it was. It’s a shame because the whole getting on the train was good and exciting and she loved it, just very badly organised. And the experience meeting Santa needs to be better!!

Polar express review!! ���

Very disappointed in this experience, would not recommend this experience to anybody, far better places to go and spend ur money.

Santa's workshop was pathetic, just a room with no xmassy atmosphere at all, they only had an activity sheet with a cross word n wordsearch on, totally not catering for children of all ages.

You go on a train ride to the north pole which was of average production and then you don't have a ride back from the north pole you just walk out back into prince's Quay, what sort of experience is that for the kids. Luckily my 3yr old didn't question it but for older children I wouldn't know how to explain that we went to the north pole of a train n then just randomly arrived back in the shopping centre.

On summary I really don't know what I paid £6 for.

Don't waste ur time going to this, would look elsewhere for a santa experience.

Polar Express at Princes Quay was a complete let down! Was told 1hr to queue until we would get in the experience. Fair enough! My 5yr old daughter was happy to wait. She just wanted to see Santa. 1 hour 20 minutes later...finally get to the front for all staff to disappear and when they finally come back to be told another 15 minutes to wait til we could go in. 15 minutes after that to then be told only the 1st 3 families would be going in (we were family 5 of 6) I had no other choice but to leave with a very upset 5 year old. Queue management was virtually non existant...staff were barely visible apart from when offering the odd chocolate. Nearly 2 hours queing...no staff to complain to as they werent there and the time i will not get back. I understand these places get busy but if they had correctly advised of queing times to begin with I wouldnt be so angry right now!

If anybody is thinking of visiting the Santa's Grotto here this year I wouldn't waste your time. Bought tickets online to avoid queues and it was over an hour after our booking time before we got in. There was no apologises from staff, the elves were appalling and didn't even make an effort to speak to the children! One elf wasn't even polite enough to hold the door open for me and my sister who both had prams. No sooner had we got in, we were rushed out. My daughter was left devastated. We then had to que for a further 15 minutes to look at our photos. The photo quality was shocking! The flash blinded my children's faces and it was zoomed to far out to see them clearly. Been my sons first Father Christmas experience I bought the photos and for my sister and her son, (thank god they won't be able to remember next year). I then sent a through email with everything we endured now over a week ago, was advised I would be given a full refund for both my tickets and photos I purchased yet I'm still waiting! Appalling service!

I'm actually really angry at what happened at the polar express,I took my three girls to see Santa they were really excited couldn't wait well I wish I hadn't bothered!! First it was over an hour wait to get through to the train then straight into another room to do some drawing with oh yeah no elfs except one who was calling out numbers,waited in there a long time again them finally we get to go through... we see Santa only he says come here let's take a picture,ok now here's an extremely cheap usesles present... and that was it out we go to pay �� my kids then got really upset asking why Santa didn't ask them any questions or even wish my daughter happy birthday not a word to them,so thank you so much for ruining this experience for them you bunch of money grabbing ****** I walked out and warned a few people who walked away good for them... avoid!! At all costs it's absolutely crap... Yeah also I want my money back.

I took my two girls 4 and 1 to see SANTA on Monday. What a waste of money firstly I was made to wait an hour in a room with a few pictures for the children to colour in. How can you colour in with felt tips pens that don't work and crayons that are very blunt. Secondly people kept coming in who had booked on line and had vip tickets so they got sent through before me. The lady's dressed as Elfs were very polite but the set up was rubbish.my daughter was happy to finally see SANTA but we was discussed at the presents. A colouring in book with a smaller one and pencils. Probably from pound land and and rubber duck for the youngest. 18.50 for that and a photo of 3 hungry people with santa. Thanks again for the experience

I don’t usually leave reviews or like complaining but I’m extremely disappointed with the polar express at Princess Quay. We booked our two littles ones to see Santa for the Friday slot at 5.45. When we arrived with our excited kids we was told there had been a problem with the on line booking and it was only dinner with Santa at this time. They was fully booked and we shouldn’t have been able to book at this time. The kids had been looking forward to seeing Santa all day and now we had to tell them this wasn’t going to happen. We was told the only thing we could do was ring the number on the website (which they didn’t know) and ask for another slot or refund. By this time it was 5.50pm the website said it closed at 6pm. I rang but couldn’t get through. We rang again today and an answer phone message said they were only open mon-fri (website says they are open Sat) We are still unsure if we will get our money back and having read the other reviews we certainly don’t want another time slot!!

Went to the PQ express today. My daughter is 7. We pre booked so only waited 10 minutes. I have to say from start to finish it was fantastic. The train conductor was as excited as my daughter the ‘ train ride ‘ was so magical. The Elf’s in the activity room was so lovely and chatted away to my daughter who was very excited when her number ticket was called out. Then Santa himself was great she chatted away he asked her all sorts he was funny and friendly shaking our hands and high fiving Eva as we left. She hasn’t stopped talking about it 1 very happy little girl

UPDATE: I have changed my rating to five stars today, not for the PQ Express, but for Marcus Heald, who works for Princes Quay Customer Services, I had a bad experience on 1st December and complained to Tony from Agility Events, who promised me the earth and delivered nothing. I reviewed on here and Marcus contacted me - what a lovely, professional man, he was new to his job and he has worked hard to solve the issues I had - he is a definite asset to the Princes Quay!





I originally left a 1 star rating for this experience - On Friday 1st December I brought my 5 year-old daughter for supper with Santa, we arrived at 5.50pm and joined the queue for the PQ Express. At 6pm the doors opened and we were allowed in, my daughter, went to queue for a balloon animal while I confirmed our booking.



After about 5 mins, an announcement was made to say the train had arrived, slowly the queue moved until we were only behind a couple with two children. The conductor then, told the couple the train was full and we would be boarding soon. We then waited a further 40 minutes before we boarded the train, during this time other people were taken through and we were told they were only seeing Santa! Eventually, after waiting an unacceptable length of time with an over excited 5 year-old, Type One Diabetic we went through.



When we arrived at 'The North Pole' we were ushered through only to see Santa leaving the tiny dining area, we were encouraged to go for face painting and my daughter then went into see Santa. When we came out, I was anxious that my daughter needed to eat, we went to the food which had been well picked through and no plates or napkins, I asked a staff member to be told they had run out of plates. She went off to find something, she came back with a plain white thermal plate and no napkins - we then had to find somewhere to sit in the middle of dirty, discarded plates of food. My daughter was then offered a fruit shoot or water as they had run out of juice cartons. After she had finished her food muffins and cookies were offered, they had run out of cookies by the time they got to our table. Santa then came out for a brief chat (5 mins at most) before returning to the grotto to see the rest of the children. My daughter was then really tired so we left. I am really upset that this experience was spoilt for her, she was so excited that she was going to have supper with Santa and it was such a disappointment - no games, no Mrs Clause, no supper with Santa, no story time, just a total disappointment. I spoke to Tony from Agility Events on Saturday 2nd December, who was full of apologies, I confirmed the details of the shambles in an e-mail and I've heard nothing, no refund, no free visit, no vouchers for the centre, nothing. Just added insult to injury, a total CON not what you expect from a major shopping centre!!!

This is for the polar express, took my friends little girl and she absolutely loved it. Santa was great, talked to her and really made her believe in all the magic. We took her after school so it wasn't busy and we managed to get through really quickly. Will recommend to friends

This is a review of the PQ SANTA EXPRESS experience - sorry to read below some of the negative experiences people have had - but I wanted to reassure future people that the problems seems to have been rectified. We turned up ( not pre booked) on Sunday 26th Nov around 12:30 - we joined the inside queue and collected our golden train ticket, we were told the number on the ticket related to the number in which we would be called to see Santa �. After around 10/15 min wait we were moved into the ‘train ‘ room and started the journey to the North Pole , then we were ushered into the Elves � room, where there were activity sheets and colour in sheets ( agreed with someone else’s comment that a fresh pack of pens would be good as some were dried out, broken bibs etc !) and there was an xmas movie � playing (Home Alone - fab choice) it was a little crowded in there, then we were called in to see Santa �. Now I must comment that this Santa was fab, realistic looking, asked the kids ages , names, what they wanted to get for Xmas, stay on the good list, leave him a mince pie out and then we had a pic taken. Through to the end where we chose a good pic and had it made into an xmas tree decoration for a good memory piece. All in all cost £19.50 - well worth it, we had a lovely time ! Would def recommend and hopefully it’s there again next year .

(On a side note my 7 year old did pick up on the fact that because they Hadley such a big deal about us ‘getting the train and travelling to the North Pole to see Santa- that once we left the grotto she said “how are we going to get back to Hull “ !!!!! As we were just kind of told to go through the door and then that’s the exit / paying area !!! ��

Santa very engaging, my son thought it was hilarious that he was dabbing � The good list app and fidget spinner made Santa up to date and cool to my son and a lovely experience all round. The "train" journey at the beginning added to the experience too and staff very helpful.

Had a great day shopping here on Saturday. Was gutted to have won £15 to spend on a scratch card at 4.10pm to be told to go back in half an hour to claim my voucher but our bus was leaving at 4.30pm. Managed to find a nice lady to give it to who lives in Hull, hope she managed to get something nice. Maybe one of the few empty shops could be turned into cafes as we felt this is something the shopping centre lacked. Apart from that it was a great day ��

Today I took my 4year old daughter to visit The PQ Express. We were first seen by the ticket man who give my daughter her individual ticket with her name on. We then waited to board the train (if im honest it isn't as good as I thought it would've been) however we went on our trip to the NorthPole & entered the Elves workshop where we were welcomed by 2 very friendly Elves. My daughter was taken aback a little but this didnt stop her colouring the pictures left for children to colour (I even had a turn colouring whilst waiting) we were then taken into another room where Santa was sat waiting. Santa was also brilliant he made my daughter feel very comfortable & at ease as she gets very shy. He was very chatty & polite. My daughter loved her present which she received (a jigsaw perfect for her age) I would recommend to friends & family. Merry Christmas everyone xx

I must have been one of the only people to enjoy the polar express. My 2 daughters (she 2 and 10 loved it)

The idea of it was fantastic. And a lot of effort is made by the staff to make it magical. Staff even took there time to pose for photos and interact with the children. We was one of the first ones there on the day so was in straight away. Took around 15 mins from start to finish.

Santa and his room was fantastic. He spent about 5 mins talking to girls and asking what they want, and how they have behaved. He was even talking to my daughter about all the different paw patrol characters.



Only 2 let downs is the price and the gift. My daughter got a book designed for a baby and she is nearly 3, the other got juggling balls. Also £6 seemed a bit steep for what you got (however I’m happy paying that because I know all proceeds go to charity)



After reading everyone else’s reviews I’m thinking it is better if you book it for when it first opens to avoid queues

Polar express was a bag of mixed feelings. Almost 2 hours wait, which we endured patiently, knowing it would be worth it. The Train Conductor was lovely, and the "ride" was decent enough. However, we were in the craft area less than 2 minutes, so didn't get to write letters or do anything, and Santa greeted my children with "Hey, how you doing?"!!!!!! No Christmas cheer, and certainly no Christmas spirit. Really let down after all the hype and wait. The presents were decent, but in all honesty, the experience wasn't worth 2 hours �

went to vue. got there early. no seating unless you pay for ticket first. sat on the next floor down in seating area and got told to move on! what the hell is the point of seating areas!!!

Review for the PQ express, ok for £6 per child you expect not to expect a Tom hanks look a like for the rip off of the polar express lol but...



At least hire staff that look remotely interested in the children Waiting, have them interact, sing songs.... do I dare say SMILE? The "ticket" people didn't even crack a smile once and spent most of the time slouched over the ticket booth gossiping to each other, 3 ticket staff not one showed any interest to the kids. They came round with chocolate from a tub whilst we were waiting looking like they were at a wake. Even my daughter who's 8 noticed how sad they looked.



The female conductor was lovely! She was spot On! Give her a bonus! But it was a brief encounter before we were ushered into a room with really miserable elves who literally kept slamming the colouring sheets down on the desk.



You ask on you're advertisement for people to be Santa's elves, when looking for staff online. But you couldn't have failed in hiring the most unhappy team of people!



I literally felt like shaking some Christmas spirit into your staff.



Remember children PAYING children think you are the REAL deal! Hire staff that won't ruin that.



The overall experience was poor and I wouldn't recomend anyone go. I think if the staff acted like elves and not hungover university students the whole experience would have been bearable.



Even the kids left disappointed

My Mum and I Went to see the maze with my Niece and my Nephew . They loved the maze and free sweets. However the customer service was terrible. A male member of staff shouted at my Niece as she fell into the table. He shouted saying don't push the table. As he had his head down he didn't see that in fact my Niece fell. My Mum told the man that my Niece had fallen and not pushed the table. The man didn't ask if my Niece was okay. He just gave us a dirty look. As we turned to walk away a Lovely young man from Hamleys asked if my Niece was okay. Thank you to him!

The man from princess quay however started to whisper to the women also another member if staff whilst looking at us. When we walked past he went quiet. I have emailed about this situation and been robbed off saying that the member of staff was really busy that day and doesn't remember this. The staff are basically denying it. Why would we lie? I'm not happy been called a lier. So therefore I thought I'd share my bad customer service with you in this review. All I got was an apology but yet it didn't happen? What's that all about?

Not good I hope that no one experiences what me my mum niece and nephew did. He had no right to shout at my Niece for falling she did nothing wrong! Luckily my Niece is now okay and hadn't hurt herself.

Karen B

This review is for the polar express/meeting Santa which I can say i am really disappointed, we pre booked for 5pm didn’t get on the pq until half 6 cus they was a technical issue. Which I kind of thought ok cAnt be helped, we got off the pq and went into the the little room to do activity’s while waiting for Santa. Peoples numbers where getting called out (we wasn’t giving a number as we had pre booked) so when I asked the “elf” he said oh you need to just go stand at the door now. So we could of been sat there for hours. When we finally got through to Santa the first thing he said was “hello shall we get a picture” after the picture the “elf” asked how old my daughter was, when I told her she said oh sorry we have ran out of presents for that age (even though I had put her age in on the Internet when I pre booked) so she had to have an older gift which luckily was just colouring book. After the present was handed the elf said “right Santa I will go see if there is some magic dust to get them back to hull” didn’t ask what she wanted for Xmas or anything I had to say about her leaving him a cookie and some milk and a carrot for Rudolph. They just wanted us out the room was very rushed and felt like all the workers just wanted to get home. My daughter is 2 and a half and when we left she said “he didn’t even say ho ho ho” even she knew what a let down it was. It’s a shame because the whole getting on the train was good and exciting and she loved it, just very badly organised. And the experience meeting Santa needs to be better!!

Polar express review!! ���

Very disappointed in this experience, would not recommend this experience to anybody, far better places to go and spend ur money.

Santa's workshop was pathetic, just a room with no xmassy atmosphere at all, they only had an activity sheet with a cross word n wordsearch on, totally not catering for children of all ages.

You go on a train ride to the north pole which was of average production and then you don't have a ride back from the north pole you just walk out back into prince's Quay, what sort of experience is that for the kids. Luckily my 3yr old didn't question it but for older children I wouldn't know how to explain that we went to the north pole of a train n then just randomly arrived back in the shopping centre.

On summary I really don't know what I paid £6 for.

Don't waste ur time going to this, would look elsewhere for a santa experience.

Polar Express at Princes Quay was a complete let down! Was told 1hr to queue until we would get in the experience. Fair enough! My 5yr old daughter was happy to wait. She just wanted to see Santa. 1 hour 20 minutes later...finally get to the front for all staff to disappear and when they finally come back to be told another 15 minutes to wait til we could go in. 15 minutes after that to then be told only the 1st 3 families would be going in (we were family 5 of 6) I had no other choice but to leave with a very upset 5 year old. Queue management was virtually non existant...staff were barely visible apart from when offering the odd chocolate. Nearly 2 hours queing...no staff to complain to as they werent there and the time i will not get back. I understand these places get busy but if they had correctly advised of queing times to begin with I wouldnt be so angry right now!

If anybody is thinking of visiting the Santa's Grotto here this year I wouldn't waste your time. Bought tickets online to avoid queues and it was over an hour after our booking time before we got in. There was no apologises from staff, the elves were appalling and didn't even make an effort to speak to the children! One elf wasn't even polite enough to hold the door open for me and my sister who both had prams. No sooner had we got in, we were rushed out. My daughter was left devastated. We then had to que for a further 15 minutes to look at our photos. The photo quality was shocking! The flash blinded my children's faces and it was zoomed to far out to see them clearly. Been my sons first Father Christmas experience I bought the photos and for my sister and her son, (thank god they won't be able to remember next year). I then sent a through email with everything we endured now over a week ago, was advised I would be given a full refund for both my tickets and photos I purchased yet I'm still waiting! Appalling service!

I'm actually really angry at what happened at the polar express,I took my three girls to see Santa they were really excited couldn't wait well I wish I hadn't bothered!! First it was over an hour wait to get through to the train then straight into another room to do some drawing with oh yeah no elfs except one who was calling out numbers,waited in there a long time again them finally we get to go through... we see Santa only he says come here let's take a picture,ok now here's an extremely cheap usesles present... and that was it out we go to pay �� my kids then got really upset asking why Santa didn't ask them any questions or even wish my daughter happy birthday not a word to them,so thank you so much for ruining this experience for them you bunch of money grabbing ****** I walked out and warned a few people who walked away good for them... avoid!! At all costs it's absolutely crap... Yeah also I want my money back.

I took my two girls 4 and 1 to see SANTA on Monday. What a waste of money firstly I was made to wait an hour in a room with a few pictures for the children to colour in. How can you colour in with felt tips pens that don't work and crayons that are very blunt. Secondly people kept coming in who had booked on line and had vip tickets so they got sent through before me. The lady's dressed as Elfs were very polite but the set up was rubbish.my daughter was happy to finally see SANTA but we was discussed at the presents. A colouring in book with a smaller one and pencils. Probably from pound land and and rubber duck for the youngest. 18.50 for that and a photo of 3 hungry people with santa. Thanks again for the experience

I don’t usually leave reviews or like complaining but I’m extremely disappointed with the polar express at Princess Quay. We booked our two littles ones to see Santa for the Friday slot at 5.45. When we arrived with our excited kids we was told there had been a problem with the on line booking and it was only dinner with Santa at this time. They was fully booked and we shouldn’t have been able to book at this time. The kids had been looking forward to seeing Santa all day and now we had to tell them this wasn’t going to happen. We was told the only thing we could do was ring the number on the website (which they didn’t know) and ask for another slot or refund. By this time it was 5.50pm the website said it closed at 6pm. I rang but couldn’t get through. We rang again today and an answer phone message said they were only open mon-fri (website says they are open Sat) We are still unsure if we will get our money back and having read the other reviews we certainly don’t want another time slot!!