LONDON -- A Christmas wonderland has been forced to close after hundreds of people took to social media insisting it wasn't that wonderful after all.
The Magical Journey, at The Belfry hotel in Sutton Coldfield, was created with TV interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and promised a magical day out.
A "truly incredible and extraordinary development" and "an entertainment production the likes of which has not been seen before in the UK", it saw the surrounding woodland undergo an "extravagant and enchanting fairytale metamorphosis", offering an immersive theatrical version of Santa's Grotto.
However, early visitors experienced something different, and branded the show - which costs up to £22.50 ($35) per child - a rip off. Disgruntled visitors complained of unfinished displays, workmen smoking cigarettes, a dangerous train and cheap presents.
“The enchanted forest was a walk through some trees next to a noisy dual carriageway," one said, while another was particularly annoyed about an elf version of Simon Cowell.
Another elf called Figgy Tinselbottom tried to calm the situation down, but guests insisted they'd rather hear back from a human being.
The Magical Journey was forced to close after just one day, and will re-open Wednesday.
THE MAGICAL JOUNREY IS CLOSED FOR IMPROVEMENTS all affected have been emailed.— The Magical Journey (@TMagicalJourney) November 23, 2014
"Following our opening this weekend, we have taken our customer feedback seriously and this, combined with the recent weather conditions, has resulted in us taking the difficult decision to temporarily close The Magical Journey," organisers said in a statement.
The attraction's social media posts made it look quite promising ahead of the weekend.
It's OPEN! Who is going on @LlewelynBowen 's @TMagicalJourney @TheBelfryHotel ?— Birmingham Mail (@birminghammail) Date of tweet in following style: August 30, 2013
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What's that? Baby Rudi? #magicaljourney #themagicaljourney #thebelfry A video posted by The Magical Journey (@themagicaljourney) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:32am PST
The reality, though, seemed somewhat less exciting.
@TMagicalJourney is this really magical?? You should be ashamed, my girl is so disappointed - how do I get a refund? — Sally Steadman (@sallyslopit) November 22, 2014
Llewelyn-Bowen revealed his aim for the attraction ahead of the opening. “One of the things I was really keen to do was to liberate Christmas from the red and white, corporate, American cliches," he said. "I think what we’ve done here is something that visitors can create a really personal relationship with. I think people are going to walk away from it having made memories."