Australian Christmas Village Dubbed ‘Fyre Festival Of Santa Events' Gets Shut Down

A South Australian Christmas event for kids has been shut down after major complaints were lodged.

Santa's Winter Village at Colonnades shopping centre in Adelaide was dubbed the 'Fyre Festival of Santa events' when picture of the grim festive decorations were uploaded to Facebook.

A page for the event said people would be able to enjoy a 'polar express train ride on a snowy trail through an enchanted forest', a 'giant candy land game' and an 'amazing maze'.

It added: "This event will be a truly unique white Christmas to remember."

Either there was an 'over promise, under deliver' attitude or someone was really reaching when they were describing what was going to be on offer.

Instead of the enchanted forest polar express ride, there was a mobility scooter that somehow would have pulled three sleighs full of kids.

Instead of an amazing maze, there were event barricades dressed in colourful tinsel.

And instead of a giant candy land game, there was a foam walkway with lampshades propped up on sticks to represent lollipops.

One parent, who was initially denied a refund, posted: "Looking at the photos all you see is cheap and tacky Christmas decorations, so very disappointed."

Another person wrote: "A furious mum posted today about how a ticketed 'Santa's Winter Village' event in Noarlunga, South Australia is a scam, warning other parents away. She's right. Check her photos. It looks like the Fyre Festival of kid's Santa events."

But some people claimed to have enjoyed the event, with one person writing on social media: "My kids actually had a ball. I can definitely see... how it may have come across tacky, but I also appreciate the effort that was put in without huge funding or help to put the event together."

Another added: "Maybe the pricing needs to be adjusted but all in all we loved it."

However, as a result of the complaints, the event has been cancelled.

In a statement published by the ABC, the Colonnades shopping centre said: "We've listened to our customers and, we agree, Santa's Winter Village does not meet the expectations of our customers, the broader community or our team at Colonnades and we apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience this has caused.

"We have arranged with the team at the Ice Skating Edge to close Santa's Winter Village today, stop selling tickets to the event and arrange refunds for those who have been disappointed by the event."

Featured Image Credit: Facebook

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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