Few scrooges to spoil fun for Kildare Santa

If you're an adult hoping to re-create the magic of a childhood Christmas for yourself, Santa's Kingdom will be a disappointment. If you're hoping to entertain the children for a few hours, it's a sure-fire winner.

The reactions of some people to the theme park at Goff's, however, suggest they booked their tickets in the same spirit they might buy a train set, with unrealistically high hopes of sharing the fun.

On the other hand, grown-ups pay the same admission fee as children, which is hardly fair. A whopping £22.50 each at the weekends, it's questionable whether even the kids can get full value for money at that rate, never mind their parents.

But yesterday, when admission was a mere £12.75, rising to £17.50 after 4 p.m., there were no complaints from anyone, and general puzzlement at the criticisms on Monday's radio programmes. The organisers admit there were initial "teething problems," particularly with queues. Of a representative sample of people questioned by this newspaper, however, a good time was had by all.

If you haven't already booked your tickets, this may be academic. The season is sold out, with the 7,000 capacity filled for each day until December 23rd, and tickets already changing hands for up to £100 in Buy and Sell. The Santa theme park has been such a success in its first foray outside Finland that the Irish promoters are already planning to take it to the UK and Germany next year.

The experience starts weakly and improves. The magic shuttle which "flies" visitors into the park is everything you might hope for in a real flight with a budget airline: short and uneventful. An ice cave with polar bears wearing Coca Cola scarves doesn't raise hopes either. But once you're in Santa's village, the entertainment level rises. The toy factory and Santa's house are big hits with the smaller ticket holders. And with the snow-play area, the experience takes off. Especially the ice slide, which was popular with children as old as 50.

This reporter's three-year-old was completely won over. But young teenagers were enjoying themselves too, while those somewhere in between probably enjoyed it most. Sheena Kinsella, one of a group of women from Limerick, thought so. "It's great for children on the verge of not believing. You could see their faces lighting up in Santa's house. It made him real again."