Latest news with #LaplandUK
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lapland Manchester - how much are tickets and what do you get?
A "fully immersive" Christmas event will head to the North West for the first time this festive season with tickets on sale has run the immersive event which it says "puts families at the very heart of the action" at Swinley Forest, Ascot, since 2007.A second site will be opened this year at Capesthorne Hall near Macclesfield which is being called Lapland Manchester."We have a customer base the length of the country, it's taken us a while to work up to this. It's not a reinvention, it's a progression of the last 18 years," the creators said. When are tickets released and how much will they cost? Tickets to both events will go on sale event will run from 8 November to 24 December 2025, with tickets ranging from £60 to £195, with more premium prices for weekends, and those closer to Christmas total, 350,000 tickets will be available. From 10am BST, guests will be able to enter the virtual waiting room via LaplandUK's own ticketing platform. Each guest will then select which show they wish to attend. At midday, each guest will be allocated a random place in the queue for the show they have selected. Once they reach position one, they will have the opportunity to select their preferred date and number of tickets. What is included in the ticket price? LaplandUK is the brainchild of Alison and Mike Battle. The married couple said they gave up their jobs to create the experience after struggling to find an immersive Christmas event for their four sons when they were younger."I was very passionate about what I call 'the wonder years' of childhood which I consider to be a time of imagination before it's replaced with information," former primary school teacher Alison said."I could do lots of lovely things with our boys but the problem happened when we stepped out of the home. I didn't feel that we could find anywhere that matched this feeling of belief." The couple said the four hour experience "completely immerses" families in the belief of Father receive and invitation to Lapland from Father Christmas requesting their help in his toyshop. During the visit they make toys in the factory with the elves and bake gingerbread with Mother can also go ice skating and write their letters to Father Christmas. The journey continues until they meet Father Christmas where every child receives a toy. Why was Cheshire chosen? Cheshire East Council approved the proposal for Lapland Manchester in Cheshire said the economic impact for the area would be "enormous" and it was a "fantastic opportunity to put Cheshire in the shop window".Concerns were raised by one councillor about the impact on the green belt, but members voted to approve the scheme as they felt the financial benefits would outweigh the and Alison said they "sought far and wide" to find the right location for Lapland said although the event was based in Cheshire, they decided to name it after Manchester as it was a global name that national and international visitors would recognise."Cheshire is very beautiful, we've viewed many many properties and met with many landlords and this one just felt right," Alison said they spent 18 years perfecting the event and the North West site would have same story, narrative, characters and experience as the Ascot experience."We bring the power and creative power of the film set world to us to bring that to life," he said."Everything is largely the same, we've used the same design team. It's the integrity of what we do, the story that we tell, that is paramount to us." Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
30-01-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Capesthorne Hall: LaplandUK's second site approved in Cheshire
A Christmas event run by LaplandUK will be held in the grounds of a historical country house for the next ten years after the plan was approved by councillors. Cheshire East Council has approved the proposal for Capesthorne Hall near Macclesfield, which it said could create about 1,200 temporary jobs each already runs a "fully immersive theatrical experience" at Swinley Forest, Ascot, and the event at the Cheshire hall, which it is calling Lapland Manchester, will be the firm's second site. Marketing Cheshire said the economic impact for the area would be "enormous" and it was a "fantastic opportunity to put Cheshire in the shop window". Concerns were raised by one councillor about the impact on the green belt, but members voted to approve the scheme as they felt the financial benefits would outweigh the the meeting, Conservative councillor Stewart Gardiner said he was "not the Grinch" but that he "was not convinced the proposal was acceptable".He said he was "not convinced that the [benefits] outweigh potential harm to the green belt and the setting" of the Grade II-listed his Conservative colleague Lesley Smetham, who proposed approval of the application, said she felt it sounded "very positive"."The parish council are not objecting at all, and that's always a benefit to know the local people have confidence in what's proposed," she Labour's Heather Seddon said it would benefit the local economy, adding: "There's lots of opportunities for part-time working. "We do have a slight concern about the traffic, but I'm sure it can be overcome." Independent Hannah Moss, who seconded the proposal, said she had visited the company's current site in Ascot as a visitor."I think it'll be a huge asset to Cheshire East and bring footfall from far and wide, which I think will benefit shops, hotels and hospitality venues, and that people will make a short break of the experience if you're not local," she planning application was passed by eight votes to Marcucci, managing director of Marketing Cheshire, said the attraction choosing to open its second site in Cheshire was "a real coup" for the area."It feels like Christmas has come early for us in many senses," he said."I think local businesses and the local economy are really going to benefit from it."It's a fantastic opportunity to put Cheshire in the shop window and more of our towns and attractions in front of people to come and enjoy."He said the visitor economy was worth about £3.9bn a year to the economy of Cheshire and Warrington and supported about 38,000 site is set to open later this year. See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
29-01-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Macclesfield: Cheshire Lapland plan set to get the green light
A historic Cheshire hall could become the home of a major Christmas wants to run an event at Capesthorne Hall near Macclesfield over the festive season every year for the next company, whose main attraction is based in Ascot, said it could bring about 1,200 temporary jobs and £2.5m to the local economy each East Council has recommended the plan for approval, with planners due to make a decision on Wednesday. LaplandUK said the event would run from the beginning of November until Christmas Eve each year. It added that about 170,000 went to the one at Swinley Forest, Ascot, each year and it cost about £19.5m to a report, planning officers said the economic benefits represented very special circumstances that "clearly outweigh the harm to the green belt and heritage assets" at the Grade II*-listed country house. See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
