The Magical Journey Closure, Rights for customers

Christmas is all about festive cheer and happiness, making memories and enjoying the heartfelt glee of your children.  Unfortunately many families have woken up this morning to some very upsetting news that ‘the magical journey’ has closed with immediate effect leaving heartbroken children and highly disappointed families.  As the company posted last night that a major financial backer has pulled out and closing in such a manner it is likely that they have been declared bankrupt so this could see many families out of pocket.  Below I have provided what the position will be for those family affected.

As the company no longer have any funds, any claims will have to directly through your bank. Prior to closing their Facebook page the company were directing people to this page about chargeback.  Chargeback was introduced to help consumers who are left in the position that they had paid for a service / product, but due to no fault of their own, they do not receive the products so the consumers were given some powers to try and reclaim the money back from their bank.  The position is slightly different in the case where you have used debit or credit cards.

If you have paid with your debit card, you need to ring up your respective banks and explain the situation. They will either send you a form you need to complete or may ask you to issue a letter of chargeback.  There is a template here for families that require it.  The bank will then try and get the money back from the company.  Following on from the event, lots of people have been told different things from the banks that they have spoken to, so its worth having all your details of your booking, when payment was taken to hand to help with these discussions.

If you have spent below £100, you are in the same position as if you had used your debit card.  However, if yu have paid more than £100 you have extra protection under section 75 of consumer credit act.  This means that you are able to make a claim against your credit card company and usually means there is a more successful outcome to your claims.

For many parents though, the fact they have very disappointed children will be on their minds in addition to being “out of pocket”.  So we have put together a list of possible alternatives to the magical journey to help families find a a magical day out for them to enjoy with their children.

The attraction located in Tamworth sounds great.  It’s an indoor snow experience (with real snow)  offering a range of activities from skiing lessons to tobogganing.  They currently have a winter wonderland event which includes playing and sliding around in real snow as you explore Santa’s Christmas snow trail with it’s huge slide! There is an enchanted forest, snow tubes, santa himself, a special show and reindeers too! Sounds like a great day but availability is limited, book here.

Thomas Land sounds a lot of fun for
younger childen.  The grounds are decorated with hundreds of twinkling lights, 21 rides for visitors to enjoy and meet Santa in the castle of dreams.  The day closes with fireworks.  Sounds a lovely ideal day out with a mixture of rides, Christmas fun and fireworks for a fab day.  Further details and booking here.  Our friends at Mini Travellers went to the Christmas event a few weeks ago and their review is here

I just came across this experoence today whilst looking for alternatives for families.  It sounds great and a very unique Christmas experience for all the family.  Clearwell Caves are natural caves located in the forest of Dean and there is lots of undergrounds passageways connecting the huge caverns.  This year as part of the Christmas event includes ‘the perfect christmas tree’.  I think the event sounds great, unique and would be lasting memories for the kids.  Details on the event and how to book can be found here.  I have been looking for reviews and found some very good and some not so good ones here on TripAdvisor.

Twinlakes Winter Wonderland Park in  Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, offers the perfect day out for the whole family this winter. They have loads of family focused attractions from The Running Bear Summit Plummet sledging attraction- a 25ft high toboggan run for those that dare, the magical Winter Wonderland Express Train ride, Mirror maze or a candy cane maze.  Join the naughty elf and Rudy the reindeer for fun and games at snowball masterclass and race through the snow at sledging school.  Meet Twinlakes Real Reindeer and join the in feeding sessions.  In the festive workshops, children’s imaginations flow creating special surprises to take home plus lots of fun and games!  There are yummy treats for everyone in the Gingerbread decorating workshop.   Further details of the event and costs are here.  We reviewed the attraction in September and here’s our review.  Its a lovely attractions for families in the midlands.

Hatton Country Farm was one of my favourite attractions when we lived in Warwick.  The farm is fantastic and they have SOOOO much to do during the day that you can easily spend hours here.  We loved it and would be highly recommended on any visit to Warwickshire.  Their magical Christmas sounds equally good and there is a whole days events running in addition to the farm activities.  For further details on the event, farm and costings, here’s the information.

We visited Conkers in February this year and had a really fun, family day.  There were lots of activities for kids (especially older ones or adventurous ones like mine).  The attraction has lots of indoor and outdoor features and is located in the national forest.  We spent all day there and didn’t see or do it all.  Over the festive period they are holding a winter wonderland, details of which can be found here.  It should be noted that the prices for winter wonderland do not include entry to the rest of the conkers site but these tickets can be upgraded for £2.50 each.

 

Manchester are hosting the largest indoor winter wonderland event.  We visited last night and had a really lovely time.  Visitors select a four hour slot and are spoilt for choice with lots of rides (for all ages), a slow globe, shows (including a fantastic circus) and meeting with Santa.  The gifts are an extra £3.  It is a great day out and highly recommended.  You will be pushed trying to fit everything in.  For details of how to book, costs and other information, please click here.

We hope all those effected are able to claim their money back and no one loses out.  Hope the alternatives help you find something of you to choose instead of a not so magical journey.