Reviewer: Christine Stanton
Directors: Elgiva Field, Michelle McMahod and Matthew Blake
“Wishing For More“
3 / 5
~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~
With Christmas around the corner, the festive season is officially beginning. London’s newest offering – Wishmas: A Fantastical Christmas Adventure, is an immersive 60-minute walk-through experience set in the Waterloo Vaults, newly named the Old Bauble Factory.
The experience centres around a Wishmas sky tour, bringing participants into the magical world of Wishmas – a place where wishes are collected, stored and granted to people all over the world. The sorting office is the starting point, where two little robins fly across the room in and out of their birdhouses transporting wishes that have been made. You’re then whisked onto the sky train – using projected images to portray you flying above the clouds as one of the Wishmas elves explains his role at the factory, his delight and eagerness to do a good job for Santa shining through, even if his train has run into some trouble during the journey. There are a series of other rooms for you to explore on the premise of saving Wishmas, including a snowy run-in with Father Christmas himself.
Although this is recommended as a whole family experience – it definitely isn’t and is very easily geared towards young children. The approach from the elves is very CBeebies-esque, chirpy and childish they gleefully slowly count wishes and test the children’s knowledge of colours. The interactive activities involve spinning wheels or collecting puzzle pieces – again, brilliant for children aged 2-8 but anyone outside of this (other than parents/guardians seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces) would be quite bored and out of place. The storyline is slightly more advanced in comparison, featuring a whole realm of elves, robins & flying trains – suiting children 6-11 for the intricate story and imaginative ideas. If you have pre-teens+ or are planning to attend without kids, it would be best to avoid it as there really isn’t anything curated for anyone 11+, especially at the surprisingly high starting price of £39 per ticket.
The full experience also entitles participants to a short bauble-making session at the end of the tour – where large see-through baubles, tinsel and pom poms are provided to for you to fill, as well as little pieces of paper to write your very own bauble wishes on. While this is a nice interactive activity, it is slightly lacklustre – with very minimal materials provided, and again mainly appealing to toddlers. The final stop on the Wishmas experience is a small marketplace, with sponsored stalls such as Fortnum & Mason and Pip Organic selling their products, as well as Wishmas-themed merchandise, overpriced hot drinks and snacks.
This is a brilliantly Christmassy experience for children and will be sure to get them in the festive spirit. Each room is beautifully designed (Julie Landau) and is arguably the best part of the experience, creating little ‘wow’ moments for children and adults alike as they enter each new space on the tour. Without sounding ‘bah humbug’ – although it is wholesome and intriguing, there is an overwhelming feeling of wishing for more as you progress through the experience. Some additional inclusive activities or a slightly more mature script to appeal to older kids and adults would really help to embed this as an ‘all the family’ experience rather than feeling as though you’re overseeing a play-school activity, no matter how jolly and charming it may be.
Runs Until 7 January 2024
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