FURIOUS families have slammed Kew Gardens for “long queues” and a trail of “cardboard cutouts” at a Bluey show for children.
The west London event, based on the Australian hit animated TV series about the six-year-old Blue Heeler puppy, has been blasted as a “disappointment” by some parents.
Promotional material for the attraction says Bluey is ‘guaranteed to deliver laughter’[/caption]
Promotional material for the attraction says Bluey is “guaranteed to deliver laughter, discovery and lots of fun” in the beautiful Kew Gardens springtime setting.
But one visitor said he drove for two hours to get to the event, only to be forced to turn around and go home due to a lack of parking space, leaving his five-year-old daughter in tears.
Disgruntled customer Oliver Thomas said: “The car park was completely full with no alternatives within walking distance so we had no option but to turn around and drive home.
“Our daughter was in floods of tears as she was so excited about visiting.
“We also drove past the queue to enter which was 100m long so they’d clearly oversold tickets.
“We went to great lengths to visit, but literally COULDN’T.”
He also claimed that Kew Gardens refused to refund him or offer tickets for another date, “so that’s £48 and several hours wasted… disgraceful.”
Another unimpressed visitor, Jane Graves, called the event a “disappointment”.
She wrote on Facebook: “We were really looking forward to it. The trail was mainly cut out cardboard. The only excitement was meeting Bluey at the end for one minute.
“There [was] no performance, just a very short meet and greet. Saying that we still had a great time at the garden on a lovely spring day – just not for Bluey.”
One customer, Mark Deeley, said he took his daughter and granddaughter to see Bluey and friends, but one of them ‘wasn’t that impressed’ with the life-sized character.
But not all feedback was negative. Karen O’Reilly said she spent Bank Holiday Monday at Kew and had a ‘lovely day’ with her family.
The Bluey event runs between 10am and 4pm until April 14.
The costume character is set to appear every hour from 10am to 3pm at the event.
The cost of entry is included in the day ticket price – which ranges from £20 for an adult to £5 for children between 4 and 15.
People aged between 16 and 29 can pay £9, while those on Universal Credit can pay just £1.
A range of family deals are also on offer.
A Kew Gardens spokeswoman said: “The opening weekend of Bluey at Kew Gardens proved extremely popular, with phenomenal demand to experience the trail and to meet Bluey in person.
“Bluey runs at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, until 14 April, so there are still plenty of opportunities for people to visit throughout the Easter holidays.
“The trail is usually slightly quieter in the hour after opening (10am-11am) and towards the end of the afternoon.
“We always try to ensure that each visit to Kew Gardens is as enjoyable as possible and strive to provide our visitors with the best experience so would encourage anyone with feedback about the trail to speak to a member of staff on the day of their visit or contact us via email using info@kew.org.”
The event at Kew Gardens also featured staff in a giant Bluey costume[/caption]
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