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" Christmas really starts with the opening of Hyde Park\u2019s Winter Wonderland. Even in the rain it\u2019s festive, but last night\u2019s opening was dark, crisp, cold and sharp - perfect weather for consuming mulled wine and ginormous gingerbread biscuits with well-meaning messages such as \u2018Thanking you for your contribution\u2019. Munching said biscuits, you can take your pick of browsing the stalls of tea-light holders, festive jumpers and jewellery which line the two main entrance avenues from Hyde Park Corner. And then you get to the real business of the evening which is the rides.\u00A0 There is a giant rollercoaster called, puzzlingly, Wild Mouse, which sent revellers including Cara Delevingne and Georgia May Jagger into tailspins, screaming with delight and losing their hats. There is a huge wheel from whose heights you can look down on the glittering carpet of light below, and the darkness of the Serpentine and the park beyond. There are also vertical drops from great heights and those giant machines that turn you upside down and whirl you round unbelievably fast. People emerged from this high and squealing with excitement.\u00A0  Speaking as one for whom recovering a short spin in a giant tea-cup would involve lying flat on the ground for 25 minutes groaning, there was still plenty of fun to be had. We explored glass mazes in the House of Fun, and survived a crocodile attack in the Pirate experience. We skated and ate huge hot dogs and admired glorious ice sculptures and the smaller ones in the party leaped onto giant trampolines, doing somersaults and ending up bouncing on their heads.\u00A0 Some parts of the park are very hi-tech, some, like the giant helter-skelter, are reassuringly old fashioned. It\u2019s all fun and has become a Christmas tradition without which no London festive season would be complete. For more visit Hydeparkwinterwonderland.com. GO TO: THE BEST CHRISTMAS POP-UPS GO TO: THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/culture/going-out/news/a8553/winter-wonderland-opens-in-hyde-park/>