Woman claims 'creepy male staff' at Winter Wonderland 'grabbed' her on ride while she was wearing VR set
A woman has shared her experience of 'creepy male staff' at Winter Wonderland after she claims the workers' behaviour turned inappropriate during a virtual reality ride.On the subreddit r/london, a woman with the username u/pianopuppy shared a post with the title 'Creepy male staff at Winter Wonderland'.She claimed that while visiting Hyde Park Winter Wonderland on December 15, she was 'grabbed' by a worker while wearing a virtual reality headset. The woman was on the Dr Archibald ride at the fair with a female friend when she claims two male workers repeatedly touched the women's legs, shoulders and the back of their necksPosting on Reddit, u/pianopuppy wrote: 'At the end of the ride, the two men working there tried to scare us by grabbing us but they touched us repeatedly on our legs, shoulders and back of neck. 'I was screaming, trying to pull their hands off me but they continued. Bear in mind, we couldn’t see anything cause we had the headsets on. 'When I leaving, one of them grabbed me on both of my ankles to scare me. I find this inappropriate. 'Usually at horror events, actors are not allowed touch you. If it had been one quick grab and scare, it wouldn’t bother me, but these men kept touching us and it creeped me out, especially them touching the back of my neck. A woman has shared her experience of 'creepy male staff' at Winter Wonderland after she claims the workers' behaviour turned inappropriate during a virtual reality ride The Dr Archibald virtual reality ride at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is pictured at night'I complained to Winter Wonderland and received a very generic response where they apologised that it wasn’t “as you expected” and that the staff acted that way as part of the “horror experience”.'Anyone else have a similar experience?? Is it okay for staff to touch us like that?'In the thread, the user shared a screengrab of Winter Wonderland's response to the complaint.It reads: 'I am very sorry to hear about your experience at Winter Wonderland and in particular the Dr Archibald ride. 'I am sorry to hear that your visit to Winter Wonderland did not meet your expectations. 'Our aim is to ensure that all customers have the most enjoyable visit possible when on site at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and I am disappointed to hear that you did not feel this way on the day of your visit. 'The horror VR setting is used on the ride from 5pm, so the staff may have acted in this way as part of the horror experience. I apologise if this was not as you had expected. 'Please be assured your comments and feedback have been passed on to the relevant team and ride operators and managers for their awareness.' Hyde Park Winter Wonderland attracts around 2.5 to 3million visitors annually According to the Winter Wonderland website, the Dr Archibald virtual reality ride is £9 for a standard ticket and £12 for a fast-track pass.It is accessible to anyone aged 10 and over and after 5pm, there is a horror element to the ride.The website reads: 'Dr. Archibald has had an after-dark revamp perfect for the daredevils amongst you. 'From 5pm this one-of-a-kind VR-supported ride plunges you into its horror edition, packed with intense effects, zombies, man-eating plants and terrifyingly close spiders.'The Reddit post has promoted discussion in the comments.One user wrote: 'That is appalling and their reply only makes it worse.'Another added: '100% scare actors are never supposed to touch you. Fat no.'A third wrote: 'Most horror attractions have strict rules about contact for this exact reason. The Reddit post has promoted discussion in the comments with some users labelling the workers' behaviour 'unacceptable' 'I’d escalate the complaint; that generic response feels like them trying to brush it under the rug.'Another added: 'Me and a friend (both women) were also on that ride last week and we personally found it quite funny, it definitely added to the horror element for us. 'That said, I can understand why it would feel uncomfortable for others, especially if it went on longer than expected.' A spokesperson for Hyde Park Winter Wonderland told the Daily Mail: 'We are very sorry to hear about this experience. 'The behaviour described is not acceptable and is not part of the intended experience at Winter Wonderland.'The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our highest priority, and we operate a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment. 'The matter has been reviewed by our management team and escalated internally for action.'We have been in direct contact with the guests involved and have offered a refund as a gesture of goodwill.' Winter Wonderland has faced scrutiny for being 'overcrowded' and 'overpriced'. The event runs for six weeks from mid-November to early January each yearIt comes after multiple fights have broken out in recent weeks at the Hyde Park attraction. Last week, footage emerged of a woman being punched to the ground amid a mass brawl. Winter Wonderland has been criticised as overcrowded and overpriced, and was last week named Europe's most complained-about festive attraction.Defenders of the annual gathering will point out that it generates an estimated £100million for the London economy, while raising vital funds for the city's Royal Parks.But for critics, it has become a real-life Nightmare Before Christmas, with some calling for it to be stopped.
