Dickens World - win tickets

21 December 2009

CHARLES Dickens has become synonomous with Christmas thanks to his festive stories, so where better to entertain the family this winter than, Dickens World.

And we are giving away three family tickets.

Dickens World, Chatham, Kent, is an amazing, multi-sensory, interactive experience which provides entertainment for all the family with Fagin's Den, a soft play area for younger visitors and Dotheby's School, a Victorian school room with touch screen technology where quizzes keep the older siblings occupied.

The Haunted Man attraction features some creepy and memorable characters that the author wrote about.

Guide, Gerald Dickens, the author's great-great grandson brings visitors face to face with a number of ghostly experiences, including Ebenezer Scrooge, with the help of spooky holographs.

Not to missed is a visit to the Britannia Theatre which presents an animatronic stage show introducing an assortment of interesting Dickensian characters.

In the courtyard, visitors will be greeted by many colourful characters from Dickens' stories and by scenes that would have been extremely familiar to the author at that time.

Mr Micawber, from David Copperfield, and Ned Fiendish, the Ratcatcher, who hunts vermin on the cobbled streets, pop out from nowhere.

A spectacular 4D cinema show, where the audience is provided with special effect glasses, leads to complete interaction throughout the performance, bringing to life Dickens' travels to Europe and America.

The experience is far more than a film show, using sensory elements such as wind and rain -the audience feels part of the boat ride, docking in New York and shares Dickens' antics in a saloon bar.

The highlight for young and old has to be The Great Expectations Boat Ride Experience, experiencing the smells and sounds of the dark, dank sewers of 19th century London, travelling by boat to the city rooftops. With a "Disney" twist to the end of the ride, visitors should be prepared to be splashed.

A Christmas Carol See It - Live It will be held until January 3. Entry includes attractions, free visit to Santa (purchase of gifts optional), live courtyard production of A Christmas Carol (audience participation) carols and candles around the tree daily at 4pm with indoor snowfall.

Dickens World is just off the A289. Opening times at 10am to 4pm. Entry cost is £12.20 for adults over 16; £7.30 for children between 5 and 15 and free for children under 5.

To find out how you could win a family ticket, see this week's Recorder Review.