Unfortunately, opening night delivered a figurative lump of coal when the park was unable to keep up with demand.
On Thursday, November 14, visitors were stuck in standstill traffic for hours waiting to be admitted to the park, only to learn that the holiday-themed amusement park had quickly reached capacity and would be closed for the rest of the night. Frustrated holiday fun-seekers took to social media to document and gripe about encountering the chaos after spending a pretty penny on tickets.
A TikTok from Thursday night shows crowds waiting to enter as a police officer announces that the park has closed for the night.
"POV: A ten minute drive to the only Christmas-themed park in Miami turns into two hours, only for you to have to park in BFE, walk a ton, and find out there's no more entry due to maximum capacity," wrote Miamian Rachel Garcia.
Others bombarded the park's Instagram page with complaints about the traffic issues and being turned away despite having purchased tickets.@garacch Christmas Wonderland made the big mistake of giving away too many free tickets to Miamians. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were turned away on opening night. I’m not sure if they eventually reopened their doors, but holy freaking cow. We live 10 minutes away and it took us almost two hours thanks to miller drive. Bird road was not drivable #christmaswonderland #miami #onlyindade #tropicalpark #christmasparkfail ♬ original sound - Rachel Garcia
The company restricted comments on its posts later that night.
A sampling of comments that still appear on the park's profile:
"Everyone boycott this shit. Absolutely zero preparation for opening night. You will be stuck at the bird exit for an hour if you're lucky. Not even close to getting in yet."
"I was in traffic for over an hour only to be turned away at the entrance with bought online tickets because the park was closed… what a joke 🤦🏽♀️"
"They told me, 'No more free tickets. I showed them my paid one, they said, 'You can come tomorrow,' I was like my whole family is there like wtf, can i bring them tomorrow as well they told me with the hardest 🤡 face they had: 'No, but they can buy another ticket.' This place is a joke. I thought it would be like a Santa's enchanted forest. But it was like Krampus cursed swamp."
"Three hours in traffic. Half a tank of gas. Turned away. Opening day tickets wasted."
"I don't know who is in charge of this place's logistics, but they should be fired immediately. So disrespectful. One hour and 50 minutes in traffic just to get in. Parking at the end of the park, walking to the entrance with tickets, only to be told that the park had to close. They should be penalized."
Shortly after midnight, Christmas Wonderland management issued a statement on its Instagram in response to the complaints about the chaos — and disallowed comments.
"At our preview night at Christmas Wonderland at Tropical Park, we had an unprecedented demand for access to the park," the statement reads. "In an abundance of caution, we made the decision to close the park when it reached capacity as the safety of our guests and staff is the top priority. Our team is committed to delivering an optimal and safe holiday experience for the community."
This is the second year of the Christmas Wonderland park, which took over Santa's Enchanted Forest's longtime space at Tropical Park. Tickets are priced at $39 and $29 for children 10 and under. The holiday-themed park is open through Sunday, January 5, 2025.
