Furious parents have hit out at a £125-a-ticket "magical, immersive" Christmas experience saying upset children were left bored from start to finish.
Newcastle's Road To The North Pole show was slammed after families were promised an incredible day to remember, ChronicleLive reports.
The first two days of the show, which opened on Friday, earned scathing reviews online with one mum calling it "embarrassing" and "a shambles".
Another said customers were "herded around like cattle" before queuing for 40 minutes to see Santa for a "nanosecond".
Some also complained their kids couldn't hear actors at the pricy event as they went home angry.
Unhappy dad Jamie Webster took his two daughters, aged five and 11, to the show on Saturday night and called it "daylight robbery".
He said: "A lot of the actors were doing their best but ultimately from start to finish it was nothing like how it was advertised.
"It was really really upsold, it was supposed to be a magical experience. The whole time we walked around all you could hear was the other groups, it was very disappointing.
"The only thing I want is that this doesn't continue to happen to other people because I just felt they were robbing people out of their money, that's the only way I can describe it, daylight robbery."
Organisers of the Road To The North Pole have apologised to families after social media was awash with complaints.
Directors Kieran Stewart and Daniel Burnett said they will listen to feedback and improve the event in the run-up to December 25.
Mr Burnett said: "We're not here to make an easy profit and run, we're here to build magical Christmas memories, a lot of thought has gone into what's been created and we've done everything we can to provide what was promised.
"Prior to yesterday, we did have teething problems.
"We've really taken on board what people have said and we've done our best to act on that and give people the event they hoped for.
"We are planning to do an extended run next year with a brand new story so we hope to really take on board what people are saying this year and hopefully get people back onside and to return next year.
"We can only apologise for the teething issues we experienced in the early days: we tried our hardest, but for us, it's so important for people to have the experience we promised so for next year we want to invite everyone who had some issues on the first two days back to experience the event as it should be."
Organisers say they'll contact those who were disappointed by Road To The North Pole on Friday or Saturday to offer replacement tickets to next year's show, which will feature a new storyline and new activities.
