I booked for myself, great grandmother, another adult family member and 2x grandchildren, was disappointed with the whole experience. Felt there was too many people at event. I felt whole experience was rushed. Had 1 year old granddaughter whom when booking was not informed that pushchairs were not allowed even though there was facilities to allow wheelchair and pushchair access. All adult members had disabilities and when told we could not take pushchair were offered a baby carrier but this made the whole experience difficult, painful and not enjoyable. When comparing to other Christmas events I felt whole event was over priced and would not recommend to others. Spent longer travelling than actually in castle Howard. Will not be returning.

This was our 3rd time to Castle Howard at Christmas and it was frankly disappointing. Far too many people let in at any one time making it a very rushed visit. A lot of the decorations looked as if they’d been done on an economy budget and the normally splendid great hall was poor An expensive afternoon which sadly we will not feel like doing next year

Christmas visit to house. Timed visit and numbers apparently. But the first time in almost 15 years of visiting at Christmas that the queue was all the way through the house. Starting at the stairs and the first room to the exit was a permanent queue. I thought these were timed visits since covid but apparently not. Nice fairy tale displays from the little we could see, but it was packed with people wall to wall all taking photos, far too many people at one time, spoiled the whole affect. We entered at 2. 0 clock. Which is the time we have picked usually. Neither of us enjoyed it. Just too busy. The restaurant is far too busy and inadequate for the number of people. Queuing for hot food which was long and then join another queue for a drink then joined another queue to pay and then join another queue to find a table. The only available cold sandwich was salmon and cold sausage. Some peoples hot food was stone cold after waiting over 15 minutes to pay and even longer to find a table. Then join another queue for the ladies loo. Very long wait. You have to wait on some stairs at one point and considering the age of people who visit and covid still about there is absolutely no room for people to move away from one another. The whole event is not thought out in favour of visitors, just how much money it would seem from how many people they can cram in on one day. I’m a member and would not have liked to pay out a lot on the day for this. My advice is eat before you go and be prepared for long queues. The whole event could be done in 20 minutes without the crowds. The displays however are lovely.

The Into The Woods christmas exhibition was a major let down after I'd looked forward to it for ages and forked out a fortune. Far too many people allowed in, felt rushed round, it was over in a flash and was underwhelming. The food prices were extortionate and you could easily die of thirst waiting in the queue for hot drinks. Wish I hadn't bothered!

I have visited Castle Howard many years ago at Christmas and found the simpler decoration then much better than this year's. The displays seem not to have been thought out properly and done on a budget, The large Christmas tree although lavishly decorated at the front was sadly lacking at the back. Hansel and Gretel, Gretel was a mannequin but Hansel you had to use your imagination as he was represented by clothes laid out on a sofa. I could see no obvious gingerbread. In one room I had to ask what it represented as presentation was so feeble. If Castle Howard needs to up its game if it wants to attract more visitors next year.

We came all the way from Hampshire to see Castle Howard and were a little disappointed. I didn't realise until I got an email a few days before my visit that I would have to pay extra for the car park . That didn't seem fair to me having already forked out for entry into the house. Directions about how to pay for the parking were very unclear on the website and on arrival in the carpark . As everyone else says the Into the Woods exhibition was disappointing from the word go . Queues everywhere and parents dragging bored whiney kids along through rooms that were 'spectacular' but in an over the top way which seemed to miss the point of the fairytale theme . The clues were far too subtle and adult for children to understand . The whole thing was more like a photoshoot for a fashion magazine than a magical retelling of classic fairy tales. For example the Little Red Riding Hood room had a red cloak draped standing in front of a bath tub and a cushion with a wolf on it. The figures in the long 'ballroom looked like shop dummies that had been dressed in Barbie type clothing. After enduring the queues and crowds inside the house it was a real relief to walk around the beautiful grounds which were stunning in the winter frost. Next year forget about themes and just go back to traditional sustainable decorations -real trees , holly , ivy and a few Xmas baubles .

Disappointed children. We paid a lot of money and came away feeling flat and ripped off. Yet trying to keep up a happy face for the little ones. We queued for a long time at our appointed time to see Father Christmas, squashed up in a cold, dimly lit corridor with people coughing behind us. At the end it was poorly organised … herded into three different rooms with boring entertainment that seemed just for the sake of it with no thought for the children it was intended for. We were losing the Will to Live by the time we got to Santa’s Study. More queuing! The gifts were a complete rip off! Yes it’s good to be eco and environment friendly but for the money we expected some quality. We had to explain to very disappointed children what the bits of wood and dried up ‘grass’ were for! Embarrassing … and you should be embarrassed. We went to the cafe to buy hot drinks and the queue was ridiculous! So we gave up. You could take a few organisational hints from William’s Den! We won’t be bringing grandchildren next year that’s for sure.

First time visit for Santa trip with the kids which was good. The two story tellers and Santa where brilliant. Rest all felt a little bit like that episode of phoenix nights when they have a fundraiser with Sammy the snake etc. The whole place felt a little too much to be chasing money which is a shame. Was really hoping to love it, but didn’t unfortunately.

Visited castle Howard Christmas experience today with my 18 year old daughter, although it was lovely I don’t think it was worth the price tag and we won’t be going again next year, which is sad because I really wanted to be blown away by it. Having to pay £5 for car parking for the Christmas experience really seems unfair when you’ve already paid highly to visit in the first place, yet if you only go to the shop or walk around the garden you park for free. I did query why this is and was told it’s to pay for the extra things that are needed, which is fair enough but wouldn’t it be fairer to charge everyone £2.50? as they did get to park on the same grass we did, rather than penalise those that have already paid highly to visit. Like I’ve said we won’t return next year.