THURSFORD CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR

In 2025 we moved to the Nimbus Disability Access card or free Thursford Digital Pass for everyone wishing to book an essential companion ticket for all our events, see our nimbus disability access card page for more information.

ARMED FORCES COVENANT

Thursford Enterprises are signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant, as such we offer regulars, reservists, veterans and their immediate military families a 10% discount on The Christmas Spectacular, Enchanted Journey of Light, Santa’s Magical Journey and the Adventure Play park.

Please note the discount applies to full priced tickets (discounted tickets or tickets that qualify for a complimentary essential companion will not be further discounted).

 Eligibility: The discounted tickets for all events must be booked via the Box Office on 01328 878477, our phonelines are open Monday to Friday 09:00 – 16:00. If the tickets are booked online, we are sorry, but we cannot add the discount.

To confirm eligibility for the 10% discount, please have your Discount Card to hand at the as we will need the card number, name and expiry date.

Cancellation

Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. However, in the event the service person is posted at short notice either overseas or to an area outside the service provision we will refund the ticket. We need to be informed as soon as you are notified of any change of circumstances (so that we have an opportunity to resell the tickets).

Prior to giving any refund, we will need evidence of the posting and will accept the original call up letter with any sensitive information blocked out as evidence.

AUDITORIUM

The Christmas Spectacular takes place inside and the auditorium does become quite warm during the performance. Dress as you see fit, but you may like to bring a coat for the walk to and from the car park and if attending the Enchanted Journey of Light, which takes place both in and outside.

 Seats Our best seats are the Band A (Row M) followed by the Band B etc, these do sell out quickly so make sure to book early.

 Chair sizes:

Standard seat width is 39cm (row M, centre raised, left & right raised and the flat)

 Band B (in the centre) seat width is 43cm, these seats also have a 6cm wide arm rest.

 Wider seats – we do have two chairs of 68cm width.  The wider chairs can only be booked on request via the Box Office on 01328 878477 and are limited to the following locations:  O40 (centre), HH1 (stage right), ZK16, ZH19 & ZF17 (stage left).

 Steps The first step is 6 inches off the ground, the subsequent are no more than 4 inches in height.

 Columns & Pillars We do not sell seats with an obstructed view as the stage is so long and all of it is in use. There are columns and pillars dotted throughout the auditorium in front of rows M – XB and MM – TT. They are narrow so you should have a good view from anywhere in the auditorium.

CD of the SPECTACULAR  

A compilation of the music of previous Spectacular performances is available to purchase from our shops and online, please click here.

CHILDREN

Important:

Children under the age of 5 are not permitted entry to the Christmas Spectacular as the Spectacular is designed for an adult audience and contains adult humour. If tickets are booked and entry is refused Thursford will not refund the price of the tickets.

Advisory age limit of 8 years – due to its longevity and adult content. WE ask that parents or guardians assess the ability of their children to tolerate a three-hour performance without disrupting ither visitors. If children are disruptive, you may be asked to leave.

Thursford’s Events for Children Thursford does have two events that are suitable for children these are Santa’s Magical Journey and the Enchanted Journey of Light, both go on sale late June / early July. Please check our website for details or sign up for alerts.

CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE

The performance lasts 3 hours and has a 25-minute interval.

Show times are as follows:

• 2pm – 5pm (14:00 – 17:00)
• 7pm – 10pm (19:00 – 22:00)

All visitors must be seated at least 5 minutes before the performance at 1:55 (13:55) and 6:55 (18:55).

Latecomers will not be able to enter until a suitable break in the performance.

Aisles As the cast use the aisles during the performance, all obstacles must be removed before the performance begins. Wheelchairs and walking aids will be stored during the performance.

If you have an assistance dog we must be notified in advance so that you are allocated a seat where the animal will not be a hazard to the cast.

Interval Drinks can be ordered and paid for at the bar in the auditorium before the performance, for collection during the interval

Strobe Lights & Vapour Mist as each year’s performance varies, please call the office on 01328 878477 to check.

COACH OPERATORS

Thursford does not operate coach tours however we provide information on some of the coach operators on our website:  https://www.thursford.com/coach-operators/

If you have booked your tickets via a coach operator and have any questions that are not answered here, please speak to the coach company who, if necessary, will contact Thursford.

Confidentiality We are unable to give out any information regarding your booking if you have booked via a coach company. This is because the coach companies are also our customers, and we are bound by GDPR legislation.

DVD of the CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR

We are sorry, but we do not produce a DVD of the Christmas Spectacular.

DIRECTIONS

We are well sign posted; one mile off the A148, halfway between Fakenham and Holt, take the turn off at the Crawfish Inn and follow the brown attraction signs for the Thursford Collection

During the Christmas Spectacular run we also display AA road signs

If you are using a form of GPS, then please use the postcode to find us:

Thursford Collection
Thursford
Fakenham
Norfolk
NR21 0AS.

what3words location /// guards.settle.enchanted

ENCHANTED JOURNEY OF LIGHT

Spectacular Tickets Holders: your Christmas Spectacular ticket entitles you to entrance to the show only.

 Special Offer As a special offer to Spectacular customers, you may enter Fantasy Land for the Enchanted Journey of Light, prior to the performance you are attending at a reduced show-goers’ rate of £10.00 per person; the normal price is £24 per person.

This offer is only available on the date you are attending the Christmas Spectacular and cannot be transferred to another date.

Please note, from 8 November to the first date advertised for sale online there are no restrictions to show-goer entry. From the first bookable date, entry cannot be guaranteed and the offer is subject to availability.

This special offer cannot be pre-booked.

You will need to present your show ticket at the entrance and pay on entry to have the discounted rate.

If you would like guaranteed entry and a specific time slot (from the date that that the Enchanted Journey is offered for sale (around the third weekend in November) you will need to your tickets, online at the full rate.

Entry Times entry for this offer is between 12 noon – 1pm for those attending the matinee and 5 – 6pm for those attending the 7pm performance.

If those attending the matinee performance want to start the EJOL after the matinee they will need to pay the full, advertised rate and visit on a day that the event is in operation.

ESSENTIAL COMPANIONS

Essential companion tickets are only available to book from the Box Office on 01328 878477 as we need to check your Nimbus Access card or free Thursford Digital Pass with the +1 or +2 symbol.

We do not apply essential companion discounts retrospectively.

Please note where tickets are priced at different bands the essential companion ticket will be deducted against the cheaper ticket/s.

To apply for a free Thursford Digital Access Pass or Nimbus Access card and for full details, please click here.

FOOD & DRINK

We have the Garden Pavilion restaurant, Barn café all of which can be accessed with or without a ticket during our opening hours.

Located in the auditorium, our Carousel tea bar and licensed bar are available to patrons of the show only.

Table Bookings We do not take any bookings for our restaurant or café; both are served on a first-come first-served basis.

 Table Availability Even though our café and restaurant are not bookable, we are used to a high turnover of guests; 95% are working to a timed ticket so most people move along   quickly.

 Dietary requirements We cater for gluten free, nut allergies, vegan etc. Please phone the Box Office on 01328 878477 to find out more.

 Bringing Food & Drink. You may bring your own food and drink, but it may not be eaten in our dining areas / restaurants. If you wish to bring your own food and drink on site, this will need to be consumed in your seats in the auditorium or outside.

 Mince Pies & Mulled Wine are always sold at Thursford.

Strictly no alcohol is to be brought into the complex.

 Café opening Times:  

• The Pavilion closes at 2pm on a one performance day and at 7pm when there are two performances.
• The Barn will close after the interval of the last performance of the day.

LOST PROPERTY

Our crew clean the auditorium and the Fantasy Land building every night and any items that are found are brought to the office in the morning.

We will store lost property for 30 days after the date it was found.

Thereafter we will donate all items to charity.

MOBILITY SCOOTERS, WHEELCHAIRS & WALKING AIDS

Visitors are welcome to bring them, but if you need to remain in your wheelchair you will need to book a wheelchair space. Please book direct on 01328 878477 as its not possible to book them online.

Storage If you can transfer into a seat, please ask an Usher to show you where the wheelchair can be stored during the performance. We cannot permit items to be left in the aisles during the performance.

Wheelchair Hire – sorry, but at this time we do not hire out wheelchairs.

OPENING & CLOSING TIMES – COMPLEX

The complex opens at 12 noon, except when Santa’s Magical Journey is operating (weekends in late November & December and Christmas week) when the complex opens at 10am

Shops open at 12 noon, except on Santa’s Magical Journey dates when they open at 10am.

Generally, the complex closes after the last Spectacular performance which is either at 17:30 or 22:00 (dependent on an evening performance), except where the Enchanted Journey of Light or Santa’s Magical Journey are operating evening slots (late November weekends)

PARKING

There is a large, free car park on site.

Opening times: the car park opens at 11:30am except on days when Santa’s Magical Journey is running when it opens for ahead of the first time slot of the day.

 Distance to auditorium entrance: it’s roughly a 5-minute walk. The closest side of the car park is 600 yards from the auditorium entrance.

Disabled parking: Please pause and speak to the car park attendant as you enter, and you will be directed to the best available parking space.

 Exiting We do not manage cars exiting the car park after the last performance of the day, it takes roughly 30 minutes for the car park to clear.

Overnight Parking we are sorry, but we cannot accommodate motorhomes or camper vans overnight in our car park. Please e mail [email protected] for local pitches.

PAYMENT

Debit or Credit cards Our preferred payment method is by debit or credit card, so where possible please pay by one of these methods. However, we do accept cash, and change will always be given.

 Payment Bookings below 20 tickets are only secured once full payment has been received on the day of booking, we do not hold tickets without payment.

For bookings of 20+ these are secured either by a payment of a £3 per ticket non-refundable deposit or when paid in full.

Group bookings must be paid in full 8 weeks prior to the performance booked or the tickets will be released for resale and the deposit retained. Please note even where extended payment terms have been agreed this will be considered a late payment.

ONLINE / WEB ACCOUNT

Passwords: Your password should be made up of the following:

• 12 characters
• At least one upper case letter
• At least one lower case letter
• A number
• A symbol

Logging On 

In April 2025 Thursford moved to a new ticketing / booking system. If you previously had an account this will no longer be operational, please create a NEW account.

 New Customers You now have a choice to create an account or not, please follow the instructions once you have selected your tickets.

 Forgotten Password Once you have created your new account please click on this link to reset your password. If you have not set up a new account, the link will not work.

ONLINE SHOP

If you saw an item during your visit and did not buy it please check out our line shop by clicking on this link. Please be aware that not all items in our Thursford shops are sold online.

SHOPS – OPENING TIMES 

Open – Shops open at 12 noon, except when Santa’s Magical Journey is operating when they open at 10am.

Close – shops will close after the interval of the last show of the day.

• On a one performance day they will close at 3:45 (15:45)
• On a two-performance day they will close at 8:45pm (20:45)

STEAM MUSEUM / THURSFORD COLLECTION

Engines Some Steam engines will be on display or at least visible, however during the Spectacular run most are moved into storage as the museum is transformed into the auditorium where the show takes place.

 Museum The Museum opens in early Spring until the end of August, please click here for details.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

We know it is tedious but please do read our Terms & Conditions. In the event of any disputes, we will refer to our Terms & Conditions and remind you that you agreed to them when your booking was confirmed.

TICKETS

E tickets: all orders default to etickets.

Please open the link and download your tickets before you arrive at Thursford (you may also screenshot your tickets).

If you wish to print them, they can be printed on A4 paper on a printer set to A4 (not letterhead)

Printed Tickets – 2026

Requests for printed tickets in 2026 will carry a fee of £4 per booking.

Essential Companion Tickets  – see above.

 Tickets not received From April 2025 all tickets will be issued as e-tickets unless specifically requested otherwise. If you have not received your e-tickets please phone the Box Office, as you must have a valid ticket to enter the auditorium.

Lost Tickets If your Spectacular tickets have not arrived, please call the Box Office on 01328 878477, providing you can confirm various details in the booking we will now e mail them to you.

Reprints Ticket reprints carry a fee of £1 per ticket (etickets are sent free of charge.

Despatch of Tickets

Printed tickets are sent in a window envelope and franked with a Thursford logo.

Ticketsolve Protect

Available from 1 May 2025

Ticketsolve Protect is provided by a third party Refundable.me and covers the cost of your tickets, surcharges (but not products e.g. programmes) so you can apply for a refund should you be unable to attend the event.

Every claim requires evidence in support of your claim.

Only offered to those with a personal e mail address.

Terms & Conditions are available HERE

To make a claim you must click on the link in your order confirmation e mail.

WI-FI

To join the Thursford free Wi-Fi (Thursford Free Public Wi-Fi), enter your e mail address, then once registered, you go to your own e mail in box and select the email from Encapto (it often goes into Junk folder), verify it.

Once this has been done you are connected – you must verify the e mail to get connected.

XCOVER – Refund Protection

N.B This product available until 31 March 2025

We offer refund protection as the tickets are booked as non-refundable and non-transferable.  Until 31 March 2025, refund protection was provided by ‘XCover’ a third party and covers the cost of your tickets in the event you cannot attend the event.

As with all cover of this nature exclusions apply, please read the Terms & Conditions.

XCover will require evidence to support all claims.

Please read the Terms & Conditions HERE

To make a claim Please click HERE

Christmas Spectacular tickets do not include entry to Santa’s Magical Journey or the Enchanted Journey of Light.

Special Offer:

Discounted Entry to the Enchanted Journey of Light for Christmas Spectacular Ticket Holders

Christmas Spectacular ticket holders can enter the Enchanted Journey of Light at the discounted entry price of £10 per person before the performance they are booked to attend.

To take advantage of the offer:

• The Christmas Spectacular ticket holder must present their ticket(s) at the entry to the Fantasy Land building
• The offer is only for entry before the performance being attended (please do not check availability online as the offer operates outside of the online event)
• This special offer cannot be booked online or in advance of your visit.
• The offer runs from 8 November to 23 December.
•  The offer is only available on the date given on your Spectacular ticket and cannot be taken at an earlier or later date.
•  The offer is subject to availability; entry is not guaranteed.
•  If the event has been cancelled owing to bad weather, entry cannot be postponed to a later date.
• If you would like to attend on a different date to your Spectacular ticket please refer to the Enchanted Journey of Light online for availability and to book tickets.

 If you are attending the matinee performance at 2pm

Entry to the interior part of the event must take place before the performance, it opens from mid-day.

Last entry is at 1:15pm as there will not be time to complete the experience prior to the start of the performance.

However, you can ask to return after the performance to see the lanterns in the dark, please have your ticket stamped or retain your receipt if you have e tickets. If you do not have your ticket stamped or you lose your receipt, you will be asked to pay the £10 fee again.

If you are attending the evening performance at 7pm

Entry is from 5:15pm

Last entry is at 6:15pm as there will not be time to complete the experience prior to the start of the performance.

The outside illuminations cannot be visited after the evening performance as the complex closes at 10pm.

THURSFORD COLLECTION

Equality and Diversity Policy

The Thursford Collection is dedicated to encouraging a supportive and inclusive culture amongst the whole workforce. It is within our best interest to promote diversity and eliminate discrimination in the workplace.

Our aim is to ensure that all employees and job applicants are given equal opportunity and that our organisation is representative of all sections of society. Each employee will be respected and valued and able to give their best as a result.

This policy reinforces our commitment to providing equality and fairness to all in our employment and not provide less favourable facilities or treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, religion or belief, or sex and sexual orientation. We are opposed to all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination.

All employees, no matter whether they are part-time, full-time, or temporary, will be treated fairly and with respect. When the Thursford Collection selects candidates for employment, promotion, training, or any other benefit, it will be on the basis of their aptitude and ability.

All employees will be given help and encouragement to develop their full potential and utilise their unique talents. Therefore, the skills and resources of our organisation will be fully utilised and we will maximise the efficiency of our whole workforce.

Our commitments:

• To create an environment in which individual differences and the contributions of all team members are recognised and valued.
• To create a working environment that promotes dignity and respect for every employee.
• To not tolerate any form of intimidation, bullying, or harassment, and to discipline those that breach this policy.
• To make training, development, and progression opportunities available to all staff.
• To promote equality in the workplace, which the Thursford Collection believes is good management practice and makes sound business sense.
• To encourage anyone who feels they have been subject to discrimination to raise their concerns so we can apply corrective measures.
• To encourage employees to treat everyone with dignity and respect.
• To regularly review all our employment practices and procedures so that fairness is maintained at all times.

The Thursford Collection will inform all employees that an equality and diversity policy is in operation and that they are obligated to comply with its requirements and promote fairness in the workplace.

The policy will also be drawn to the attention of the Trustees, funding agencies, stakeholders, customers, learners, and job applicants.

The Thursford Collection equality and diversity policy is fully supported by senior management.

Please click the link to view our terms and conditions

Terms and conditions