A CHILDREN’S play park has been branded “nightmare fuel” on one of the world’s biggest travel websites.
The Glen features statues of some of the most famous children’s characters on the planet – but not all visitors are impressed.
Some guests at the park near Aberdeen, which costs a family of four about £16 to enter, claim it is a “fibreglass hell” and poke fun at the resemblance of the statues to the originals.
Comments on TripAdvisor include “a time warp to the 70s” and, harsher still, a “creepy meth themed fun park”.
Punters have snapped images of worse-for-wear statues of Shrek claiming he has a “rape face”, Donkey is said to be “terrifying” and a figure of Fireman Sam “holds the souls of a 1000 children”.
The owner of the park, in Kirkton of Maryculter, Aberdeenshire, described the criticism as “dirty”, “sad” and “petty”.
The park – which has an average TripAdvisor rating of 3.5 out of 5 – describes itself as “a magical world of make-believe and fun for children (and adults) of all ages” and “peppered with fairytale characters.”
Adults pay £2.95 each for entry whilst a child’s ticket costs up to £4.95.
One anonymous visitor wrote on TripAdvisor: “The characters look like they have either gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson or had endured some vicious attack in a horror movie.”
Another reviewer, from Thurso, called the storybook characters, “weird huge headed creatures that are more likely to give kids nightmares than enjoyment.”
Others agreed, saying they were “expecting the children to have nightmares tonight due to the headless statues” and that it is full of “characters that have been made to look like something out of a bad dream.”
Yet more noted the odour of “rotting vegetation” and “ferret wee” at the park near Aberdeen.
The snaps of Donkey prompted one user to speculate that the attraction “Looks like a theme park dedicated to the miracle of British Dentistry.”
A Scottish commentator said: “Simply the knowledge that I share a country with that place is making me uncomfortable.”
However, the park boasts a significant number of four- and five-star reviews.
One satisfied guest wrote: “Although the park dates from the 70s, and the park and statues are clearly dated in parts, they are well maintained.”
He said it had “great nursery rhyme themes which kids loved, awesome castles and some great playground rides like the rocket and wooden roundabout which brought back childhood memories”.
Another visitor from Northern Ireland called The Glen “great old fashioned entertainment”, calling it the “highlight” of his four day holiday in Scotland.
Jacqui Liddell, 70, owner and operator of The Den and Glen, was initially made aware of the comments by her granddaughter.
Yesterday she hit out her anonymous critics, saying that their comments were “really disturbing”, adding “it’s terribly terribly sad, the culture of people nowadays.”
“I think it’s very, very sad. Its dirty and petty the things they are saying, I mean it’s an attraction for children.”
Ms Liddell said the business was doing “exceedingly well” and “the number of people in the Den and Glen this Easter has been phenomenal.”
