Videos of The Enchanted Forest, Pitlochry 2009
Written by Karen Bryan
We were at the Enchanted Forest on Sunday 18 October. I received complimentary tickets for the show. This year’s theme was Scottish Myths & Legends. Below are videos of my favourite parts.
The Kelpie’s Pearl’s portrayed the supernatural water horse protecting the pearls in his lair.
The Pictish Dundee Dragon is reputed to have a fearsome temper and has eaten nine wee sisters.
The Dunmore Faeries love prancing around in Faskally Wood.
At Selkie’s Deception I stood with my head in the circular space while various projections of selkies (which can transform from seals to humans), fairies and mermaids were beamed on the white board.
Overall I was slightly disappointed by the Enchanted Forest. There were thirteen attractions, some of which I thought were pretty lame e.g. Feed the Haggis, where you threw beanbags into the mouth of a cut out of a haggis and Robert the Bruce & The Spider with a mannequin watching a film of a spider. I have to say that the fact that the event is well attended also detracted from my enjoyment, there was constant flash photography and at times I felt I was on the pavement in a busy city centre, hardly able to move. Having said that most of the attendees, predominantly families with young kids, appeared to be having a great time.
I went to this event with my daughter and parents and thought it was really disappointing compared to the events in 2007 and 2008. All the way round we kept waiting for something significant to happen but it didn’t. I don’t think we will bother going next year!
Joan – thanks for your comment, I was really hoping to have feedback from people who’d been in previous years. I’d seen photos and videos of previous years’ events and anticipated that the event would be much better than it was.
Based on good reviews from earlier years, I went to this event with my husband and 2 children on 23rd October 2009. I completely agree with Joan and comments by Karen. After a promising start with Kelpie’s Pearls and the Dundee Dragon, we were disappointed with most of the exhibits. I think we were expecting it to be more magical and to be ‘wowed’ in some way. However, we found many of the exhibits low budget, lacking creativity and quite frankly rather dull. It also would have been nice to have been able to walk along lit trails into the forest, rather than in a circle around the lake. It was sometimes difficult to appreciate the beauty of the lit trees due to the narrow pathways and number of people walking behind us. We constantly tried to encourage our kids to engage with it in some way, but sadly they were not very interested. The staff also kept reminding us about what a great time we were having. I wish I’d been honest and told them what we really thought. I don’t think we’ll be going back and wouldn’t recommend it based on our experience.
Melissa – thanks for your comment, yes my description of some of the exhibits was inane. It’s a pity you didn’t tell the staff what you thought, I did, one of the organisers approached me and asked me my opinion and he seemed rather amazed that I wasn’t very impressed. I’m not sure what feedback they are receiving from other visitors to teh event?
I agree. Went this year, after enjoying this a few years ago. After a cracking start with the Kelpie and then the dragon the live guide left. Maybe he knew how flat and disappointing the rest would be. Last time there was a magical light show on the lake with music, this year it was dull with nothing like. Very, very busy but I think a lot of people will have left deciding not to come again.
John – Interesting observation about the disappearance of the live guide before the dullest parts of the event. I’d seen photos of the light show on the lake from previous years and that was what I was expected. I suppose it’s hard for organisers who may feel if they do the same things every year people won’t return but if they change format they have to ensure that event still has wow factor, which seemed to be lacking this year.
I was there last night – travelled for over an hour to get there having seen the TV coverage which showed fireworks and the like. I didnt see the same show – completely lacking in excitement so im thinking they mustve used film from something else. The only thing resembling a firework was the dragon (which admittedly was quite well done and the kids liked that). Overall though I left feeling decidedly ripped off.
I wanted to go to the show this year after seeing a similar (supposedly smaller – but now Im not so sure) event at the Botanic Garden in Dundee in February – think I’ll stick with that one when they run it again – at least it delivered what it said it would and I dont have to travel so far. As for Pitlochry – I’ll wait a few years until I start hearing positive reports about it before making that effort again
Sarah J – sounds like you were in a similar situation to me, having see footage from previous years you were expecting something that wasn’t delivered. I did notice the odd firework going off which was more of an annoyance because of the sudden noise and I was never able to get a photo/videos as the fireworks seemed to go off at random times.
I don’t like to be negative about events I visit but I feel I have to be honest with my readers.
I’d like to come to the event at Botanic Gardens in Dundee if it’s on again in February 2010.
karen – i agree about not being negative – if someone is putting in an effort that should be acknowledged. To be kind to them, the museum like scenes dragon, oyster etc were quite well put together and i really liked the horse hologram – but for a show with so much hype there was a lot more that could have been done that wouldnt have cost much – like having better music, more lights etc.
So sorry enchanted forest – but could do better.
(I think the Botanics show is an annual thing – but dont know when its next on – maybe February/March)
I have just returned after travelling for nearly two hours each way and have to agree with some of the comments above. I don’t know if I was expecting to much…but framkly I felt ripped off! It cost £30 for me and the two wee ones and as much as they enjoyed bits of it, it was too busy and the paths too narrow for time to be spent at items without pushing and shoving. Also, like above, you would wait for something significant and nothing. Have to say I liked the Kelpie and the dragon, but the rest were very poor and did not explain or give the stories…still non the wiser on some of the Myths and legends, now have to do some homework.
The organisers could have done much better around story telling and some of the displays. Very dull and no real WOW factors…
Stovie – oh dear the ranks of disappointed Enchanted Forest goers is swelling. On top of that you had a 4 hour return trip. Fortunately we had already arranged to be in Perthshire to see that Autumn colours based on a £19 Travelodge in Perth, as I now live in Berwick upon Tweed in NE England.
Travelled 2 hours for the Award Winning Enchanted Rip Off with a friend from the States. I agree that the Stallion and the Dragon were pretty cool, then it suddenly went downhill fast. The rest of the evening was mediocre to say the least.
Maybe our expectations were too high after reading about how cool it has been in previous years, maybe the organisers are running out of ideas, or possibly they were resting on their laurels. Either way, it really didn’t meet expectations.
The only thing that stood out was the staff in Pitlochry. We had to be Inverness before midnight for a weekend in a hotel), and I had booked the 8:15 slot. The lady in Pitlochry was extrememly helpful and managed to get us on the first show at the Enchanted Forest, so we made it to Inverness with a bit of time to spare.
Maybe next year will be an improvement after they read all of the negative comments :-S
Michael – I will be emailing a link to this post to the Enchanted Forest organisers next week.
It is a really pity that the show didn’t live up to our expectations but you can read in comments from readers who attended past events that this year’s show didn’t compare.
Thank goodness that at least you made it to Inverness, so at least the day ended well.
Very very disappointed with the enchanted forest this year….this was our third year at the event and it was so utterly disappointing. I feel it has now become so commercialised that they have lost sight of the lovely event it used to be. In previous years, the light shows were spectacular, but thereafter it wasn’t much…so they probably needed something else – but this year, there is plenty as you walk round (albeit some of them were quite rubbish!), but there was no ‘wow’ part to the event. Took my in-laws who had travelled up from Liverpool – felt very bad about them making the trip up for it….
we also had to wait 25 mins for the bus back with 2 young kids in pouring rain…was not impressed – in previous years, this was never a problem.
have already done feedback to the enchanted forest expressing how disappointed we were.
BC – I’m glad to hear that you have given Enchanted Forest organisers some feedback.
You do feel bad when you recommend an event to others (based on previous experience) which then turns out to be a let down.
Very disappointing. Agree with all other comments here. Kept waiting for the wow factor and couldn’t believe it when I realised this is it. Some dodgy looking effigies with coloured lights shining on them. The kelpie and the selkie were the only two half decent things but it was hugely busy and I would not go back.
Sorry to hear that many of you haven’t enjoyed this year’s show. I am responding on behalf of the organisers to The Enchanted Forest.
We did make changes in response to customer feedback about last year’s show and the format changes are directly in line with what visitors told us they wanted to see. Moreover, initial responses to our feedback questionnaire indicates that 86% of visitors enjoyed their visit to the event, an increase on the number enjoying it last year.
We’re the first to admit that we can’t please all of the people, all of the time and each year the show changes to account for different tastes and different needs. We do take criticism seriously and I can assure you that any suggestions you have made in the formal survey about how to improve the show will be taken on board in planning for next year’s show.
Following equally damning criticism of last year’s show by some visitors the team have worked hard to alter the format and deliver what our customers told us they wanted – evidence that we do listen. We’re not too proud to change it back if that is what you require so please ensure your voice is heard and respond to the customer survey request when you recieve it.
I would personally like to thank you all very much for your comments and for getting in touch to let us know how you feel. We are very reticent to speak up in Britain and I’d rather have customers passionately shouting at us about what they really want and being actively involved in shaping the product than a silent majority too afraid to speak up.
To conclude: we’re listening and we hear you.
Tricia – thanks for your response on behalf of the Enchanted Forest organisers.
My husband and I have attended the Forest for the last 4 years and were really disappointed with the show this year. We felt that the main attraction was the light and music show and that the other attractions were added extras. The meeter and greeter was a great idea but left the groups alone too soon, and there wasn’t enough around the forest to keep our interest. The fountains half way round were also feeble.The first year we visited there was a superb display and we expected something similar this year. We came away feeling that we maybe had missed something, and were bitterly disappointed by the experience.
My wife and I attended this year’s show on the 30th of October. We travelled 90 minutes, expecting to see a spectacular show but were very disappointed with what was on offer. The lighting of the forest was more inspiring than the actual attractions and the amount of people milling about detracted from the ethereal setting the show was trying to achieve. Many friends had attended past shows and said how they had enjoyed it but sadly, we found it all very boring and frustrating. We are glad we attended just so that we know not to waste our time again.
You can please all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time but you can’t please, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time!!!!
First of all, I need to confess that I haven’t visited the enchanted forest before this year, so I don’t why everyone has their knickers in a twist, plus I don’t know what kind of events they are so priviliged and lucky to be attending that tops the forest!
There were only two small details that I found to be a bit negative. One is that as someone stated earlier, we were stuck at the “village” part of the forest for 25 mins with no shelter with crying baby/exhausted toddler. The other is that the random fireworks were a bit annoying, very loud and unexpected and not much to write home about visually.
Seems to me that the organisers are bending over backwards to respond to criticism.
For the people who went on about how busy it was and the paths being crowded etc.. I don’t like crowds either but the shuttles are staggered so hows this for an idea? On arrival at the forest hang bag from the main group, let them go ahead and take in the first attraction move on , then you wander in behind and voila!!! Vastly reduced numbers of people on the paths you wish to traverse. It works too…. I know because thats what our family did, it’s not rocket science.
To those who felt ripped off by experience, ok so if you travelled a good distance and had accommodation costs and felt disappointed fair enough, but how can you moan about ticket prices, approx £30 for a family of 4 would even get everyone a McDonalds and a cinema ticket each! How reasonable could it be? And I know what I would rather be taking my kids to of an evening.
It would appear that people are unhappy at the loss of a light and sound show around the lochin, but the organisers removed it because of feedback from last year saying that people wanted more smaller attractions dotted around the place. So i guess the challenge for the organisers is to strike a balance between the two while staying within budget…. Good luck to them, I will definately be attending next year to see what they come up with. It is refreshing to see a company really responding to the wants of its customers.
WELL DONE!!
I’m not really in a position to complain as I got a free invite to the press launch as a photographer!
Having said that, and being a bit of a ‘veteran’ of the EF event now, I had mixed feelings about this year.
I thought the idea of attractions all around the path of the forest was a good step, as opposed to one big spectacular on the lake then ‘what do we do now?’
I missed the big sound and light show on the lake which I felt left a massive void.
Some of the new attractions were superb, such as the Dundee Dragon and the Kelpie and Nessie holograms. The witch greeting the visitors was a great touch too, but the static plastic dummies in mediocre sets for me left a lot to be desired.
My vote would be bring back the spectacular on the lake, but keep the ‘human’ characters similar to the witch to keep interest around the walk, but definitely ditch the cheap looking ‘grottos’ I can speak with some authority on these displays as I spent many years as an Animatronics Engineer for a company supplying Xmas displays to major stores.
This year I felt unmotivated to even lift the camera to take images and some of my photographer colleagues left early with little to work on.
I would have been reluctant to spend money on tickets for a full family and make the 3 hour round trip this year.
This will probably cost me my place on further press launches but felt it important to put my opinion across.
They just need to find a happy medium within the budget and listen to the concensus of the paying public.
I also went to the Enchanted Forest with my wife and children after it was recommended to us by friends who had been there in previous years. I have to also agree with all the comments posted here. We felt it was a complete let down and our children were bored throughout most of the walk. I did complete the online questionnaire and would be interested to hear exactly what the 86% that Tricia Fox quotes is based on. I responded positively to many of the multiple choice questions which addressed peripheral aspects such as catering, toliet facilities, transport provision etc but very negatively to the quality of the special effects, which was the main reason people attended the event. Therefore, on balance it would appear that my response to the event was overall positive, when infact we were incredibly disappointed and wouldn’t recommend it, or return to it in the future.
My girlfriend and i were there last year and were so impressed we took six others with us this year. Myths and legends it was and i couln’t wait! the water holograms and the kelpie were good, i really liked the Dragon but museum style dummies looked cheap. there were a few people dressed up so why not have more people dressed up acting the parts instead of the mannequins? The big ‘wow’ factor is what everyone is moaning about, there was the big loch but where was Nessie? only Scotlands biggest Myth that could have been the wow. Don’t get me wrong, i loved it anyway and so did the rest of our party and we’ll be back.
Update 3 Nov: The Enchanted Forest are looking for open debate on Facebook about this year’s event: http://su.pr/2d3UEB as they don’t believe Europe a la Carte provides this.
It was the first time I went to the event this year and overall I was very impressed! Just the shear scale of the forest and the lights itself is worth going to experience. The fact that it circles round the lake is a great setting with all the beautiful reflections. Keep up the smoke machines,very magical…although hope for natural mist :)
I’ll definately be back next year! It would be nice to see maybe lots of little candles/lights in the lake, more water features…maybe fountains, colourful lanterns in the trees, more cobwebs, the grayard looked very impressive so maybe more grayards! …and more purple lights.
Though I thouroughly enjoyed it I can understand why someone who was expecting more of a theatrical story telling experience may be let down. It seems maybe trying to cover lots of diffenet areas such as storytelling/drama too when really the main focus is the enchannting forest and the light show. I felt the dragon was week and the mermaid, maybe too static. I think people would like to see more fluid,moving things rather than the models. such as the fairys dancing on the video screen near the mushrooms. The projection of the horse was great though I found it hard to make out nessy.
Hope this helps! :)
It’s interesting that positive comments are trickling through now that the organisers have been notified!
We are open to debate and at no point did I say that Europealacarte was not open to debate – you clearly are otherwise you would not have a comments page.
I invited people to join the debate via facebook for a simple reason – there are two sides to every story and with an increase in the number of people saying they enjoyed this year’s event, I see no reason why their views cannot be heard as well – or are you only interested in hearing negative comments?
I’m up for a balanced debate. Are you?
suduperthshire – Thanks for your comment – another disappointed attendee. Yes some of these mannequins eg the 3 witches looked a bit glamourous for their role.
Mark St.Clair – I totally agree that the hordes = no chance of desired ethereal atmosphere.
Gill Sword – As a veteran of 4 shows you can certainly make comparisions between different shows.
Katie Taylor – Good to hear that you enjoyed the event. I did say in my original post that the majority of other visitors when we were there appeared positive about the event. We did (unsuccessfully) try a “beat the crowds” strategy on our 2nd round of the attractions but only managed a few minutes of peace at the Dunmore Faeries.
Steve Perks – Thank you for sharing your views on the EF. As a blogger I received complimentary press tickets to the show which I clearly stated in the first paragraph of my post. However I always try to give a balanced view of the good and bad points. If that means I don’t receive complimentary press tickets to some events, so be it but a free ticket doesn’t = being a sycophant.
David Lawrence – well you know what they say about statistics. But you do make a valid point if overall satisfaction with EF is measured by all factors (including peripheral) are given equal weighting.
Leen2112 – That’s good that you loved the EF show. Maybe the organisers will consider a Nessie in the loch for a future show.
Helen Dewer – Thanks for you feedback and constructive suggestions. I think that ditching the stationery mannequins in favour of more fluid features would be a great improvement.
Melissa – an interesting observation.
[...] 3 Noveber 2009: See my videos and read my review of the Enchanted Forest [...]
Tricia – As I said earlier all comments made on the Enchanted Forest post on the Europe a la Carte Blog have been approved in full. You’ll see that this morning I added a link to the Facebook page in a comment. I also tweeted with a link to the Facebook page. Therefore I am surprised that you are asking me if I am only interested in negative comments.
We got wet and muddy. 3 & 6 year old loved it. It was all an adventure in the dark. Great fun.
This is an interesting debate and I agree with Katie Taylor that the organisers seem to be bending over backwards to listen to our feedback. I visited the event for the first time last year and was very impressed. I went again this year and although it was different and my preference was for last year’s style, I still thought it was done well and enjoyed it.
By the sound of it, they’ve taken on the feedback from last year and done something about it, so there’s no reason to doubt that they won’t take on feedback from this year’s event.
I’ve answered my customer questionaire with my suggestions, if everybody else does the same we should all win and next year’s event will be even better! (we hope!)
Joanna – Thanks for letting us know that your family enjoyed the EF show. Sounds like a full load for the washing machine when you arrived home.
IJC – Yes I hope that everyone fills in the customer questionnaire. Is it available online or was it handed to you at the event?
Seems like a balanced debate is now raging here! Thanks to one and all for getting involved and for Karen for hosting this on her site.
Thought I’d better respond to a few of the questions that have been raised:
Karen – wasn’t suggesting you just wanted negative comments, but merely responding to your earlier post that suggested I didn’t believe the debate on the forum was balanced (which at that point it wasn’t).
Leen2212 – Nessie was there at the opposite side of the loch. To the best of my knowledge there was only one night where there was a technical problem that caused Nessie to disappear for a few hours (but let’s face it, that’s nothing comared to not being spotted for hundreds of years!) but apart from that you should have been able to see him in all his glory, slightly set back from the Selkie’s Deception.
David Lawrence – the figures I quote are generated by our customer survey which, to date, some 1700 visitors have responded to. This is emailed out to all ticket purchasers email addresses following their visit to the show so when I say 86% of people have enjoyed the show, that simply means 86% of people responding to the survey selected “yes” when asked the question “Did you enjoy your visit to The Enchanted Forest”.
Steve Perks – Don’t worry, you can come back next year. Judging by the strenghth of popular opinion, I for one will be advocating we return to the major light show on the loch (I’m guessing by the feedback that everyone is in agreement about that!)
IJC – thanks for answering the survey – as I said before we are listening and the more people who let us know what they want, the more likely we are to get it absolutely perfect!
Hopefully I’ve answered everyone’s questions, sorry if I’ve missed any.
I think what this does highlight to me is that you, our customers, are passionate about helping us to get this right. I hope by engaging in this debate that you realise that the team behind the event are equally as passionate about getting it right and by working together with your feedback, it’s the only way this can be achieved.
So thanks again for your engagement in this debate and I’ll keep checking back on this site to see what’s said next!
Tricia
Tricia – I can only moderate comments (positive or negative) as I receive them. I asked readers if they’d attended the Enchanted Forest this year, how would rate it and if they had attended in previous years, how this year’s event compared?
I couldn’t see a link to this blog post in the Press section on the Enchanted Forest website.
I have attended the EF show for the past 3 years, in the capacity of a press photographer (along with Steve Perks). There is no question this year’s show was a significantly different format to previous years, and my observation has been that most of the negative feedback about this year’s event, has centred around folks expectations, based on the previous year’s format.
My wife and son (and their friends) attended this year’s show for the first time (as full-paying public attendees on a public viewing night), and had a wonderful time. My son was awestruck by the show, but there was still plenty of interest for my wife as well. All in all, I think this year’s show, more than the last two years, was more “family friendly” with things that appeal to adults and children on different levels.
Perhaps the fact my wife and son had no pre-conceptions of what the show would deliver, helped them enjoy the show more?
Unfortunately this also probably means that those that were banking on the delivery of a similar “style” of show to the last two years could be disappointed. I guess this is the cost of change, but the show needs to change and reinvent itself each year, to remain fresh and current.
I think the organisers have done a great job of delivering a *unique* experience this year. Most of all, I think the organisers need to be congratulated on their courage to make such a significant change to the show, for often the best things come from taking risks, and this year’s show made for a very enjoyable night out for my family and friends, at the very least!!!
I cannot help but wonder, had this year’s show taken on the same format as previous years, if this blog would have been full of posts from folk questioning the value for money from a 15 minute light show over the Lochan, followed by a static light show around the forest? Or the lack of originality over previous year? Like any performance-based event, I don’t think EF will ever appeal to 100% of the paying public (a bit like any stage production). Indeed I personally know of a number of folk that attended EF in 2007 and 2008, that did not enjoy the show, or think it represented value for money. That said, there are still many folk that did.
Did EF get it “right” this year? I don’t know that the question can be answered when you’re dealing with differing subjective viewpoints. What I can say for certain though, is that for me, the show this year appealed for different reasons to previous years, and for that, I rate this year’s show as a success!
I too was rather disappointed with the Enchanted Forest event. I felt that it was just too old-fashioned – for these types of events, people expect something much more technologically-advanced. The shop-window dummies used throughout were a real disappointment – more animatronics required, or failing that, use real people rather than these static dummies. The pyrotechnics and the water features were also rather a disappointment. Now that I’ve had a taste of what’s on offer, I don’t think I’ll be going back in future years and I can’t really recommend it to others.
Graham – my disappointment with EF was partly due to photos and videos I’d seen from previous years but mainly to do with the quality of some of the attractions eg these dressed up mannequins and the Feed the Haggis. The event being different from what I expected would in itself not have been enough to make me feel disappointed if I judged that the alternative offered had more of wow factor. If more of the attractions had been of the standard of Kelpies Pearls and Dunmore Faeries I would have been much happier.
Elaine – I agree that these all too frequent static dummies were bad, not in the least enchanting.
Went on Hallowe’en with my partner for the first time & had been really looking forward to it. Really enjoyed the music (thanks to Mr Maclean!) and I thought the catering was fine. I do have to agree sadly with other previous comments as I thought some of the displays were rather poor and – to be honest – after what I had heard in previous years, possibly a little disappointing.
We both did enjoy the night however and it was quite enjoyable but perhaps not as magical as I had anticipated
I attended the EF in 2006 and was blown away by the fantastic light and music show. This year I returned with four friends with very high expectations, we were all very disappointed. I can’t believe that you are not using the natural beauty of the forest and loch. The previous show was just awe inspiring with the lights and colours reflected in the loch and I can’t understand why you have forsaken this format for static models and gimmicky sets. The EF was such a different, exciting spectacle, you have turned it into just another run of the mill tourist attraction. I understand that you are catering mainly for children but they are bombarded with computer images everyday. Please, please return to the old format. It worked – no need to change it!
Alison – I agree that some of the EF was lacking in magic and somme exhibits were poor.
Sue – sounds like you much prefer the old format. As I previously commented it is hard for the organisers they risk criticism if nothing changes or if they try a new format. For me the main criteria for anything the organisers do is that it should be quality eg no more static dummies.
I think people do understand that you have to make certain changes but your greatest asset is the beauty of the Loch/Forest…..