Adventure Island's Father Christmas opens 28 November 2026 at £40 per child with one adult free. Prittlewell Priory's £16 visits, and what else is confirmed.
The first confirmed place to meet Father Christmas in Southend this year is Adventure Island’s Wonderland, which opens on Saturday 28 November 2026 and runs on weekends and then daily from 19 to 24 December. Tickets are £40 per child, including one adult.
The cheaper council-run visit at Prittlewell Priory has not announced its 2026 dates yet. Last year it ran on one weekend in mid-December at £16 per child.
The quick answer
- Adventure Island Wonderland: 28 and 29 November, 5 and 6, 12 and 13, and 19 to 24 December 2026, from 10am. £40 per child with one adult free.
- Prittlewell Priory: 2026 dates not out yet. In 2025 it was 13 and 14 December at £16 per child, adults free.
- Book early. Both run on timed slots and neither refunds or moves a booking.
Adventure Island Wonderland
Adventure Island on Western Esplanade puts Father Christmas in a Christmas village, where every child meets him and gets a toy to take home. The organiser has published these 2026 dates and prices (Adventure Island).
| General | Annual pass holders | |
|---|---|---|
| Child ticket, with one free adult | £40 | £20 |
| Extra adult | £10 | £5 |
| Photo with Father Christmas | From £10 | From £8 |
| Open | 28 and 29 November; 5 and 6, 12 and 13, and 19 to 24 December 2026, from 10am | |
The child’s ticket also includes rides in the indoor Funtopia park and the Polar Express Christmas Sleigh ride, the soft play area for under-11s, a hot drink, and a passport of vouchers: a free round of Adventure Golf, free Sealife Adventure entry for the child and one adult, and £2 of arcade games. Ride height limits apply and each voucher has its own expiry date.
The organiser says admission is half price for everyone on the opening weekend, 28 and 29 November. Annual pass holders for Adventure Island or Sealife Adventure pay half price every day. Groups of more than ten children book through enquiries@stockvale.co.uk.
Father Christmas at Prittlewell Priory
Southend Museums, the council’s museum service, runs Father Christmas visits at Prittlewell Priory in Priory Park. The 2026 dates have not been announced. In 2025 it ran on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 December, from 11am to 4pm (Eventbrite, Southend Museums; council news, 9 December 2025).
Last year’s terms, from the organiser’s booking page:
- £16 per child, including the visit and a gift. Accompanying adults and children under three go free, though under-threes do not get their own gift.
- Visits are suited to children aged 3 to 15. You choose the age bracket when booking, and it decides the gift.
- Half-hour time slots. Each family sees Father Christmas on its own and can take a photo.
- Included: drop-in storytelling, a Christmas craft and a festive trail around the house.
- No changes or refunds once booked. The ground floor, where he sits, is fully accessible.
The council said in 2025 that prebooking was essential “as tickets sell fast”.
Santa on the Pier
Santa on the Pier, where children rode the pier train to meet Santa at the end of Southend Pier, has not been listed since 2023. The pier’s own event page for it shows December 2023 dates, and the booking site still shows that year (Southend Pier). The pier has published no Christmas events for 2026 on its What’s On page. We will add it if it returns.
Other festive dates already fixed
- Christmas lights switch-on, Saturday 14 November in the city centre: Southend Christmas lights.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Cliffs Pavilion, 12 December to 3 January: Southend pantomime.
- Southend Rudolph Run, Sunday 13 December, 10am to 12:30pm, on Shoebury Common Road (Visit Southend).
For getting there, see parking in Southend and Southend roadworks and travel.
Still to be confirmed
- Prittlewell Priory’s 2026 Father Christmas dates and price. The council was still promoting last year’s on 9 December; we will check from late October.
- Whether Santa on the Pier returns.
Last checked 24 September 2026.
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