Children have been left in tears after Jurassic World show ticket holders were turned away at the door if they paid using discounted Wowcher vouchers, a visitor has said.
Around 30 to 40 people were affected on Monday by a booking system error that caused vouchers to be oversold for some time slots, said Neon, the creators of Jurassic World: The Experience.
One 11-year-old boy burst into tears that day after his mother told him they could not enjoy the Christmas present he had asked for.
Kate Stevens had travelled from her home in Canterbury, Kent, to collect her son in Enfield, east London, before they headed to the immersive dinosaur show at Battersea Power Station in the capital’s south-west.
Jurassic World: The Experience is the first event to be held at Neon’s recently-opened venue at the London landmark.
The experiential entertainment company issued an apology to those affected and said it is liaising with visitors to offer other time slots or a refund.
Meanwhile Wowcher said it is in the process of contacting customers and will be offering full refunds.
Mother of three Ms Stevens told the Press Association: “It was supposed to be a nice day out for the both of us, you know, just the two of us.
“He was very upset and he cried, that made me cry. It’s horrible – it’s Christmas.”
The 39-year-old added: “When you go there they’re only allowing people who paid full price in – if you’ve got a discounted ticket, you’re not coming in.
“There was a lady had two autistic children with her, they were having a meltdown, she was really distressed.”
One lady told her she had left her house at 5am to make the trip, she added.
Ms Stevens’ son, Jacob Harris, has Autistic Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.
His mother told PA: “My son himself is very upset, we’ve travelled quite a long way for him to go.
“And I asked them how long this had been going on for – no-one could give me an answer.”
She added: “(My son) was standing next to me and then I could see other people being told and I went up to somebody, and I showed him my ticket, and I was like: ‘Does that mean us as well?’ And he said: ‘Unfortunately, yes.’”
She led Jacob away and said: “I’m really sorry, but we can’t come in.
“He just burst into tears and then got really upset and said: ‘I just want to go home, I just don’t want to be here, I hate my life.’
“He gets quite dramatic, upset, bless him. It’s been quite a build-up, he lives in Enfield with his dad and I live down in Canterbury, so it was supposed to be a nice little day out for the both of us.”
She added: “He just said: ‘Ask them if we can go at another time… Can’t we come back later?’
“And I’d already heard the other parents asking that, and they were just like, no – flat-out, no.”
Ms Stevens added: “There were a lot of upset children.
“They were letting people queue up and and then when they got to the front of the queue, telling them that… because they had vouchers they couldn’t come in because they were over-subscribed.”
Ms Stevens said she bought the voucher in November and Jacob had been wanting to see the show for some time.
Around 1,800 people visit the the exhibition each day during the holiday period, a PR company said on behalf of Neon.
It added: “Some visitors holding Wowcher tickets were unable to enter Jurassic World: The Experience this week, which was the result of a booking system error which led to too many vouchers being sold for certain time slots.
“As the experience operates under strict capacity limits to ensure visitor safety, we were unfortunately unable to admit everyone at their original arrival time.
“All affected ticketholders were notified in advance, and we’ve been liaising with visitors to either accommodate them in alternative sessions or refund them for their tickets.
“We understand how disappointing this would have been for families – we sincerely apologise to anyone whose visit was impacted and are reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again.”
Wowcher said in a statement: “This event was overbooked due to a system error on Jurassic World’s side.
“They have contacted the affected customers directly, apologised and asked them to reach out to Wowcher.
“We are in the process of contacting impacted customers ourselves and will obviously be offering a full refund.”
