Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Magical Journey forced to close amid complaints

But the winter wonderland created by Changing Rooms star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has been forced to close after one day as hundreds of complaints were said to have been lodged by furious customers.

The experience at The Belfry golf course, known as Magical Journey, was described as 'far from magical', with complaints Father Christmas handed out 'cheap plastic toys' and that there were horrendous queues. Others claimed spotting elves having to push a train uphill and Santa's Little Helpers just sat around smoking.

The two-and-a-half acre attraction near Sutton Coldfield will be closed until Wednesday to make improvements and the company has started issuing advice on claiming refunds.

Elizabeth Yeomans wrote on Facebook: "Ruining the magic of Christmas for little kids

"Ripping off parents right on top of Christmas when they could've spent that money on Christmas presents! Well done!! I hope Laurence whatever his name is, and The Belfry, are proud"

Faith John Marshall added: "One word!! Gutted.. someone is laughing on how much they have made from all this!! "The market stalls were so poor and it was horrendous! Nothing magical and came out feeling soooo sad.

"These people are making mega bucks from us all and they get away with it.

"I had to sit on the floor to feed my baby, as had no chairs and whilst on the train it was so rocky, I nearly fell off with her in my arms."

Angry Natalie Craig said on Facebook: "I want my £220 refunded.

"You did not deliver what you advertised and have ripped people off that is the issue and some of your staff are down right rude and clearly do not care.

"Magical experience what a joke and it didn't even last the allocated time of 80/90 Minutes either."

The official Magical Journey Facebook page announced the closure today.

"Based on customer feedback we have taken the decision to take three full days closure today (23/11/14), tomorrow (24/11/14) and Tuesday (25/11/14) in order that we can implement changes and improvements to the experience. Our customers are our priority for safety and a magical experience and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

"It is important that we deliver the high quality experience you are expecting and hope to reopen with improvements and changes having been made. We have also had difficulty with torrential rain on site affecting effecting the lighting and sound, we ahem people working to repair this damage.

"All customers affected by these closures have been emailed and will be offered either a refund or a new date, based on their preference."

The experience involves a ride on a 'Father Christmas Express' to Uncle Holly's Hut. It then travels through enchanted woods to the 'North Pole HQ'.

Real reindeer, a Father Christmas museum, and a snow-covered lodged also feature in the attraction.

Prior to opening Mr Llewelyn-Bowen said: "I have designed The Magical Journey to inspire that slightly breathless sense of excited anticipation I think all of us can remember from our childhood experiences."

"It's a sophisticated yet accessible vision of Christmas storytelling that mingles excitement with enchantment and fairytale with fantasy to ensure a never-forgotten seasonal experience."

Paul Dolan, event director, said the families who complained and those effected by the closure will be getting a full refund after admitting the attraction should not have opened this weekend.

He added: "The team have put their hearts and souls into creating The Magical Journey.

"It's clear to us now that we should have postponed the opening, but we didn't want to disappoint those families already booked. That was the wrong decision and we apologise.

"Work on building The Magical Journey was severely hampered by torrential rain over the last few weeks, there were a lot of small issues which needed to be resolved, and some teething troubles, and we had hoped to do this by working through the night on Saturday, but again the rain put pay to this.

"It is incredibly important to us that visitors experience The Magical Journey as it was envisioned by Laurence and the team.

"Therefore we have taken the difficult decision to close The Magical Journey, for three days while we carry out some necessary work.

"We have taken on board all visitor feedback and we will reopen on Wednesday the 26th of November. Those people whose visits are effected will be offered refunds or alternative dates."

Tickets cost between £10 and £15 for adults, and £17.50 and £22.50 for children, depending on the day of the week they visit.

Those who have already visited can contact the support team on 0121 636 0888 in order to arrange a refund and a free visit.