By Alan Johnson
Copyright walesonline
A mum has voiced her disappointment online after witnessing a significant change to the entertainment while staying at a Haven holiday park. Lauren Joy, who was holidaying at the company’s resort Skegness, turned to TikTok to draw attention to evening schedule for youngsters . Haven’s ‘Seaside Squad’ has remained a cornerstone of family breaks for years, with various characters including Annie (an elephant), Rory (a tiger) and Bradley Bear entertaining little ones on stage during evenings and through countless activities during the daytime. Nevertheless, Lauren’s footage appeared to demonstrate that these characters had been substituted with pre-recorded animated alternatives supervising the children’s fun . “I’m sorry, but when did Haven start using videos for the entertainment rather than actual characters and people?” she questioned. Frustrated Lauren continued: “We queued and have passes to watch this. I miss the tiger club, that place was SO fun.” The short footage clip with an animated Rory “moving on to section two” and directing the youngsters to “wiggle their arms like the sea”. A spokesperson for Haven said: “We appreciate how much memorable, family friendly entertainment and interactions with the Seaside Squad mean to our visitors and want to reassure that the Seaside Squad remains fully present on our parks, with frequent stage shows, personal appearances and other activities. Screen content and digital activities are in addition to and complement, not replace, the Squad’s on-park presence, enabling our guests to have even more opportunities to join in. “We are sorry to hear that this guest was disappointed and hope that they caught up with members of the Seaside Squad later in their stay.” Lauren’s footage attracted over 1.4 million views within 24 hours, with numerous others expressing their opinions on Haven’s digital entertainment. “Yes it’s mad!” one TikTok user raged. “The kids just couldn’t get on with it so we just didn’t bother. So sad.” Another individual stated: “The standard of children’s entertainment at Haven has changed drastically and not for the better. Gone is the interaction and games, now it’s just copy me dancing, awful.” A third person expressed their sadness: “My biggest special interest is holiday park mascots, I’m planning on going to Haven next year; meeting the Seaside Squad is very much at the top of my list so I’d be very disappointed if I come in expecting to see Rory and the gang and instead get this weird motion capture stuff with them! “I remember going as a kid and they had at least four of the characters out for every show, sometimes even all six.” While a fourth TikTok user simply expressed: “You’re joking… this is heartbreaking.” Others offered potential reasons for the change, however, including one Brit who suggested: “Typically only ever see this when they are short staffed. People get sick or take their annual leave this is what you get… you’re still on holiday some don’t get that any more.” A second pointed out: “If this is video is from September it’s probably because it’s now September and you’ve gone in school term time.” And a third shared their experience: “We’re currently at Haven in Wales and they started off on screen then the mascots come out on stage… not sure if they do at all places though.” Haven says of its characters online: “You’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the Seaside Squad at all of our parks, where they’ll be busy entertaining you all come rain or shine. Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice .
