Theme Park Review: Love, Actually Land

It was inevitable. With the recent opening of Universal’s Notebook World and the runaway success of Six Flags Over Rachel Getting Married, it was only a matter of time before Love, Actually got the theme park treatment, especially given its status as perennial source of online debate. Yearly, the masses howl: timeless classic, or overbaked fluff? It’s both, really, and now it’s a vacation destination, one I visited after its savvy opening at the start of the holiday season.

I’ll say this: it’s an immersive experience. As arrive in the parking lot, Bill Nighy’s cover of Christmas Is All Around seems to come from everywhere, Big Ben chimes in the distance, and the air itself somehow has been scented with fish and chips. Guests then board a tram shaped like Emma Thompson, carrying everyone to the entrance with the same steadfast energy she carried the weight of raising a family under the strain of a loveless marriage.

The ride was bumpy. I think that was the point.

Disembarking from Emma, we approached the ticket pavillion. I’ve heard complaints about the entrance fees, and to be sure the All-Inclusive, Actually package runs steep, but the Thifty, Actually pass is quite reasonable, especially with the Liam Neeson bobblehead. That the park only accepts pounds sterling while located outside Dayton, Ohio is annoying but I can…