Wonderland, 5th December

When I first got to Wonderland, at a little before midnight I was a little worried. Where were all the people? Why weren’t the ones that were there as dressed up as me?

Forward to two hours’ time and all those cares had been forgotten. Sure, it wasn’t rammed but there were more than enough bodies to give the place some atmosphere and I didn’t feel like the odd one out in my choice of costume. I had such an excellent time. I hadn’t been before but had told anyone that asked that I believed it was a bit like Rumpus but on a smaller scale. I think that was a fair assumption. They had live acts, DJs and some ‘goings on’ and had completely transformed the Prince of Wales into an indoor festival.

We arrived and there was a laid back band playing some gentle ska type music. Later on Great Scott absolutely rocked the mic with their MCing and had the crowd in thrall. There was the great coronation of Queen Alice, much to the chagrin of the Queen of Hearts which involved confetti being sprinkled everywhere and much hoopla, and then another folky upbeat band a bit later. Plenty of entertainment. And that was just the one room – there was also another more focused on just dancing and a few little touches along the way, like a glitter shower (non-functioning when I went to explore it).

So, two rooms means it is a much smaller party than Rumpus. But I kinda liked that about it. I felt like I chatted to more people than I might at Rumpus, and also, didn’t have the fear of missing out on something going on. With all the acts happening in the one room, I knew where to go and at what time. Definitely took the FOMO out of my night.

The crowd was fun and friendly and before I knew it it was 5:45 am and time to start thinking about heading home. Wonderland – I will see you again!

Wonderland, 30th May

Wonderland was the second time in quite a short space of time I went to the Flying Dutchman for a party. The last time it was for Sparkle Hard and Wonderland had a similar sort of vibe going on. Dress code – colourful and whatever you want to wear (with it being somewhat alternative implied). So, donning as many different colours as possible, we headed down there expecting the same friendly, fun, sexy atmosphere there had been before.

And so there was, although it was in no way a carbon copy. I had a lot of fun (a LOT of fun ;)) but I preferred Sparkle Hard for one main reason – dancing. Even though Wonderland used exactly the same space, in this same space they had put a mini-ball pit and a pole for people to frolic around. I know I’m in isolation in not getting why ballpits are so much fun and everyone else seemed to love them, but it took up a lot of room and discouraged people from dancing I felt. Which is what I’m all about on a Saturday night!

Apart from that, it was a really great night – there’s a bit of crossover with these sorts of nights so it was nice to chat to lots of people and re-meet people I’d seen at other events. Everyone made an effort, donning as many shades as they could which really adds to the atmosphere. There weren't as many silly things going on as at Sparkle Hard - it was more a standard night in a pub but downstairs was the smallish dungeon and the area at the back to get frisky. I had enough fun upstairs to not need to explore (much) what was going on below. That's the thing with these parties. You can get as involved as you want. If you just want somewhere inclusive with a bunch of cool people then you just come along for that. Some people who had been before didn't remember it as being quite as friendly as, say Sparkle Hard, but I'm happy to say I disagreed. Yet another thing I'd be happy to go back to!