Xplosive Events Reviews 639

Abingdon bonfire and fireworks 2024. The event itself was great - it would have gotten 4 stars had it not been for the complete lack of traffic management / staff / general regard for safety on leaving the airfield. Complete free for all and took us 3 hours to leave the site. Got in the car at 9:30pm with a 4 year old in tow. Got home at 1am and we live 20 mins away. As soon as we got off site the roads were empty, the congestion and chaos was purely on site. Took all the shine away from what was a very expensive afternoon / evening.

Every year the traffic is a farce and they post saying they’ll sort it out for next time but they never do, all they care about is cramming as many people as possible in. My husband works on one of the small roads nearby and after a 13 hour shift he was stuck trying to get out onto a gridlocked road to get home. I posted this on their Facebook page and they blocked me. Stop being so greedy and do something about it. Advance tickets only, reduce number of people and/or pay for proper traffic management.

NOT SAFE. TORTURE GETTING IN AND OUT. My friends and I booked this event and got multiple emails saying to arrive before 6pm so we set off early to try and avoid traffic. It took 2.5 hours to drive along a 20 minute route. The fireworks were lovely, the fairground rides fun but the food underwhelming/overpriced. We tried to wait 2 hours after fireworks finished and they were packing up to leave to avoid traffic. When we got to our car we saw a row of red lights around the entire airfield, there was ZERO organisation getting people out of this event, it took cars 3 hours of queuing to leave the venue, thank GOD we didn’t have kids in the car. This event should NOT be allowed to run until there is a system to get people in and out of the event in reasonable time. The 5 hours to get in and out completely overshadows the fireworks, not worth it at all, not safe, do not recommend.

Abingdon bonfire night, what a complete disaster. The event had been way oversold and very poorly planned out.
With a lack of stewards throughout the event the whole evening seemed somewhat chaotic. We witnessed several lost children with no one on hand to help or even a muster point that we could take the child to!
The lack of toilets was one thing, but with the toilets being that heavily used & no one there to check/clean them was madness.
Again with a lack of rubbish bins the amount of litter scattered though out the site was appalling.
The firework display was over 30mins late starting and then when it did start it stoped half way though with very little info from the announcer as to what was happening.
As always at these events the fireworks were fantastic and I can not praise the display enough. Unfortunately that is the only good part. When the fireworks finished we then started on the 30minuet walk back to the car, most of which in the pitch black. Cars racing everywhere in between parked cars desperately trying to beat the queues made this part of the night SEVERALLY DANGEROUS. With family’s and children all over I will be surprised if no one was hurt. Once we made it to the car we then had to endure the nearly TWO HOUR free fall to try and get off site. With literally NO stewards any where to be seen it was complete and utter chaos. Horns blasting, people shouting and tempers rising with two scared young children in the car was the worst part of our evening. Never again!!

What a disgrace. The fireworks were late, there was a technical glitch during the last display that meant we had to wait 5 minutes for the last minute of the final song. The display was good despite this but then there was chaos getting out. No stewards or traffic management. People fighting and arguing to get out and it took 3 hours to get out of the car park. This overshadowed the whole night and ruined it completely. Will never go to an event at this venue ever again.

DO NOT COME..... Can't believe how badly this was organised. Hardly any toilets, not enough food and drinks vendors for the number of people, queues over 30mins to get a drink. The fireworks started over 40 minutes late... Fireworks were quite good.... but it took over 3 hours to get out of the car park. Total carnage. No stewards or traffic management. We got in the 'queue' that ended up being over 15 (might have been more but could count 15) lines of traffic all heading into 2 lanes of traffic. I get its a big event and might take time, but there was no organisation whatsoever. They just want to take your money and forget about safety and organisation. Awful!!!! It could have been great as the fireworks were quite good but was totally ruined by poor organisation.

If I could give a zero star rating, I would.
Well organised on arrival, swiftly parked.
Very expensive, poor quality food - whoever heard of a hotdog without onions?
There were insufficient toilets or bins.
Very late starting the firework display, although truly amazing display.
So some minor irritations until we tried to leave.
Even as the fireworks finished at 9pm, huge queues had already formed, wide rivers of red tail lights as far as the eye could see.
The car park turned into an absolute free for all, with no sign of any stewards to keep order. After a couple of hours, drivers were giving up on trying to queue, driving randomly across the grass creating yet more chaos towards the exit.
Along the side of the "road", barriers of some description were removed and "fast lane" created for those who were brave enough to drive in rougher areas.
Tempers became very fraught and several times we thought that a physical fight was imminent.
It is obvious that the event was organised to get people in and spending money and once that was accomplished, the organisers of the event lost complete interest making sure that the exit was as swift as possible.
I consider that this event was very poorly organised and possibly dangerous.
I would also like to see published the risk assessment for this event. Had there been any kind of medical emergency, I would like to know how an ambulance would have got out of the venue - or indeed in, as there was no signage to suggest emergency medical support was available on site.
Never again will we attend any event organised by this company.

Abingdon fireworks were fantastic, but queued for 3 hours to get out of there this evening. Will not be returning

Currently still sitting in the queue trying to leave abingdon display 3 hours so far! Completely disorganised shambles will not be ever attending again. Event people on site simply don't care.

Went to the abingdon fireworks and the end when leaving was just a pure free for all no organisation what so ever car just going were they want over fleid pushing in no one to usher cars or mange traffic plus foreworks was over 30 mins late being set off and all they say in emails is arrive early so you there ages beofore fireworks to line there pockets how hard is it to manage traffic at end of a event

Fire work spectacular - absolute shambles !!

Tried to say no refunds due to the event going ahead and being unable to control the weather ,

No consideration for the copious smoke machines from the fair rides , the lights from the fair , the bonfires smoke,

purely blaming the weather rather then bad event planning and a poor display for what was a sell out event !

Very disappointing firework display in Northampton.
The fireworks were not visible through so much thick smoke.

The funfair and food stalls were great although expensive but the fireworks which should’ve been the main event this evening were absolutely horrific you simply could barely see them through smoke most people started walking out because there was no point even trying to see them!Photo proof available.
Refund refused also.

Myself and 10 family members attended Abingdon summer fireworks. WOW the fireworks were out of this world! A little loud for the young children but that was to be expected. We had a gazebo to shelter from the English weather, I would definitely recommend getting one as it was a nice base for all.

Terrible company, I wish I had looked at these reviews before being sucked into their advertising.
Here is a copy of my email sent to summarise my experience.

Hello there,

I am writing to express my complete dissatisfaction with the event we attended at Ardingley, on 10th August. The event was advertised as a family-friendly occasion, yet our experience was anything but enjoyable.

First and foremost, I was threatened rather aggressively by a very unpleasant guest while waiting in line for the restroom. Another guest was also threatened when they politely pointed out that there was a queue. Being subjected to such aggression in what was supposed to be a safe, family-oriented environment was alarming and deeply unsettling. This incident ruined any chance of us relaxing or enjoying the remainder of our day.

Additionally, the lack of a proper queuing system across the fairground was a major issue. We repeatedly tried to take our son on the “mini monster truck” ride, only to encounter people pushing in ahead of us. With no staff managing the lines, our son was left disappointed and upset after patiently waiting, only to miss out on the ride due to the lack of organization.

Moreover, the overall atmosphere of the event was far from family-friendly. We observed men walking around shirtless, smoking, and clearly intoxicated. This created an environment that was inappropriate and uncomfortable, especially for families with young children.

Finally, the excessive queues for activities and refreshments were extremely frustrating. The line for ice cream alone was about 100 meters long, and similarly, the bounce park and monster truck ride had unreasonably long queues. We didn’t think it was fair to endure these queues with our toddler, meaning we didn’t get to participate in activities we had planned to do with him, leading to an overall disappointing experience.

I am extremely disappointed with how poorly this event was managed and the unsafe, unpleasant environment it fostered. This was not the family-friendly experience we were led to believe we would enjoy. I strongly urge you to consider these issues seriously and take immediate steps to improve future events.

I would appreciate a prompt response addressing my concerns and outlining the actions you will take to prevent such issues in the future.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Laura

We have just returned from the Abingdon hot air balloon and firework display. It was advertised as a joint event between the two displays. It's also advertised to have monster truck rides and helicopter rides at additional costs. The cost for a family of four be paid a little over £90. The fairground rides were reduced to half price for the first 2 hours, at an average cost of £2 It was unheard of in this age and fantastic to see. The food and drinks trucks were also catering for all dietary needs at reasonable prices. Unfortunately the monster truck was fully booked the entire evening, and the helicopter never showed up. Due to weather conditions hot air balloon display also did not take place. At this point we would have expected a portion of our entry fee refunded as three of the main activities advertised on the posters and website were not available. I appreciate you can't help the weather however as this was one of the main advertising strategy and reasons for us attending I believe this is the least they should offer. Firework display however, was spectacular. The greatest display I have ever seen with pyrotechnics fire lighting and audio All-Timed to perfection. The music was clear and easy to hear throughout the field. Providing of the advertised activities are available to all. I would highly recommend, however, if items advertised are missing I would expect a partial refund.

Illusion Fireworks ie xplosiveevents.com present an annual display at Abingdon Airfield which is not to be missed. This world class presentation includes a running commentary, a spectacular light and sound show to accompany the fireworks. Many other attractions fill the day.
Highly recommended.

I would never have thought 42 minutes could pass so quickly. We were entranced by the fabulous fireworks beautifully choreographed with lights, lasers and great music.
Very well organised, we had no queue to get in and it took only 20 minutes to leave. There was plenty to do if you stayed on and let the crowds die down but we had a 160 mile journey ahead with 2 road closures en-route so needed to get away.
Well worth the trip. Looking forward to 2025 event.

Abingdon balloon and fireworks festival 2024 was hands down the best fireworks I’ve ever seen it truly was magical, everyone involved did a fantastic job running the whole event, from getting you in and out as smoothly as possible, to keeping you updated on events throughout the afternoon and evening. The event was well laid out with something for everyone, with the food and drinks stands along with the fairground.
This was our first time attending and we will definitely be going again and 100% recommend to everyone.

There is 0 entertainment other than a fair which you then have to spend money on. You also have to pay for food, i understand as to why the hot air balloons couldn't fly however the 'day light fireworks' lasted around 5 seconds. The main fireworks didn't start until 9:15 and we were stood there for hours.