The Magic Garden FAQs

Please check our opening hours calendar for up-to-date opening times and route closures. The Magic Garden will also open on set dates throughout the year due to Rise and Roar sessions, so please check the hours before your visit.  

Rise and Roar sessions are ticketed sessions which run on certain dates between 09:30 and 11:00. These enable those people that live or care for someone with autism spectrum disorder to enjoy the Magic Garden with some simple measures put in place to aid visitor comfort and enjoyment. Visit our Rise and Roar sessions page further information. 

There is no upper age limit to these sessions.

Closing times vary throughout the year. Please check our opening times calendar before your visit. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing time. 

A visit to the Magic Garden requires a palace general admission ticket, which is available on our Tickets and Prices page. 

• Magic Garden only tickets are not available as entry is included in palace admission tickets. 
• Palace ticket holders and valid membership cards holders are not required to purchase tickets for children ages 5 years and under. 

The most cost-effective way for families to enjoy the Magic Garden throughout the year is to upgrade to our family membership, which offers unlimited entry to all the sites across Hampton Court Palace, including the Magic Garden. 

If you plan to come and see us again, we recommend purchasing a Historic Royal Palaces annual membership. If you pay by direct debit, you will receive £10 off your first year of membership. Please join online or speak to a member of staff on arrival.

Your membership card is not transferable and only the named card holder(s) will be admitted using your membership card. If you are bringing guests not named on your membership card, they will need to purchase a ticket, or join as members themselves.

Members will be subject to the same entrance policies as palace visitors such as limited dwell time and queuing on busy days. If you have a family membership, please only bring those children who you registered when taking out your membership. 

In order to ensure the safety of children playing we require a minimum of one adult for every 6 children. If children are aged under 5, we advise a ratio of 1 adult to 5 children. 

The Magic Garden contains a range of play equipment and different experiences from sand and water play, Tiltyard Towers, aerial walkways, slides, climbing frames and magical beast’s lair to an amphitheatre, a regal crown, our resident dragon and a new fountain plaza area.  

Please consider the following:

• We encourage parents and guardians to explore the garden with their children to identify the many hiding places and to determine which features they feel comfortable with their children using.
• We ask that children are supervised at all times.
• Some equipment in the Magic Garden, such as the Mount, may result in friction burns if precautions are not taken due to the astro-turf slowing the rate acceleration. To minimise this, we recommend suitable clothing is worn when sliding down these slopes. 

Every effort has been made to make the site as accessible as possible; however there are some features such as the aerial walkways and some of the wild wood paths that are not accessible. 

Visit our palace accessibility page for more information. We kindly ask that when trying to find somewhere to settle in the shaded areas, the pathways are kept clear at all times. 

If you lose sight of your child please be assured they will be inside hiding somewhere and they are probably watching you whilst you hunt for them in the towers, the wild wood and the grotto area!

We strongly recommend all adults walk around the Magic Garden with their children to familiarise themselves with the layout and to identify those places where you know your child may hide. If you cannot find your child please let a Magic Garden attendant know so that they can assist.

No! The Magic Garden is an unsupervised play area. Whilst we have staff positioned by the entrance and Magic Gardeners inside, their role is to provide advice, care for and maintain the garden and keep an eye out for any child or parent that looks lost.  

All our staff are happy to help locate lost children and provide first aid assistance but they are not responsible for your children. In the event a child is found on their own and the responsible adult cannot be found, staff will follow our safeguarding procedure and if the responsible adult cannot be found the relevant social services department will be contacted. 

There are first aid trained staff on site and based in the area of the Magic Garden itself – simply find one of the Magic Garden attendants or one of the team at the entry kiosk and they will call a first aider for you.

The Magic Garden is a large open space with plenty of room to run and play. The water features are the perfect way for your little ones to cool off, but there is minimal shade in the Magic Garden and queueing area. 

Please follow the below advice when in the Magic Garden on hot days: 

• When trying to find a suitable place to sit in the shade, keep paths clear at all times. 
• As the surrounding vegetation matures over the years, available shade will increase but unfortunately, we will need to let nature take its course. 
• Bring adequate water resistant sun protection (hats, sun screen, sun glasses, loose clothing). 
• Follow government health guidelines and avoid being in direct sunlight between the hours of 11:00 and 14:00.  
• If you bring a plastic water bottle you can refill this using the drinking water fountains to prevent dehydration. 
• In very hot weather, surfaces will get hot including the encampment area, astro-turf and metal slides so please try to ensure that suitable footwear is worn at all times.  

Staff will be able to recommend area of shade outside the Magic Garden and please remember you are able to re-visit later in the day. 

If we experience very cold wet weather conditions the fountains will be turned off until conditions improve. It may also be necessary to close the slides, as wet conditions result in people travelling much faster! Whilst this may cause some disappointment, again our main concern is visitor comfort and enjoyment. 

While visiting the Magic Garden in cold weather, we would recommend you take this into consideration and bring appropriate clothing.  

There is a lot of water-play in the garden, including fountains and streams so you may wish to bring a change of clothes and a towel, especially if you are planning on visiting the palace later. 

There’s also lots of climbing, sliding and sand to play in so you might want to wear some older clothes that you aren’t worried about getting a little dirty!

Yes. Children should be clothed or in swimsuits at all times. For health and safety reasons we ask that younger children are dressed in a nappy or swim nappy when playing in the area. Adults must not wear swimwear.  

Please remember to check if your child requires changing regularly. We understand that accidents can happen, however, to ensure we have a clean, hygienic area available for everyone’s enjoyment, if your child has an accident, out of consideration for others, please do make the team aware, especially if it results in a feature having to be closed temporarily whilst the area is cleaned. 

The Magic Garden does have a limited capacity. We manage this during busier periods, such as school holidays, public holidays and weekends by issuing wristbands, which will be coloured according to the time you arrive and allow up to 90 minutes in the garden.

The colour of the wristband you are wearing will be called out when it is time to leave, to allow others a chance to enjoy the garden. Please have these on your person and visible at all times while in the garden, as the attendants conduct regular checks.

After leaving, we ask that you leave it one hour before returning, and on very busy days we cannot guarantee re-entry. Due to safeguarding we cannot we cannot allow entry to those without children in their party.

As with other popular attractions, on busy days queuing is not uncommon but we will endeavour to get you into the Magic Garden as quickly as we can.

16-17 year olds will need to be accompanied by a child and adult in order to enter the Magic Garden. 

All visitors will be issued with a wristband, the colour of which will vary according to the time you arrive. The wristband is not a ticket. It is purely to enable our team to identify those people whose timeslot has come to an end. When you are given your wristband, and had your ticket or membership card scanned, a member of the Ticketing Team will advise you of when you may be asked to leave. Please retain your tickets and membership cards as these will need to be scanned at every entry point, and also when you re-enter. 

By abiding these simple rules, we are able to ensure that as many people as possible are able to experience this unique play area during their visit. Any adult found inside the garden without a wristband will be asked to leave (along with their family), as we will not know how long you have been in the area. This applies to both members and ticket holders. 

Subject to the number of people in the Magic Garden at any one time, where possible we will always endeavour to accommodate those that wish to re-visit later in the day. During peak times when we know that visitor numbers will be high, the ability to re-enter may not always be possible.

You will be issued a different coloured wristband when you return later in the day.

During term time, the Magic Garden is considerably quieter. If you and your children would benefit from visiting outside normal peak times, you will find that visitor numbers are lower and often there is no limit on the amount of time you can spend inside. 

This may be particularly beneficial to those who have, or look after someone with sensory needs, who are unable to attend one of our Rise and Roar early morning sessions.  

On quiet days we may be able to accommodate a few small children’s bikes. During weekends and during school and public holidays, we are unable to allow any bicycles, regardless of size into the Magic Garden. This also applies to small trailers. 

Adult bikes must be kept at the cycle racks and are left at the owner’s risk. Cycle racks are located in the lower on-site car park, at the rear of the ticket office and along Tennis Court Lane near the visitor reception office.

Scooters can be taken into the Magic Garden but please do not allow your child(ren) to ride their scooter in the Magic Garden. We like to think that with all the exciting features inside, the scooter will not be required until it is time for you to leave!

There are two drinking fountains in the garden. These are turned off for the winter months so may not be accessible at certain times of the year. 

There is a kiosk serving drinks and ice-creams, please check our Eating page for opening hours and menu offerings. 

The use of picnic blankets, and setting up picnic tables and chairs is not permitted and if seen, may be eaten by our dragon. This is to ensure that everyone can use the space safely.

If you do wish to picnic, please make use of the areas in the Wilderness and Tiltyard café. Picnicking is also allowed in the Amphitheatre. Please be aware that anyone refusing pack away picnic blankets and chairs etc. in the Magic Garden will be asked to leave. We also kindly ask that you keep all of the pathways clear at all times.

Yes. There are a limited number of toilets, including an accessible toilet and baby changing facilities within the Magic Garden itself. As the facilities inside are limited and the Garden gets busy, we kindly ask that you notify a member of staff in the event the facilities require some attention.

Please refrain from flushing wipes, sanitary products and nappies and use the bins provided in the toilets. This will prevent blockages occurring, and the facilities being unavailable for use.

Yes there are. Out of respect for others and at the dragon’s request, we ask that all litter is placed in the bins provided and nappies are disposed of in the nappy bins inside the toilets. This will ensure the cleanliness of the Magic Garden is maintained for everyone’s enjoyment.

To enjoy that everyone has a positive experience while visiting the magic garden, please listen to any announcements made so you know when it’s time to leave. Please also keep your wristband on whilst inside the Magic Garden. Anyone found without a wristband may be asked to leave as we will not know how long you have been in there.