Planet Ice Altrincham opens 10am to 12pm on Christmas Day for £10. Skate & Spot Santa runs from 12 December at £15.40, skates £3. Every festive session listed.

Altrincham’s ice rink is Planet Ice on Oakfield Road, and it is open on Christmas Day: one session, 10am to 12pm, at £10 a skater. It is a permanent indoor rink, not a pop-up, so it skates all through December. “Skate & Spot Santa” sessions run on 12, 13 and 18 to 24 December at £15.40, and there is no public skating on Tuesday 8 December, when the rink stages its Christmas ice show. Skates are extra, £3 a pair online.

All times and prices below were read from Planet Ice’s own Altrincham booking system on 20 October 2026. Planet Ice says its website “always has the most up-to-date opening hours” and that timetables can change week to week, so check your session on planet-ice.co.uk before you go.

The quick answer
Where Planet Ice Altrincham, Oakfield Road, Altrincham WA15 8EW
Christmas Day Open 10am to 12pm, £10 a skater, under 4s £3.20
Boxing Day Five sessions, 10am to 6pm
New Year’s Eve Five sessions, 10am to 6pm; no evening skate
Santa sessions 12, 13 and 18 to 24 December
Closed to the public Tuesday 8 December (ice show day)
Adult or child £11.75 on early December weekdays, £15.40 at most other times
Skate hire £3, or £8 with a helmet
Booking Online recommended; full sessions turn people away

Prices

Planet Ice prices each session, so the same ticket costs different amounts on different days. These are the prices its booking system showed on 20 October for December and early January sessions:

Ticket Peak session Off-peak session
Adult (16+) £15.40 £11.75
Child (4 to 15) £15.40 £11.75
Family of 3, 4 or 5 (at least one adult) £14.70 each £10.70 each
Student (16+, online only, ID needed) £10.00 £10.00
Under 4s (with an adult on the ice) £3.20 £3.20
Carer with an Access Card Free Free

The off-peak price applies only to the weekday daytime sessions on 1, 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10 December and the 3.45pm after-school skates on 3 and 10 December. From Friday 11 December every public session is £15.40, apart from Christmas Day.

On top of admission:

  • Skates: £3 for a skates package, or £8 for skates and a helmet. Planet Ice’s FAQs say skate hire “is not included” in public sessions. The largest hire size at Altrincham is a 14; the smallest children’s option is clip-on skates.
  • Skating aids: from £7 an hour.
  • Booking fee: 4% on online public skating bookings, applied to the extras too.
  • Spectators: £2.50 each for anyone 13 or over who is not skating.
  • Reschedule package: £2.50 a booking, and only bought at the time of booking. Without it, Planet Ice says bookings cannot be moved.
  • Lockers: £1.50 for three hours or £2.50 all day; £2.50 and £3.50 for the ones with USB charging.

An Ice Card membership costs £19.99 a year and takes £2.40 off each standard admission. It does not apply to the student price. For a family of four skating twice over Christmas it pays for itself; for one visit it does not.

Every Christmas session

Session names and times as listed on 20 October. You can arrive at any time during your session and leave when you like, Planet Ice says.

Date Session times Session
Tue 1 Dec 10am to 3pm Public skate (off-peak)
Wed 2 Dec 10am to 3.30pm; 7.15pm to 9pm Public skate (daytime off-peak)
Thu 3 Dec 10am to 3.30pm; 3.45pm to 6pm Public skate, after-school skate (off-peak)
Fri 4 Dec 10am to 3.30pm; 7.45pm to 9.45pm Public skate, Sub Zero Disco
Sat 5 Dec 11am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 4pm Public skate
Sun 6 Dec 11am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 4.15pm Public skate
Mon 7 Dec 10am to 3.30pm Public skate (off-peak)
Tue 8 Dec No public skating Christmas ice show
Wed 9 Dec 10am to 3.30pm; 7.15pm to 9pm Public skate (daytime off-peak)
Thu 10 Dec 10am to 3.30pm; 3.45pm to 6pm Public skate, after-school skate (off-peak)
Fri 11 Dec 10am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 4.30pm; 7.45pm to 9.45pm Christmas Jumper Day
Sat 12 Dec 11am to 2pm; 12pm to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm Skate & Spot Santa
Sun 13 Dec 11am to 2pm; 12pm to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4.15pm; 2.30pm to 4.15pm Skate & Spot Santa
Mon 14 to Wed 16 Dec 10am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 4.30pm (plus 7.15pm to 9pm on the 16th) Public skate
Thu 17 Dec 10am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 3.30pm; 3.45pm to 6pm Public skate
Fri 18 Dec 10am to 1pm; 11am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm; 7.45pm to 9.45pm Skate & Spot Santa
Sat 19 Dec 11am to 2pm; 12pm to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm; 5pm to 8pm; 6.30pm to 9pm Skate & Spot Santa
Sun 20 Dec 11am to 2pm; 12pm to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4.15pm; 2.30pm to 4.15pm; 5.45pm to 8.30pm; 7pm to 9pm Skate & Spot Santa
Mon 21 Dec 10.30am to 1pm; 11.30am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm Skate & Spot Santa
Tue 22 and Wed 23 Dec 10.30am to 1pm; 11.30am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm; evening from 7pm (22nd) or 7.15pm (23rd) to 9pm Skate & Spot Santa
Thu 24 Dec 10am to 1pm; 11am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 5.30pm; 3.30pm to 6pm Skate & Spot Santa
Fri 25 Dec 10am to 12pm Christmas Day skate, £10
Sat 26 Dec 10am to 1pm; 11am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 5.30pm; 3.30pm to 6pm Public skate
Sun 27 Dec 10am to 1pm; 11am to 2pm; 1.30pm to 4.15pm; 2.30pm to 4.15pm; 5.45pm to 8.30pm; 7pm to 9pm Public skate
Mon 28 to Wed 30 Dec 10.30am to 1pm; 11.30am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm; 7pm to 9pm Public skate
Thu 31 Dec 10am to 1pm; 11am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 5.30pm; 3.30pm to 6pm New Year’s Eve skate
Fri 1 Jan 10am to 1pm; 11am to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 5.30pm; 3.30pm to 6pm New Year’s Day skate
Sat 2 Jan 11am to 1pm; 12pm to 3pm; 1.30pm to 4pm; 2.30pm to 4.30pm; 5pm to 8pm; 6.30pm to 9pm Public skate
Sun 3 Jan 11am to 1pm; 11am to 2pm; 1.30pm to 4.15pm; 2.30pm to 4.15pm; 5.45pm to 8.30pm; 7pm to 9pm Public skate
Mon 4 Jan 10am to 1pm; 1.30pm to 3.30pm Public skate

Sessions overlap on busy days, so the rink is rarely empty between them. There are also late Sunday “Hockey Basics” sessions for adults (18+, £12) on 6, 13 and 20 December and 3 January; they are for hockey players, not general skating.

Skate & Spot Santa

The Santa sessions run on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December, then every day from Friday 18 to Christmas Eve. They cost the same as any peak session: £15.40 for an adult or child, £14.70 each for a family of three to five. Planet Ice’s booking system names the sessions but does not describe what Santa does on the ice or whether there is a gift, so do not book expecting a grotto visit. For a sit-down Santa with a present, see our Altrincham Santa’s grotto page.

Christmas Day

Planet Ice Altrincham opens for one session on Friday 25 December, 10am to 12pm. It is priced as a flat “Christmas Day Skate” at £10 a skater, with under 4s at £3.20 and a free carer place with an Access Card. There are no family or student tickets for this session. Two hours on the ice before lunch is the only skating in Altrincham that day, and there is only the one session, so book it early.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

Both days have five overlapping sessions between 10am and 6pm, at £15.40. There is no evening skate on New Year’s Eve: the last session is 3.30pm to 6pm. The full timetable returns on 2 and 3 January, and the schedule runs out on Monday 4 January, the last day loaded on 20 October.

The Christmas ice show, 8 December

Planet Ice’s Christmas show this year is Jack & The Beanstalk, skated at Altrincham on Tuesday 8 December 2026 at 1pm and 7pm. Planet Ice says it is “brought to life by the Show & Skate class of amateur skaters and supported by their Professional on Tour cast”, so expect local learn-to-skate pupils alongside the professionals. Tickets are seated and sold through IceAccount’s ticketing page (matinee) and its evening equivalent; prices only appear once you pick a seat. For wheelchair, disability or carer seating, the box office asks you to phone 0161 926 8782. Planet Ice’s FAQs say its only Blue Light discount is for this annual Christmas show.

The public ice is closed all day on 8 December because of the show.

Is there a pop-up Christmas rink in Altrincham?

Not that anyone has announced. Altrincham BID and Trafford Council had published no outdoor or pop-up rink for Christmas 2026 by 20 October, and the Trafford Centre had put no Christmas rink on its own site. The nearest other ice this Christmas is a show, not a skate: Gandeys’ Snowstorm: A Frozen Adventure puts circus on a real ice rink at the Trafford Centre from 4 December to 3 January. Times and prices are on our Snowstorm page. If a pop-up rink is announced in the borough, it will be added here.

Is the Altrincham rink closing?

Not this Christmas. Two things have raised the question:

  • The Altair site. The council owns the land under the rink and is choosing between plans for the wider Oakfield Road site. Its report says a homes-led plan “works alongside the existing ice rink” and that Planet Ice holds a long lease. Nothing in it ends the lease. Our Altair story has the detail.
  • A new arena at TraffordCity. Planet Ice says Trafford Council has approved a 3,000-capacity ice arena on the former Soccer Dome site next to The Snow Centre, with Planet Ice as anchor tenant and “one of their largest venues in the UK”. It has given no opening date and has not said what it means for Altrincham (Planet Ice news).

Professional hockey has gone: Manchester Storm are not licensed to play at the rink for 2026/27. Public skating, lessons and grassroots hockey carry on.

Parking and getting there

The rink sits beside Altrincham Interchange, so the train or tram stops a short walk away. The council’s Oakfield Road car park, WA15 8EW, is next to it: £2 for two hours and £3 for three, charged Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm. A three-hour Saturday Santa session plus the walk is a £4 stay. On Saturday 12 December the town centre also has the Lantern Parade, so expect fuller car parks that afternoon. Our Altrincham parking page has every car park and tariff, and our roadworks and travel page has closures and rail changes for the weeks before Christmas.

Before you go

  • Book online. Planet Ice says that if a session is full “you won’t be able to enter without a booking”.
  • Under 13s must be with an adult in the building at all times, and under 8s need an adult with them on the ice.
  • Dress for it: leggings, joggers or tracksuit bottoms and close layers, not denim or a bulky coat; long, smooth socks; gloves. Gloves can be added to an online booking for £3.50.
  • Wheelchairs are allowed on the ice; Planet Ice asks you to contact the rink first.

Still to be published

  • Ice show ticket prices (shown only at seat selection).
  • Sessions after Monday 4 January.
  • What happens at the Skate & Spot Santa sessions.

This page will be updated before the Santa sessions begin.

Sources