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Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I just love the Christmas season. So much so that sometimes I wish it was Christmas all the time. I enjoy the Christmas in July marathons on Hallmark Channel.
But I do miss going in person to Christmas festivals. But if you live in Chicago or are visiting Chicago this summer, you won’t have to wait until the holiday season to experience the Christmas spirit in person. And you can do that by visiting Santa’s Village Amusement & Waterpark!
Santa’s Village is a Christmas-themed theme park where it’s Christmas all the time. And it is not only an amusement park but a waterpark and petting zoo as well!
Santa’s Village is conveniently located in East Dundee, Illinois, which is about 45 minutes outside of Chicago.
We’re going to go over all the reasons why this is a great place to visit. And then we’ll tell you how you can save money on your ticket!
Rides
Santa’s Village has a lot of great rides. This includes a classic ride from park opening in 1959, Santa’s Tree House Slide. This also includes a classic Santa’s Village ride from 1962, the classic teacup ride that is themed to Christmas with the title Snowball Ride. Similarly, their bumper car ride is themed as Snowman Spin Out. The Blizzard is a swinging pendulum attraction.
There are lots of other classic amusement park attractions, too. There’s a classic carousel ride with horses called Country Carousel. They also have a classic Tilt-A-Whirl ride and a classic scrambler ride called Mega Velocity.
You can spin around a circle in a hot air balloon vehicle in the Balloon Race attraction. Another ride where you spin around in a circle is Tri-Nado. In a similar fashion, kids can spin around in a circle on their own plane in Star Jets.
They’ve got roller coasters. There’s the new roller coaster, Super Cyclone Roller Coaster. And kids can also try a roller coaster for the first time with Wacky Worm.
Speaking of kids, they have restored Kiddieland attractions, Roto-Whip and Space Invasion.
And there are a lot of other great rides aimed for children, too. Kids can help Santa Claus deliver his gifts in time by riding in their own semi-truck on Kringle’s Convoy. Kids can also ride around in the own cars on Midge-O-Racers.
And the kids can drive the family around for a change on Route 66 Cruisers. Families can also have fun together while feeling like firefighters at SVFD Engine No. 4.
Then there’s Santa Village’s newest ride for 2023, Farmer’s Fling. It is a coaster that spins in a figure eight. There’s also the new Pirate’s Revenge, but spoiler alert: it is a revamped version of the old Sea Dragon ride which is a large boat that swings back and forth.
Santa Springs
Santa Springs is Santa’s Village’s waterpark!
It has great 3-story water slides. Caribbean Curl is a red and green 300-foot-long body slide. Peppermint Twist is a red and white enclosed 300-foot-long body slide. Spearmint Twist is a green and white 300-foot-long body slide.
Then you have Lighthouse Harbor. It has a zero-depth entry, 10,000 square foot, 8-inch deep wading pool with a two-story interactive water playground. This water play area has water toys, two giant tipping buckets, nine water slides, and a 50-foot long, four-lane kiddie racer slide.
And while kids have fun doing this, the parents can sit back and relax in surrounding lounge chairs and cabanas.
Animal Attractions
Santa’s Village is home to over 200 animals! You could even get a chance to feed some of the animals. There are great barnyard animals at Old MacDonald’s Barn.
And then of course, very fittingly, you can see reindeer here! You can find these reindeer on the hillside overlooking Santa Springs. There’s also a Koi Pond with Koi Fish and you can find some great reptiles at Tortoise Island.
Special Guests
So you can make new animal friends here. But your kids could also make friends with special guests.
This of course includes Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus! But it also includes Princess Tinselbella, the daughter of the Snow King and Snow Queen.
Virtual Reality Attraction
Want to feel like you’ve stepped inside a winter wonderland? Then try the Enchanted Experience! You just put on a pair of goggles and then you’ll feel as if you’re on Santa’s Sleigh in a Winter Wonderland Adventure. This is an attraction the whole family can enjoy together.
Game Alley
There are fun games to play, too, including:
- Lucky Duck
- Goblet Toss
- Jolly Jumpers
- Party Pop
- Stinky Feet Water Race
Dining
There are lots of dining options throughout the park, including:
- Gingerbread Ice Cream Shoppe
- Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen
- Santa’s Snack Stop
- Prancer’s Pizza Parlour
- Sadie’s at Route 66 Grill
- Buttons Food Truck
- Funnel Cake Factory
- Mini Melts
- Backyard BBQ
- Sadie’s Dawg House
- Lemonade & Snacks
Coupons
Want to save money on admission to Santa’s Village Amusement Park (and why wouldn’t you?). Then you need to purchase your ticket here. Then you can save 22% on general admission to Santa’s Village automatically! No coupon code or promo code is needed!