Merry Christmas!
To celebrate, I figured it was only fitting to review the place where you can celebrate
Christmas yearround.
And I of course am talking about Santa’s Village, specifically the one in Jefferson,
New Hampshire.
I have been visiting this park for nearly 30 years and I can confidently say it’s
one of the best children’s parks in the world.
Find out why in this review!
Christmas-themed events at amusement parks have become more widespread in the past decade.
But some parks go one-step further.
There are quite a few Christmas-themed parks and 5 amusement parks currently named or once
named Santa’s Village.
But the first and best of the bunch is the one in Jefferson, New Hampshire.
Located north of the White Mountains, New Hampshire’s Santa’s Village opened in
1953.
While the park initially didn’t have any mechanical rides, the park always had a charming
atmosphere.
The park feels like the North Pole and Santa’s Workshop were plopped down in a forest.
It creates a joyous and relaxing atmosphere.
By the 1980s, Santa’s Village had the rides of a traditional amusement park.
And today, they have 20 different rides and a small water park.
And what I admire the most is the family focus.
Almost every ride in the park can be enjoyed by kids and parents alike.
The most restrictive ride is the bumper cars with a 42 inch height requirement.
Most other rides are just 36-39 inches or none at all.
And even though these height limits are very favorable for younger guests, they’ve actually
been tightened since I was a kid.
I don’t think there used to be any minimum height limits since I have photos of me riding
Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster and Yule Log Flume, both of which now have 36 inch height
requirements, when I was under that mark.
And not only are most rides accessible to young kids, but adults can comfortably ride
them too.
Compare that to most children’s rides that adults are too tall for.
I have many fond memories riding the rides at Santa’s Village with my parents.
Adults can still enjoy this park even without kids though, especially if you appreciate
theming and atmosphere.
It starts with the entrance plaza.
The focal point is this beautiful hut with igloo doorways.
This used to be both the park’s entrance and exit, but now it’s just the park exit
and gift shop.
A larger main entrance was built to the left to help reduce congestion.
But you also have some attractions outside the entrance.
You have large nutcracker where you can slide down the arms and then you have a Rudolph
animatronic who can directly talk to and interact with.
It’s similar to the Mystic Fountain at Islands of Adventure.
Once inside, it feels like Advent.
The midways play popular Christmas music.
The buildings are quaint.
And then you have dozens of photo opportunities.
You have things ranging from Nativity displays to giant snowmen to Santa’s sleigh.
I just love all this park’s theming.
And then you have the aforementioned woods, so there is plenty of shade as you walk down
the midways.
This setting can cause a headache though.
Because of this park’s location in a very small and isolated New Hampshire town, service
is very poor.
I have Verizon and my fiancee has Metro PCS.
In past visits, we had zero cell service.
In our 2021 visit, we had an extremely weak signal.
We could barely send texts, but we could forget about sending pictures or loading most websites.
The park does have free, albeit spotty, wifi though.
Just keep this in mind if your group likes to split up or someone is heavily reliant
on their phone.
The park’s layout can be a bit confusing for a first-timer and there are some dead
ends, but that makes the next part all the more rewarding.
One of park’s signature experiences is Elfabet University.
Located near the main entrance, all guests can receive a free card with all 26 letters
of the alphabet.
You then go on a scavenger hunt to find 26 different elf statues in the park to fill
out your punch card.
Each elf starts with a different letter of the alphabet and has a different appearance.
And if you’re a repeat visitor, just know Santa’s Village will sometimes move them
around as they add new attractions.
Anyone who successfully finds all 26 elves can get a diploma and a complimentary prize.
There are some other notable interactive exhibits.
You have a reindeer barn where you can meet Santa’s fine flying friends, a shop where
you can decorate your own gingerbread cookie, a blacksmithing shop that gives complimentary
rings to guests, and Santa’s home where you can meet the man himself.
The park’s cheerful atmosphere is further reinforced by the employees.
Santa’s Village’s employees tend to be on the older side.
This combined with the park’s remote locations leads me to believe they get more returners
year-after-year than your typical amusement park.
And the staff here is extremely friendly.
They’ll bend over backwards for guests.
The employee working the Yule Log Flume very literally squeegees the logs before new guests
board.
The employee working Santa’s Skyway Sleigh insists on riders to start the magic words
before starting the ride.
And then employees are always on the lookout for frightened guests who want a ride to stop
early.
Take the Ferris Wheel for example where the employee cycles the wheel at a super slow
speed for the first rotation to make sure everyone is comfortable before starting the
main cycle.
And the employees have the freedom to do this since lines are rarely an issue at Santa’s
Village.
Most rides are usually walk-ons.
The two rides I recommend hitting early are towards the back.
The Santa’s Skyway Sleigh monorail is probably the park’s most popular ride and then the
aforementioned Christmas Ferris Wheel is a painstakingly slow loader.
Both these attractions can get half hour waits most days, but they’re the park’s two
most scenic rides so I highly recommend them.
The Ferris Wheel is the park’s highest attraction, so it gives a stunning view of the White Mountains.
On a clear day, you can see Mount Washington.
Then Santa’s Skyway Sleigh gives an aerial tour of the park.
If you’d prefer a tour from ground-level, you have a really nice set of Antique Cars
or the Santa’s Express Train that circles the park.
As for roller coasters, Santa’s Village has two.
The larger of the two was actually my first roller coaster in Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster.
This Zierer Tivoli coaster has a beautiful Rudolph lead car and a comically long train.
So if you ride in the back, you’ll get some decent whip on the first two drops.
The smaller of two is Poogee Penguin’s Spin Out Coaster, which is a SBF Visa spinner.
Just make sure to watch your head since the headrests, despite their appearance, are hard
as rock.
This one feels more like a flat ride than a roller coaster in many ways.
Santa’s Village doesn’t have too many flat rides, but they’re peppered throughout
the park.
None are true standouts, but they compliment the park well.
The Bumper Cars here are pretty good as they have decent power and a large arena.
The Little Drummer Boy is a tubs of fun ride that is exceedingly easy to spin.
And then the park’s Reindeer Carousel has riders mount- you guessed it- reindeer.
You also have some indoor attractions.
You have a 3D show plus a shooting dark ride in the Great Humbug Adventure.
This attraction was originally built in an old gift shop, but it was completely renovated
by Sally for the 2020 season.
The ride received new animatronics, new scenes, and new hardware.
Riders are challenged to tickle- not shoot- humbugs and they’re infectious giggle will
get stuck in your head.
This is a solid shooting dark ride for a park like this and I like the unique theme.
The park’s best attraction is the Yule Log Flume.
This Hopkins log ride’s layout travels deep in the woods.
You can barely see any of it off-ride.
The course has some mini rapids and then culminates in a sizable final plunge.
It’s not super steep, but it has some zip.
And the resultant splash is perfectly refreshing.
If you want to get drenched, you have Santa’s Water Park.
It’s pretty small, but it has a festive water play structure, some pools, and some
water slides.
Just note the temperature needs to get above 65 degrees and that sometimes isn’t reached
on summer days here.
If you want dry slides, you have a few options.
The park has several playgrounds scattered about the park.
These are great ways for kids to burn off extra energy in between rides.
The largest and most unique is YouTubing.
This is a dry tubing experience.
Guests board a tube and slide down the hill on this ultra-slick material.
This is why the attraction typically closes in any precipitation, although a few years
ago, I rode it in a snowstorm, overshot the runoff, and crashed into the tubes at the
bottom.
And yes, you heard that right, Santa’s Village will run rides in the snow.
The park is open in November and December for Christmas, and it almost always snows
for at least some of the days.
Seeing this park coated in snow is extra magical.
The website does warn that the roller coasters can close in this type of weather, but I have
ridden both while it was snowing.
I can’t say I’ve ever done that with any other coaster!
Winter is probably the best time of year to visit Santa’s Village.
That’s not too much of a surprise for a Christmas-themed park since it really gets
you in the mood for the holidays.
In the summer, the park closes by nightfall.
In the winter, the park stays open past sunset and the park is adorned with some nice lights.
And the only rides closed are the water rides, but that does include my favorite there in
the Yule Log Flume.
Moving onto food, there are two stands in particular I recommend.
First, you have Nick’s Pizza Emporium, which makes some of the best pizza of any theme
park.
I even prefer it to the award-winning Cesari’s at Knoebels.
Two, you have a mini donut factory by the Chimney Drop tower that bakes and fries donuts
fresh.
So do I recommend Santa’s Village?
If you have young kids, absolutely!
This is one of the world’s best amusement parks for kids.
It’s rare for a park to have this many attractions available for younger guests between the rides
and slides.
And then adults can appreciate a handful of these rides along with the park’s cheery
atmosphere and charming theming.
Park admission has gone up pretty significantly in recent years.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, admission was around $20.
As recent as 2016, admission was about $30.
But in 2021, the park cost roughly $40-54 depending on the day.
If you plan to spend a full day, I think it’s a fair price for a day of family fun.
It’s a very pricey pit stop if you only care about the coaster credits though.
Santa’s Village is just one hour from Story Land and while I think Story Land has the
better rides, Santa’s Village has an equally great atmosphere.
I strongly recommend trying both to see which you prefer!
So those are my thoughts on Santa’s Village, the Christmas theme park in northern New Hampshire.
What are your thoughts on this park?
Have you been there?
Let me know down in the comments.
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