Previous page: Oh What Fun it is to Ride
Legend has it that Gainer and her dad, Normand Dubois, were driving along Route 2 in Jefferson, New Hampshire when a deer jumped in front of their car. Narrowly missing the animal, three-year-old Elaine asked her father if that was one of Santa's reindeer. Like an epiphany, Dubois, seeking a career change, purchased the land and opened Santa's Village in 1952. Decades later, young families still delight in the Christmas-themed park.
Kids of all ages love Rudy's Rapid Transit, a not-too-fast, but not-too-wimpy, roller coaster with the red-nosed reindeer leading the train of cars. Other rides include a thrilling "Yule" log flume, a train ride with a certain jolly red-suited gent serving as the engineer, and a carousel with flying reindeer instead of horses.
One of the most popular and unique attractions at Santa's Village is Santa's Skyway Sleigh. Individual monorail cars, designed as adorable sleighs, wind their way along a track throughout the park.
Presentations include a 3-D Christmas-themed film and live magic shows at the park's Polar Players Theater. The climate-controlled facility also features an animatronic Christmas show and Santa's Clauset, a dizzying maze that can keep kids comfortably occupied on rainy or sweltering days.
Prices inside the park for food and gifts are quite moderate. "We offer really good value," says Gainer. "While we give senior discounts, we recognize that young families--our core audience--need to be treated special also."
Interaction attraction
One of the hallmarks of Santa's Village is its hands-on interaction. "Rides are nice but they're passive," says Gainer. "We want to get kids involved."The Polar Theater complex includes Santa's Workshop. Here kids become Santa's helpers. They can decorate their own ornaments or personalize keepsake T-shirts. At the park's bakery, children can add the icing and other goodies to gingerbread men. And kids can be seen punching their "Elfabet" cards at elf-stamping machines hidden throughout the park. Children who collect all 26 letters win a prize.
The ultimate interactive experience at Santa's Village, however, is a personal audience with jolly old St. Nick. Holding court at his summer residence, children can get an advance request in to the man who's making a list and checking it twice.
Is the Nintendo generation too cool to enjoy a park that seems stuck in the 1950s and pays homage to St. Nick? "The myth dies hard," says Gainer. Indeed, with Bing Crosby perpetually crooning "White Christmas" amid the Currier and Ives setting, the park oozes nostalgia and speaks to the child in all of us. Today's sophisticated kids aren't too jaded; they are too busy having a ball and tucking away their own Santa's Village memories.
