Frequently Asked Questions
General Park Information
Yes, parking is always free at Santa’s Village, in all of the parking spaces.
Santa’s Village is an outdoor experience in variable weather. Every day, on the rides and throughout the park: shoes are required (closed-toe and closed-heel footwear that fits securely is recommended); family-appropriate shirts/jackets and shorts/pants are required.
While in the water park: bare feet are appropriate; swim shirts and bathing suits that are modest in appearance are appropriate. Outside of the water park, shirts/jackets, shorts/pants, and shoes must be worn on rides and throughout the park.
During Christmastime in November and December: layers of warmth should be worn, temperatures are often near or below freezing; warm shoes/boots with non-slip rubber soles should be worn, footing and traction can change around the park and in/on its features.
Yes, guests are welcome to bring their own picnic lunches; however, glass, grills, alcohol, and narcotics are prohibited. Picnic tables are located throughout the park.
Should you wish to leave and re-enter the park, please have your hand stamped at the Stocking Stuffer Gift Shop located at the Exit on your way out to the car.
We have a few food areas that have egg, dairy, gluten and nut ingredients in their products. We would like to have detailed them for you; however, ingredients change on a weekly basis. Please check with each shop for the latest labels.
- The Sugar ‘N Spice Bake Shop: All Santa’s cookies contain gluten, egg or dairy products. We offer nut-free, nut-free and gluten-free, and dairy-free pre-packaged cookies that are safe. Other than juices, there are no products here without dairy. Some cookies contain nuts, and there is a potential for cross-contamination.
- Burger Meister Food Court: This season we offer a gluten-free chicken finger and gluten-free fries. Please ask Santa’s Helper to special order these. Hotdogs contain potassium lactate, but the french fries, onion rings, burgers (without the roll), garden salads and fruit bowls are all free from dairy. We do make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so the potential for cross-contamination is great here with nuts and gluten.
- Frosty’s Freezer: This building contains a variety of ice creams, sauces and cones. All have dairy products in them, some have nuts. Soft serve ice cream is safe. Cones all contain gluten.
- Dasher’s Delights: Mostly fast foods here specializing in fried dough, burgers, and fries. This season we offer a gluten-free chicken finger and gluten-free fries. Please ask Santa’s Helper to special order either option. Hot dogs contain potassium lactate. Please check the ingredient list there.
- Nutcracker Sweets: We use Pop-All popping oil, which is made up of soybean and coconut oil, for the popcorn.
- The Jolly Lolly: There is a great nut-free chocolate bar here that has been made in a safe environment.
- Nick’s Pizza: We offer a gluten-free pizza dough. Please ask Santa’s Helper to special order. Nick’s has no ingredients that contain eggs; however, the cheese does have dairy. Cross-contamination might be an issue if sensitive to this. No nuts. They sell milk here too.
- Fruit Loup’s Farm Stand: Here’s where you’ll find treats of the purest quality. Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, and beverages.
- Doe-Nut Shop: Wonderful mini-doughnuts and drinks; there are egg, flour, and nut products here.
- The Polar Expresso: Gluten products (pretzels), sweetened nuts, and coffees.
- The Merry Mess Hall: We offer flatbread pizzas. There are products in this location that contain dairy and tree nuts so there is a potential for cross-contamination here.
Hope this is a little helpful to you. Should you have additional questions now or during your visit, please do not hesitate to ask. We try to avoid cross-contamination in all our shops, however, it cannot be guaranteed.
We’ve teamed up with Sensory City and the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism to create a Sensory Guide for families who are planning a visit to the park.
Queue line waiting times for most of our rides typically are less than fifteen minutes long, due to our attendance limits on visitors each day; a few rides may have longer waits. We provide a “Preferential Accessibility” Green Pass to guests who have difficulty waiting in lines. Please stop by the Guest and Family Services Center inside the Polar Theater building. There, you may be asked to complete a brief questionnaire to explain your situation to our attendant to see if a preferential access pass is available, and learn the guidelines for use of the pass at certain rides and at Santa’s Home.
A universal changing table (accommodates guests who have outgrown children’s changing tables) is available in the North Bowl family restroom near the park entrance any day the park is open. During water park operating days, there’s also a universal changing table available in the Elfs Lodge family restroom.
Besides our own reindeer, of course, ADA Service Animals are the only animals allowed inside the park. ADA Service animals are limited to dogs and miniature horses individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.
All other animals (including comfort, emotional support, and therapy animals) can use our complimentary Canine Condos.
Our Canine Condos are shaded individual kennels just outside the park, and are free to use. On arrival, check with a Helper in the Exit Gift Shop (inside the ‘Out’ igloo behind the Soldier slide in the parking lot). There we’ll collect a $10 deposit and provide a key & bowl for use throughout the day; the full $10 deposit is returned to you when the key & bowl are returned.
Pets cannot see other animals from their condos. We have 36 Canine Condos, in two sizes: 3 feet wide, by 4 feet high, by 5-and-a-half feet deep; and, 4 feet wide, by 4 feet high, by 5-and-a-half feet deep. Each has a solid ceiling & floor, and two solid side walls; the back wall & front door are chain link fence to allow air flow. Available in all seasons, May through December.
Yes, dozens typically open each day the park operates: Just inside the park entrance, on the back outside wall of the Stocking Stuffer Exit Gift Shop. They measure 18 inches high, by 14 inches wide, by 20 inches deep. The cost is $10 for the day. These lockers require inserting cash in $5 or $10 bills (no change given), or using a credit card, in an automated machine. You’ll be asked to choose a color and to provide a number code that will allow access throughout the day; there are no keys for these lockers.
Yes, dozens open only while the water park is operating: At the water park near the back of the park, on the outside wall of the Elfs Lodge Trading Post Gift Shop, lockers are available to rent on most days that the water park is open. These lockers measure 18 inches high, by 15 inches wide, by 17 inches deep. The cost is $10 for the day. These lockers require paying the cashier at the Trading Post Gift Shop $10 for the locker rental and use of a key to open the locker throughout the day; you’ll need to return the key to the cashier at the Trading Post Gift Shop before the park closes at the end of the day.
Yes, Mary and Joseph’s Nursery is located off the Polar Theater lobby, with a large sink, microwave, changing spots, and separate rooms with chairs for nursing moms, for those who desire privacy.
We also have a private room for nursing mothers at our North Bowl facility near the entrance and exit of the park; and one more during the summer months at the Elfs Lodge near the water park.
Yes, guests are welcome to bring their own strollers (or small wagons) into the park. We also provide dozens of strollers that can be borrowed for free during a visit; our strollers are a simple plastic chair with four wheels, a small mesh bag on the back, and a safety belt strap. They can be picked up and returned on your own at the Li’l Sleighs pavilion just inside the entrance and exit.
For guests with mobility concerns, we have a few manual wheelchairs that can be used during a visit on a first come, first serve basis. There is no charge for the use of a wheelchair. They can be picked up and returned on your own at the Li’l Sleighs pavilion near the entrance and exit, next to the North Bowl restrooms building.
(For guests age 16 and older who may prefer to use a motorized electric mobility scooter, we rent those online by reservation prior to arrival. Find more information about electric scooter rentals by clicking here. Motorized scooter rental is $40 per day. Restrictions include: only one operator per scooter, no passengers; minimum age 16; maximum weight 350 pounds.)
Weapons are prohibited at Santa’s Village. While we recognize that some of our guests may have training, certifications, and permits, we reserve our rights as private property owners to prohibit weapons of any sort on the premises.
Admissions and Ticket Questions
To help ensure a most enjoyable visit, and to help avoid overcrowding, and to help minimize waiting for attractions, we limit the number of tickets sold for each operating day.
Feedback from our guests over the past several years has been very positive about capacity limits, and it was one of the most frequent requests from visitors in prior years.
We have been limiting capacity and selling admission online only since 2016 for our New Year’s Eve event, and since 2020 for our entire schedule.
Admission to Santa’s Village varies depending upon the time of year or if you plan to visit during a special event. For detailed pricing please click here.
Admission includes rides, visiting Santa & his reindeer, the Elfabet scavenger hunt, and a ring from the blacksmith, as well as complimentary parking and stroller use, and the water park in-season.
No, tickets for Santa’s Village can only be purchased online via our website. We do not sell tickets at the gate.
Yes, on Summertime and on Holly Jolly Halloween admission tickets we offer a senior discount and a military discount off the regular admission rate.
A military ID is required for this discount to apply; purchase the discounted military admission online, and bring your military ID to show at the entrance to the park.
No, we do not offer any discounts on FEASTival event admission tickets, on Christmastime admission tickets, or on New Year’s Eve event admission tickets.
No, we do not have any valid coupon codes or promotional discounts for our admission tickets. We believe everyone deserves the best rate. We have fair and simple everyday pricing without sales gimmicks.
No refunds for admission: date-specific admission tickets are non-refundable for any date that Santa’s Village operates, regardless of weather or forecasts, even if you do not attend; purchase tickets only if you are committed to attending on the date chosen.
In-park Rentals: a partial refund may be issued for In-park Rental cancellations made at least four (4) days in advance of the reservation date, up to $79 either for a Cabana or a Family Suite, up to $20 for a Scooter. Rental dates cannot be rescheduled.
Yes, for admission tickets for Summertime, Holly Jolly Halloween, and FEASTival: admissions May – October can be rescheduled in the same season, if done at least four (4) days prior to the original date & availability remains. Reschedule tickets on your own, online, using the confirmation email received with the purchase.
NO, for admission tickets for Christmastime and New Year’s Eve: admissions in November & December cannot be rescheduled.
There are too few operating dates with too limited capacity to make rescheduling admissions practical in November and December.
NO, for In-park Rentals during any season: Rental dates May – December cannot be rescheduled.
A partial refund may be issued for In-park Rental cancellations made at least four (4) days in advance of the reservation date: up to $79 either for a Cabana or a Family Suite, up to $20 for a Scooter.
Santa’s Village is an outdoor experience open regardless of temperature & in variable weather — rain or shine or even snow — prepare to be outdoors on the day of your visit. We know our guests drive a long way, so we open! We aim to deliver Pure Joy, Family Style, even when wet or cold.
Certain rides and attractions may possibly close temporarily when there is thunder or lightning in the area, or a brief driving downpour, or if snow or ice cause complications.
Please purchase tickets only if you are committed to visiting on the selected date, regardless of changing weather forecasts or actual weather. We do not provide refunds or date exchanges for weather.
Weather forecasts are sometimes right, sometimes wrong, and often change. That’s why we’re committed to opening each scheduled operating day regardless of forecasts or actual local weather. (Only a couple instances of severe weather at the park have forced a last-minute cancellation over nearly 75 years of operations.)
If the date is most important to you, commit to a date and purchase non-refundable tickets, understanding the weather is unknown, and we’ll be open regardless of temperatures and weather, in rain or shine or even snow. If the weather is most important to you, wait until you see a forecast you like, then purchase non-refundable tickets, understanding the date may sell out before you commit to it because attendance for each day is limited.
Santa’s Village operates regardless of temperature, and in variable weather — rain or shine, or even snow. Only a couple instances of severe weather at the park have forced a last-minute cancellation over nearly 75 years of operations.
In the unlikely event of cancellation of a specific date’s operations, the park’s refund responsibility is limited to the cost of admission and in-park rentals for the cancelled date, and does not extend to any other costs such as travel or lodging.
Rides and Water Park Questions
Our rides generally are designed for adults and children to enjoy together. Please review the chart below to determine which of our rides may be suitable for your child to enjoy.
There’s plenty to see and do and share with your family. We ask that women who are pregnant exercise caution when deciding about ride participation; we ask that they please avoid using rides that include the pregnancy icon on the guidelines sign posted at each ride.
Some of these rides are:
- Yule Log Flume
- Midnight Flyer Coaster
- Himalaya
- Bumper Cars
- The Chimney Drop
- Joy Ride Slides
Many of our rides are calm and may be fun to enjoy while pregnant. Most will be appropriate if the safety latches can be secured. We provide a comfortable family park where benches and rest stops are easily accessible when sitting out from a ride.
Yes, mention to our Ride Attendant that you would like to arrange for a “parent swap” while watching the baby as others in your party enjoy the ride. The Attendant will instruct you where to stand while the others ride.
After the first adult has finished the ride and taken supervision of the baby, you can participate on the ride without having to go through the queue line again. Your other children on the ride may stay on if they wish and enjoy the ride again with you.
Examples of rides that can accommodate a “parent swap” include: the Yule Log Flume, Midnight Flyer Coaster, the Bumper Cars, Christmas Ferris Wheel, the Chimney Drop, Himalaya, S.S. Peppermint Twist, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Little Drummer Boy, the Great Humbug Adventure, Hot Shots Fire Brigade, Poogee Penguin’s Spin Out Coaster, and Loopin’ Louie’s Little Elf Flying School.
Examples where babies can join the other family members on a ride include: the Reindeer Carousel, Skyway Sleigh, Antique Cars, and Santa’s Express Train.
Ride access and participation is determined by safety considerations. The following often applies regarding arm casts and leg casts, subject to ride operator discretion, considering ride safety devices, and ride dynamics that may require holding on or bracing oneself.
The water park — HO HO H2O, Joy Ride Slides, Polar Paradise, & Poogee’s Splash Pad — is scheduled to be open from late-May through Sept. 13, 2026. Scheduled opening time each day is 10:30am; we sometimes wait for air temperatures to reach 65 degrees, because the water is unheated. (Joy Ride Slides sometimes close from noon to 1:30pm.)
Use of the water park is optional and included with admission. Subject to availability. Based on the water park area’s capacity and guest traffic flow at times during the day, we may sometimes limit the number of guests in the water park at one time when conditions require.
Yes, guests using the water park need to bring their own towels, and their own modest bathing suits. If needed, these items can be purchased at the Elfs Lodge Trading Post.
Yes, changing rooms and restrooms are available at the Elfs Lodge Trading Post. Lockers can also be rented at this location. Please see Santa’s Helper to request a locker rental.