Santa's Village

SANTA'S VILLAGE

The famous GINORMOUS candy cane! You know you are at the right spot when you see that from the road!
First thing to hit was the hand powered trains!
This year, Amelia made it all the way around the track with no assistance! Way to go Amelia!


This kiddie ferris wheel was a new addition since the Fall. Amelia wasn't sure about riding it, so James took a spin to show her it wasn't scary. He enjoyed being high up in the trees and looking out over the abandoned water park in the distance.

Nana took us today to enjoy a day at the park and have a yummy lunch as well. I think she had just as much fun as we did!

We had to see if the turtles grew since the last time we saw them and to our surprise there was a baby (smaller) turtle and an additional big turtle, so that makes 4! *correction* Tortoises not turtles!

Also, these beautiful parrots were hanging out with the turtles, just another addition to the park this summer.

We had to get in some pony rides!

Amelia's pony's name was Nectar.

Man, those goats are persistent creatures! If you aren't keeping a close eye on your pet food, look out!

Ahh, the original treehouse/ Santa's slide! It was built in 1959!

After one run with Nana for moral support, Amelia was confident on zipping down all by herself. We estimated that they went down that slide at least 40 times!

Just a pretty water feature near the Aviary that leads to a koi pond.

The Midge- O' Racers...vrrooooommmm!!!!!

This ride dates back to 1953, an original ride from the beloved Kiddieland!

James says hands down this was his favorite ride of the day. One of the little, but apparently very cool feature is you can turn your wheel to steer the car away from the center...we are only talking about a couple feet, but James and another little boy his age had so much fun making the car go in and out!

Another new attraction that made it's appearance this year was the balloon ride. Amelia says this was her favorite, but if you look closely she looks a little terrified! We had been on the ones that are exactly the same at Great America numerous times, but for some reason she was a little unsure of this one. Once she came off, she loved it! Go figure! I should also note that Nana was a little nervous of the height, but she was brave and rode with the kiddos anyways!

There were many different shows that were going on through out the day. We caught this one about some of the unique animals that they have at Santa's Village. The kids got a kick out of this ant eater eating baby food right out of the jar!

Roto Whip!!!! Another Kiddieland classic that lives on! Good thing too, the kiddos love this fast action ride!

What is that? A reindeer cooling off of course! James and Amelia as well as the grown ups got kick out of it too.

Santa's Village original sleigh ride is back! A sleigh ride in July??? Why Not!!! Anything can be possible at the North Pole!

Those are some strong and mighty horses, I mean "reindeer"!

Just when it was time to head out, a lady with a baby skunk appeared! It was actually pretty soft.
Papa helped top off this special day by giving each kiddo a little spending money! So, a very rare opportunity to hit the gift store was the last stop of the day. James choose two car sets and a large blue beetle and Amelia picked out a penguin purse and monkey bubbles. Thanks Papa!!!

It was such a fun time on such a perfect mild summer day (low 70s), the kiddos were certainly pooped, so was Nana and I! Thanks Nana for a great day at the park!