10 Reasons to Check Out Santa’s Village Amusement Park

I received tickets in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

Santa’s Village to me is a place near and dear to my heart. I visited Santa’s Village many times when I was younger with my parents and siblings and was sad to hear they were closing in 2006. Luckily though just after I had my third child, Santa’s Village re-opened in 2011 with a shared focus on both rides and animals. I took my kids then to Santa’s Village and we had a blast.

Last week I got the chance to visit Santa’s Village with two of my kids and nephew and sister. It was so great having so many generations going – myself, my sister, my daughter and son, and my nephew.

Here are my 10 reasons for checking out Santa’s Village:

• There are tons of rides and for all ages. There is also Mining and games you can do, for a small additional cost.

• While Santa’s Village is geared more towards younger kids, ages 2-8 years old, there are rides for older kids as well. Heck, I was excited for the roller coaster, bumper cars and Xtreme Elevation drop ride.

• There are animals! There are tons of animals to feed and view.

• Dining is affordable for a family but if you decide to bring your own food in, you can bring in a small cooler worth for $5. Check the dining policy to read more about it. There is even a Dining Pass you can purchase for multiple visits.

• The park is just the right size. We tackled the park in about five hours. We could have spent longer but definitely needed at least five hours. I like how it wasn’t overwhelming to do everything we wanted to do. We could have spent more time there and will definitely go again to re-do our favorites.

• There are events at Santa’s Village constantly going on! Events such as Exotic Animal Show, Acrodazzle Entertainment, Breakfast with Santa, Meet and Great with characters and more!

• Your ticket price of around $24.99 includes all rides, shows and critter encounters. Parking is free.

• As I mentioned, Santa’s Village has been around for quite some time (opened in 1959 until 2006 and then re-opened in 2011) so it is a great place to re-live old memories and create new ones. While a lot has changed, some has stayed the same. My favorite is the slide which I wish I could find the photos of me on the slide from when I was little. There are also a few rides from KiddieLand which was an amusement park in Melrose Park that closed down – I had been there too as a child and love that there are rides from there that I am sure I went on now that my own kids can enjoy.

• A water experience is currently being built and while it is not done yet, it is a reason for us to go back next time!

• The park is open all the way through October and then a few days around Christmas. I can’t wait to go back in the Fall when we are looking for something to do and so much is closed already!

Honestly, we all had a blast at Santa’s Village. It was fun being able to ride rides and see animals all in one day. I loved too that it is close enough to drive to for the day, being located in East Dundee, IL. I highly recommend if you have a child ages 2-8 years old to bring them as they will have a blast with all the kid-sized rides – older siblings will have fun as well but probably not as much as the younger ones will!

Check out Santa’s Village

Plan your trip to Santa’s Village in East Dundee, Illinois.