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Santa Parks (page 1)

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This Santa Claus related buildings section is organized in alphabetical order by state.

Arizona Santa Parks:
Santa's Land: 1, 2 (Santa Claus) [gone]

Santa's Playground
Carlsbad, CA

These Santa's Playground structures are located at the Flower Fields. They were originally located at Santa's Village which opened in 1955 in Skyforest, CA. The park closed in 1998 and many of the buildings were auctioned off the following year. Paul Ecke II bought these structures and moved them to his home in Encinitas, CA. In 2008, they were restored and moved to the Flower Fields. The buildings include an Entrance Building, the Doll House, and the Crooked Treehouse Slide. The slide was originally steel. The mushrooms also came from Santa's Village.

More California Santa Parks:
Santa's Village (Santa Cruz) [gone]
Santa's Village (Skyforest)

Santa's Workshop
Cascade, CO
Santa's Workshop opened in 1956 and is located at the base of Pikes Peak. It was designed by a former Walt Disney artist and modeled after the Santa's Workshop in North Pole, NY. Rides were added in 1960. The Santa statue on top of the Peppermint Slide appears to be from the same mold as the some of the statues at this page.

The carousel is a Herschell/Spillman two-row from 1920. It has eight wooden jumping horses, two chariots (modern, not from Herschell) and 10 metal reindeer (not Herschells and probably added when the carousel was moved here in 1966). The carousel is believed to have been originally at Crystal City Park in Tulsa, OK. Its life after that (1940-1966) is unknown. There are also two carousel band organs from the 1920s on display in glass enclosures. For more, see this website.

Santa's Village
East Dundee, IL

2006:
Snowman and Snowball Ride at Grizzly Jack's
Utica, IL

Santa's Village Azoosment Park
East Dundee, IL

2012:
Santa's Village opened in 1959 and closed in 2006. It was the third of a chain with two other locations in California. In addition to the Skyforest location mentioned above, there was another one in Scotts Valley, CA. That location closed in 1979. The buildings and unique rides at these parks all tied in with the Santa Claus theme. When I was at the East Dundee location in 2006, the best I could get were these photos from at the entrance and a couple of other shots through the fence.

When the photo above was taken in 2006, the Santa's Village Snowman from the Snowball ride was installed in the lobby of Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort. The cups from the Snowball ride were stashed behind a nearby building at Grizzly Jack's. There were plans to reassemble the ride and include it at Grizzly Jack's Enchanted Forest indoor amusement park. However, the ride wound up being sold off in pieces.

In 2010, the park reopened as Santa's Village Azoosment Park. It features rides, animals, and entertainment. The original Santa's Village buildings are still there. In 2016, the park purchased and installed the Snowball ride that was originally located at the Santa's Village in Santa Cruz, CA. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

For some photos of the park's kiddie rides, see this page.

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