Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park gets all decked out just for the holiday season, but at these theme parks it’s Christmas all year round!
Many theme parks dress up for Christmas—not only Disneyland and Universal but also smaller parks. Dollywood has its Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival, Sesame Place its Very Furry Christmas, Silver Dollar City its Old Time Christmas, Six Flags its Holiday in the Park, Lake Compounce its Holiday Lights, Cliffs its Cliff’s Magical Christmas, Hersheypark its Christmas Candy Lane. Knotts Berry Farm its Knotts Merry Farm, and more. These parks come as they are – they’re Christmas all year round (except for after-Christmas winter months when some close):
Santa’s Workshop in North Pole, N.Y., opened in 1949, six years ahead of Disneyland, and claims to be the forerunner of U.S. theme parks. The developer, Julian Reiss, had made up a story for his daughter about a baby bear who found Santa Claus and his workshop. The girl wanted to visit the place, so he built it. The park has child-oriented rids including Candy Cane Express train, a sleigh coaster, carousel, Ferris wheel and talking Christmas tree.
Santa’s Workshop in Cascade, Colo., opened in 1956, is a village where you can meet the North Pole crew from May through Christmas Eve. It has 28 rides, mostly geared toward children, including a high-altitude Ferris wheel, Peppermint Slide, and Candy Cane Coaster.
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari Water Park in Santa Claus, Ind., has separate holiday-themed areas for 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Many of the rides are geared toward children, but the park also has a Thunderbird roller coaster and two large waterslides, among other family and thrill rides.
Castle Noel in Medina, Ohio, is all indoors but includes a Blizzard Vortex tunnel, Santa’s Chimney Squeeze, and a 25-foot animated Christmas tree. Its major attraction is a huge collection of props from a dozen Hollywood Christmas movies and traditional Christmas displays from upscale New York department stores. You can even ride the red slide like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story.”
Santa’s Village in Jefferson, N.H. has 20 rides mostly geared toward children, including a Chimney Drop, Little Drummer Boy spinning ride, Little Elf Flying School sleighs, Yule Log Flume, Santa’s Express Train, Reindeer Carousel, and S.S. Peppermint Twist small roller coaster. Its Ho Ho H20 water park is open in the warmer month. The village has several coasters, a monorail, food, and entertainment.
Santa’s Enchanted Forest in Miami claims to be the world’s largest holiday theme park. It has more than 100 rides, shows, games, attractions, and a free carnival. In addition to the child-focused rides, the site has thrill rides and roller coasters for adults and families. The park is open from mid-October through early January.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Visit Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park over the holidays and enjoy Winter on the Mountain which includes holiday festivities such as visits from Santa, fire pits for roasting s’mores, live music and entertainment, as well as theme park rides and family attractions, cave tours and more.
