Santa's wonderland question

9,563 Views | 38 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Scarr2015
62strat
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AG
I haven't been in maybe 15 years.

We are going to be in Magnolia for thanksgiving and were considering taking the kids. I'm on their website and I see hayrides and carriage rides for a decent chunk of change.. I remember just paying by the car load and you drove yourself through. Do they still have the option to drive your own vehicle through?

It also looks like it's grown quite a bit. Did this thing blow up into an full fledged amusement park in the last decade?

Disappointing to know it's gonna be $150+ for a family of 4 to see this.. Used to be like $20 a car I thought?
MB19
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AG
It's no longer the drive thru that you remember. It's grown into a huge operation. And it's not cheap.
redd38
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Edit: nevermind, their faq says drive through ended in 2015
KidDoc
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It is huge but also fun for the kids. In addition to the lights they have live music, petting zoo, little train rides, a snow tubing hill that is pretty fun.

I'm not sure it is "worth it" for adults but I enjoyed taking my 3 year old niece last year.
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EliteElectric
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We buy season passes every year it's not "cheap" but also not expensive when you factor in travel. We will go 5 + times a season because our daughter loves it. We watch movies, have cocoa, do the hayrides, dance the hokie pokey and just generally act silly. Littles love it.
jeffk
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It's changed a ton since the flat-rate per car drive through setup. It's like a mini amusement park now. The sledding was free (not an extra charge) last year so that was nice.

How much money does that place rake in every season?
Average Joe
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Quote:


How much money does that place rake in every season?


All of it.
RG20
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Go ahead and save up a months mortgage payment if you want to go...
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by yourself.






BCStalk
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I would not recommend it unless you have kids between 4 and 12. It's very expensive, but the activities are definitely family friendly.
ag009
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They pretty regularly run specials for up to half off each ticket. I usually watch for that and my family of 5 (though one of my kids is free due to age) $70. It's expensive For sure, but my kids look forward to it every year. We usually go on a weeknight to beat the crowds.
EcoZapp.AC&Air.Purifiers
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- Go spend the time and enjoy what they've done.





(Avoid listening to ppl complain on here about how much things cost)
befitter
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Try to go on a weekday rather than a weekend. Also know that if the weather goes bad they do not give refunds.
mustang90
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Honestly.. in a nutshell. GREAT when they first opened. Loved the quaint, beautiful place they had. $20 a car. Now, a stressful experience that I won't participate in. Cowboys are stressful enough

Just drive your kids thru great neighborhoods with lights!! Then go eat an early breakfast!
aggie90
TaterTot_09
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If you do go be sure to pony up the extra money to park in the reindeer lot rather than parking in the free lot and wait to be shuttled to the park and back. We've gone the day after Christmas for the past 2 years and the year before last it was busy but not overwhelming. Last year it was not pleasant because the crowds were so heavy. It felt claustrophobic. We met family friends at the park who didn't buy a parking spot and it was about a 2 hour wait for them to catch the shuttle just to enter the park. Not fun considering they had a toddler with them. Buy the parking pass as early as you can because they can sell out. It's expensive and crazy crowded but the kids enjoy it. It's for sure a labor of love.
RPJ83
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TaterTot_09 said:

If you do go be sure to pony up the extra money to park in the reindeer lot rather than parking in the free lot and wait to be shuttled to the park and back. We've gone the day after Christmas for the past 2 years and the year before last it was busy but not overwhelming. Last year it was not pleasant because the crowds were so heavy. It felt claustrophobic. We met family friends at the park who didn't buy a parking spot and it was about a 2 hour wait for them to catch the shuttle just to enter the park. Not fun considering they had a toddler with them. Buy the parking pass as early as you can because they can sell out. It's expensive and crazy crowded but the kids enjoy it. It's for sure a labor of love.
We felt the opposite about parking. Granted, we went on a week night so crowds weren't bad, but we thought the shuttle ran very efficiently with a minimal wait.
jeffk
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Yeah, we haven't had issues with the shuttle either, but we also go on weeknights and maybe earlier than a lot of others since our kids are younger.
O.G.
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EcoZapp.Makes.Crisp.Air said:

- Go spend the time and enjoy what they've done.





(Avoid listening to ppl complain on here about how much things cost)
Single parent trying to make ends meet and do something for your kids, are you?.....
EcoZapp.AC&Air.Purifiers
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- There's like millions of Christmas Light Bulbs in that place.. Someone had to screw in every single one and did so to build a Gem in College Station. Pay those ppl their money once a year! ; or drive around town and to the pubic stuff.

Tremendous amount of effort and planning go into that place. Most might probably spend more at the stop to Buckee's on the way up.

jeffk
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AG
Always love the ol' complaining-about-complaining TexAgs pivot.
kyledr04
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AG
If you're local, go on a weeknight.
halibut sinclair
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Glad we got to go for cheap back in the day when our kids were small. Good luck out there!
pants
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I've stopped complaining about it and decided to see it for what it is: a small amusement park. It's expensive because there's a lot there. Going is no longer just a fun, spontaneous outing with friends and family. Amusement parks take more planning and money, and so does SW. It's easier and more fun when I just accept those facts. We now go every 3-5 years instead of every year, and it's a lot of fun!

If you're worried about crowds and price, do what we do: go to SW every few years and plan ahead, but go to Central Park in CS on off years. It's a really nice light display, and it's free!
91_Aggie
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We drove past last night. Packed to the gills on Nov 9th.
The owners are making money hand over fist for the 2 months they are open each year.

Good for them. There are definitely people willing to pay their prices. Our kids are too old now to make this something worth going to for us, though.
gopitt
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This place puts me in the Christmas spirit like no other. Never seen so many happy kids in my life.
They have spent a lot of money upgrading over the years. Well worth it despite the massive lines and crowds many nights.
62strat
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We've decided to go on thanksgiving day (saves $100 or so over friday or saturday), and do thanksgiving dinner on Friday.

Just wished they opened a bit earlier than 6. We have a 3 and 5 year old.. so they won't last much past 8:30-9. They have early admission (2 hours early, so 4pm) but it's another $15 a person.

We now have an opportunity to go back to C.S. and stroll the campus! I haven't set foot up there since 2010.
agnerd
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Central Park has a million lights and its free if that's more your style.
J182
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I would check their crowd forecast. The days that it is supposed to be busy are really, really busy. My GF and I tried to go last year, but the line to get in was insanely long. It was at least a two hour wait just to get inside. We left because we would not have had enough time to do anything inside once we were able to get in. Luckily, I had free tickets so it wasn't a loss really.
We went the past Sunday (opening weekend), and it was not crowded at all. We had a lot of fun. All the kids there seemed to be having a great time too running around.
PS3D
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agnerd said:

Central Park has a million lights and its free if that's more your style.
I don't know, the iconic big Christmas tree built near the freeway may be gone for good since the metal pole it uses as a support was removed for the "Playground for All" or whatever it was called.
62strat
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AG
J-Quob said:

I would check their crowd forecast. The days that it is supposed to be busy are really, really busy. My GF and I tried to go last year, but the line to get in was insanely long. It was at least a two hour wait just to get inside. We left because we would not have had enough time to do anything inside once we were able to get in. Luckily, I had free tickets so it wasn't a loss really.
We went the past Sunday (opening weekend), and it was not crowded at all. We had a lot of fun. All the kids there seemed to be having a great time too running around.
Thanksgiving day is the middle one.
IMnAg79
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Our grandkids love going. We buy them a one night pass every year.
Counterpoint
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EcoZapp.Makes.Crisp.Air said:

Pay those ppl their money once a year! ; or drive around town and to the pubic stuff.





Sounds...uhh... Interesting?
txgardengirl
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A new pole was installed when the Fun For All playground started construction so you can still find the big tree.

We love SW and try to make it out once or twice on not crazy busy nights. It's not cheap but they don't put on a cheap event either. The food is pricey but really good (at least what we've had)

I'm also a huge fan of Central Park and Haswell Park - our community does a great job to share the holiday spirit for everyone.
ShinerBlonde
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Took the kids tonight. I've been taking my kids consistently every year to do the full experience for 9 years. It wasn't busy tonight and the weather was good. They have expanded it even further this year in size and what they offer. More lights on the hayride, more food options, an indoor barn to watch the free movie, etc. The parking price has gone up and the petting zoo area and pony rides went up some in cost.

I like that they added beer and wine sales two years ago and that they expanded the stuff that is included with your entry such as the snow area and the tubing in the snow.

Honestly I told my kids this will be our last year though. It just doesn't feel the same anymore as it keeps getting bigger and more over the top and it's just so expensive. Plus now they've added 30.06 signs and metal detectors and are checking bags so it took even longer to get in than usual. I was glad it wasn't a crazy busy night. I'd say it's worth it to go if you haven't been or if you just really love it though.
jmazz
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Here now. SMALL crowd. It's quite nice/pleasant with zero wait to do/get anything. Beer is cold. Weather could be colder but can't really complain about that. We also got to park right in front for free!
sawemoff94
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PSA: Santa's Wonderland will open at 4 pm every day next week (Thanksgiving week).

Also, the weekend hours have been extended to open at 4 pm every Saturday and Sunday this year.

Crowd forecast: https://www.santas-wonderland.com/crowdmeter
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