Reading the reviews in advance of our visit I was apprehensive --but we had a great visit. If…read moreyou're expecting it to be like Disney --you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a small park to take the kids away from the crowds you will be pleased.
Parking: Plenty of parking and they carried the Christmas theme into the parking lot by making the parking spots with candy cane style paint. Perhaps the BEST part of the parking, aside from that it is really close to the entry, is that the spots are larger than standard. This was super helpful for unloading the baby, stroller, etc., plus I didn't worry about a child whacking my car with their door.
Entry: They had a photo spot set up right before you entered. We went in October and it was Halloween themed. One review accurately noted that they do charge a 3 year old the same as an adult --I wish the park would revisit this --but entry was roughly $26 per person. I thought the price was fair considering they have to care for animals, maintain the park, pay employees, etc. Also, they offer a military discount, senior discount, etc. The lady at the entry booth was super friendly and super efficient.
Park Overall: well maintained, pretty trees, and a creek that runs through the entire park. There is also a train that runs a loop of the entire park and comes and goes every few minutes. When we went, the park wasn't busy, and the employee/conductor of the train moved the train up so we could take a photo by the engine. Children and adults can ride the train to move from the entry to the amusements/rides.
Non-Ride Entertainment: One of the overlooked aspects of the other reviews is that Santa's Land has a LOT of non-ride entertainment for kids. They have several playground areas. At the entry, there is a merry-go-round, a slide, several springy rides for small kids, statues for the kids to take pictures with, an igloo (that my daughter loved), among others. There was another playground in the zoo area that was themed like mountain-climbing with a slide that my daughter really loved. There were also several animated displays, to include animated reindeer preparing Santa's outfit, Christmas Carol, Nativity, a small church, among others. They also had a nicely decorated building where kids could take a photo with Santa. The Santa was super nice and super patient with the kids. Santa was wearing a mask due to COVID ongoing at the time of our visit. They also had a magic show, a blacksmith demonstration, among others, that the kids seem to really enjoy. I really appreciate the non-ride entertainment because it really spreads out the visitors, kept lines for the rides short, and gave me a break from repeatedly going on rides with my daughter.
Amusements/Rides: The rides were a little older --but they were really cool and seemed to be well-maintained. Why cool? For example, the carousel had metal mechanics, however, the frame overall was made of wood --I thought this was really neat. They had a little helicopter ride (goes in circles and the rider controls elevation by a bar) which had rotors that actually turned while the ride was in motion. They had a reindeer roller coaster, which they are somewhat famous for, that let kids ride roller coasters, where they might be otherwise precluded due to age/height, without being too scary/intense. At the height of the Ferris Wheel there was a great view of the Great Smoky Mountains. There was also a small boat ride (similar to a carousel). Every single employee was SUPER friendly, super kind, and took safety seriously. The rides are most appropriate for children --if you have thrill-seeking teenagers they may be less amused by the rides.
Zoo: They had a lot of cool animals, kangaroos, a camel, black bears, goats, reindeer, emu, alpacas, chickens, ducks, among others. The animal habitats all seemed to be clean, the animal caretakers seemed to be really good with the animals, and my daughter loved looking at and feeding them. They had a fish exhibit that had the largest rainbow trout I've ever seen and a fish food dispenser (required a quarter (and they provided change for dollar bills)). The black bears were super playful and you could feed them too by sending the food down a tube. You could also feed the goats, reindeer, alpaca, and others.
Food: There was pizza near the entrance and a grill at the train stop near the rides. We ate at the grill near the rides. The employees working in the grill were super friendly and working super hard. They offered cheeseburgers, hot dogs, corndogs, chicken sandwich, nachos, soda, hot chocolate, etc. The food was priced SUPER reasonable: I had a double cheeseburger, fries, and a soda and it was $8.25. They also had a stand in the train station with funnel cakes, etc. I appreciated not being price-gouged for park food!
We had a great visit --and will definitely be back when we're in the area again. The park should consider children pricing and renovating their bathrooms.
