COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Santa's Wonderland opened its doors for the 2023 holiday season today at 6 p.m.
The attraction is the self-proclaimed world’s largest Christmas Park with millions of lights, real snow and ice and other attractions spread across acres of land.
“This is our 26th season here at Santa's Wonderland and since we are a Texas Christmas attraction, we do want it to be Texas sized. So everything has expanded," said Director of Operations Chelsey Castillo. "We've added more food, more lights, more displays, more snow, lots more snow, a bigger ice rink, more attractions everywhere that our guests want to see more. That's what we're adding this year."
The Christmas park has prioritized a sense of family and through the years they have created a community in College Station with their guests.
“It started with that it started wit lights a drive through light display in 1998 and we have constantly grown we added hot coco, and then our guests wanted to sit by a fire and listen to the band, and then they wanted s'mores and so constantly after guests wanted more, more and more we added that," explained Castillo. "They asked for an ice skating rink for years and we finally added that a few years ago and its been a huge hit.”
The large number of people that come just to see Santa's Wonderland from all over speaks to how notable the attraction has become for those looking to get into the holiday spirit.
“This year we’re expecting to see over 400,000 people with a large majority of those coming from out of two out of state a lot of different states coming to Santa’s wonderland,“ Castillo revealed.
However, for Castillo herself, being a part of Santa’s Wonderland holds a special place in her life.
“I’ve been visiting Santa’s Wonderland since I was really really young but now my son knows how to say Santa now and knows he says 'ho ho ho' and I’m really excited to watch him meet Santa and know Santa," Castillo shared. "It really is priceless.“
Click here for more information on Santa's Wonderland and to get info on how to purchase tickets for the attraction.
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