Great atmosphere and lots of stuff to do. People are very friendly and willing to give directions, recommendations and a "Merry Christmas." The only negative is that the souvenirs and food is a bit expensive. That is to be expected at a place like this. We have found our new family Christmas tradition.
From the lights to the food, Santa's Wonderland is an absolutely wonderful experience. College Station stays true to the Christmas Spirit by keeping Jesus at the center of it all along with putting up hundreds if no thousands of beautiful lights. The food is a great value for the price. Strongly recommend getting the funnel cake and hot chocolate!!
Very crowded but a decent place. Be prepared for traffic and lines.
Couldn't find Santa , got lost had to eat the elf's legs, no ketchup mustard.
Don't completely understand this place and maybe it's my fault for going on the last night I suppose. But it's become a money grab. Everything costs extra. But we looked at the map and wanted to go see the gingerbread village and was told it used to be at Santa's Station but no one could tell us where it was now I guess it moved somewhere. Weird. Hayride line was too long and the music was out what's the point without music. Lots of food was out but last night. Petting zoo only seemed to have one kind of animal. Very weird won't go back.
Would definitely suggest visiting on a weekday because the crowds were a little wild but the village is so precious, the lights are beautiful, and the kettle corn is a MUST!
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. first time here and will.lost likely make it a tradition. Make sure you pay for parking for closer access but even if you don't it's not too bad, you just have to ride the bus there. Lots and lots of awesome lights and many things to do. Was gonna take my stroller but took my sons wagon and it was well worth it. Snows ever like 30 min and it's very cool. Live music and the bands are very good. Bonfires everywhere to keep you warm if it's chilly. The hayride is longer than expected and many photo ops so make sure to be ready.
Went this week Thursday and had a great experience. Went several years ago and Christmas town has expended quite a bit over the years. Love the Christmas atmosphere, great band playing. Falling snow added to the incredible experience. Definitively worth getting the horse carriage option. Crowd was manageable
Been here multiple times over the years being from College Station, so I hate to say, I will not be returning anytime soon. Went on a Sunday night, hayride line was easily 3 hours long when we arrived at 7pm. We decided to get some food and let the line die down, so we went to the bbq stand, which was great other than the fact they ran out of all sides except beans before 8pm. After doing a little shopping and taking in the live music, we decided to give the hayride another try. The line was to the outdoor theater screen and when we asked how long that wait might be, the worker directing the back of the line told us about 30 minutes... I wish it was only that! It took us nearly 2 hours to get to the ride and by the time we were done the park was about to shut down. There was disorganization all over, so many workers that they didn't seem to have any direction on what to do. This used to be a great place, but they've expanded so much but still only have a few main attractions so they get bombarded with everyone. Unless the organization is better, or they figure out a way to move their lines more effectively, I will not be paying to go again anytime soon.
Snow globe and the horse & carriage ride were the favorites
Really nice and very pretty. I paid for parking definitely a smart choice. Others were parked very far away so it is smart to just pay for parking. Unless you want to wait in line forever to park only to park very far away. I know I'm reiterating parking but it needs reiterating.
It's a great place to take the children each
winter from November 8- December 30 with lots of things to do like ride the Hay ride, slide down on the snow slide, and more.
Their is also places to eat like Bandera BBQ, and the pizza place, a place to make your own s'mores, and drinks places for kids, hot cocoa and soda, and adults, beer and wine. And their is also live entertainment.
Prices were steep for some of the food. $8 for 3 little chicken strips. The lines were super long for the shuttle and for the hay ride. We were there for about 4 hours and spent 3 of those hours in lines. The lights were cool. Definitely needs some improvements for crowd control. I would also suggest adding options for drinks in the long lines for the hay ride. We were thirsty and lots of people around us were also saying they wish they had a drink. One last suggestion is to have more areas to sit within the park.
Liked it better when you could drive your own car through but understandable with the amount of traffic. Prices seemed a bit high especially for parking in a dirt lot.
Sucks.... the lights went off for an hr with one refund
It was a nice place, don't get me wrong, but it is NOT worth the price. We have never been there before and didn't know what to expect. One and half hours of wait time for the hayride that lasted 23 minutes. That was ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, the lights were AMAZING. But there is nothing else this place offers (for those without children) but food and some shopping. We were very disappointed in the quantity (or lack of) stores at the venue. Also, the general market (the largest store, if this is the wrong name) had a very horrible stench to it. It was bad and we didn't even want to shop in the store at all. We appreciated the lights on the hayride. They were very, very beautiful. But we will not be returning to this venue any time soon.
Cool one time experience. This place is highly commercialized now and nothing more than a Christmas time amusement park with limited amusement. Kids had fun, not sure it is worth the cost.
It was an amazing experience. My family and I visited for the first time. They had a life band, snow and hot chocolate. Wonderful!
We LOVED our visit to Santas Wonderland! We are gonna make this a family tradition now! Great place to take the family!!
It was a fun place for the family , we all had a good time. We will be back next year.
Very nice place to enjoy a winter night. Food is good as well.
We went on a busy night and only in hay ride for 20 minutes it was great.
It's very pretty out there. I think it would be more enjoyable if you have smaller kids. My teenager enjoyed though. It's a vet good experience but they hit you with the ticket prices, then pay for parking (they do have free first come first serve parking which fills up) and they shuttle you from the fee lot. Food. For a family of four we were out around $200.00 (pre season prices). hopefully they will add more things to do for the amount you pay. Just be ready to come out of your pocket here .
Awesome time! Awesome fun! Prices arent too bad but please be sure to have some extra spending money when coming.
This super.the sweep of colorful lights and very creative and educational designs all that represents texas nice !!
Alot of hard work goes in to making this place magical. It is not cheap but for me personally, it is worth it!
Best experience EVER we visiting from Florida and we love this place, we went all my family including senior to toddler and everybody enjoy this place.
The overall Christmas experience was great, and the hay ride through the lights is my favorite. However, I was disappointed by the lack of regard for distancing and masks. Several employees had them under their chins or under their noses. Most of the people in the park did not have masks, and they weren't enforcing them at all. We are all tired of wearing masks, but until everyone is wearing them correctly, they're not going anywhere.
We had a wonderful experience this past Saturday! The lights were absolutely amazing. The staff was very friendly & attentive. The waits were minimal for it being the weekend after Thanksgiving. Perfect place to kick off the holiday season!
Very nice place, very organized. ease of access to all of the activity, line was too long for the hay ride but it worth the wait time, lots of Christmas lights was very joyful for us. the snow slide and the snow mountain was too much fun for the kids. lots of Texas delicious food. everyone was welcoming us with a nice smile on their face.the only negative thing that we couldn't find a handy map of the place. so when we left we weren't sure if we visited all the place or we missed something, definitely was a great Christmas experience.
We had a bad start getting thru the gate. Girl that was taking tickets had pushed the gate counter bar and it hit our 3 year old in the head. She rushed us thru and didn't even check to see if he was OK. He had a knot on the side of his head all night. As for the park, it was super crowded, lines were really long and the hayride was over a hour waiting in line like a bunch of cattle. And people that pay more for express tickets get to go before everyone else. And then you have people trying to cut in line. Other then that the bbq was good and bakery was OK. Would have been nice if it wasn't so crowded. The lights were nice and the kids were excited to see them. Not sure we would go again especially on a weekend. We might try going in November when prices are cheaper and less crowded. Cost us about 250 plus 20 for parking and still had a long walk for 2 kids and 2 adults.
It was a great place to take the grandkids, I would recommend purchasing the early access pass to beat much of the crowd.
They have TSA level security! Metal detectors, bag search and wands. Maned by LEOs
I came down from Iowa for a hayride and it is ridiculous that you have to pay extra to get on. I won't do this again
Perfect For The Entire Family. Food is amazing. Everyone was so kind and helpful. Lines moved fast.(:
First time here, loved it. Way bigger than expected. Great views from the carriage ride and lots of good food. Bands were better than expected too.
It was magnificent especially when you have small children.
Thoughts on three consecutive years-
Positives- We love whomever does all the amazing woodwork! It's worth getting there early just to see this in daylight!
-We like the food and feel it's very fairly priced. We paid $25 for two meat plate, stuffed baked potato, 2 sodas and freshly made chips. We loved it, that's actually a good price and was plenty of food for 2 adults and 2 small kids. We also bought a bag of kettle corn for $5. We think food prices are fair and like everything we've had there.
-Shuttle service was courteous and prompt on our visit
-Love seeing continued growth of lights everywhere
-Great band!
Negatives-
-Please hire another Santa or three for your busy nights!!! Seriously! By some small miracle we were first in line this year but when we got done, the wait was already two hours at 3 p.m. This could be prevented with more than one Santa and the kids won't know if they aren't all visible.
-Put a cap on visitors during peak nights! It's insane and your facility can not handle the capacity of crowds you bring in!!! You reply to people to not base opinion on peak nights but your peak nights bring in the money and people aren't happy! Not just not happy but hurt as it's a pricey experience for most working families only to feel robbed of the experience they didn't even get! I think you've reached a point where you need to reach a "sell out" on peak nights! We left at 9 p.m. Saturday and people were still buying tickets and there is almost no way they could have made it to lights because the line was over 2 hours, probably 3 hours.
-The sewage smell.
Do NOT come with small kids on weekends!!!! It's too expensive for crowds involved. Listen to those that write reviews! Literally brings tears to my eyes at the nightmare it's placed on parents due to inability to actually experience a good night because of too many crowds.
The prices for families are too expensive. Even on value nights. It's not worth the average $35 price per person to see lights, added to the fact it's so crowded one doesn't even get to enjoy the few things there. We actually have 5 children but only bring the two youngest as the cost for all of us just is outrageous for experience. We got to do the hayride, one 2 minute train ride and go down slide twice. I saw so many kids having meltdowns because they wanted to DO something but..lines...which could be prevented if crowds were limited.
Great day out. The lights were amazing and there were lots of fun activities to keep you busy. Most things are included in the ticket price
Very enjoyable family fun. The hay ride and light show is pleasant, kids are always blown away. Santa and Mrs Claus are genuine and generous with their time, and it's a mostly private encounter regardless if you are buying photos. Just know if there isn't a line you'll have to take a number, which might be for a couple hours later. Every year there is a little more.
My complaint is how the prices go up every year, our family of four was $160 to get in! We had discounted tickets, but our fault they weren't accepted the day we went. And after that hefty entrance fee, they charge you for quite a few of the additional activities.
Summary, kids love it. Wallet hates it.
Such a fun place to visit and it truly felt like being part of a Hallmark movie. If you love Christmas, this is the place to visit. Just bring your wallet because there's so many shops to visit. Rudolph and Prancer parking were the best options for us.
We took the kids on this past Sunday afternoon and per the "when is the best time to go" feature, this would be perfect!!! It was not. We got there at 4:45 went straight to Santa, he was on a break; went to the eating area, food was pricey but "okay". The line to get on the sleigh ride were at least 300 if not more deep, detoured and rode the "train" in a circle. I will stop there because the only thing the kids enjoyed was the bull riding..got good videos. We decided to leave, oh, there was only 1 bathroom working, and of course, the women's side was backed up to the funnel cake stand. We stopped back by to take pictures with Santa, he was on another break and would be back at 9:30pm. Don't waste your money on the drive on the weekend, total disappointment. The guys directing the parking lot traffic were very considerate.
Line after line after line. If you are ready to stand in line for anything from food to water to you name it, this is the place to be. Omg parking was a nightmare to say the least! It took one whole hour to get a parking spot and then when you finally find a parking spot....wait for it....another line just to get on a shuttle bus. Just ridiculous! Good thing i bought my tickets online cause it would have been another line we would have to stand in. OVER PRICED is another thing but the food was pretty good. Nice music and Santa was really cool. Lights were nice. Just not worth the 3 hour trip in my book. Wont be attending again.
Great family atmosphere we bring our kids here every year
Bought tickets for 3 adults and 2 children paid $158. To park at 430. When we arrive it s then that we are told we aren t allowed in to the park until 6pm and if we want to get in earlier we have to pay an additional $21 each which would be an extra $110 - absolute joke. So far not impressed, I just hope it lives up to the hype once we actually get in.
Paid too much to stand in line for 40 minutes and we are not even near the entrance. Never again!
We got our tickets online and arrived to be greeted by a new 30.06 posting. No concealed carry allowed. My wife and I saw the signs, turned around, gave our tickets away and enjoyed a nice evening elsewhere. There's been no issue in years past with this but I'll be taking my family somewhere else where we won't be sitting ducks relying on someone else to save us. Here's a very recent example for the owners of Santa's Wonderland: the shooter that opened fire TODAY in White Settlement, Texas was stopped by concealed carriers, not your fancy gun laws and metal detectors...
I was confused about buying a parking spot ticket for a time slot that was hours prior to open, ownership cleared that up as you can see below.
Then we went and it was amazing. Changed my review to 5 stars and never looked back. When you get there, go straight for whatever activity you want to do most as lines develop later on that can be pretty long. Bring cash.
Amazing.
Wonderful experience. My family and I are going every year from now
The setting is awesome, but the wait time, and expense of food is a little disheartening.
Geared for little kids but my teens enjoyed the nostalgia of it.
It was amazing and beautiful the hay ride was spectacular and the food was delicious
Not wheelchair friendly too much gravel chair does not roll around hard to get around specially after a rainy Or snowy day Overall beautiful place nice beautiful for the kides Nice to get out of the house specially coming from Houston
Great fun! Wish I had my grandkids closer, they would LOVE it!!!
Not worth it for me. And the queues were too long. I went during the week.
The best part was the snow where you could slide
We shared an amazing experience! Staff members were everywhere, available to assist. Attractions, food and nice places to shop. We finished by resting near one of several fire pits, while enjoying hot chocolate. 5 Stars!
We drove from Tomball, 1hr 15 min and couldn't be more pleased with Santa Wonderland. We ate at a nearby restaurant before arriving to help decrease the wait in lines for food since our bellies were full, we would be ready for the activities instead. We had tickets for 12/11 and noticed the rain forecast and we had approval from Dina at Santa Wonderland that we can go on 12/10 instead as long as we had the Super Saver tickets and we changed the date on our Hayride Express.pass so it could still be used. She helped me change the date of the express pass while on the phone which i greatly appreciate. Our tickets were for 6pm, and we arrived 515pm; we left at 8pm since were done. If we didnt have an hour drive back home and a school night, we may have stayed longer and done activities for a 2nd time. There was a short line to the Rudolph parking lot which went by quick, and it was directly infront of the Santa Wonderland which provided a short walking distance to the entrance line. The entry line was long, but thankfully there were 5 metal detectors and employees working the lines which made the entry process quick once they actually opened. All guests WERE NOT wearing masks, but my family and I were wearing masks. You cant be upset with those who choose not to, worry about your family and dont bash others nor Santa Wonderland for not enforcing mask wearing. The map that is available at the entrance can be confusing to read and understand, especially with it being our first time there. We went straight to the Hayride tour and the line was 3-4 rows long which we expected, but i remembered we had the Express pass for the hayride. I couldnt find the Hayride Express line so we had to ask an employee and it was no where near where we were. We actually passed it because the sign was so small, but we immediately was escorted to a Hayride truck. The Hayride tour was beautiful, peaceful, not packed, about 20 minutes long and millions of lights to enjoy. Once we.exited the Hayride we attempted to get to the Snowhill which was close, visible and right behind the Hayride tour, but we could not find the entrance(once again lost). We asked an employee, and we were instructed to go back towards the hayride entrance and to find the Snowhill sign and follow the Snowhill arrows. The snowhill was fun, quick, and a little small. With a large number of guests, i definitely think a bigger hill is needed. It became crowded fast, so we only spent a few minutes playing in the snow. We then enjoyed the bull riding, live band, train ride, smores, watching horse riding, walk through light tour, and the REAL camel near the nativity scene. We passed on the inflatables due to COVID, as well as seeing Santa since we have previously seen Santa elsewhere. My only request to Santa Wonderland is to make bigger signs for guests to see such as the Express lane to Hayride Tour and have more signs to direct guests to the activities. There are so many things to see, a simple small sign can easily be missed. We will be back again next year.
This place is awful, we had a horrible experience. The things they do not advertise or tell you on the internet is ridiculous.SO IF YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN YOU ARE BEING WARNED NOW! We went on a day that they have marked as (Not a peak day) but still stood in lines for hours. You cant push a stroller in this park unless you are looking for a upper body workout. The whole park is Rock Gravel that you find in playgrounds. (Strollers will not roll) The line for the hayride would have been backed up to the front entrance if they did not snake the line. Yet when trying to get a snow globe picture we needed an appointment that was booked up until 10 PM. When we bought our early bird tickets we had to pay for a time slot for the Rudolph parking which means nothing. They park cars in like sardines so when you decide to leave BECAUSE YOU CANT DO ANYTHING! YOU CANT! This place is just backwards and poorly managed. seems to me like they emphasize time slots and appointments for the wrong things. The appointments and time slots should be Santa and the hayride yet they don't tell you any of that when you buy your tickets. You waste so much time standing in lines so when you decide my kids are toddlers we can go do the other things instead of standing in lines YOU CANT! because you need an appointment that NOBODY told you about. Also, NOBODY KNEW VETERANS GOT IN FREE ON VETERANS DAY UNTIL YOU GOT INTO THE PARK OR ALREADY PURCHASED A TICKET! Seems convenient. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GO ELSEWHERE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Super expensive. But their Santa and Mrs. CLAUSE are the BEST. We take our twins on their bday with a cupcake and they sing happy bday to them...and they even remember our boys from previous years. So sweet.
What happened to the fake snow??? My wife and family waited and waited for the fake snow to come down, but it never did. We finally left because we were freezing. When we got home our house was flooded from an overflowing toilet. If Santa's Wonderland had more fake snow, we would have come home before hundreds of gallons of toilet water soaked all our carpet. One star.
Loved it best experience ever my kids loved it as well
We had a blast! There was so much to see and do. It was very crowded even though we went early on a Monday night. The staff was all very friendly and helpful. A very magical experience for the adults and kids.
Was a littleexpensive but i somehow got my grinchy love to come with me. We had a pretty good time. The lines for ANYTHING were huge. Thankfully the most important lines we actually paid for a reservation and I suggest you do too- parking and carriage ride. I didnt plan on buying merch there it was stupid expensive as expected but the food was worth it. I loved their apple cider, roasting smores, dump cake, and their bbq was not bad. Thats all that you should spend money on here besides the christmas light ride ofcourse!
First time to visit. Although I was skeptical to go, our family thoroughly enjoyed making memories there and hope to add this stop as our annual Christmas adventure. Our adult children loved it too!
It's getting busy every year. Parking is a hassl,it took 1h to park across of the freeway and use the shuttle. In general it's a nice outing but bc the wasted time in parking we couldn't do everything we wanted to do with our little ones as they got tired and sleepy. Another thing I didn't like is that petting zoo was not for free. If we go again it will be before the Christmas break to avoid the crowd.
WI-Fi and cell svc was horrible. Beer offensively expensive, >$9 for one regular cup.
It's a great experience for families but it has gone way to far with its pricing. I appreciate all of the included activities but anything that isn't included is excessively priced. I still go, just not annually anymore.
Nice environment, nice food that is reasonable prices, hay ride was awesome with good display of lights, snow tubing and you also get to make snowballs and throw at each other. Overall a great experience. Tickets and parking will be expansive if you choose to visit on weekends and special events. Weekdays , tickets are reasonable.
It is neat but it is such a money grab it gets old.
I can t believe all of the victims on here who are giving 1-Star ratings, writing bad reviews and blaming the business because it was inconvenient for them to wait in line. Should they only allow a certain amount of people in the park and then close the gates because you don t think you should have to wait in line? This is a popular Christmas themed park that s open during the holiday season. Of course they are going busy and yes you are going to have to wait your turn in line for probably longer than you care to. Plan your trip, do some research, read their website, buy the VIP parking pass and eat before you go if you don t want to pay a little extra for the food there. Our family loved this place and more importantly the kids had a great time. Yes we spent some money and had to wait in for some things but it was so worth it to see the smiles on their faces. The staff was fantastic, very friendly and were very quick to help us out with questions. The park is very well done. We will probably be going back next year.
Couldn t really enjoy anything. Lines were long for everything. 45 plus minutes. Food was pretty good. Drove all the way from Houston to take my daughters and they couldn t really get the full experience.
We got our tickets free and honestly it was a fantastic experience. The lights are elaborate and fun, but the food and some activities are way over priced. Lines were long, I would not advise bringing small children as it is cold and night time.
santas-wonderland.com
