Santa's Wonderland Review

The lines make the hay ride impossible to do with younger kids. 80 bucks for one adult and One child only to wait in line for three hours. Save your money and drive through some decorated neighborhoods.

Not worth the money I spent on it. The VIP tickets worked good only on the carriage ride. The lines were soo long that my 4 year old granbaby didn't even get to see Santa or the other things that I thought the VIP Should have taken care of. Alot of things not stated correctly. Drove 5 and half hours just to look at beautiful lights that I can do close to home. And I think are actually more beautiful.
Don't waste your time on this.

Side note... I have read a couple bad reviews about no social distancing or masks, if this is a concern for you then stay home. It's your choice to go or not. So why would you give a bad review to a great place because you chose to go to an outdoor event around other people. There was hand sanitizer in most areas and mask signs up for all indoor areas....
This place was amazing. We had a 6 year old and a 2 year old and we all had a great time. All the employees were super friendly and the place was very clean. I loved that all the employees dressed the part. But the best part was it's not just a tourist attraction... Santa's Wonderland remembered the reason for the season and kept Christ in Christmas. The hayride was also so much fun. Thank you for kicking our Christmas off right. We will be back. God Bless Texas!

To long lines and to spread out. As much money as they bring in you would think they would asphalt the paths. Nice place, they just need to take some hints from silver dollar city. Over a hour in line to get hot chocolate. Only one place to get it. Come on.

We had a wonderful time. So glad that once you were in the park, most activities were free.

Expect to spend some money. So worth it I believe for the memories. Tons of photo ops. Lots of wine choices. We will definitely be back Winter 2019

Nice and decorated very well. My kids loved the bull riding the best. The hay ride seems to get better every year.

Loved it! Price is steep especially if you eat there but was definitely worth the visit. Only real negative was took over an hour to get in the park. Why only two metal detectors when they had so many more available? Place was done very nicely and loved the emphasis at the end of the light tour.

Incredible! If you haven't been, you need to go. It's so much fun and so well laid out! Can't wait until next year!!

They have added a lot of SQ footage! The hay ride was so fun. The food is a little pricey but good. Need more chairs for tables to sit down to eat. The price for admission was high. So high it will likely be a one time thing a year. But great staff and friendly service.

Horse & buggy ride!!!
Set up the time you want to go! No line to wait in! Relax and enjoy the lights!

Drove 1.5 hrs to get there, waited 1hr to park, waited 1hr to buy tickets to get in, waited 40 minutes to buy hot cocoa which I didn't buy because the line was moving too slow. Then we waited 1 hr in line for the hayride once inside the line was longer than we anticipated and we didn't want to wait another hour for the damn hayride, so we just left. After wasting six hours and $70.00 for admission, we decided we are never coming back!!!!!

This was our second visit. I give it a five. We were not disappointed. I'm all for metal detectors but they need a couple of more of them and set up some barricades to keep people from sliding in from the side. The barbecue place has the best brisket ever. If they could get a couple of amusement park rides in there it would probably do well. Overall we liked it and will be back.

It was the worst experience ever, it was 100% chance of rain we called in advance to change the dates the park said no. I figured if we went to the park and speak w the manager they can do something at least change the dates. I spoke to one of the managers and she told me that they have people coming from further than Houston and that they will not change the dates or refund we did not enjoy anything the only thing we did was spend more money on stupid ponchos that the sell for 11.00dollars. I'm not mad because it rain I'm upset at the stupid park money hungry bastards would not change the dates much less a refund. Will never come visit this stupid park. Ps make sure you check the weather in advanced because all they will do is take your money. Thieves

My favorite place to go I hope to see you there on opening day Nov. 10 come see me.

Loved everything here. Lights were great and carriage ride was great. Pay the extra for parking and carriage ride. The free parking looked like a nightmare and hayrides looked like a bunch of sardines cramped up on a trailer. Also make reservations way ahead of time.

Really fun place to celebrate the season. Friendly workers and easy map to follow. I wish more slopes were open on the Snow Mountain Adventure. Line was long and slow.

Such a great experience. We managed to go on a less busy day, which I highly recommend. If you go when they are packed the lines can be ridiculously long for things and you might be miserable. But a less busy day is great! Some things are included in your tickets and some things, like food gifts and petting zoo, are not. Be prepared for that.

Before going I was unaware of the fact that they call this place an "amusement park". That being said, I think this is the nicest amusement park I've ever been too. Everyone who works in the park was exceptionally kind and helpful! This is amazing when visiting the park with small children! We had an absolute blast here and while the lines are line we never felt that "herd" kind of a feeling! This is a good old fashioned kind of family fun way to enjoy the Christmas season. Upon entering the park make a reservation to see Santa to easily avoid the long line! We found the line for the train to be shorter from the top by Santa's Cottage. We also purchased the express pass for the hay ride which was an absolute must with toddlers! Online the price is just $10/person and worth every penny! We really enjoyed all of the fun little things to do like Christmas Carole karaoke for the kids and sitting around the fire place. Highly recommend but try to avoid popular nights like weekends with toddlers! Very family friendly in all the attractions also!

It was my 1st visit & it was wonderful! Everyone was so nice & hayride & lights display was beautiful! I'll be back next year!

It was my first time there and I loved it . I hope to come back next year with my baby.

What a wonderful Christmas-themed attraction! As other visitors have stated it can be pricey, but I emphasize can be because it doesn't have to be. We purchased discounted tickets online which included admission, hayride tour of the lights, and a train ride, and more (check their website for exact details of what is included). We went with our 11 month baby and had a great time. We arrived around 6 pm and it was already packed. They hosted a 5k at around the same time. We parked in the free parking lot at the Texas GI Museum which is far but you don't have to walk. They offer free shuttles and we didn't have to wait at all for one. We had a large jogging stroller and they helped us lift it into and off of the bus without us having to collapse it. A friend recommended going to get a number right away if you wanted to get a picture with Santa (you can go back and check sporadically to see where they are with the queue). Unfortunately, at 6 pm they were queued up until 10 pm and we knew our little one wouldn't last that long. It was ok, though because we were planning on getting free pics with Santa next weekend back home. That might disappoint some, though. Our friend who was able to get pictures got really phenomenal pics! There are a lot of other photo ops that don't cost anything, like the giant Texas flag or barn that says Santa's Wonderland lit up with lights. There is a line for the hayrides but it goes really fast! If you feel so inclined, visit the winery inside the gift shop and grab a glass before getting into line (I saw lots of moms doing that). The lights were absolutely worth the wait!! They were beautiful with Christmas music playing the whole ride. Lots of Texas-themed displays. They also had a huge screen playing A Christmas Story that you could see from line. After the lights we grabbed a Santa size hot chocolate for a few bucks and it was soooo chocolatey and delicious. My hubs got a Dr. Pepper. There is a whole section where they sell food but we stopped at Cheddar's to fill our bellies before we got there. We spent $37 on an app, two entrees, an iced tea and a beer, so I guess it's up to you where you want to spend your money on food. They had people singing carols and lots of places to sit and listen or rest your feet (logs, rocking chairs, etc.), a cozy bonfire, and places to roast marshmallows. All-in-all we spent about $60 (or only $30/person) for 3 hours of Christmas-themed fun, and I feel it was completely worth it! We didn't even take advantage of everything we could have with the ticket price. Also, I want to add that I sent a couple of messages via their Facebook page with questions about suggestions, times, and stroller use and they replied within 15 minutes.

Gum place to visit for tbe holidays. If for any reason you weren't in the Christmas spirit when you get here, you will be by the time you leave. They have wonderful decorations you can purchase for a fairly reasonable price. Expect to spend a little extra money. Well with it to see the joy that they bring to kids young and old.

Decent drive, expensive food, easy parking, and the kids had a blast.

I can't get over how amazing this place is. First of all, the prices are very reasonable. About $45 for adults and $41 for the kiddos. Second, there is a ton of stuff to do! They've got a hayride that goes through a display of over 3 million Christmas lights that lasts over 20 minutes. They have a snow area for the kids (adults are welcome too) that blows out actual snow. They have sled riding! They're actually just inflatable tubes ,but it is still a ton of fun to go snow sledding downhill, in Texas! They have live music and performances in the park, later in the evening. They have free bull rides for adults and kids too (must meet height requirements). There are two inflatable bouncy play areas for the kids and an official Naughty or Nice list checker in the park (they'll tell your kiddo if they've Naughty or Nice). But the parents actually decide on that! You can also have your kiddos write letters to Santa! There are a ton of photo ops around the park for great memories. They have s'mores roasting pits (for $5.50) to roast your yummy treats. There is a large TV where they constantly play Christmas movies all evening long. So you can dine and watch a Christmas flick at the same time. They offer a wide variety of food, snacks and desserts. They have BBQ, Cajun cuisine, Burgers, chicken tenders for the food and many more different options. They offer hot cocoa, coffee to keep warm. They also offer beer and wine for the adults too. If your looking to channel your inner Christmas spirit, this place is definitely a must! I wish I could rate it more than 5 stars!

Terrible!!!!!!!! The traffic is terrible..... they are not organized at all. No wonder they have all all over their website no refunds or exchanges. They are smart to take peoples money. They should really put on their webisit if you are planning to park in the free parking exit before, it would have saved us 2 hours from doing the you turn. Oh yeah and you have to wait 2hours for the shuttle and another hour to get inside the park. Thank God we didn't buy our tickets just yet. Something was telling me not to when I seen all over no refunds or exchanges. We got there and quickly realized why they don't do refunds or exchanges...

All of the staff were really nice. I got my face painted as the grinch and having a conversation with the artist really made my night.

Very fun Christmas experience in Texas. It s a great place for families, friends to experience together, especially kids! Lots of fun activities!

Update: went this past Saturday 12-2-17 and was completely disappointed by what has become of my favorite holiday place. I read the reviews of everyone talking about all the lines, and boy were the all right. Never in the past 6yrs we ve gone have we had to deal with the overcrowding that was there. They didn t even care about the reservation for the horse and carriage ride. I had a 1900 time but wasn t able to get on til 1940 because they let larger parties on first. Stood in line to take a pic with Santa 2+ Hrs. The food lines where everywhere with no one to tell you where they actually started. It s gotten so bad they now charge you to take a pic with the Texas flag made of lights on the stage (Use to be free). After standing in lines and talking to other people that have been going as long as we have, a lot of people will be making this their last year. Mine to as much as I hate to say it.

I ve been coming here since 98 when I was in high school. Now that I m married this will be my families 7th year straight. We always take a pic with Santa so we can see how our family is growing. We were also on their YouTube promotion through their website. (At the very end that s my family hugging Santa) Although I remember the days of diving through with a car full of kids and tuning your radio to a station with Christmas music timed to the blinking lights, this has transformed to a true winter wonderland that I hope to still be visiting when I have grandchildren. A true Texan family tradition spot.

Side note; get the early bird tickets and save some money at least for the parking. The hayride lines are a lot faster now that they ve added more trucks and they pull double trailers but we still do the horse and carriage ride. (Tradition). Fun for all.

This place lives up to the hype! Their attention to detail and customer service are unmatched. By far the coolest Christmas thing I have ever done, well worth the money!

Open Christmas Day. Great family fun after all the gift giving is done.

This is a cute experience for families or couples looking to enjoy some holiday spirit. Prices are a bit expensive though, including the activities in the park and the food. I appreciate all of the work and upkeep that is required to keep all of the lights, decorations, and activities functioning during the holiday season though!

What a beautiful place. Lots of fun stuff for the kids. It was raining today but still enjoyed our time. Make sure you do the Horse & Carriage .. it s beautiful!! Must visit

I have been going here ever since it opened and last night I was very disappointed in our experience. I go here every year for my kids to take a picture with Santa.. This would be the main reason we go... And never on a Monday is it a hour and forty five minute wait and then to top it off they take a brake from 8-9:30... Come on!! Needless to say my kids didn't get a picture with Santa and we wont be going back for a while..I paid $175 to get in the door and left without the main thing we went for!! This place is getting too expensive... Then to top it off my debit card got charged twice!

I see a lot of negative reviews about having to pay for the carriage ride or hayride to get in. Who cares? It's a fun place. Awesome atmosphere. To all the losers leaving bad reviews "get a job" nothing's free these days.

Great experience! Well worth the 2hr drive! Friendly staff and very clean park!

The light displays are beautiful but some of the lights were not working. Lines are ridiculous long, drinks and food overpriced. Had to pay extra 20.00 bucks in top of entry tickets to get in early. Feel like I got ripped off because nowhere on the ticket or website did it say there would be an additional fee to enter early. Overall paid over 70 bucks per person for a couple of hours entertainment. Family got bored after 2 hours being there.

The kids had a good time but the lines are ridiculous and it's pricey. Its December and cold so the only thing my children wanted was hot chocolate but the line was so long that would have been their only "activity"

It is a very nice place, well distributed, clean, very friendly employees, the tour to see all the lights is nice, we enjoyed walking, we came back to see Santa

Had a wonderful experience with the wife and kids! The staff were super friendly and the grounds were kept clean at all times! Ford prices were a little high but it didn't hurt the great time we had.

What a wonderful and magical place to visit! It has a little something for everyone, and our relatives from out of town had a blast.

Online prices very misleading. Once you get there had to pay $150 more after paying for tickets online. Very disappointed

There only like 7 game so it's a wast of money $100 dollars per person just to get and if you
only want a 1 slice pizza you still have to pay $100 no mater what and just 1 slice of pizza
cost $10

It's a fun place, but I do wish there was more to do.

It was great, just what you would expect. Beautiful lights and the reason for Christmas.

Not only was Santa's Wonderland overpriced, but it was overcrowded, loud and disappointing. We went two days after Christmas and still- the crowds were huge and the lines were unbearably long. They also had the absolute lowest quality food imaginable. Seriously, I've had higher quality pizza at Little Cici's and better fries at McDonalds for a fraction of the cost. If you do go, eat before because the food is disgusting. We paid to ride the hayride because we had no choice but the line to get on was literally 80 people long and not budging. So basically, we paid $150 to get a picture with santa. HUGE disappointment and even bigger waste of money. Would NOT recommend. I wish I could rate them 0 stars.
Thankfully I went after Christmas, had I gone before it probably would've killed all my Christmas spirit.

This is our third year to go, and we don't plan on going again. I definitely would not recommend for families with young children. We got there at 4 and had a one hour wait for the parking shuttle. We tried to see santa, but the wait was 2.5 hours. So then we got in line for the hayride. The wait for the hayride was 1.5-2 hours. As we finally got towards the last 30 minutes of the line, they opened another gate and started loading people way way further to the back of the line.

If you would like to spend $30-$45 per person to wait in line for 3+ hours, then it's a good destination for you. And don't be fooled into thinking it will be better if you don't go on Saturday. We went on Sunday, and it was completely packed. I enjoyed writing this review more than I enjoyed the experience.

Honestly I was blown away by the lights. The food here at the Cajun place is damn good too

Place has outgrown its shoes and needs to figure out line management. Multiple entrances? They should have at least 4. Not coming back just due to the time it takes to get in. Seriously 2 metal detectors for thousands of people!!

Very disappointed. We went for the first time two years ago on a week night and it was awesome! No lines, in and out, fast service, a pleasure. We went this year on a Saturday and you can see the organization is a disaster. First, we waited in a parking line for 20 minutes only for them to tell us we had to drive to the flea market and take the shuttle. Then, it was a hassle getting inside with all the crowds. Lines for food were long, but that's expected. We went to get in line for the hayride tour and were told it was an hour and a half wait. There was no way we could wait that long in a line with our 18 month old. So that was a waste. So we went to take a Texas flag photo, waited in line for 45 MINUTES, just for them to tell us their printer was down and they would email us the photos for the same cost. I don't know why they couldn't tell people that while they waited in line. It was ridiculous. SO, we pay the $25+tax to have the photos emailed to us and then they are a complete blur! You can't see our faces, just our bodies. Been trying to get a hold of someone to process a refund with no luck. The worse part to me was the exit, the entrance and exit doors are the same, and they are two small doors. It took 15 minutes of standing in a crowded, crowded line of people trying to get in and folks trying to get out. It was just a horrible experience and we didn't enjoy it and it was a waste of money.

Gorgeous place!!! Worth it to do after Christmas to keep the festivities going! If you didn't purchase special parking pass then go straight across highway and park at flea market and they'll shuttle you (quick and easy!)

It's always a great experience!! Just go on the week days to avoid large crowds and eat before you get there. Food is just ok.

I work here! I fell in love with this place when I took my niece and my sister to visit out of curiosity. So I decided to join the team and I absolutely love it. It has also become a family tradition for us. Last year 15 of my family members got to come ages from newborns to grade school, middle school and high school and of course the Adults. They all love this place. Year round we plan our visit and keep an eye out for the specials. We can't wait to come back every season especially myself to see all the great people I work with. The first year I brought my mom, she said it was like entering a fairy tale. With the walkway to the entrance being almost like a magical bridge and inside is a whole other world. Every year she gets excited to see what new things they have in store. The live music is great and her favorite singer is Doc Tic Toc. We highly recommend this place! If you have pets you are welcome to bring them in as well!

New and improved
Love seeing it grow through the years!!!

Excellent place, very friendly staff very clean facilities very nice to share with friends and family

Shocked at how great this place was. Lots of fun and a great atmosphere. Greatest kept secret in this area!

Love the lights display! Only problem is the price. $44 for a single ticket is way over priced and doesn't even include all of the attractions. Definitely get the Super Saver tickets if possible. Also we decided to get pictures with Santa before we left, but was told Santa was going to feed the reindeer and would be back in an hour. Again, for $44 a ticket I would expect them to have a second santa to take pictures with while Santa #1 was taking a break. So we left without even seeing him. Everything else was amazing though. The employees throughout the park were exceptionally well mannered and courteous; the displays were amazing, and there are activities for even the youngest kids to enjoy. I would recommend arriving about 30-45 minutes before opening because the lines are already forming at that point.

This place was awesome. They had a band playing on the night we were there. That have dang near perfected everything. Even had the hot chocolate heated to the right temperature so you could drink it right when you get it.

Tips:

1. Park in the flea market parking lot that is across the highway from wonderland. It is free and they pick you up in busses and take you over for free.

2. Wait!! Do not try to get there early. You will just wait in line. Go about an hour or more after it opens and you will most likely walk straight in without the long line.

3. Purchase tickets before hand. This will save you tons of time.

Like I said before. They have this setup perfected. The attraction lines move quick and everything looks really nice. It is amazing how far they have come from the first time we visited. It was just a drive through light show.

It's too bad they don't do an evening for charity. Considering the nature of the event; Christmas, I would have loved to of known they donate a portion of the cost of the tickets or host one evening for charity; maybe at least a couple of hours ....

Magical place with wonderful staff! You will leave smiling and filled with the Christmas spirit! I have been coming since they have been open. I just went this year recently and it was the best experience yet!

We had an absolutely wonderful time here. The staff is so friendly and the atmosphere is incredible. Perfect way to get the whole family in the Christmas spirit.