Santa's Village (Illinois)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Entrance at the front of Santa's Village |
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| Location |  U.S.A. |
|---|---|
| Address | 1959-2006 601 Dundee Avenue East Dundee, IL 60118
2008-???? North Utica, IL |
| Owner | 1978-2006 North Pole Corp.
1959-1966 Glen Holland 1966-1972 Everding management 1972-1978 Medina Investors |
| Opened | Spring 1959 |
| Operating season | Late Spring through Early Fall |
| Rides | 20+ total
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Santa's Village in East Dundee, Illinois (1959-2006) was a theme park built in 1959 by Glenn Holland who also built the other two in San Bernardino County, California and Santa Cruz County, California. This park was the third and last that he built. The park was built with such detail and craftsmanship. It was like a smaller, less well known, version of Disneyland. The buildings were made to look identical to what a child's imagination would think they would look like. When it opened, it was a very prominent theme park. It, in its heyday, was filling to capacity. Over the parks history more than 20 million people passed through the front gates.
One addition to the park, opened in 1963, was the "Polar Dome" which provided an ice skating and hockey venue under a forced-air supported dome. On November 28, 1966, a strong wind caused the "Polar Dome" to collapse.[1] The dome was then replaced by a flat cedar roof.
The parks decline was rooted in the fact that no new attractions were added during the last few years of operation. Couple that with the unsuccessful launch of the "Typhoon" roller coaster and decreased attention to aesthetics, the corporation attempted a sale. The sale did not proceed as smoothly as hoped. With many setbacks and unmet deadlines, the park had to shut it doors.
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[edit] Three Worlds
In the park there was three distinct "Worlds". They were: Coney Island, Old McDonald's Farm, and Santa's World
Coney Island was the section on the left side of the park that was home to such rides as: The Yo-yo, Tilt-a-wirl, The Himalaya, Galleon Ship ride, and the bumble bee ride. Coney Island was also home to The Magic show. This area was developed in the late 1960's and early 1970's.
Old McDonald's Farm replaced the reindeer barn in the 1970. Its creation was due to putting the roaming animals into one spot. This section of the park was home to many farm animals which you could feed and pet as they roamed around in a large area in the center of the stables and pens which they were stored in at night. There was also a ride in the center where you could ride ponies. The animals were housed at the Park until 2004 when they were contracted from an outside vender.
Santa's World was the main area of the park that to the North of the ice rink. It was the main focus of the whole park. These grounds had such rides as: Frog Hopper, the balloon ride, the snowball ride, the giant slide, convoy, the dragon coaster, and the train. On the left side of this area there was an outdoor theatre where they would had live shows that would change every year. In this area was also where Santa was. Children, year round, could sit on Santa's lap and get their picture taken. There was also a pole in the middle of this area that was freezing cold year round.
[edit] Closure
Santa's Village declined in quality in the last 5 years of its operation and in 2006 it did not operate because of financial problems and difficulty with the sale of the park. In August 2006, the park announced its permanent closure. Most of the rides and fixtures were auctioned in October 2006.
[edit] Water Park
The water park Racing Rapids was the water park attached to the back of Santa's Village. Though the parks were connected it required a second ticket unless you bought the duel-park pass when you entered the theme park. There was also a small parking lot by the entrance if you were only going to the Racing Rapids. Racing Rapids had the following rides and attractions:
- Twister Tube Slide - A large two person tube slide which extender down a hill a few hundred feet and ender in a small pool where you immediately exited.
- Slidewinder's Slides - These two one person body slides were over 50 feet high near the front of the park. To enter the slides there was one entrance which split off into two separating the line for the large slide, and the slightly smaller second slide.
- Bumper Boats - These were located in a medium size pool which had fountain in the center of it. The pool held around 10-15 small, 1 person, gas boats. They were controlled by a steering wheel and a pedal.
- Lazy River - This continuous 450 foot long 42 inch deep pool was located on the left side of the park by the Bumper Boats. This continuous pool was filed with many 1 and 2 person tubes.
- Go-Karts - At the back of the park there was a large go cart track. It held 10 karts and you got 3 laps per wait. Towards the end of the parks lifetime this was the main attraction for the water park. Many people would come just to ride the Go-Karts, while few people would actually go on the water slides.
[edit] Future
On January 13, 2007 it was announced that there may be hope for Santa's Village in northern Illinois. There are plans to build a new Santa's Village theme park in North Utica, Illinois (about 94 miles southwest of the original park in East Dundee, IL). This new park is supposed to include many of the same rides, attractions, and shops as the original park in East Dundee. It is also supposed to have a combination of the layouts of the three original parks built by Glenn Holland. The new park will not include an Old McDonald's Farm or a Coney Island. Visit the Santa's Village News Blog for more news and information. For everything Santa's Village visit http://groups.msn.com/santasvillage
[edit] Gallery
 Original Map |
 2005 Map |
 "Always just a dream away" |
For More Photo's Visit http://groups.msn.com/SantasVillage/shoebox.msnw
