Santa's Workshop (Colorado)
Santa's Workshop is an amusement park that opened on June 16, 1956, in Cascade, Colorado, just west of Colorado Springs at the base of Pikes Peak. Modeled after the Santa's Workshop in Lake Placid, New York, the park features a charming North Pole village complete with specialty shops for boys, girls, Christmas ornaments, and candy. The village is also home to Santa's Workshop itself, where children can meet with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus year round. Many of the park's staff get into the holiday spirit as well, and children will find Santa's elves hard at work in admissions and the many shops around the premises.
In addition to the village, Santa's Workshop is a fully operational amusement park best suited for children ages 2 to 12. It is home to 26 rides, more than half of which are classified specifically as "kiddie" rides. Family highlights include a small wooden roller coaster and the world's highest altitude Ferris wheel, as well as a "genuine" North Pole made of ice that somehow never melts in the center of the park. Several additional rides are also Christmas-themed, such as a Christmas tree ride and a peppermint giant slide (a rare American example of a popular UK slide called a Helter Skelter). Attractions also include magic and puppet shows, a haunted castle, and an arcade.
The park is generally open from mid-May through Christmas Eve, and is closed from January to May in order to let Santa and the elves rest up. Admission in 2011 was $17.95 per person, with special group rates and senior/military discounts also available. The park is still owned and operated by the same family who opened it in 1956.
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Coordinates: 38°54′17″N 104°58′37″W / 38.90472°N 104.97684°W