We are back! Please read through all of this information because there is plenty to share. Reservations go on sale on November 11th. We no longer state a time because it creates a frenzy and melts our servers. If you were a Kickstarter in 2014, then look to make your Reservations early on the 11th.
Later in the evening on the 11th, Reservations will become open for everyone to book. The website is currently being updated for the 2021 season. Please be patient with the website on the 11th and 12th. The traffic load will be massive and it will slow down at times.
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Masks: Anyone 5 and older must be wearing a face covering the entire time inside the North Pole. Persons having their photos taken with Santa will have the option to quickly remove their masks for the photos if they wish. Santa will not have a mask on for the photos. We have been given guidance and limitations for the North Pole in 2021 by the Governor and Health Department. Our opinions and your opinions don’t really matter. If we don’t follow the rules, we won’t be able to stay open.
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Vaccine Mandate: Our event will not be subject to the vaccine mandate, and we will not be checking anyone’s vaccine status. As an aside, Santa, Steve, and the North Pole Crew are fully vaccinated for their safety and yours.
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Santa: After thirteen seasons in the chair, the Santa that everyone has grown up with has had some health issues this last year and will not be able to join us for the 2021 season. We know this may be a surprise to all who have grown to love and expect him to be sitting in that chair.
His condition is improving each month and he is in great spirits. Santa fully expects to be back in the chair again next year, and he specifically wanted us to send all of his love to the families that he will miss dearly this year. Many of you know that we are a tight family, and will carry the load while he takes a well-deserved year off to recover. Please don’t concern yourself with any specifics, we are respecting his wishes and his privacy and ask that you do the same.
The good news is he has called in for a great reinforcement to carry the torch this year. It has always been the plan to bring additional Santa support for years. The number of hours to complete a full season is staggering and the demand for North Pole Reservations is always much greater than one person can handle. This is the year, but instead of a sharing-the-load plan, we are implementing the reinforcement-plan.
Santa is suited up and ready for the 2021 season. You can always expect a first-class and exceptional experience at the North Pole and we will make this transition as seamless as possible. As for any inquiring children, we will have an explanation for them if needed in Santa’s Studio. So buckle up for a fun year, send your best wishes and love to Santa at home, and come enjoy an awesome experience again with Santa sitting in the same chair as always.
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North Pole Play: The North Pole Play Area will once again be open for play before and after your pictures, BUT there will be a few changes. Due to occupancy limitations and our desire to relieve congestion specifically on the weekends, we will not be allowing any walk-in play if you do not have photo reservations. We will cover this more in greater detail in another post, but this year, this is our limitation.
Additionally, we are going to limit your entrance into the North Pole Play Area to a maximum of 30 minutes prior to your Reservation. We also ask that you limit your play to an hour after photos. Kids often don’t understand boundaries like adults, and we are also asking all parents and guardians to help space out play as much as possible and help us enforce proper mask-wearing. Not every person has the same opinions and viewpoints regarding masks, but we beg you all to BE KIND and respect each other.
Do not despair. We will be opening the North Pole Play Areas for kids that are not having their pictures taken with Santa. These opportunities and times will be highlighted and explained in a later post. Think of it as a drop-in like you would at a bouncy house play area where you will have a limited capacity in the North Pole where you can still enjoy the fun.
We have some great new sanitizing machines that will be cleaning the North Pole daily. We will have a new check-in procedure that we will cover in a later post. Fisher Scones will be out front again. The Retro Arcade is coming back again. We have some great surprises still to come.
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One last closing thought. We are not out of this yet. We have fought and fought to bring you this North Pole for 2021, but the threat of this virus is not yet over. Please respect people’s space, sanitize your hands with Santa’s Special Sanitizer from the North Pole, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you or anyone in your party feels ill, have a fever, or is actively showing symptoms of any sickness, please stay home. We will always make the effort to reschedule a Reservation rather than risk the chance of getting Santa or anyone else sick while at the North Pole. Thank you.