2023 Santa’s Wonderland tickets are available for purchase now!
Unwrapping the Magic: A Joyful Journey through Santa’s Wonderland!
Dubbed the “BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVENT. EVER!” by the KiA kids – this is one experience that shouldn’t be missed! A must for Christmas lovers, thrill-seekers, and anyone ready to sleigh the holiday game with the big man himself. it’s honestly our favourite way to infuse some holiday cheer into the little (and big) people in our lives.
Held once again at the Adelaide Showgrounds, every corner of the Jubilee Pavilion (8,000 square metres to be exact) has been converted into a fun-filled magical space where even the Grinch would crack a smile. That said, don your ugly Christmas sweater or festive tee (otherwise you might melt) and treat yourselves to a place so incredibly merry, Santa Claus himself would be proud!
Each three-hour session includes unlimited rides, ice skating, tobogganing and the beloved activity trail featuring a variety of selfie stops, fun simple tasks and Christmas crafts for kids. Throw in some colourful roving entertainers, a couple of new, brilliantly choreographed stage shows and everyone’s favourite childhood figure (until that fateful day when someone tells you that *Spoiler Alert* Santa is not real) and we have ourselves an all-out Christmas time celebration.
A bit like the age old argument of whether Die Hard is indeed a Christmas movie, our team never agree on what order to tackle this mammoth event. My advice? start with the activity trail first. Take a quick bathroom and snack break, then hit the rides and finish with tobogganing and ice skating. This way if you get wet, it won’t matter. The main point is – have a plan and use your time efficiently or the kids will pull you every which way and you’ll more than likely miss half of it. Three hours will fly by – trust us!
While we’re on the topic of the three hour cram, you can select to book (and pay) in advance (or on the day subject availability) for professional Santa photos while you are attending the event. There are a range of packages to suit all families. We opt out, because #MaxRideTime, but for some families it’s convenient and the photos really are some of the best we have seen.
Parents will be delighted to hear you can BYO food and drink, although there is a good selection available at the food stands, it’s mostly carnival type food, along with much-needed coffee and rainbow slushies in fun sipper cups for the kids (and kids at heart). We opted to eat before our session started this year, mainly to save time.
As always, there’s plenty of photo opportunities, with large light installations set up throughout the hall. Most allow you to walk through or stand behind them, snapping a couple of cute pics for the memory bank AKA Instagram. A festive favourite has to be the 10-stop activity trail. Kids are given a Santa’s Wonderland showbag on entry and get to stamp their “passports” at each station as they move about and complete Christmas themed activities such as Making Reindeer Food thanks to Pick a Local, Pick SA, Story time with Mrs Christmas, and Write and Post a Letter to Santa. Stop 9 was a newbie this year and the kids excitement was real as they got to see their colouring activities come to life right before their very eyes. Definitely don’t skip this one!
If you’re heading in with a baby and a pram, you’ll be pleased to know there’s plenty of space to move about freely. In fact, Santa’s Wonderland have an excellent reputation for limiting their session sizes to ensure the event is not too crowded which helps with wait times too. We never had to wait more than a few minutes to get on rides or activities, if at all. Keep in mind, mid-week sessions are always a little bit quieter, a handy option given the upcoming school holidays. As expected, weekends are selling fast so if you’ve been humming and harring over whether to book, now is the time to do it!
The KiA team’s top tips
- Ensure the kids are wearing easy on/off shoes for the inflatables, but don’t forget to bring thick socks if you plan to skate otherwise you can purchase them there. I always chuck a couple of pairs in my handbag regardless.
- Arrive 20 minutes early. Allow yourself plenty of time to get your tickets scanned, catch the pre-entertainment (event the big man in red makes an appearance) and be ready as the red curtain opens and the snow begins to magically fall as you enter.
- If you want to sit down to eat, do it while the stage show is on – the kids will love it and you’ll get some much needed rest time.
Santa’s Wonderland really is the most magical event in Adelaide this December.
ENTRY TICKETS:
• All adults and children aged 2 years & above require an ENTRY ticket (children under 2 years old are FREE and do not require an entry ticket).
UNLIMITED FREE RIDES
- Wave Rider – NEW (Family Ride)
- Dodgem Cars (Family Ride)
- Tea Cups (Family Ride)
- Dragon Wagon Coaster (Children’s Ride)
- Ride on Motor Bikes (Children’s Ride)
- Convoy Trucks (Children’s Ride)
- Super Planes (Family Ride)
- Elephant Train Ride (Family Ride)
- Santa Fe Train (Children’s Ride)
- Christmas Inflatable Jumping Castle Zone (Children’s Activity)
- Ice Wonderland Ball Crawl (Children’s Activity)
- Candy Land Bouncy Castles (Children’s Activity)
- Ride on Reindeers (Children’s Ride)
TRADITIONAL FAMILY CHRISTMAS LAND
- Christmas Story Telling with Mrs Christmas
- Write a Personal Letter to Santa & Mail It
- Santa’s Giant Red Sleigh Photo Opportunity with FREE take home Christmas selfie props
- Magic Reindeer Food Stables – FREE take-home carrot thanks to Nicol Carrots!
- Little Picassos with FREE colouring crayons
- Ride on Reindeer’s Coral with Rudolf & Friends
- Christmas Inflatable Jumping Castle Zone
- Amusement Rides
- Santa’s Wonderland Giant Christmas Tree
- Light up bauble selfie opportunity
- Light up giant walk through present selfie opportunity
ICE WONDERLAND
- Unlimited Ice Skating
- Ice Wonderland’s Ball Crawl
- Snow Queen Winter Wonderland White Sleigh Family Photo Stop with FREE mini milk!
- Giant Ice Lights Christmas Tree
- Light-up Walk through Christmas Baubles
- Polar Bears, Penguins & Arctic Foxes
CANDYLAND
- Candyland Inflatable Maze – NEW
- Personalise a Christmas BAUBLE Stop
- Candyland’s Giant CANDYLAND tree
- Candy Cane and Gingerbread Men Selfie Stop
- Free Take Home Candy Cane
- Amusement Rides
- Main stage entertainment
2023 CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY TRAIL
STOP 1: Little Picasso’s proudly presented by NOVA 919
Collect your FREE colouring crayons and create your very own Christmas artwork.
STOP 2: Santa’s Mailbox proudly presented by NOVA 919
Write your 2023 Letter to Santa and post it with their express delivery to the North Pole!
STOP 3: Santa’s Sleigh
Grab your FREE selfie Christmas props and strike a pose on Santa’s Sleigh!
STOP 4: Bauble Zone proudly presented by Goodstart Early Learning
Enjoy a quieter space to sit down and get creative! Decorate your very own Santa’s Wonderland inspired bauble with the help of their friendly elves. Perfect to take home and add to your own tree!
STOP 5: Relf the Elf Selfie Station
Grab your friends and capture a snap your time at Santa’s Wonderland with their famous Relf the Elf!
STOP 6: Reindeer Christmas Snacks proudly presented by Pick A Local! Pick SA!
Select a fresh carrot thanks to Nicol Carrots to take home and leave out for the Reindeer on Christmas Eve! Grab your own bag and scoop up the magic reindeer food for an extra special snack.
STOP 7: Christmas Storytelling with Mrs Claus
Enjoy some downtime, get comfortable and listen to a Christmas story with Mrs Claus. Collect your FREE Christmas card and send it to a friend!
STOP 8: Candy Cane & Gingerbread Man Selfie Station
Have you ever seen GIANT candy canes and Gingerbread Men before? Well, now you can! Snap a photo at their popular selfie station.
STOP 9: NEW Interactive Colouring
Enjoy the all-new interactive colouring activity where you can bring your drawings to life!
STOP 10: Snow Queen Selfie Station proudly presented by Fleurieu Milk CompanyCHILL out and enjoy your mini milk of choice thanks to Fleurieu Milk! Sit on the sleigh for a selfie with the beautiful Snow Queen
Meet your favourite Christmas characters including:
• Frosty the Snowman
• Chrissy the Christmas Fairy
• Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer
• Santa’s Elves
• The North Pole Christmas Penguin and of course…SANTA CLAUS!
My daughter just wants to say how disappointed she was to have two shows cancelled after she’d booked. She is really looking forward to going next week and hopes it won’t be cancelled again! She loves this event each year! ❤️