Santa's Village Part 2 - Making a Splash!

One of the things Wayne really wanted to do at Santa's Village was to drive the antique cars. We came across them as we searched for the water area of the park. This was a popular ride so there was a long line.

 I liked the signs

As a matter of fact, these cars are one of the features I remember from my childhood.  Before we got here, I told Wayne about how when I was a kid, the car I drove somehow jumped the track and I veered out across lawn for a ways before one of the attendants finally jumped in and steered me back on course.  Wayne was hoping that would happen to him, but after my incident, they must have improved their design because I don't see how a car could  jump the track now.  Below, Cole drives us through a steamy swamp.  Heather was in the back seat.

It's hard to tell, but that's Wes and Wayne, with Wayne driving.  They're about to enter the car wash.

Throughout SV there are lots of trees, shade, flowers, pretty landscaping, little ponds with fish, charming little houses, buildings and winding roads.  But when you enter the water park area, the whole place just opens up to a sea of kids running around in their bathing suits like colorful little fish, wet hair plastered to their foreheads. 

Wayne and Cole wore their swimming trunks and Heather wore her bathing suit under her dress. Everytime I had to take her to the bathroom, I cursed myself for putting the one-piece on her instead of her tankini. Anyway, the first water play area we encountered was this place with little geyser-like fountains. It was a great area for little kids and toddlers.  And Cole.

That was nice, but then we looked up and saw this - the Ho Ho H2O.

A giant water based playground. There is just so much going on here that it's mind boggling and impossible to capture with pictures, but I sure did try.  Can you imagine being the person who has the job of designing things like this?  Thank goodness he, she, or they use their genius for good instead of evil.   On second thought, considering some of the features of this thing, maybe it's both good and evil.   Below Wayne investigates this cone that fills with water.  You can tip it so that it dumps on some poor kid below.

See the wheel Wayne's turning?  Makes the water shoot out or stop.

Ok, here's the best part.  This giant bucket that sits on top of the whole thing is continually filling up with water.  When it's almost full, a bell starts dinging.  When the bell starts dinging, people start screaming.

The bell is to give everyone a 45 second warning that this is about to happen:

For one munite there's total excitement as people run - some are running to get directly under it, some are running to get away from it. 

Heather and I stayed in the gentler area.

While I kept and eye on Heather, Wes tried to keep track of the boys.

After spending plenty of time at the Ho Ho H2O, it was time to dry off and have another photo op with a giant bunny.

The last ride of the day - the Yule Log.  They look happy enough now...

...but you should have heard Wes screaming from here.  They come down VERY fast.  I was worried for my babies.

Our day at Santa's Village ended with a huge splash.

I think this is how we all felt at the end of the day.

On the ride home, I realized that we never did make it to Santa's house to see him, but the kids never mentioned it.   We were there for 5 and a half hours and I think we hit all the major things we wanted to, but there was a lot we didn't see and do.  There was just too much. My final verdict is that Santa's Village is worth the price to get in.  We had decided to do this instead of the fair this year, and while I miss the local exhibits, I do not miss the noise and dirtiness of the fair.

When we got home and Cole woke up, the first thing he said (before even getting out of the car) was, "Mommy, where's my helmet?"