I recently had the opportunity to visit Santa’s Workshop and the North Pole Experience in Flagstaff. It moved from Greer to Flagstaff this year which will be great for those of us in the Valley. My family actually attended last year in Greer too (at our own cost), so I’m able to easily compare the two experiences for you.
First a little disclaimer…last year our trolley was after dark and it was snowy. This year, we had the 4pm trolley and it was about 70 degrees.
Just a quick 2 1/2 hours north of the valley, the North Pole Experience is a wonderful holiday day trip for families with young children. It’s totally possible to do this in one day (you’d get home late at night, but totally doable). This was our plan, but we ended up getting a cheap hotel room, staying the night, and then doing some other fun things in the area.
Making Toys
Board the trolley bound for Santa’s workshop at the Little America hotel and then travel through a portal and arrive at the workshop about 15 minutes later all while singing Christmas carols and learning about Santa and the elves you are about to meet.
After arriving at the workshop, we were greeted by two fabulous elves who introduced us to the head elf, Alabastar. The tour twists and turns through all the rooms in the workshop, including the retired toys room, the toy building room, the wrapping room, the bakery, the classroom, the mail room, the sleigh room, and finally ends with Santa who was waiting for us. We got a private time with Santa…no one but an elf nearby to take some photos.
Drinking Snowman Soup aka Hot Cocoa
The details put into the workshop are amazing. They have thought of everything and it shows!
While waiting for the trolley, people were talking and everyone (myself included) agreed that being located in Flagstaff was so much nicer. It’s only a 2 1/2 hour drive instead of a 4-5 hour drive from Phoenix. The roads to Flagstaff are almost always plowed in the winter, but the road to Greer isn’t as consistently plowed. The snow storm we had in Greer last year was really bad and almost kept us from going.
At Elf School with Trixie
Last year seemed more magical, but that might be because it was our first time, it was dark, and it was snowy. So, I would highly recommend going after dark…you can’t really control the weather though.
The bottom line…would we go again…ABSOLUTELY! It is so magical for the kids!!!
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
Disclaimer: My family was provided tickets to experience the event. All opinions and photos are my own.
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