We usually visit here when they have events such as photos with Santa, the Easter Bunny, Halloween events, etc... This place is huge! Right when you walk in, there is a big fireplace great photo op! The customer service desk is right when you walk in. There are usually people there. I've always gone in during event times so there have always been employees around to ask for help in anything. There's an aquarium inside near the stairs that is always enjoyable for the kids.
We always get a photo with Santa every year for the past eight years. It's become tradition at this point. I was glad to see that they decided to continue with Santa photos this year although now it's with new safety measures due to COVID. They now have a plexiglass between Santa and the children taking photos with him. Santa is also wearing a face shield. The plexiglass is placed within a block that children can sit on. In our pictures, you can't even tell that the plexiglass is there. It really is glare-free!
At this location, they moved Santa's Wonderland from the back where it usually is to inside their restaurant. We made reservations online - which was also new. It was mandatory to make an online reservation as they did not accept walk-in's like they had in years past. It worked out great for us actually. We made a last minute decision to get Santa photos and there just happened to be a few afternoon spots available that day.
As we walked into the restaurant aka Santa's Wonderland, they had social distancing markers on the floor. Each round marker stated a variation of a line from the song "The twelve days of Christmas" but with a Bass Pro theme - of course. Very cute! In the room with Santa, one family went in at a time. We were lucky that there were still reservations free before us so when we went in, no one else was around. Pictures were done quickly. Kids still get to speak to Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas. As we were leaving that area, we saw a room set up with ducks in a galley and some bow and arrows in a barrel. Once we were out of that area, they also had a shooting gallery near the entrance of the restaurant.
In the past, there was a whole section of different play areas like the duck galley, shooting gallery, Lincoln logs, kinetic sand table and an area to write Santa letters and do crafts. We did see Santa's mailbox and got to write Santa a letter at one of the booths but there were no crafts. It wasn't designed for children to start and spend a lot of time here like in the years prior. We were glad that at least kids were able to write their letters to Santa and drop it off at the mailbox.
All in all, it was a good Santa visit. I'm grateful they were able to offer photos with Santa and still kept to Santa's Wonderland as much as was safe to do so. I'm sure everyone looks forward to it every year as much we do. read more