Last week, we had the chance to travel 30 mins north of the Bronx to Westchester’s annual Winter Wonderland. This outdoor winter attraction at Kensico Dam Plaza gives families the chance to ice skate, visit Santa, watch a circus, and more- all for a $15 ticket price. Continue reading for an inside scoop on everything the event has to offer.
Included in your $15 ticket (children under 3 are free), you’ll have access to:
- ice skating and free rentals on Rangerstown Rink
- a Winter Wonderland Holiday Circus
- The Santa Experience- take your own photos with Santa and write him a letter
- Unlimited rides on the winter hayride, the Wonderland Express, and the Holly Jolly Catepillar
- a musical light show
- Candy Cane Lane
What’s not included:
- Pony and came rides
- The slide
- Food and Drink
The Scoop:
When you arrive, you’ll walk through Candy Cane Lane- a walkway of lit up candy canes and lolipops. To the left you’ll see a tent where the food and bar are located, with all of the attractions to the right. Straight ahead you’ll find the line for the holiday hay ride.
While the slide and pony/camel ride are not included, we opted to let the kids do the slide. At $3 for two rides, it was an extra 6 bucks for both of them and they loved it.
After the slide, we walked over to the North Pole tent where we waited on a short line to snap some pics with Santa. There was a table where you can purchase some light up goodies and a table where the kids can write letters to Santa. Santa was friendly and Briana encouraged Gia to let him know what she wanted for Christmas.
The two rides included are simply carnival style rides. One ride is actually pretty fast and my 11 year old enjoyed it. The second one is much slower and more for my 5 year old- but Briana had no problem joining her sister for the ride.
The circus runs around every half hour- so we caught the 7:30 show. With all human acts, the show was filled with magic tricks, fire breathing, and other cool stunts.
Off to the side of the rides and ice skating, you’ll find an area with Adirondack chairs and pyramid heaters which offers up a place to warm up and watch the nearby light show.
After ice skating and the hayride, be sure to head over to the light show to end your night. The reflection of the lights off of the side of the dam is a pretty awesome sight to see, and the light show timed to the holiday music was the perfect ending to our evening. And being open until 10pm on most nights give families plenty of time to do all of the included activities.
Is it Worth it?
For $15 a person- that’s $60 for a family of 4 (over 3 years old). For the ice skating and circus alone, it’s a pretty awesome price tag. Even if you go to Bryant Park for free ice skating- rentals cost the same price as tickets to Winter Wonderland. So if you want to enjoy a fun evening with the family where you can fit in ice skating, a circus, a visit to see Santa, a hayride, and more- then you’re going to have a great time.
Parking is free and there are group rates available for groups of 20 or more. There are plenty of food options to choose from- including a bar for the grown ups for when the kids want to go on the same ride for the 5th time. For more information about Westchester’s Winter Wonderland, visit www.wwinterwonderland.com.