What's new at Westchester's Winter Wonderland
/Hi everyone!
Andrea here. With two kids’ birthdays in early December, it’s been a bit crazy for the past few weeks, but I’m back to talk about my favorite county cold-weather event: Westchester’s Winter Wonderland! I recently wrote a review for Westchester Family magazine, and I wanted to share some of the newest features for 2019.
photo courtesy of Westchester Parks.
Westchester’s Winter Wonderland
This outdoor carnival now in its 6th year returning to the Kensico Dam Plaza for food, fun, and activities. For a flat fee of $20 per person (kids 3 and under are free), cross Candy Cane Lane and into their winter village. There’s indoor and outdoor stuff to do, but dress warm because you will be spending time outside. We also recommend bringing your stroller if the kids are too little for long walks, or just to have someplace they can sit with a blanket. The $20 admission goes to support Westchester Parks (#shoplocal), and includes a whole night of fun for everyone!
Opening the day after Thanksgiving and running just beyond New Year’s Day, there are plenty of chances to experience midway rides, food and drink concessions, photos with Santa, ice skating, light shows, circus acts, and more. Here’s what to expect during your visit, and what’s new for 2019.
photo courtesy of Westchester Parks.
Winter Wonderland is open Fridays through Sundays for the first three weeks of December and seven days a week between Christmas and New Year’s (with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). The last day of the festival is January 4th. Doors open at 4pm or 5pm depending on the day, and ample free parking is available in the Kensico Dam paved lot or on the grass just outside the plaza.
If you have small children, you’ll want to get there when the doors open for the best parking and shortest lines. We bring our stroller and plenty of hats, gloves, and blankets for the kids to stay toasty. There are plenty of indoor places to warm up, but most attractions are outside, so dress for the weather. Strollers are allowed everywhere but inside the circus tent.
Tickets are available online or at the door and are valid for any day of the festival. Kids 3 and under are free, and in years past there have been promotions such as reduced entry with donation, character meet-and-greets, and a kid-friendly New Year’s Eve ball drop at 7pm. Your ticket covers everything except concessions, shopping, and a few extras like face painting.
Revamped food options
This year the food options at Winter Wonderland have been revamped. To alleviate long waits for dinner from prior years’ food trucks, there are new grab-and-go stations and concession stands. Beer and wine are also available for purchase. Eat on the go or warm up inside Wegman’s Holiday Dining Tent. Or head inside the smaller tents to pick out gifts, ornaments, and other Christmassy items.
Santa and his (live) reindeer!
Your ticket includes access to Santa’s North Pole. Head inside the heated tent (make sure you wear removable layers as the wait can be hot) and pose for DIY pics. Since there’s no professional company shooting the photos, there are no costly print packages, but if you want to capture your entire family, you’ll have to make friends with the people in line behind you. You’ll also find Santa’s Post Box, so bring your wish list to drop in the mail.
This year Santa brought his reindeer! After meeting Santa, head outside to the North Pole to view the live reindeer.
The Santa tent is a warm and cozy place to wait in line for the big guy, but Mrs. Claus and the elves are selling light-up toys and other tantrum-inducing one-offs. Bring cash or get ready to add your kids to the Naughty List.
Lights of Wonder
Check out Westchester’s 40-foot largest lighted Christmas tree and Lights of Wonder, a holiday light show set to music that features displays of angels, elves, and other holiday themes. The show runs about ten minutes and is a great place for entertainment during an outdoor snack break. This dazzling little spectacle gets more impressive every year. What started as some lights blinking in time to music has evolved into a narrative of lights. Elves toss presents into Santa’s sleigh and words like PEACE appear in sync with the lyrics. Our kids were captivated from their strollers. There are some chairs and heat lamps set up nearby if you want to take a seat and warm up.
Rides and games
FUNderland Village includes eight midway attractions including a carousel, a teacups-style dragon ride, a large slide, a Dumbo-style ride, a 6-car ferris wheel, winter hayride, and more. Unlimited rides are included with the cost of admission, but they’re all outside and made of metal. Bring gloves for the carousel or little hands won’t want to hang on. Fleece-lined pants will combat frigid ride seats. Our 2-year old could go on just a few of them but our 4-year-old was the perfect height to have her pick of the place. The lines weren’t long when we went, so if we wanted to go twice, we just hopped right back on.
If rides aren’t their thing, there’s a great playground near the restroom building. There are also a few carnival games, so bring cash if you want to test your hoop dunking skills.
Hit the ice or hop in the big top tent
It’s easy to hit the ice skating rink because admission include skate rentals in almost every size. Too cold to stay outside? Warm up in the holiday circus tent for a thirty-minute performance of balancing, motorcycle riding, and other daredevil acts. No strollers are allowed inside, so you might want to skip this attraction if your child can’t sit still for the entire show. This is not a slick circus act—we’ve seen some oopsie moments. But it makes it that more fun—and nerve-wracking!—when the bow-and-arrow duo come out to shoot apples off each other’s heads at the end. The circus runs every hour. Bring cash for face painting and snacks.
Theme Nights and Discount Days
On Sundays in December, costumed characters visit Winter Wonderland for photo ops. There’s no official schedule, but last year’s favorites included Minions, Star Wars, Frozen-style princesses, and superheroes.
Active Duty and Veteran’s Appreciation Day is December 20. All veterans and active duty personnel receive $5 off a maximum of 4 tickets with I.D.
And there will be a special New Years Eve Ball Drop on December 31. Doors open at 5 pm with a ball drop and pyrotechnics show at 7 pm.
Even though Winter Wonderland is quaint compared to a night out at a traditional theme park, this event gets better every year. If your family likes to bundle up and get in the holiday spirit, Winter Wonderland is a must-do. It’s a great cold weather carnival and an easy drive from anywhere in the county. Parking is free and there are real bathrooms (but no changing station, so bring supplies to change the baby in the car). If you have an infant, they might not get much out of it save for a photo with Santa, but toddlers and older kids will love the rides, magic show, circus acts, and of course, Santa!
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See you next time!
Andrea
