TERRY AND LORI’S GREAT ADVENTURE
We have fond childhood memories of trips to The North Pole/Santa’s Workshop. Most memorable because Lori’s dad, the guy who was known to say he, ‘ate his way through Disneyland’, took our family to the exciting destination on a couple of occasions. In our children’s words, “No one was more fun than Grandpa Jack.”
Jack Zimmerman rivaled Santa Claus himself when it came to knowing his way around the North Pole, and we missed him as we built another set of memories at the 25-acre Santa’s Workshop and Amusement Park, 10 miles west of Colorado Springs in the shadows of Pike’s Peak.
The Great Adventure has come full circle as we take our own grandchildren. We had been with their parents previously, but for this trip we loaded up the little red wagon and set out alone, with four grandbabies, ages, 9, 7, 5, and 3.
The North Pole opened on March 10, 1955 and was identical to a village built in Lake Placid, NY. The village in NY was designed by Arto Monaco, a former Walt Disney artist.
According to the North Pole website, in the 1940’s an eight-year-old girl told the artist what she believed Santa Claus’ home and village looked like. Mr. Monaco then translated her image of the magical land into blueprints for an actual village.
The cost per child is a little spendy, $30 each, but in the five hours we were there the kids (and Grandpa and Grandma) rode on 146 rides.
For some reason, the rides effected Grandpa and Grandma a little more. Grandma, who is the smart one of the grandparents, kept her feet on the ground lots more than grandpa.
Oldest grandchild, Kahlynn (age 9), has always been a little wary of mascots, dressed up characters and Santa Claus. As we herded all four toward Santa’s workshop, where it was snowing in July by the way, she overcame her fear and we have a beautiful photo of Santa with four happy grandchildren.
We saved the gift shop for last and made sure everyone got a memorable token of the North Pole, without breaking the bank.
Then, as the daily afternoon monsoon occurred, Grandpa ran up the hill to the exit at top speed with the two youngest grandchildren in the wagon, with the other two safely under a souvenir umbrella.
The North Pole has a 4.6star rating with over 2700 people ranking it. We ranked it by the four, thoroughly worn-out grandchildren who napped all the way home and told their mom and dad about the day. Nostalgia can be transmitted generation to generation.
We couldn’t help thinking (and hoping) that someday they would take their children and grandchildren to the North Pole for their own Great Adventure.