Santa's Village Amusement & Water Park (formerly known and colloquially referred to this day as simply Santa's Village) is a theme park in East Dundee, Illinois. It was originally built by Glenn Holland, who also built two other Santa's Villages, in California; one located in San Bernardino County and the other in Santa Cruz County. The Illinois park, the third to be built, was intended to be the flagship of a chain of Santa's Villages across the country. However, parks planned for Richmond, Virginia, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, were never built, and the park in East Dundee became the last of its kind. The park operated as Santa's Village from 1959 until 2006, when it closed. Five years later, after extensive rehabilitation, the park reopened under new ownership. Renamed Santa's Village Azoosment Park because of the shared focus on both rides and animals, the Azoosment Park has nearly twenty rides and attractions, and hundreds of exotic and farm animals in an interactive environment. For a short time in 1972 the park was named Worlds of Fun. To avert legal feuds with other parks with similar names, the name was changed again to Three Worlds of Santa's Village. In 2021, the park updated its name to Santa's Village Amusement & Water Park.

About the park

The buildings were modeled on what an average child might imagine Santa's Village would look like. When it opened, it was a very prominent theme park. Over the park's history more than 20 million people passed through the front gates. Initially, rides were purchased individually with colored coins that allowed riders so much time on the attractions. Admission to the park was free. This was eventually abandoned for a one-price admission policy with access to all rides, a model that continued until the end of the park's life.

History

1959–2006

The park opened on May 30, 1959. One addition to the park, opened in 1963, was the "Polar Dome" which provided an ice skating and hockey venue under a forced-air supported dome. On November 28, 1966, a strong wind caused the "Polar Dome" to collapse. The dome was then replaced by a flat cedar roof, although the name of the venue was not changed. During the 1960s, the park featured short Amphicar rides, which simply drove the riders about 100 ft to the edge of a small lake, then out about another 100 feet, circled a pier and returned.

Three Worlds (1972–2006)

In 1972, the park was purchased by the Medina Investors, who renamed it Worlds of Fun. However, to preclude involvement in trademark-infringing lawsuits with amusement parks employing the exact name, they renamed it again to the Three Worlds of Santa's Village. In 1983, the park owners added Racing Rapids Action Park to the north end of Santa's Village. Although the parks were connected, there were separate admission gates to either one. A combination ticket was available at either park that would permit visitors to enter both parks that day. Both parks had separate parking lots.

Water Park (1983–2006)

The water park Racing Rapids was the water park attached to the north side of Santa's Village AZoosment Park. When it opened, it was one of the first in the Midwest and the largest in Illinois. It was closed with the park in 2006. The water park reopened for its full season in 2021 under the name Santa Springs.

Closure (2006)

The unsuccessful launch of the "Typhoon" roller coaster, decreased attention to the aesthetics of the park, and a decline of patrons eventually prompted the corporation to sell. The sale did not proceed as smoothly as hoped and, with many setbacks and unmet deadlines, the park had to shut its doors. In August 2006, the park announced its permanent closure. Most of the rides and fixtures were auctioned in October 2006.

Reopening (2011)

Paintball Explosion opened on half of the site of the original Santa's Village on April 30, 2011. Paintball Explosion converted the existing Polar Dome ice rink into an indoor paintball field. Paintball Explosion built six outdoor fields within the existing park, reusing many of the outdoor structures. Azoosmentpark opened on May 27 on the other half of original Santa's Village property. They feature various attractions and rides, while also providing exotic pets on exhibit. According to the park's website, it included two rides from the now-defunct Kiddieland Amusement Park. Those rides are the Midge-O-Racers and the Kiddie Whip Ride. Some of the original Santa's Village rides have also been restored to working order. 2013 saw several new additions including a roller coaster.

Lists of attractions

Roller coasters

Rides & attractions

Other venues

Food and beverages

List of former attractions

In popular culture