Santa’s Village’s annual opening weekend always means a few new features joining the East Dundee amusement and water park’s lineup, and this year’s no exception.
Santa s Village, at routes 25 and 72 in East Dundee, will open for the season from noon to 5 p.m. on Mother s Day. The amusement park will be open on weekends for the rest of May and open regular hours in June. The water park, Santa Springs, opens Memorial Day weekend.
Courtesy photo/Hurricane Harbor Chicago
Thrill-seekers can finally feel that adrenaline rush they’ve been waiting for this summer as water parks begin reopening across Illinois.
Six Flags Great America’s Hurricane Harbor locations in Gurnee and Rockford and Santa’s Village water park Santa Springs will reopen Saturday.
“Memorial Weekend is always the unofficial start of summer here at Six Flags, and we’re so excited to have some splash and some fun,” said Caitlin Kepple, Six Flags’ communications and marketing manager.
This marks the first time
Hurricane Harbor Chicago in Gurnee will operate separately from the Six Flags theme park next door making it the company’s 27th park, with three in Illinois.
Published May 26, 2021 •
Updated on May 26, 2021 at 5:41 pm
Santa s Village announced the amusement park will reopen for the 2021 season Memorial Day weekend with new attractions, following a major closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
This Saturday marks the grand opening complete with updated rides, such as The Blizzard and the Jolly Trolley. The new water park, Santa Springs, will also see its first full season this year. Don t miss local breaking news and weather! Download our mobile app for iOS or Android and sign up for alerts.
“Santa’s Village has been helping Chicagoans create fun, family memories for more than 60 years,” said Jason Sierpien, Santa’s Village park president. “We are ecstatic to be back for the 2021 season to bring new attractions, as well as amplified health and safety protocols, to the park to help families create everlasting summertime memories.”
Christmas is coming early to East Dundee.
After being closed last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa s Village Azoosment Park will reopen Saturday in a return of the suburban icon that first opened in 1959. Even with capacity currently limited to 25%, it s a breath of fresh air after a rough 2020.
The hardest thing for us last year was watching restaurants and other businesses opening, said Brian Wright, marketing director for Santa s Village. We kind of felt like we were last on the list.
Wright said that while there were furloughs over the last year, much of the staff was able to remain by working on improvements to the facility. Ownership also started an offshoot company called SV Enterprises that concentrates on landscaping, snow removal and holiday light installation.