Santaland

Santaland, what a great experience for adults and kids of all ages. I have done Santaland for the past three years and it’s a great experience and they have a wonderful staff that are friendly and almost make you forget you’re waiting two hours for Mr. Claus. The sole negative and only reason why I don’t give it a five is because of the long lines. Located on the 8^th floor of Macy’s the opposite side of the elevator.
Macy’s does a wonderful job of putting this together, they have various ornaments, fixtures, trees, characters, etc for you to enjoy, but just remember to bring some comfortable shoes or come early in the year.
They have an express pass, but that just takes you directly to Santa and you’ll miss out on the whole experience. I feel like I am a veteran now, so will look to do the express pass probably next year, or the year after that. They have various packages and unlike many other places they allow you to take photos on your phone or one of Santa’s elves will assist you.

DO NOT DO THE EXPRESS PASS! You miss the ENTIRE display. U get to Santa period!!! If that’s all u want then great.

How can you write a bad review of SantaLand?
Tip to skip the line register online for express — you won’t see a lot of Santa land but it will save you an hour wait in line if you have temperamental kids or you get hot easy haha. You have to do it the day before… But if you want to you can do it in line and say omg we did this 2 days ago and meant to do it for today but accidentally dos tomorrow! If you’re charming, they will let you in

I live for SANTALAND! Since watching Miracle on 34^th Street, it was my goal to visit. It is a constant reminder of why there’s no place like New York. This is the essence of NYC.
I 1^st visited in 2013 with my 2 year old and it is my belief every child and Adult should have the Santaland experience once in their life. IT’S JOY that’s FREE! You’re also not a New Yorker if you don’t go visit the Macy’s windows and Santaland in December. It’s like the thing to do during Christmas season. There’s something magical and heart warming about the experience and I am convinced that is THE REAL Santa. He’s so soft spoken and kind. My daughter was scared when she saw him, but once he spoke, she took the prettiest picture. You are not obligated to purchase a photograph but they allow you to take your own.
The wait can be about an hour depending on when you visit. I advise going right after Thanksgiving and not during the evening. Get there atleast by 10:00 a.m. The staff is helpful and dressed as Elves and other characters. I once met Mrs. Claus while walking through Michael Kors. I love visiting and look forward to the experience, you will too. Just BELIEVE.

Yesterday my family made our third annual Macy’s Santaland visit with our daughter and our besties who make this journey with us each year. The kids adore this tradition and watching their faces light up with magic makes the long hot wait worth it.
We thought we would be escaping the crowds by going on a Friday morning. We were wrong. The crowds were already there by the time we arrived, around 10:30 am. We made our way to the 8^th floor and were corralled into the line and began our biggest investment of patience so far this holiday season.
In a matter of minutes crazy thoughts flooded my head. I began telling myself… if I can just convince my kid this Santa thing is real, maybe she’ll behave for the next 20 days. At least I’m not like the other parents here yelling at the top of their lungs for their kids to ‘SMILE’. What do these elf people do for work the rest of the year? It’s really hot in here. Oh My God where are those people from? I hope I’m wearing deodorant. Wait, is that my kid inside the display? And then the kids would do something really cute and I’d take a picture and we’d take a few more steps closer to meeting HIM.
All in all it took about 1.5 hours. But after about 45 minutes of waiting in line our kids decided they had to go to the bathroom. Immediately. We flagged down some elves and they escorted us from the ‘north pole’ and allowed us to take care of our kid’s needs. When we returned they escorted us back to our spot in the line where we left off, and we continued our journey through the land of make believe. We enjoyed the displays of Christmas trees, cotton snow, reindeer, toy trains and a sleigh full of toys. There was a ton to see and it was all very cute in a kitschy way.
We finally made it to the finish line and went into our own private room with Santa and a photographer. The kids sat on Santa’s lap together and each alone, and the photographer shot pictures but they also allowed us to. We weren’t rushed, but the whole experience lasted probably only 5 minutes. The kids weren’t afraid of Santa this year, but weren’t exactly clinging to him either. And they made weird faces for the camera.
We felt confident in the photos we snapped so didn’t purchase the prints at the end of the journey, which saved us waiting in another long line… and left the total price tag for our visit to Santaland as free.
After meeting Santa we went up to the ninth floor and walked through Holiday Lane, the ornaments and toy section, and the kids each picked out a holiday stuffed animal. And as we had hoped, they acted like angles the whole subway ride home. I think they believe :)
It was everything it’s supposed to be. And we’ll go again next year.
Lessons Learned:
The line is long and hot, be prepared to stand. Bring phones, strollers and snacks, anything to help the wait.
Go to the bathroom before you get in line.
You can take your own photos so bring a camera.

The experience is free if you don’t purchase the photos they take.

There is a free app you can download, and avoid waiting in the long line, but you don’t get to walk through Santaland, you go straight to Santa. Reservations can be made with the Macy’s App (available for iPhone or Android) or at kiosks in Macy’s in the Cellar and on the 9^th Floor (Holiday Lane). Macy’s actually has several different apps, but the one you’ll want is the standard Macy’s app. Click on the «Stores» icon, select Macy’s flagship Herald Square store, click on «Events», click on the Santaland Herald Square graphic then proceed. You can make reservations up to 48 hours in advance.

Macy’s long running Santaland is back and as great as ever this year. If planned properly, you & the fam could be in and out in under 30 minutes including choosing & paying for your photo package. Use the express-​pass (
), grab an early time slot, and sprint your way to the finish line! That is, after you’ve discussed your wish list with the jolly plump man himself.

Which person (who doesn’t find themselves relating to Ebenezer Scrooge come Christmastime) HASN’T watched Miracle on 34^th Street?
I mean, you know that the only place to take your kids to maaaaaybe see the real Santa is at the Macy’s on 34^th street. Sure, all the other Santas report to the real one, who just before Christmas is especially busy at the North Pole tending to his reindeer, tuning his sleigh to make sure its motors won’t power down when he’s staying under the radar and flying 15,000 feet above us, keeping an eye on his trusted elves, and eating Mrs. Claus’ cookies fresh out of the oven. Even the magical Santa can’t be in 100,000 cities all at once, sitting at department stores just to listen to your Christmas list.
BUT, he CAN be at Macy’s on 34^th street… where we KNOW miracles happen. I hear he STILL makes frequent drop-​ins and surprise visits. He goes undercover so you never know if the one who’s lap you sat on was the real Santa’s.
Incidentally, my daughter DID meet the real Santa.
But due to us only being in NYC for 1 night and needing to squeeze our visit to Santaland without an appointment (which I don’t recommend), we were stuck in line for about an hour as we waited to meet him. By the time we reached him, it was well past naptime and my little kidlet was pooped.
They have 3 or so rooms with Santa’s assistants (or undercover Santa), but the kiddos never really know or see that as Santa’s human elves do a very good job keeping them separate, with a side entrance to each one. The line just branches off at the very end.
The Santaland at Macy’s in Herald Square is always the most elaborate one, with lots to see and plenty of photo opportunities as you wait in line. We even saw part of a very cool train outside… maybe even the one from the Polar Express!
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TIPS:
1. Make an appointment on the Macy’s website and reduce your wait time significantly. The line was an hour long at 10AM on a Monday morning and I’ve read the wait can go up to 3 or more hours on weekends.
2. Make sure you don’t go during naptime. Do whatever you can to cheer them up just before they meet Santa or you’ll be paying $ 30+ for a photo you’ll never use… other than to blackmail your child when they’re teenagers.
3. Bring your own camera. You won’t want to miss your chance at the many cute photo opportunities in Santaland!