For years, kids (and adults) of all ages have looked forward to telling their Christmas wishes to Santa at Macy’s Santaland. But starting Monday, they’ll need to make a reservation to see Jolly Old Saint Nick on the eighth floor.
Yes, Virginia, you’ll need an appointment to have a lap-top audience with Santa Claus.
“Santa’s a popular guy, so the wait times to meet him have been quite long in previous years, especially on our busiest days,” Macy’s wrote on its Santaland website. “The new reservation system is designed to minimize this by scheduling visitors to join the line at a time of your choice, allowing for the best possible holiday experience.”
The company dubbed this new reservation system “Express Pass 2.0,” which initially allowed visitors to make online reservations for shorter wait times, though it did bypass part of the attraction. With the new reservation system, all guess will be able to experience the full glory of Santaland.
The reservations are free to make, and visitors can choose pre-selected time slots from 30 minutes to five days in advance. They are encouraged to arrive and check in with one of Santa’s elves within their chosen time slots to ensure that the big guy stays on schedule for all the other good kids and adults. If you, however, miss your scheduled appointment, you will need to rebook for another time.
While guests can purchase professional photos with Santa via packages that start at $20.99, those purchases are not required to go through the attraction.
To make your Macy’s Santaland reservation, visit macys.com/santaland.
