Macy's Santaland for Kids - Meet Santa in NYC

Best Tips to Visit Macy’s Santaland: Where Kids Meet Santa in NYC

December 4, 2019June 27, 2020 NewYorkerTips christmas

All the best tips to visit Macy’s Santaland 2019 with your kids! It’s a magical and exciting experience that your kids are gonna enjoy. A great thing to do for families in Christmas time! In this article, you’ll find all the info: important tips, days, hours, location, how to book tickets and more.

What is Macy’s Santaland?

Santaland is a great place to meet Santa in NYC. It’s an immersion into the North Pole full of joy and happy music. 13,000-square-foot winter wonderland that will make your kids live a wonderful experience. You’ll get the chance to meet Santa, tell him your wish-list and take a picture with him. You’ll also see Elves, sleds, reindeer, enchanted forest, train display…

Will Adults Enjoy Santaland at Macy’s?

Many times adults get more excited than kids when they’re in the room with Santa!

What You Should Know Before You Go

Even though this year is by reservations only, you still have to wait in line about 40-45 minutes to get in. At least it’s better than waiting 3-4 hours as it happened in previous years. I’d say the line can be 2 hours on a weekend close to Christmas. So be aware.

You won’t be able to get in line if you don’t have a reservation.

Try taking your kids to the restroom before doing the line.

Make sure you don’t go during nap time.

Bring snacks with you.

You can bring your stroller.

Bring your own camera / phone.

HOW TO BEAT THE CROWDS

Avoid going on the opening day and the first opening weekend.
Try going on weekdays to experience less crowds.
Avoid going the weekend before Christmas.
If possible, try to avoid going during Christmas week.

When is Macy’s Santaland: Days & Hours

USUALLY 1-2 DAYS AFTER THANKSGIVING THROUGH DEC. 24, 2019.

DAILY: 7-9AM TO 9PM.

Check calendar here.

It’s an annual event that usually starts the day after Thanksgiving.

Where is Santaland

Santaland is located at Macy’s on the 8th Floor.

34th Street between Broadway & 7th Ave.

Who’s This Event For

Santaland is for adults and kids of all ages. Good for locals and tourists!

How to Book Tickets

Visiting Santaland this year is by reservations only, to avoid waiting in line for hours as it happened in the previous years.

You can book your spot from 30 minutes to 5 days in advance.

HOW MUCH IT COST TO VISIT: FREE Admission.
BOOK NOW: Reserve your spot here starting 5 days before opening date. You must arrive within your time slot, not sooner and not later than the time slot you got.

You can also make reservations in-store or by calling the holiday hotline at (212) 494-4495.

BE AWARE! The fact that you have a time slot to get in, doesn’t mean that you won’t be facing any lines at all. You still have to wait about 40 minutes until you finally get in! You may experience less time if you go on weekdays.

SANTA EXPRESS LANE

They’re now offering the option to head directly to Santa skipping Santaland village.

Monday through Thursday: 2pm to 9pm and Friday through Sunday. Check here for availability. You won’t be able to book more than 5 days in advance! The ticket system opens each day at 6am.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS WITH SANTA

Starting at $20.99 (optional). You can ask an elf or assistant to take a picture with your phone. Don’t be shy!

WHAT IF I NEED TO CHANGE THE RESERVATION FOR ANOTHER TIME

You have to cancel the reservation you got and book a new one.

GROUPS OF 16 OR MORE

For large groups email: santalandgroup@macys.com.

More Info

ABOUT THE SANTA AT SANTALAND

He’s awesome, the REAL Santa 😉 Once you’re with Santa, you’re in your own private area with him. They make you feel like it’s just you and him and you’re rarely rushed.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO AT MACY’S IN CHRISTMAS?

You may also wanna check out the Christmas Windows located at 34th Street. So awesome. I LOVE NEW YORK at this time of the year!

WHAT IF I DON’T BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS?

It’s still a great program to do with kids! You don’t have to be religious to visit this place. It’s more about the experience with the music, elves and all the decorations, being immersed in a whole new world worth to see.

OTHER THINGS TO DO IN CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK

NewYorkerTips

Hi there :) I'm Jess and I came to NYC to pursue my dream and I feel I'm living it every day. New York is magical and you have to be open to everything because you never know who is sitting next to you on the subway or behind you in the line of the supermarket. I decided to create this blog about NYC because I realized how many powerful tips would have helped me if I knew them before coming to the city from someone who was living in NY! So I thought that it would be awesome to share with you some tips about New York from a New Yorker. I'm going to keep updating this blog so stay tuned :)