Are You Naughty or Nice? Discovering Santa’s List at Dollywood
Are you looking for a unique way to visit Santa this year? Look no further, this is it! Grab a map and head to the Village area, Heartsong Theater. You will travel into a winter wonderland and have a view into Santa’s Cabin and see him at work. Will you be on the Nice or Naughty List this year?
Inside Santa’s Workshop: A Sneak Peek (Spoiler Alert!)
When you get close to the theater, you will be greeted by one of Santa’s cheerful elves! They will engage your group and get some information from you. Most specifically everyone’s names. You will wait in line on the outside of Heartsong Theater until it is your turn to head inside!
The doors will be opened and your group plus several others will be allowed to enter and greeted by another one of Santa’s Elves! Our elf’s name was Cornbread. You will be told it’s time to write out your wish list for Santa and given the paper, envelope, and pencils to make your list. There is even a mailbox to mail your list to Santa once you are finished filling it all out. Don’t worry, once you are inside the first doors of the theater you will have time to fill out the list and even play a few games with your elf host.
This time was honestly one of the most memorable parts of our trip to Dollywood. We laughed so much during a game of “Can you guess the Christmas Song we are acting out” with our elf. The interactions from the time we walked up to the theater made the wait for our experience seem so short and kept all of our kids engaged. We were sad to leave Cornbread, our elf, behind when it was our turn to get a look inside Santa’s cabin. We are hoping when we visit again this year we will be fortunate enough to get to see Cornbread again.
A Festive Journey Through Winter Wonderland
The doors opened and we were escorted into a winter wonderland where we met another one of Santa’s elves. We were greeted with beautiful Christmas trees adorned with lights as far as the eye can see. A light snow was falling and Christmas carols were playing in the background. We were given a number to stand on and waited our turn to cross the bridge to Santa’s Cabin.
Our elf told us that we were going to be walking across the bridge soon, right up to Santa’s Cabin, and he would be hard at work deciding who belonged on the nice and naughty list. Excitement built for the children and children at heart as they peered across the sea of lit trees and waited for their chance to get a peek at Santa. The glow of Christmas magic was all over their little faces.
Spotting Santa: A Magical Moment
It was finally our turn. Santa was busy studying his to-do list when we arrived. He needed to check on the elves, call Dolly, watch the weather for his flight, and eat his cookies! The kids realized that the letters they mailed were laying on Santa’s desk. Santa then started reading their letters and much to our delight, the kids were so excited he was looking at their wish list!
Next he grabs his list…. “THE LIST”…. and opened it up and their eyes lit up when they saw their names on the NICE list! Our elf asked everyone to turn around and smile at her for a picture and Santa jumped in! We bid him farewell so he could finish working on other kids’ lists before the big day! Of course this picture is available for purchase at Dollywood. You will have the option to just purchase a single picture or a package to share with the whole family! They even have ornaments for the tree!
Our Holiday Verdict: Naughty or Nice?
Don’t miss this experience! It is very unique and a lot of fun! We recommend starting your day here. The park opens at 11 am on operating days for the Smoky Mountain Christmas season. Arrive around 10:30 am and take advantage of the VIP parking. Trust us, it’s worth it. Enter into the park through your very own private entrance and head straight to the Village where Heartsong Theater is. You will see Santa’s cheerful elf waiting for you, a tablet in hand. Most people will head to the rides first and then do the Santa’s List experience later or just happen upon it when they are riding the carousel. This makes for very long lines later in the day as well as missed time seeing all the Christmas lights after dark, which is one of the reasons to visit this time of year. Have you done Santa’s List! We would love for you to share some pictures and your thoughts with us! Head over to our contact to submit those!
