We made an end of summer trip to the Smokey Mountains visiting Cherokee, NC for some whitewater tubing and a trip to Santa’s Land Fun Park & Zoo. In Georgia our kids started school August 1st which is crazy! Santa’s Land is sincerely both an amusement park and zoo that’s full of charm for kids and families. You can relax and ride all day for one low price with cheap eats under a beautiful tree canopy in the Smokey Mountains. We visited on a Saturday afternoon in summer and there were no wait times for anything even though the park felt like it was buzzing with activity. There’s not much here for adrenaline junkies, but tons of uniqueness and nostalgia that’s headlined by the amazing Rudicaoster, a “one of a kind” family roller coaster by Zamperla.

The park couldn’t be easier to find and is just a few minutes outside the main tourist section of Cherokee, literally minutes outside of Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Santa’s Land opened in 1966 and it has that family (not corporate) feel to it. The park is very affordably priced with all day access priced at $27.67 and you can save $2 with a AAA or AARP card. Admission does cover all day, but we were able to experience everything in the park in around 3 hours. We arrived shortly after noon after tubing in the morning (highly recommended as well) and making lunch one of the first things on the docket. Cheap food is everywhere and our lunch was super cheap with a special that included a whole pizza, 4 drinks and 4 fresh baked chocolate chip cookies for only $25. Snow cones and ice cream were also available for $2.50 and $3.75 respectively, amazingly cheap in theme park world.

The first thing that will surprise you is how big this park is. After you enter the front gate and turn right you’ll be enter the animal section of the park. The animals at Santa’s Land are given equal billing to the rides as it’s known as a “Fun Park & Zoo”. The park is actually split into two distinct sections known as “Fun Land” and “Zoo Land”. The animals range from deer to goats to camels to lemurs to birds. It seems that you have the opportunity to feed almost anything too with vending machines all around, so bring your quarters. This section really does have a nice zoo feel to it and there are also some fun play structures mixed in for the kids too.

After passing through the zoo you arrive at the rides and one of the things you’ll see is the amazing Rudicoaster. We’ll write a totally separate post about Rudicoaster later, but it’s a highly unique Zamperla coaster opened in 1989 with reindeer cars that are powered up the lift hills by a tire drive integrated into the train itself. The specs of the Rudicoaster won’t blow you away, but it has some great forces as you slide back and forth across the seat secured by a simple lap bar.

Fun Land has far more than just the Rudicoaster though. There are several classic kids flat rides including kiddie cars, boats and helicopters. There’s also a carousel and a neat Ferris wheel that’s tucked among the trees. Finally there’s a train that runs constantly as it serves as both a way to take in the whole park, but with two stations is also a way to get from one end of the park to the other. As mentioned previously, even on a summer Saturday the most we waited for anything was a few minutes.

Separate from the rides there are a couple of other attractions to be sure not to miss. The first would be the pedal boats. In many parks these are an upcharge item, but in Santa’s Land they’re included. What makes them more interesting is that there are a couple of island animal habitats you can boat around. The lake is also filled with giant koi fish that you can feed. There’s also a magic show that happens in an indoor theater several times a day. You certainly won’t confuse Bobini the Great with David Copperfield, but the kids loved it. Adjacent to the theater is a magic shop open after the shows. Finally, near to the magic shop is a metalworking shop. There was a worker out front making rings out of reindeer shoe nails for tips. This is a great little souvenir for a buck or two.

The park has some quirky things and a bit of strange as well. The park is filled with “nooks and crannies” with some unique things to look at. Near the train station in Fun Land you’ll find a moonshine still while at the train station near the entrance there’s a nativity setup. In Zoo Land there are many buildings from an old one room school to what look like small houses which contain animatronic scenes of everything from elves to Enbenezer Scrooge. There’s also some humor in animal labeling with pigeons being called Polish chickens. Even the garbage cans have character with one looking like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Up front there’s even giant rabbit and kangaroo statues where kids can get in the kangaroo’s pouch for a picture. The rabbit is in front of the magic theater, so that makes sense, but I’ve got no clue what the kangaroo has to do with Christmas. It all just sort of works though in this unique collection of attractions.

Finally you can’t forget about Santa! This is Santa’s Land after all. There’s a little cabin near the entrance where you can meet the big guy. Out front there’s also a reindeer and sleigh, a Christmas backdrop and lots of other great picture opportunities. As you exit you’ll go through a great gift shop with lots of great ornaments and other souvenirs to help you remember your day. There’s a candy shop and cafe that is accessible both inside and outside the park. The Christmas gift shop is open to the public without admission too.

Santa’s Land is an absolutely perfect fit for the Smokey Mountain region. If you’re looking for thrilling rides you should head an hour north to Dollywood, but you’ll also pay 4X the price for admission. Santa’s Land It’s not perfect by any means, but you can feel the passion and love of the people who run the place. It really does feel like a park in the woods with tons of tree cover to keep things cool even on a hot summer day. It’s a perfect place for families and for coaster enthusiasts it’s worth the $25 and the trip just to experience a few rides of the Rudicoaster.