Macy's Santaland is a annual event held at Macy's flagship stores in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, and is held from Black Friday to Christmas Eve. The event features a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus, a puppet theatre, and many other interactive attractions
History of Santaland[]
Santa has been a part of Macy's Christmas season since 1861, when the store advertised that Santa came to Macy's Herald Square in New York to stock their counters with his finest Christmas gifts. Over the next four decades, Macy's was deemed the "Headquarters of Santa Claus", and later, "The Home of Santa Claus".
Up until 1974, a red carpet lead to a great gold throne where Santa sat, and a single photographer took photos. The following year, in 1975, the idea was formulated to make Santa a permanent house on the 4th floor of Macy's flagship store in New York City. In 1976, a puppet theater added to the merriment of the event.
Macy's decided to move Santaland as a permanent installation to the 8th floor of Macy's Herald Square in 1977, and double its size. With a larger space, Macy's was able to accommodate thousands more people to see St. Nick. In 1978, Santaland added an additional viewing line called the "Quick Peek Line". This shortened line enabled guests an overall view of Santa's Magic Forest and a sneak peak into Santa's house through a one-way mirror.
The attraction remained virtually unchanged until 1997, when a massive renovation brought new additions to Santaland. Many interactive elements were added to the experience to help entertain guests during their wait to see Santa.
Since the early 2010's, guests arriving to Santaland in Macy's Herald Square have been able to make reservations in advance to visit the jolly man in the red suit. Once the party had arrived at their scheduled time, they board the Santaland Express train that magically whisks them away to the North Pole. Along the way, they are entertained by holiday-themed scenery, numerous photo ops, and of course, Santa's Elves.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced that Santaland would not open for the 2020 season. In lieu of the traditional meet-and-greet and interactive experiences, Macy's offered a free online experience on its website at the end of November, where families can play games, get a virtual tour of Santa's workshop and take a selfie with Santa.
Santaland returned for in-person visits in 2021. Updated features included Santa Claus sitting behind his desk in order to enforce social distancing. The attraction returned in 2022, once again utilizing the behind-the-desk format.