Over Thanksgiving break we had the opportunity to check out Santa’s Flight Academy at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center and boy did we have a great time.
We attended Santa’s Flight Academy last year as well and it is by far one of our favorite Santa visits. The interactive aspect to this Santa experience is top notch and so wonderfully executed. When we arrived at the Cherry Creek Mall, we parked on the 2nd level and my kids walked toward the flight academy from the upper level. Their faces lit up when they saw the giant sleigh full of toys and the training academy! We rushed down the elevator to start checking it all out.
Santa’s Flight Academy begins with your child making their own badges to use throughout the entire experience. What is awesome is that if you have previously completed this in years past, your information is stored and you can just print a new pass or take a new photo and print a new pass.
After the flight suit is fitted, we move into loading the gifts and planning Santa’s flight pattern! The kids love this part because they can play with the knobs and buttons on the sleigh and feel like they are really doing work!
From there we have to power the sleigh with shouts of glee. My son shouted so loudly that people turned to stare. It was quite alarming. The peanut however, only made a tiny peep and we giggled at the difference between the two of them.
After checking our progress through the flight academy, it was time to check in with the big guy himself! This is my favorite Santa to visit as a parent because once the kids scan their badges, their name is sent to the monitor next to Santa and he welcomes them by using their names. Totally magical and awesome.
The kids spent a good chunk of time with Santa and then finished off their visit with a great photo. I was so happy with how this experience went and will definitely be returning next year!
