John Valenzuela / The Sun via AP
In this Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, photo, construction crews install railing around the Frozen Falls Climbing Tower at the new Skypark at Santa’s Village in Skyforest, Calif. Developers have been planning to convert the Christmas-themed 153-acre-park, which has been closed since 1998, into a year-around, action-oriented destination, with mountain biking, fly-fishing, archery, a climbing wall and a zipline.
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016 | 6:01 p.m.
LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. — A once-beloved Christmas-themed amusement park that for decades drew Santa Claus fans to the alpine peaks of Southern California will reopen next month after an 18-year closure.
SkyPark at Santa's Village is scheduled to open on Dec. 2 in the hamlet of Skyforest near Lake Arrowhead, in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles.
It's the restart of a tourist attraction that offered colorful storybook-style cottages, candy canes and holiday-themed rides year-round from 1955 to 1998.
The new 153-acre park will feature a tunnel ride, restaurants, pub and an ice skating rink. It will operate under a temporary permit until developers can win environmental approval from San Bernardino County to add campgrounds, a fly fishing pond, mountain biking trails and a zipline. Approval could come next year.
The village is seen as an economic boost to an area that has struggled since the 2008 recession.
For now, only the original 18 Santa's Village buildings will be open. The park will be open seven days a week, except for Christmas Day. Adult tickets will be available online for $59.
"My hope is that we are allowed to open the village as everybody remembers it," project manager Bill Johnson told the San Bernardino Sun newspaper last month.
Meanwhile, Santa is ready to report for duty.
"I can't wait to welcome kids into Santa's house for the first time in 18 years," said Bill Priest of Lake Arrowhead, who plays Santa at local functions.
Priest told the Sun that he will be a Santa at the village and train other Santas.
"I'm just waiting for a phone call," he said.
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