Open Letter to Santa's Wonderland

Dear Santa's Wonderland in College Station,

You've finally done it. You thought you were clever. You thought you were slick. You thought that you could continue bending us over year after year and that we wouldn't notice. You were wrong, jack. You've pissed me off again, and this time I'm taking to my blog (and to Facebook) to spread the word about your greedy crap.

It wasn't bad enough that you've been raising prices year after year so that it now costs almost $100 for my family to come out for a visit. It wasn't enough that you added a charge just to get in to "Santa's town" despite the fact that once inside the only thing that one can do for free is to sit by the fire in the middle. Then another charge for Santa. And another to see the lights. And another for the kids to ride the donkeys. Then there's food. And shopping. And kettle corn. And cocoa. Nickle and dime, nickle and dime, it's death by a thousand paper cuts with you isn't it?

And I've written you e-mails in the past that have gone unanswered (nay, ignored) regarding my displeasure with your exorbitant pricing. But yet Santa's Wonderland has remained part of my family's tradition in spite of your greedy crap. Every year, I've swallowed my pride and have agreed to bring my family out just because you have the best Santa anywhere. But this year, I've had enough - and here's why:

I got your e-mails that proclaimed "save money and time by buying your tickets online!" According to your website, I would be saving $2.00 per ticket. There are four of us in my family, so I thought "why not? Saving $8.00 is something, at least." So I proceeded to your (crappy) website to pre-order my tickets. That's where I saw this offer:


So I go to order, and I find this:


I'm just about to click "continue" when I happen to notice this at the top of the page:


Ebenezer Scrooge would be proud, indeed, you slimy S.o.B.s. That $2.00 per ticket savings is all but erased by a $1.50 per ticket "service fee." That's deceptive advertising at its finest.

I just want you to know that I'm going to bring my family out tonight because we already promised the kids we would and because I (unlike you) am not into pulling the rug out from under people at the last minute. But this will be the last year I bring my family - or recommend you to other families - unless you get your act together.

What you need to do is to not charge people just to come in and look around. Drop that stupid entry fee, or at the very least give people something for it, such as a free bag of kettle corn or a cup of hot chocolate. I know, I know... as you state on your FAQ page

"there are considerable costs associated with creating the "Ultimate" Texas Christmas experience. Christmas lights, holiday displays, electrical supplies and personnel are just a few to mention."

I understand that you have overhead, but you don't see the mall charging admission at Christmas time just to cover the cost of decorating, do you? They have a Santa, too, you know.

So there it is. I wish you the best of luck - I really do. In a few years when your attendance starts to dwindle because people can't afford to pay through the nose to see some Christmas lights and an Elvis impersonator, send me an e-mail and ask me to come back. And don't try to pull a fast one like you did this year, either. People love Christmas. People love to have a good time and see pretty lights and take their kids to see Santa. But people don't like to be raped at Christmas, even in the name of "overhead." And people really, really don't like deceptive offers that come with hidden fees.