I recently took a trip with my family to Story Land and Santa's Village in New Hampshire, places I had visited as a kid but couldn't remember at all. Despite that, I was dying to show my kids the magic I had once experienced, hoping that being there again might jog some memories from my own childhood. That definitely didn't happen, I still have no memory of these places, but we LOVED it. Here's where we stayed, where we ate and what we loved about each place.
Where We Stayed: Barlett, NH.
Close to North Conway and about 50 minutes from Jefferson (where Santa's Village is), we scored the sweetest Airbnb in Bartlett, NH. There was plenty of room here and I think next year, we could easily squeeze another family in with us.
What We Loved about Story Land
Easy to park, easy to walk, easy to ride! And, a new water park! Story Land is a fun, low-key theme park. And I don't mean to diminish all the attractions in saying that, but last year we did a couple days in Disney and we were so stressed by the idea of waiting in long lines, booking Genie+ or missing out on attractions altogether because we didn't plan accordingly. Story Land is the exact opposite. You see a cool ride, you get in line, you're on it in less than 15 minutes. In some cases, if my kiddos wanted to go on a ride again, they'd get right back in line and be back on the ride in under 10 minutes. It's exactly what my mom brain can handle at present moment. And, while it was about 10 degrees cooler in New Hampshire than it was in Boston, we were still grateful to have a new water park to end the day with. New for 2024, Moo Lagoon has really impressive water slides and attractions (though my kids were too short for some and definitely could've done without a few of the water sprayers), it was definitely a perfect way to cool down and cool off after a long day of walking. If we go back next year, we will definitely take advantage of their offer to start your visit late in the day (after 2 or 3 p.m.) with the opportunity to go visit again the next day for free (see "Final 3 Program" here).
What We Loved about Santa's Village:
I love the holidays, but I never feel like I can quite enjoy them because of how much prep goes into them. Visiting Santa's Village over the summer put me in the holiday spirit without the stress. The rides were awesome - even my 2 year old could go on most of them! And, like Santa's Village, there were so few long waits for rides - which is so rare and so amazing. There are these fun elf-abet statutes throughout and if you complete the card you get from Elf University, you get a special souvenir at the end. My kids met the big guy, took a picture with him and even saw his reindeer (I have to be honest, these are impressive animals)! We decorated sugar cookies, ate fresh doughnuts, bought homemade fudge (yes, we ate a LOT of sugar here) and ended the day at their water park. I honestly can't wait to go back next year!
If you're thinking you missed the boat to visit either of these places, both of them have fun events lined up for the fall and Halloween (see here and here).
Where We Ate: The Tap House, Vito Marcella's and Wicked Fresh Craft Burgers
We packed easy things for breakfast (including Scones by Isobel), but most of our food was in the parks or in local restaurants. In the search for something close to our Airbnb, we ended up at The Tap House one night. We found the picture of the Caesar salad to be pretty tempting and I must say, it delivered. However, the restaurant was short staffed and our kids didn't have the patience to sit and wait for food, so if you go, maybe don't do it with kids who are overstimulated and overtired from a full day at Story Land.
Our favorite places to eat included Vito Marcella's and Wicked Fresh Craft Burgers. Two totally different experiences, but each one was very necessary. Santa's Village is almost an hour away from Barlett and our kids fell asleep as soon as we put them in the car, so they got a nap before we dined at Vito Marcella's, a delicious Italian restaurant located in downtown North Conway. The service was fast and the staff was super accommodating, especially considering we were 15 minutes late to our reservation (fortunately, sit down meals are exceptionally fast for us with a 4- and 2-year old in tow). And after a long two days at theme parks, a tall glass of chianti was a sight for sore eyes.
Owned by a couple of guys from my hometown (one of whom is a Chopped Champion), Wicked Fresh Craft Burgers is a must if you make the trip north. It's a low key, fast casual burger place (but they recently opened up a fried chicken food truck)! We all got something different, but I definitely figured out the best combo on the menu: a simple bacon cheese burger with bacon onion jam. Do not sleep on the bacon onion jam. Everyone had FOMO because they didn't get it on their burger. We also had cheese fries and one of their signature shakes (jk we got two shakes) and it was a great lunch to hold us over for the drive home to Boston.
Must See Before you Leave: Diana's Baths
This is the second time I've voluntarily gone on a hike in my entire life, but a few days in the fresh mountain air will do that to you! Diana's Baths is a very easy hike (my 4-year-old did this no problem) and it's so rewarding when you get to the end. There's tons of waterfalls - and on our particular day, people were swimming in the water and camped out for the day. We got some great family photos and will definitely be back.
