What Big Eyes you Have!

A barefood Red Riding Hood & Overall clad Wolf  from  the now defunct Never-Never Land in Hill Island, Ontario. (1967-1980)

Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? You might be when you see some of these photos!

In Ellicott City, MD a vintage postcard shows a living breathing Red Riding Hood on her walk near Grandma’s House at the now defunct Enchanted Forest.

Little Red Riding Hood is a classic European fairy tale that has been frightening children since the 10th century. In it, Red takes a walk through the woods to visit her sick grandmother, and take her some food. The simplicity of the story means that despite its age, it rarely deviates much in theme and language. There is always a little girl in a red hooded cape, a basket of food, and a big bad wolf disguised as grandmother in her bed. (The implication being that the wolf has already consumed dear old grandma as an appetizer and has stolen her nightgown.)

Red enters the house and launches into the memorable exchange with her grandmother:

What big eyes you have!
The Better to see you with, my dear

What big hands you have!
The Better to hold you with, my dear

What big teeth you have!
THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH MY DEAR!

Most parks wisely focus on the climax of this conversation and the best ones feature a terrified red riding hood and a scowling wolf.

In What was formerly Storytown USA (now the Great Escape) Red Riding Hood and the Wolf  are found in Grandma’s filthy concrete bedroom. This 2007 photograph of the scene found on The Tourist Trap almost makes it appear as though Red won the battle! A victorious Red Riding hood stares at guests as a dead looking wolf lies nearby in bed like a hunting trophy. I don’t believe this display still existed when I visited a few years later.

Over in New Hampshire at Story Land, We are warned by signs notifying us both of the path to Grandma’s house, as well as the wolf spotted in the bed. Red doesnt’ seem to frightened in this one, as Grandma Wolf pants happily. Their eye contact and expression sort of makes it seem like they are catching up after a few weeks away from one another! Maybe we have caught her in her last moments of innocence and she hasn’t yet realized that this is the wolf in disguise.

Storybook Forest in Pennsylvania has signs that also warn of a wolf in the woods,. Another (bearing a wolf illustration) recommends that we take the high road. This sign reminded me of a cartoon, as I imagine that the wolf put it there himself in order to lead Red right to his big teeth! This scene is very effective, despite featuring no Red Riding Hood figure. I believe that the viewer is meant to play the role of Red here, which thrusts you right into the story. As you approach the door of the house, the wolf inside can be seen in bed with one eye open awaiting a delicious morsel!

Holiday World’s (in Santa Claus, IL) is now known as a coaster destination, but it had its start as both a Santa park and a Kiddie park! Most of their vintage fairytale figures can be seen from the train ride, so of course this is where we found Red and the wolf hiding! This simple scene is also quite effective and features an innocent looking child who appears to be unaware of the sinister wolf lurking a few steps behind her. Though they abandoned the Grandmother disguise motif, I believe that the thoughtful positioning of these two figures convey the mean-spirited nature of this story more than some of the displays with stronger attention to detail.

At the Enchanted Forest in Old Forge, NY, a brightly colored house from 1956 contains this familiar scene with a smiling mannequin standing in for Red Riding Hood, while a scraggly wolf sits upright in Grandma’s nightgown and cap. The wolf’s neck is so thin, I sort of want him to get something to eat!

Finally, my favorite Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf are busy  terrifying children in Egg Harbor, NJ at Story Book Land. The display is newer, but I think that works to its advantage. First, take a moment to appreciate the location of Grandma’s house. Once you walk through the woods, down a winding brick path to a somewhat remote cottage (by tiny kiddie park standards, anyway!) you could be lucky enough to be the only person at the window when these two figures begin to move…that’s right. They move! Audio-animatronic figures retell the story in frightening detail. The wolf blinks, opens his mouth, and grabs at Red Riding Hood with a growl before resetting to scare the next group of kids. This display either mesmerized or horrified children and parents were seen either dragging them toward it or away from it. That alone puts it high on our list!

So, what do you think? Are you afraid of the Big Bad Wolf now?

Santa’s Land USA-Putney, VT

You better watch out…No really, you better watch out, because this one is a doozy. Santa’s Land in Putney, VT has a history dating back to 1957, when Jack Poppele, a radio broadcaster from Newark, N.J. first founded the park. Perhaps by some sort of Christmas miracle, the park has survived through various owners for more than 55 years. However, in recent years it has fallen on hard times. It nearly closed in 2011, until a mystery buyer bought the property.  WWF wrestler,  Mick Foley  (who is a big fan of the Jolly Old Elf, and is even known to don a red suit at the holidays) was considering purchasing the park, but decided against it as he would be unfit to care for the animals that live there.

The park sat dormant for about a year, and reopened in 2013 under the new ownership of Lillian Billewicz. Just as things were looking up, and the park was preparing for its 2013 season, a Sheriff’s office investigation resulted in a grisly discovery of 16 deer carcasses that had died on the property due to neglect. The investigators also found a dead pheasant and a pot bellied pig.  Lillian Billewicz and animal caretaker, Brian Deistler were both cited with animal cruelty, and a strict care plan for the remaining animals was established and mandated by the court. However, the new owners failed to follow the plan and due to worsening conditions, the animals were removed and sent to foster care earlier this year. This recent tragedy is the worst in this Santa’s Land history, and has tarnished the image and the memories made in this once happy land.

We visited the park in 2010, and despite being a bit run down and barren, we had a great day.

The park has a lot of the things that readers of this site have come to expect. We were advised by the cashier that there were no rides for adults in the park, which we knew going in. We told her we just wanted to walk around and take some photos, and she seemed pleased to see two paying customers. We entered the gates, and saw familiar fiberglass statues of Frosty, Rudolph, and of course Santa! There was the Candy Cane Cupboard snack bar, and Iceberg Slide for kids. A dusty little arcade dubbed “Santa’s Arcade” housed a few games and some strangely juxtaposed Christmas ornaments between the cabinets of shooters and fighting games. The park was mostly empty, save for a few other local families with small children.

It is not unusual for a Santa Park to have a reindeer and a few other animals, but unlike many Santa parks, this one was primarily a petting zoo with peacocks, pigs, and donkeys. There were Emu,  camel, and the visiting “Goat Girls”. The most fascinating aspect, though, was the deer enclosure. On our self guided tour, we found a sign for “Santa’s Deer Park”.  Unmanned dual fence doors opened into several acres of forested land, and inside, deer roamed free; some so used to people that they would eat right out of your hand! We were some of the only calm and slow-moving adults that were not chasing the deer, so the less skittish ones came right up to us and licked our hands or cautiously allowed us to touch their flocked antlers.  Even though I grew up in rural Western Pennsylvania, I had never been this close to a deer in the wild, and Some stood so still that I was able to take Polaroid portraits of them.  Sadly, my memory of this is now somewhat unsettling, as many of these deer are the ones that were found dead on the property two years later.

We never did find Santa, but the Mrs. was waiting to greet us, in her Birkenstocks and white socks…It is Vermont, afterall!

Although it should have been a merry place, there was a strange sadness to the whole park. Paths were a bit overgrown, paint was chipped, and children seemed bored looking for rides.  Some of the run down buildings were no longer in use, and a satellite dish sat atop the now abandoned “Igloo Pancake House“. Inside the dirty windows, you could still see tables and chairs along with dusty books and stored park items. Apparently the park’s former owners have lived in the igloo house in the past, and perhaps they do again. I would have loved enjoying some real Vermont maple syrup on my pancakes with Santa, but alas…it was not to be. You could sense that it used to be an exciting place filled with laughter. Now the only sounds were our shoes cracking the branches beneath our feet, and the noises made by the caged animals. An occasional parent could be heard warning children”Don’t touch that, its dirty!” Vintage souvenirs in a glass case reminded us of the past glory days of Santa’s Land.


Before leaving, we rode the small train. When the operator called “All Aboard” we realized that other than his two grandchildren, we were the only paying passengers on board. We exited through the gift shop, and as usual, bought one of everything bearing a “Santa’s Land” logo. Everything was inexpensive and cheaply made, but we cherished each piece, and felt good putting some money back into the park. It would not surprise me if some of this merchandise was sitting quietly in this shop since 1957’s opening season. The cashier again, thought us peculiar with our armloads of souvenirs, but seemed happy to be making a large $23 sale while parents dragged their kids toward the exit  in lieu of taking out their wallets.

Santa’s Land almost did not open for its annual Christmas visits with Santa as they encountered issues having proper electrical permits. Despite its tragedies, near closures, and investigations, the park remains open, with today marking the final day of the 2014 season. Without the animals, we sincerely hope to see it revitalized; but I’m not sure how they plan to progress from here. Although bittersweet, naturally we agree with the seizure of those remaining animals due to continued neglect, but it is heartbreaking to see the memories of this once beloved place tarnish in light of this tragic story. Though the current owners do appear to have their hearts in the right place, I am not sure that they have the resources or information needed to maintain an animal themed attraction like Santa’s Land. The loss of the animals is yet another blow to an already struggling park.

We hope that Santa can pull out another Christmas miracle and that Santa’s Land will open for the 2015 season.
Have you ever visited the park?