Temper Tantrum at 1,776 Feet: Visiting Santa in Winter Onderland at One World Trade

The day started off on a high note as we arrived at One World Trade Center Obervatory for Winter Onederland. We visited last year during Christmas and have great memories of wandering through the icy caves, riding the fastest elevator in NYC, the introductory video, and the incredible views. I made one huge mistake; our first stop after getting off the elevator was visiting the big guy himself, Santa Claus.

Visiting Santa wasn’t the issue, the problem was that I could no longer hold it over the kids’ heads they had to be on their best behavior or would make it on the naughty list. And sure enough, soon after requesting noise-canceling headphones and a boomerang, the first temper tantrum started.

While I was trying to learn about various buildings through the tablet that visitors can pick up, my 3-year-old decided she was done and wanted to take a nap on the floor. My 6-year-old son chose this time he needed to use the bathroom. Scooping up my whining 3-year-old, we made a pit-stop at the bathroom and then ate chocolate hoping to obtain more time to check out the amazing views. Well, that bought me a limited amount of time. Soon, while working to capture a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge, the kids wondered or“onedered” when we were leaving. So, I bought more time by guiding them around the observatory searching for Ollie the owl, the Winter Onderland mascot. That helped me get more information about the city and take a few more pictures.

But finally, at 1,776 feet, the highest temper tantrum was had by my 3-year-old and it appeared our time at the top of New York City was over. I could have stayed another hour looking over the City, but tired kids won out.

So, to all parents visiting Winter Onderland at One World Trade Center, see Santa after you get all your photos and views. If I had to do it all over again, threats of coal in the stockings would have been aplenty.