Slanted and Enchanted

There are several ways you can tell when the holidays are coming up in South Florida. The first cold spell is always a signal — the moment the thermometer hits 60 degrees, it’s officially time to pull your leather jacket out of the closet. Also, you might want to buy some gloves at Ross — you just never know when the temps will dip into the high 50s. And then there are the weird window displays, such as Santas clad in tropical shirts, and palm trees tricked out with twinkle lights. Speaking of which — residents down Kendall way know Christmas is a-creeping when the annual display of kitsch and electrical excess known as Santa’s Enchanted Forest brightens up Tropical Park. Whatchusay? You’ve never been to Santa’s Enchanted Forest? GTFOH!

The self-described “world's largest Christmas theme park” has games, food, shows, Nativity! Whoops — we caught ourselves singing the tune for the commercial that’s been airing on television since the late Eighties. For Yuletide fans, there’s a 92-foot-tall Christmas tree, hundreds of themed displays, and more than three million lights. For the kids, there are pony rides, a petting zoo, and tons of age-appropriate games. For crazy, unsupervised teens and the twentysomethings who act like them, there are rides that feel dangerous, more fried food than Scooby-Doo and Shaggy could ever hope to consume, and some truly, um, remarkable carnie-folk. Oh, and FYI: Eating a bag of potato chips and getting on the MegaDrop might seem like the best idea, but it’s totally not. Or so we’ve heard. It opens this Thursday and runs till January 4.
Nov. 6-Jan. 4, 2008