Moving the North Pole
Mall closing forces attraction’s relocation
Fate, playing the role of Grinch, won’t steal Christmas from deserving boys and girls, the owner of a popular holiday attraction says.
John Conner, who owns North Pole Adventure, has secured a new location where his business will operate this year after being told last week Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads is closing.
North Pole Adventure is undertaking an adventure of its own as it moves from the mall into a former Hobby Lobby store in Midwest City’s Gateway Plaza shopping center on the northeast corner at SE 15 and Air Depot Boulevard.
“I had my own little pity party on Friday as I sat in the North Pole Adventure ... thinking about all the work we had put into it, and the magic we created for kids,” Conner said, describing his reaction to learning the mall would close.
“We really bought into efforts to keep the mall alive. Then, I watched another tenant, a little Hispanic lady, leaving the mall with her husband, and saw them embracing as they left.
“I realized other people, just a few months before Christmas, are going to be out and have no way to provide for their families,” Conner said. “That puts things back in perspective, I suppose.”
Conner opened the North Pole Adventure at Plaza Mayor in 2014, initially operating in two 40-by100-foot tents in the parking lot on the mall’s south side. He said 22,000 kids visited the attraction that year.
After that, Conner remodeled the mall’s old arcade space on its lower level, near its west end. He opened the North Pole Adventure there in 2015 and it was enjoyed by nearly 40,000 kids.
In 2016, with an added attraction called the North Pole Live where kids could see Santa training reindeer, other North Pole images, and also see and visit with elves working on toys, the adventure was visited by about 45,000 kids.
Other stops for kids in the North Pole Adventure include the North Pole Post Office, where they can write a letter to Santa, the Elf Clubhouse and Bedroom where they can play games, Toy Land, where elves help them make and donate toys to area charities, a stable area for reindeer and Elf University, an area where they can do craft-related projects.
The highlight of their visit is getting to visit with Santa, which includes a photograph. After that, they visit Mrs. Claus’ kitchen to meet her, plus enjoy a tasty cookie and milk.
This year’s North Pole Adventure will include all of those features, plus another Conner said he’s currently keeping under wraps until the attraction’s opening is near.
A Christmas miracle
Conner said he feared he might not find a place where he could move and get opened in less than two month’s time.
Then he saw a sign that the Hobby Lobby space was for lease at the Gateway Shopping Center at SE 15 and Air Depot. The owners, he said, were seeking to rebrand the shopping center because of other nearby, ongoing retail development.
“We reached an agreement where they will rebrand that center as one for entertainment, rather than retail,” he said. “We are collectively working together.
“So, we have a place to call home. Now, we now have to find a way to rebuild it again inside the former Hobby Lobby space in about 45 days.
Conner has said his goal behind the operation is to give families opportunities to bond by participating in what he hopes would become an annual family tradition for them.
This year, he’s doing some bonding of his own with Midwest City officials, who are more than happy to get a viable business into an anchor space at the older shopping center.
Robert Coleman, Midwest City’s economic development director, said this week the community’s business community is excited to welcome North Pole Adventure into its fold, and he added the city is doing everything within its power to get the project completed on time.
“We believe it will compliment some of the other things we’ve already got and some of the things we’re pursuing,” Coleman said, adding that Gateway Plaza is halfway between Midwest City’s Town Center and Sooner Rose retail projects.
“That puts it in a perfect position to draw crowds from both centers.”
Conner acknowledged Midwest City’s support, adding he feels like he’s experiencing some of the same magic he hopes families experience by attending North Pole Adventure.
“We’ve had more than 100,000 views of our announcement we are moving,” Conner said. “I don’t know what kind of hit we will take. I’m sure some people will show up to Crossroads who didn’t catch that we are having to move.”
“Come the day after Thanksgiving, we are going to be open, and its going to be spectacularly nice because people deserve that. We are going to find a way to get it done.”