Paging Rudolph! Santa's Village To Make Triumphant Return To Lake Arrowhead

LAKE ARROWHEAD (CBSLA.com)   —  It's a throwback many years in the making.

Fans of Santa's Village, a staple for decades in Lake Arrowhead, would say too many years in the making.

KCAL9's Crystal Cruz says the popular landmark is reopening Friday.

Here's your Throwback Thursday, all the way to to 1955. Santa's Village in Sky Forest was the holiday hot spot until it closed in the nineties.

"A lot community was kind of built around the park so the absence was kind of  detrimental," says new owner (along with Santa) of the Village.

It's taken more than three years of rehab to restore the old village back to new glory.

Johnson, grew up here and knew the importance of hiring from the locals.

He also worked here.

"It was my first job. I was an elf at 13 years old," he says.

Old meets new in the village.

Santa's old house has new decor, like his throne made from wood that came from the property.

Johnson shows Cruz what used to be Alice in Wonder;and's Magic Tree. "It was a fun house, too. And it was pretty beat up," he  says.

Now it's a room for the kids to rock climb. Also included in the $49-59 ticket price is ice skating.

"It's here to stay and will be a year round rink for the park," Johnson says.

The park will also into a year round adventure park for biking, hiking and zip lining when Santa heads home.