MALL CHARGING TO SEE SANTA

Children wanting to see Santa Claus at the Cherry Hill Mall’s Adventure to Santa in New Jersey will now have to pay. Admission to the Cherry Hill Mall’s Adventure to Santa costs between $35 and $50. The packages come with photos or video of the visit. The display features characters from the Shrek movies as well as a virtual sleigh ride, a concert performed by elves, and various games. Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which manages the mall, says the exhibit is one of only 12 Adventure to Santa attractions in the country. The attraction was free last year. The move has sparked anger from many parents, some of whom say the charge inherently pushes away low-income families, which they say runs counter to the spirit of the holiday.
* Are you kidding? No, this nails the spirit of the holiday.
* Remember “Occupy Wall Street”? What we need right now is “Occupy Adventure to Santa.”
* Before you can enjoy an Adventure to Santa you have to make an Adventure to the ATM Machine.
* Parents are telling their kids that, when they meet Santa, ask him for 35 bucks for Christmas.
* Shrek is just the front man. The one secretly behind it all is The Grinch.
* Quite a flip-flop. Santa used to come to your house and give you presents. Now you go to him and hand over $35 to $50 bucks.
* I guess it was just a matter of time until Santa wised up and stopped being such a chump.
* Get used to it. We’re only a couple of years from Microsoft patenting Santa Claus anyway.
* You can also see the special nativity scene made up of Shrek characters.
* Don’t knock it: The Donkey is great bringing in Mary.
* Notice how there’s none of the usual “To defer costs we’ve added a small fee to the experience.”
* No, with this they went from free right up to 50 bucks. If you’re trying to milk Christmas and take advantage of kids, why mess around?

UPDATE: Late Monday afternoon, after the story went viral, the mall said it was lifting the fee for Adventure to Santa because it wanted to keep things festive in the spirit of the holiday season. “We have heard and value our loyal customers’ feedback and as a result, have decided to remove the photo package purchase requirements,” the mall said.
* I love how “the mall” speaks like it’s sentient.