Last month, Brad and Sara Dunkley became the new owners of Santa’s Village theme park in Bracebridge, Ont.
Last month, a young family from Toronto made an unusual investment: They bought Santa's Village.
The 60-acre theme park is located on a bank of the Muskoka River in Bracebridge, Ont., with the surrounding evergreens lending the site a perpetual Christmas feeling. Established in 1955, it actually comprises three parks – including aerial and zipline parks – and a campground.
Forty-year-old Sara Dunkley is an entrepreneur, working in advertising and global development projects. Brad Dunkley, 41, is a portfolio manager. The couple also have their hands full with three young children.
The Globe and Mail spoke to Ms. Dunkley about what prompted them to make such a purchase.
Why buy a theme park?
We both grew up in the Orillia, Ont., area, and the village was a place we both visited as kids. My husband actually visited there a lot and had really positive memories as a kid going there. It was more him than me. We both really loved amusement parks.
Who brought it up first, you or Brad?
It was Brad. Initially, I thought he was crazy, but you know, the more we talked about it the more fun it seemed. He's been an entrepreneur for a long time. I've been an entrepreneur for almost my entire career, running businesses. It goes together nicely with our past experiences. It's been one of his long-term goals. It's something that we've talked about for many, many years, so when there was this opportunity – for that to become a reality – it was just such a tremendous opportunity.
How old are your kids and how are they feeling about the purchase?
Our oldest is nine, and we have a seven-year-old and a three-year-old. Our nine-year-old, he's a big-time enthusiast for rides. He loves to ride rides, so that's going to be a lot of fun. … [The older two] both dream of working there in the summer. They want to be the first to ride the new penguin ride. They always have lots of opinions and suggestions for us, so they'll have some great input.
How did you know the park was going up for sale?
Brad and I have known the main owner, Phil, for a couple of years and we had talked to him about it. It was about a year and a half ago that he decided he was ready to retire. His father was one of the ones who first started the park, so he grew up there. He worked in the park and then he owned the park all those years. So it's something that was deeply in his family. He wanted to pass along the park to someone who would love it.
You have several business endeavours. Why this one as well?
I call us out-of-the-box people. We do a lot of different things. Since I have an advertising business and [a charity that does] development work in Africa, we wanted a fun project – something that we could do together and have a lot of fun with. You know, all the aspects of this project are fun. It's about kids and families having an awesome experience.
Do you have any immediate plans for changes around the park?
Certainly. Actually, the day after we bought it we ordered our first roller coaster – a kids' roller coaster, which is a spinning penguin roller coaster and a fantastic ride.
Where do you find roller coasters for sale?
There's actually an amusement park conference every year in Florida. All the water slide and amusement park people who sell to that industry come and set up their rides and explain the newest and greatest in amusement parks. It's a great meeting place, and you get to see what's out there.
What do you hope your kids learn seeing Mom and Dad take on these sorts of projects?
I want my kids to tackle anything that they're passionate about and anything they love. I think by seeing Brad and I do that – and do it together – it teaches them that they can tackle projects and passions and dreams that are different from what most people do. And you can make it fun.
This interview has been edited and condensed.