This holiday season, The Parks at Arlington will be one of eight locations in the country to feature Adventure to Santa, a free storytelling experience centered around Shrek characters and designed by Dreamworks Animation.

The Dreamworks DreamPlace sits in the center of the mall and glitters with animated exteriors powered by over three million pixels and 15,000 twinkling LED lights.

Just past the red cottage doors, Shrek and Donkey greet children and begin the interactive experience. Elves guide families through the next four rooms, where they design their own sleigh, go on a ride complete with pulsing seats and fans, compete in a virtual snowball fight, and meet Santa Claus.

"With the combination of technology, details and the memories you get to take home, this is really the ultimate Santa experience," said Jason Edberg, corporate trainer and account manager at Worldwide Photography.

To honor military members and their families, the Parks at Arlington hosted a special preview event the evening before Veteran's Day. Toy soldiers on stilts bobbed above the crowd, a dancing Great American Cookies mascot invited children to decorate gingerbread men, and Puss in Boots and Santa Claus counted down the opening of the Dreamworks DreamPlace.

Performers from Kids Who Care Inc., a non-profit international theatre company, entertained with Christmas carols, songs from "Shrek the Musical" and an original score titled "Coming Home."

"It's a perfect tie-in for military families here tonight," said Kristen Thiebaud of Kids Who Care.

Adventure to Santa opens to the public today, and visitors can avoid lines and purchase discounted photo packages by making reservations on the mall's website. Christmas wish lists can be added to the reservation for Santa to study before the visit.

"Kids will think, 'Santa really got my list,'" media manager Lauren Reed said. "It's not just a photo opportunity."