Santa's high-tech connect to Atlanta was back in business late Thursday, and the jolly fellow was booked by 10 a.m. Friday.
Every year, parents frantically lock in lap time with the jovial icon at Phipps Plaza two months in advance, paying $15 for the privilege. Last year, Santa sittings were sold out by Oct. 12.
Tickets went on sale Wednesday, but Santa didn't sell out immediately because of a glitch with his online booking system. It opened for business at 3 p.m. Wednesday and promptly failed.
Phipps management referred questions about the website to the consultant managing it. That consultant could not be reached for comment, but an explanation posted on santaatphipps.com before midnight Wednesday said engineers determined that the problem stemmed from new security provisions for credit cards that were required by law to protect against identity theft and security fraud.
The site was back up late Thursday but customers were still complaining about crashes. Then, on Friday, the elves running the site posted the grim news: Santa was booked.
On a bright note, the technical problem means the parents who got will get a freebie.
Normally, a portion of their $15 deposit is refunded and the rest pays for trinkets. This year, though, all deposits will be refunded.
The website was fixed by eliminating the credit card payment system.
"Anyone who had their credit card charged will receive a refund in a few days when our vendor has had a chance to process the transactions," the website promised.
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