The experience starts with a two-mile drive through eight themed holiday light displays.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“My favorite part of the drive-thru (is) probably the woodland creatures,” Ferraro said. “I just love all the little animals. Every year they have them set up in different places, so if you came last year there’s going to be a lot of different elements out there in the drive.”
The woodland creates are a part of The Enchanted Forest Land. Other themed areas include: Candy Land, Toy Land, Honor Our Military Land, The Beach Land, Gingerbread Land and Christmas Land.
The drive-thru experience features more than 3.8 million lights and takes 20-30 minutes depending on how crowded it is and how fast cars are driving through it.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“We have an amazing crew here at Land of Illusion that really are working year-round behind-the-scenes,” Ferraro said. “Since we closed the weekend after Halloween, they have been working nonstop to get all the lights up.”
“It takes a few days to go from scary to merry,” said Maintenance Manager Luke Lindsey. “We pretty much just pack up all the haunt stuff and then we roll out the Christmas stuff.”
Land of Illusion goes through rigorous light tests to make sure everything is working.
Lindsey said they have different types of checkers and bolt meters to make sure everything is at the right brightness for the night. He confirmed that if one bulb goes out, the entire strand will not be dimmed.
“The show will always go on,” Lindsey said.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
After the drive-thru experience, guests can park and enter the Christmas Village.
“What’s great about coming inside, (is) you’re on your own time,” Ferraro said. “You can stroll to get a cup of hot chocolate, grab some miniature, little tiny donuts, sit by our iconic bonfire and then you can go visit Santa if you want.”
Santa can be found in his workshop where guests can take a photo, write a letter to him and drop it in a magical mailbox, take a virtual reality ride or build a bear.
Other activities include a petting zoo, train ride and bucking reindeer.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Characters that can be spotted throughout the park include the Grinch and Rudolph.
“You’re really going to make memories out here with the family,” Ferraro said. “There’s a bunch of photo (opportunities) too, which are all free.”
For those 21 and older, the Elf’s Lounge features spiked hot cocoa or apple cider. Other specialty drinks include:
- Sugar Cookie (vanilla rum, amaretto and milk)
- The Grinch (coconut rum, melo and grenadine)
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge (screwball, creme de cocoa and milk)
Before guests head home, they should stop by the gift shop for hand-blown ornaments, holiday decor, Santa hats and more.
MORE DETAILS
The Christmas Glow, 8762 Thomas Road, is open 6-10 p.m. daily through Dec. 24. The drive-thru experience only will continue to operate Dec. 26-30.
Tickets for the Christmas Glow are $15 for adults and $10 for kids. Those three and under are free at the gate.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the Christmas Glow, visit landofillusion.com/glow or the venue’s Facebook (@LandofIllusion), Instagram (@landofillusion) or TikTok (@land_of_illusion) pages.
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