Six Flags Magic Mountain's Holiday in the Park Drive-Thru: 2020 Review

Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA

In a blink of an eye, Christmas is nearly upon us. This year, our holiday coverage is pretty scant—not only because we cover way less Christmas events than Halloween, but also because the current and ever-worsening Coronavirus surge is making it less prudent to go out. That said, today, we do have a holiday update featuring a prior commitment to a seasonal attraction we’ve been meaning to visit for years and have never had the chance—Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Holiday in the Park.

Entering Holiday in the Park from the backstage area behind DC Universe.

For the past several years, Magic Mountain has transformed itself into a colorful, glimmering, astounding winter wonderland of illumination, stringing up and programming hundreds of thousands (millions?) of lights throughout the park to transform it into a radiant celebration of Christmas. Unfortunately, the even seemed to be in jeopardy this season. Thanks to the pandemic, the park had not been open since March, when the first Stay At Home orders were handed down. Although there were rumors of possibly doing Fright Fest as a scare zone-only event without rides, those ultimately didn’t pan out either, which also meant that the now-traditional Magic Mountain winter festival was in danger of also being cancelled.

A stroke of creative thinking, however, allowed for Holiday in the Park to take place. Rather than have guests come in as pedestrians, the folks at Magic Mountain realized that this festival of lights could be perfectly suitable as a drive-thru experience. And unlike the drive-thru haunts, there was much lower potential for things to go awry from, say, a startled driver panicking and perhaps causing an accident. It was a great combination of providing the most socially distanced presentation possible while maintaining the character and charm of the event—the most logical solution. So after a whirlwind announcement and preparation period, this year’s iteration of Holiday in the Park debuted in its new automotive experience form a few weeks ago.

Guests enter Six Flags Magic Mountain like they normally do, exiting the I-5 freeway and heading west on Magic Mountain Parkway straight into the parking booths. After providing a copy of their pre-reserved tickets for scanning, they are sent on an arc around the parking lot, guided ultimately to a backstage area, where each vehicle enters the park at the back of the DC Universe section, next to Batman: The Ride.

DC Universe is a vibrant light show that fully envelopes guests all around.

The feast for the visual senses commences immediately, as a medley of moving light displays animates the facades of this Gotham-esque area. Triumphant and energetic holiday tunes jam in concert with this dazzling light show. It’s a terrific way to immediately grab guests attention and amaze them with a spectacle.

Guests make a right at the DC Universe main plaza and head through the midway carnival games area before moving into Metropolis. Passing by a running CraZanity, the giant Zamperla pendulum ride that opened a couple of years ago, guests can see the dynamic lighting package that is an integral part of the giant swing. Then it’s onto Metropolis itself. Here, giant, lit up ornaments and colorful facades of the Riddler’s Revenge and Justice League attractions lend a cool, purple tone that suggests a more laid back Christmas vibe in comparison to the previous area.

A giant, glowing ornament over in Metropolis, with CraZanity swinging high in the background.

Cruising through Christmas in The Underground.

This transitions into the newest area of the park, The Underground, home to the West Coast Racers roller coaster that debuted at the beginning of this year (well, it soft-opened at the end of December to technically make it in as the 2019 addition it was advertised to be). The holiday take on a more urban ambiance here, with the hot rods and exotic vehicles inspired by the West Coast Customs theme of the area. At the end of the boulevard, a couple of dancers bring a bit of performance into the experience, moving to the hip hop holiday beats of the ambient music.

The route takes a turn to the left and starts ascending the grad e up to Rapids Camp Crossing, where the atmosphere takes on a decidedly more rustic and classically illuminated feel. Rather than complex, pre-programmed lighting patterns, this forested area has simply been covered by a plethora of twinkling lights that drape a canopy of thousands of bulbs overhead. A couple of princess characters greet vehicles as they pass by, waving and sending wishes of a Merry Christmas. This area is perhaps the most nostalgic and traditional part of Holiday in the Park, with an aesthetic that harkens to old yuletide evenings of yore.

A shining and forested Christmas in Rapids Camp Crossing.

As the procession movies into Magic Mountain’s Baja Ridge, the scenery ironically gets a little icier. After passing another character waving from the queue entrance of Viper, the sets turn frigid with a mix of North and South Pole environments, including giant penguins and bright polar bears, and plenty of cool lighting to give the effect of a winterscape stretching along.

Desert Baja Ridge is home to a polar scene.

Moving toward Six Flags Plaza, guests take a winding route passing Revolution, the carousel, and around the park entrance plaza area, where multi-colored string lights wrap around trees to create more classic style Christmas scenes. The facades of the shops and diners have also been lined with lights, and more dancers (and Looney Toons characters when they’re not on break) can be spotted by the main fountain. And there’s even a bit of “snowfall” (snoapfall) in the air!

The trees are lit up and colorful at Six Flags Plaza.

The fountains and Tatsu create a great backdrop.

Dancers put on a show at the Full Throttle Stage.

The path toward Full Throttle Plaza is punctuated by a display from Honda, sponsors of the event, and the Full Throttle stages features another pair of dancers grooving to pulsing dance music. An S-turn into Bugs Bunny World brings more lights and some overt signs of imminent Christmas! For over by the Golden Bear Theater Mrs. Claus and a couple of her elf assistants can be seen wishing good tidings for the upcoming holiday. Here, additional set pieces and a sleigh lend additional ambiance beyond just decorated light.

Mrs. Claus and a pair of helpers greet folks at Golden Bear Theater.

The enveloping buildings give way to lower profile surroundings as the parade winds by Whistlestop Park, where a series of Christmas trees light the way. Then it’s over to Goliath, where theatrical lighting illuminates the monumental signage. Here too, a couple of dancers add some dynamic show. Those who ordered food as part of the experience can pick it up here, where the lane splits into two. Otherwise, it’s onto the Gleampunk District, the final area of the experience.

A pair of marching and dancing toy soldiers twirl in front of Goliath.

There’s a nice illuminated dreidel and menorah as guests pass by Lex Luther: Drop of Doom. Then it’s into the steampunk-inspired zone, which features a myriad of creative alternate takes on Christmas figures an decorations. The trees here are also light up, with string lights wrapped around every which branch and trunk, creating some truly fantastic scenes. As the experience comes to a close, guests pass Santa Claus himself next to the entrance of SCREAM, with his reindeer already practically taking off. Santa and a couple of his elves bid everyone a Merry Christmas and a good night, and with that, it’s out through another set of gates, under the structure of the B&M floorless coaster, and back to the parking lot, where the route takes guests back out onto Magic Mountain Parkway.

The Gleampunk District—last of the eight zones of Holiday in the Park.

Of course, Santa is the feature attraction of the whole show!

The entire Holiday in the Park experience is a solid 45 minutes, with over half an hour of that being inside the park itself. And it’s an exciting and impressive visual production that is wonderfully done! The eight different sections present like different neighborhoods, and the entire drive through feels like visiting an extended, super high quality, professionally done community that bands together to create an integrated Christmas village. Under such challenging conditions, Magic Mountain has provided a marvelous attraction that does its part to inject some holiday spirit during a time where we can all use some Christmas cheer. And to that, we sincerely express our kudos on a great job in offering back some sense of normalcy during these difficult pandemic times.

Holiday in the Park is full of beautifully draped and photogenic scenes.

Holiday in the Park has actually been extended and runs nightly through Sunday, January 10th, and weekends through January 31st. It remains open during the State of California regional Stay At Home orders and provides arguably the safest theme park holiday operation currently available. You can’t get more distanced from other parties than being in completely separate cars, driving through a wholly outdoor environment. Interested guests must purchase tickets online and set a reservation time, though. Tickets are not to be sold at the gate. Prices start at $25 per person, though season passholders can enter for free (but must make an advanced reservation nonetheless).

The holiday season naturally appeals to gathering and Christmas sightseeing—activities that innately go against what we as a community should be doing right now, as the fall and winter surge continue to intensify. So as we’ve said all year long, each person should weigh the pros and cons of any interesting event and make their own decision about how much exposure they are willing to risk by simply leaving their homes. But we will say that the risk here seems very low, and the experience feels very safe. The production itself is also quite an incredible sight, and full congratulations are definitely in order for Magic Mountain in pulling off this tremendous holiday attraction! We’ll definitely be back next year for a complete and regular Holiday in the Park experience, but in our first time ever going through, Holiday in the Park was still a delight to partake!