Despite the pandemic, there’s still Christmas cheer at Magic Mountain - SF Gate

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There I was, sitting in my car, surrounded by thousands of twinkling lights — and I was entranced. I stuck my head out the sunroof to take another photo of the luminous scene. “Woooooow,” I said, marveling at the magical holiday setting around me.

And that’s when a whole bunch of fake snow flew in my open mouth.

I sat back down. “I really need to stop doing that,” I said to my mom as I wiped the snope (fake snow made from soap) off my lips. “It happens to me way too much.”

It was not the first time I had been so excited that it was snowing in a theme park that I got snope in my mouth. It’s happened at Universal Hollywood during the Yule Ball holiday light show they project on the castle in Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It’s happened on both Main Street and in front of It’s a Small World at Disneyland … on the same day. I can’t help it. It snows gingerbread-scented fake snow and all of a sudden I love everything about the moment, including those million creepy singing dolls inside my least favorite Disneyland ride.

This time, it was at Holiday in the Park at Magic Mountain, the socially distanced pivot that the Valencia theme park made to still be able to host guests during this holiday season. While pandemic closures have prevented most theme parks in the state from operating — and rapidly changing travel bans and impending lockdowns affect who can attend — Magic Mountain found a way to open by keeping guests in their cars in a drive-through experience, never coming in contact with another person except the ticket taker at the entrance.

The event brings you through the theme park in your car.
Julie Tremaine

This was my first trip to Magic Mountain (I know, I know, I didn’t grow up in California) so I really didn’t know what to expect — and to be honest, I didn’t expect much. I skipped all of the drive-through Halloween things happening in Los Angeles this year because I thought they were just going to make me sad that my favorite holiday was canceled. But it was Thanksgiving week, and everybody starting their holiday decorating in the middle of November this year made me want to feel a little bit festive.

My hometown has a Christmas light celebration that’s nearly 70 years old and brings in somewhere around 300,000 visitors every year, including me for almost my whole life. So when I tell you that my bar is high when it comes to holiday decor, I mean it.

I also mean it when I tell you that the hour I spent in Magic Mountain just before Thanksgiving was the most Christmas cheer I have felt in years. Maybe it’s because you get to drive through a theme park, which feels special and different in itself. Maybe it’s the millions of lights and the holiday music surrounding you. Maybe it’s simply that you can be outside of the house, safely doing something fun without wearing a mask. (You are actually supposed to wear a mask if you roll down your car windows inside the park. There was no specific rule about the sunroof so I think I ate that snope through a loophole.)

A winter animals display at Magic Mountain.
Julie Tremaine

The route, which takes you surprisingly close to roller coasters and through parts of the property normally off-limits to guests, winds past all kinds of displays, from Christmas trees and enormous ornaments to Arctic animal statues and illuminated, overhead icicles. There are socially distanced elves waving and wishing you happy holidays, toy soldiers on stilts (“that’s one huge marshmallow you’re riding in!” one said of my white car), and dancers breaking it down to NSYNC’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.” There are also show cars from West Coast Customs on display. And of course, Santa makes an appearance.

Overall, traffic flowed well. I’m pretty sure the driver behind my car was really annoyed by my stopping every two minutes to take photos, but in an Instagram-or-it-didn’t-happen world, he should have seen that coming. My only big complaint: I wish they had done a better job with the snack offerings. You can preorder popcorn and holiday fudge and pick them up as you enter, but neither of those things sounded good to me when I made my reservation to attend. Once I was inside and the holiday cheer was flowing, I wished I had some hot chocolate or apple cider to sip — especially after I ate all that snope.

Fake snow adds to the holiday effect in Holiday in the Park.
Julie Tremaine

Each area brought something new, but more than anything, I think that magical feeling came from the snow. There’s no fake snow in Universal Hollywood or Disneyland this year. There isn’t nearly as much holiday cheer as there normally is any other season. But there is snow at Magic Mountain, and people are coming in droves to experience it. Nights sold out so quickly that the park recently added more availability, and the event now runs nightly through January 3.

Because I went in the middle of the week in November, I didn’t experience any traffic at all, but on the weekends it’s probably a long wait to get in, especially as it gets closer to Christmas. In a year when we can’t gather with our extended families and we can’t have most of our normal traditions, this is an event that still feels like the holidays.

Tickets are sold by person, not by car, and start at $25. Reservations are required.

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Despite the pandemic, there’s still Christmas cheer at Magic Mountain - SF Gate

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