For 27 years, most people saw Fantasy of Lights at Vasona Lake County Park from the driver's seat. This December there is no drive-through. Santa Clara County Parks says the 2026 event "will transition fully to a walk-through format," running four nights on two weekends and no others. Last year the show ran 23 nights. Since there is no weeknight drive to fall back on this year, the hard part comes earlier. Getting in depends on three ticket releases in early November.
Twenty-Three Nights Become Four
In 2025, the County's ticket page listed the drive-through from Tuesday, December 9 through Tuesday, December 30, from 6 to 10 p.m., closed December 25. That comes to 21 drive-through nights. The two walk-through nights came before that, on December 6 and 7.
The 2026 schedule from County Parks has only walk-through nights.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive-through nights | 21, Dec. 9–30, closed Dec. 25 | None |
| Walk-through nights | 2, Dec. 6–7 | 4, Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13 |
| Hours | Drive-through 6–10 p.m. | 4–9 p.m. |
| How you pay | Per vehicle for the drive-through | Per person |
| Total nights | 23 | 4 |
The walk-through nights double from two to four. Everything else is gone. In 2026 every show night falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and each one starts at 4 p.m., two hours earlier than last year's drive-through.
The County hasn't said why it dropped the drive-through. Its announcement lists what's being added instead: more family engagement zones and photo spots, live entertainment, more food options around the park, and drone light shows on all four nights, weather permitting. The event runs rain or shine.
The Walk-Through Was Already the Hardest Ticket
This format change builds on a part of the event that was already in high demand. In a December 2025 column for the Mercury News, Sal Pizarro wrote that County Parks added a one-night walk-through in 2013 for the show's 15th year. He reported it grew to two nights that sell out 19,000 tickets every year.
So two walk-through nights already sold out every December. This year there are four, and no drive-through for anyone who misses out. The same column traces how the event has handled crowds before. Over the years, Pizarro wrote, traffic built up along Blossom Hill Road, Lark Avenue and University Avenue, so in 2016 the event switched to advance reservations for set dates and time windows. He wrote that the 2016 change spread the crowds throughout the week. The 2026 format puts them into four weekend evenings.
The route has changed recently too. In its December 2025 column, the Mercury News reported that the year before, County Parks rearranged the displays and even moved the dinosaurs from their usual spot. The new layout went over well enough to keep for 2025. Pizarro described the old drive as a mile and a half that took about 25 minutes. This year that whole route is on foot.
Three Ticket Windows in November
Tickets go on sale at parkhere.org in three phases:
- Phase 1: Sunday, November 1, at 8 a.m.
- Phase 2: Friday, November 6, at 6 p.m.
- Phase 3: Monday, November 9, at noon
The County says entry is guaranteed only with a prepaid ticket and asks everyone to buy in advance. Every attendee needs a ticket, including children 3 and under, whose tickets are free. If you're going with a stroller, the baby still needs a ticket.
The three windows fall on a Sunday morning, a Friday evening and a Monday at noon. The County hasn't said how many tickets each phase will release.
What a Family Pays Now
In 2025, a regular vehicle with up to 12 passengers paid $30 for the drive-through. Large vehicles holding 13 to 20 paid $50, and oversized vehicles paid $100. The 2026 walk-through charges by the person. Adults and anyone 13 and up pay $25, kids 4 to 12 pay $10, and children 0 to 3 are free.
Here is how that plays out:
- Two adults and two children ages 4 to 12: $70 in 2026. Last year's drive-through price for that car was $30.
- Two adults and a toddler: $50 in 2026, plus a free ticket for the toddler.
- A car of five adults: $125 in 2026. That car paid $30 for the 2025 drive-through.
The walk-through includes things the drive-through didn't, like live entertainment, more food stands and drone shows. Still, a family that has driven through the lights every year will pay more under the 2026 prices.
Getting There on a Show Night
The address is still Vasona Lake County Park, 333 Blossom Hill Road. The County's parking plan sends visitors to Netflix at 121 Albright Way in Los Gatos, where parking and shuttles are free. Instead of cars lining up for the park entrance across December, the crowd now gathers at the Netflix lot and rides shuttles over on four evenings.
Some of the old pre-show habits still work. Pizarro wrote about his family grabbing dinner from Happy Hound on Los Gatos Boulevard to eat in the car on the way in. You can still stop there first. Since this year's show is on foot, the County's added food options inside the park are the other choice.
The County also needs volunteers. It says hundreds are needed for the walk-through nights each year, and sign-up is on the Fantasy of Lights page.
Vasona and Oak Meadow This Fall and Winter
The show nights take over Vasona and the County's Netflix lot. Next door at Oak Meadow Park, the park's own fall schedule is also changing between now and the first show weekend, with more on the calendar after it.
Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and the carousel. The railroad's posted hours show the fall schedule running through November 1, with the train and carousel open Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. From November 2, the winter schedule cuts that to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the Snack Shack is open 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The railroad's Holiday Train page lists evening runs December 14 to 23 and December 26 to 27, 6 to 9 p.m., but doesn't give a year, so confirm with the railroad before planning around those dates.
The Lyndon Bandstand area. The Town of Los Gatos closed the bandstand area at Oak Meadow on July 6 for improvements scheduled through mid-October 2026. The Town says it expects the area to reopen this fall. According to an April 7, 2026 Town staff report, the bandstand has become a popular spot for larger events. The project adds decorative hardscape, improves accessibility and upgrades landscaping so the area can host more kinds of public and private events. Eight contractors bid, and QLM Inc. was the apparent low bidder. Check with the Town for a confirmed reopening date.
The Creek Trail at Vasona. On the County's closures and alerts page, last updated October 6, part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail inside Vasona is closed from the fishing dock area to the intersection nearest the Circle Group Area because of a failed culvert. A detour is signed. The County hasn't posted a repair date. The same page lists a separate 100-foot closure, with a short detour, at Los Gatos Creek County Park. For current trail status, the County's number is (408) 355-2200, option 3.
Taken together, here are the dates on the calendar. The railroad's fall hours end November 1, the same morning Fantasy of Lights tickets go on sale. The last two ticket releases come within the following eight days. Then the four show nights fall on the weekends of December 5 and 12.
At Anita Salas, we pay close attention to how timing shapes a decision, whether it's three ticket windows in November or the date you list or close on a home. If you're thinking through a sale and want to see your likely net proceeds and capital-gains exposure before you set a date, request your free Net‑Proceeds & Capital‑Gains consultation.
