Fantasy of Lights at Vasona Lake County Park drops its drive-through in 2026. Santa Clara County Parks says this year's event "will transition fully to a walk-through format." It runs on four nights: Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, and Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13, from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Every person who attends needs a prepaid ticket, including children 3 and under, and tickets go on sale this Sunday, November 1, at 8:00 a.m.
Last year you could make the drive on almost any December evening. This year you need to decide by early November, and the walk-through nights, now the entire event, have sold out before.
From most of December to two weekends
Fantasy of Lights began in 1999 as a drive-through. Cars followed a 1.5-mile route through the park, and in recent years the County added a couple of nights for visitors on foot, NBC Bay Area reported on October 15. Here is how the 2025 schedule compares with this year's.
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Drive-through | December 9 to 30, closed December 25 | None |
| Drive-through price | $30 regular vehicle, $50 large, $100 oversized | Not offered |
| Walk-through nights | Two | Four |
| Walk-through, ages 13 and up | $17 | $25 |
| Walk-through, ages 4 to 12 | $8 | $10 |
| Ages 0 to 3 | Free | Free, ticket still required |
The 2025 drive-through ran from December 9 to December 30 and closed only on Christmas Day, which comes to 21 operating nights. This year has four nights, all on weekends, all in the first half of the month. Anyone who used to drive through on a weeknight the week before Christmas, or during the quiet days after it, will not find the event running then.
The cost per household changes too. A car carrying two adults and two children ages 4 to 12 paid $30 for the 2025 drive-through. The same family pays $70 for the 2026 walk-through, compared with $50 at 2025 walk-through prices.
The County's stated reason is cost
The County has offered one explanation. "We did not make this decision lightly," Audrey Ann Díaz, Acting Senior Communications Officer for Santa Clara County, told NBC Bay Area. "Like many beloved community traditions, Fantasy of Lights has faced rising operational costs over the years." She also told the station that past walk-through events had been "wildly successful."
Traffic on the roads around Vasona has been part of the event's story for a long time, but the County has not given it as a reason for this change. According to the Mercury News, drive-through lines used to back up along Blossom Hill Road, Lark Avenue and University Avenue, and in 2016 the County introduced timed online reservations to spread the crowds out. That system kept the lines manageable. The 2026 decision is about what the event costs to run.
The walk-through already had more demand than room
The walk-through has a short history. The Mercury News reports that it started as a single night in 2013 and later grew to two, and that by 2025 it was selling out 19,000 tickets a year. The County's 2025 walk-through page is marked sold out.
Until this year, a family that missed out on walk-through tickets could still drive the loop on another night. In 2026 the walk-through is the only way in. It does get more nights, rising from two to four, and the County is adding to the program with expanded family engagement zones and photo spots, live entertainment, more food options, and drone light shows on all four nights, weather permitting. Still, four evenings now have to hold demand that used to be spread over most of December.
How the November ticket release works
Tickets are sold at parkhere.org in three phases:
- Phase 1: Sunday, November 1, 8:00 a.m.
- Phase 2: Friday, November 6, 6:00 p.m.
- Phase 3: Monday, November 9, 12:00 p.m.
The County says entry is guaranteed only with a prepaid ticket and asks visitors to buy in advance. Counting tickets is simpler than it used to be because every person needs one. Prices are $25 for ages 13 and up and $10 for ages 4 to 12. Children 3 and under are free but still need a ticket.
Some details matter more once you know the event is on foot:
- Weather: The walk-through runs rain or shine.
- Parking: Parking and shuttles are free from Netflix at 121 Albright Way in Los Gatos. The event is at Vasona Lake County Park, 333 Blossom Hill Road.
- Accommodations: The County asks guests who need one to email [email protected] at least 48 hours before their night.
The County lists four nights and three release phases. It does not say which nights or time slots each phase releases, so a household that wants a specific evening will have the best chance on November 1.
December now has a set order around Vasona
With a shorter run, the holiday events on this side of town fall in a fixed sequence, each one following the last.
Friday, December 4. Los Gatos in Lights, the Winter Celebration, takes place from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Town Plaza Park on Montebello Way, according to the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce listing. The listing describes the traditional tree lighting along with other winter activities. The downtown tree lighting is the night before the first Fantasy of Lights walk-through.
December 5–6 and 12–13. The four Fantasy of Lights nights at Vasona, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m.
From Monday, December 14. The Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad's Holiday Night Train and Carousel opens at Oak Meadow Park the day after the last Fantasy of Lights night. The County's page for this year's event points visitors to it as the way to "keep the holiday cheer going." The railroad's holiday page lists rides from December 14 through December 23, then December 26 and 27, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas. The County's Fantasy of Lights page gives the second run as December 26 through 28. The railroad's own page is the one to check before planning a December 28 visit.
The train works differently from the walk-through. Tickets are sold only at the railroad ticket booth during operating hours, and Oak Meadow Park's entrance gate closes at 8:45 p.m., after which tickets are no longer sold. Prices are $10 for the train, $6 for the carousel, and $15 for a combo with one ride on each. Children 2 and under ride free with a paying adult. Regular daytime tickets are not valid for the night event, and all hours depend on the weather.
The railroad's page describes two different things about whether the Vasona lights can be seen from the train, so it's worth asking the railroad before you count on seeing them. On the calendar, the two events don't overlap. The week before Christmas, which used to belong to the drive-through, now goes to the night train, and you can show up that evening without booking.
Put together, the calendar works out this way. The tree lighting and the train need no reservation and cover the ends of the month. Fantasy of Lights fills the two weekends between them, and getting in depends on a ticket bought in the first ten days of November.
With Fantasy of Lights cut to two weekends, getting tickets on time has become part of planning the month. The same kind of timing matters for a home sale in Los Gatos, where the weeks you choose shape the result. If you're thinking about what your home could do in the new year, Rob Godar and the team can prepare a free home valuation now, so you have the numbers before the busier months begin.
