Santa Clara County Parks has confirmed that Fantasy of Lights at Vasona Lake County Park "will transition fully to a walk-through format" this year. There are four nights on the calendar: Saturday, December 5; Sunday, December 6; Saturday, December 12; and Sunday, December 13, from 4 to 9 p.m. each night. There is no drive-thru at all.
Last year, the drive-thru ran every night from Tuesday, December 9 through Tuesday, December 30, closed only on Christmas. That gave families 21 evenings to choose from. This year they get four. That changes the date that matters most. Picking a quiet Tuesday in mid-December no longer works. The decision happens on a Sunday morning in early November, about four weeks from now.
The ticket calendar is the new event calendar
The County is releasing 2026 tickets 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 every attendee needs a ticket, "even those little ones 3 and under," and that entry is guaranteed only with a pre-paid ticket. Children 0 to 3 are free, but they still need their own ticket. That's an easy step to miss when you're checking out fast on November 1.
The walk-through has sold out before at a much smaller scale. In a December 2025 column, the Mercury News reported that the walk-through started as a single night in 2013 for the event's 15th edition. It grew to two nights and was "selling out 19,000 tickets every year." The County's page for the December 6 and 7, 2025 walk-through still carries a "SOLD OUT" banner. The County hasn't published a 2026 capacity number. What's known is that two walk-through nights sold out every year, and four walk-through nights now have to absorb the families who used to spread out over three weeks of drive-thru evenings.
What a family outing costs now
The pricing model has flipped from per car to per person. Here are the published prices side by side:
| 2025 drive-thru | 2025 walk-through | 2026 walk-through | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nights | Dec 9–30, closed Dec 25 | Dec 6–7 | Dec 5, 6, 12, 13 |
| Hours | 6–10 p.m. | 4–9 p.m. | 4–9 p.m. |
| Adult, 13+ | $30 per regular vehicle, up to 12 people | $17 | $25 |
| Youth, 4–12 | Included in vehicle | $8 | $10 |
| Child, 0–3 | Included in vehicle | Free | Free, ticket required |
Take a household of two adults and two kids aged 4 to 12. In December 2025, that family paid $30 to drive through in their own car. At 2025 walk-through prices, it would have been $50. At 2026 prices it's $70, before any processing fees. The adult ticket rose from $17 to $25 in one year. Larger groups feel the change most. A regular vehicle ticket used to cover up to 12 people for $30. Under the new model, an extended family visiting for the holidays pays per head.
For the higher price, the County is adding more to the evening. It promises expanded family engagement zones, more photo spots, live entertainment, a wider range of food throughout the park, and drone light shows on all four nights. The walk-through also runs rain or shine. With only two weekends, a wet Saturday can't simply be swapped for a dry Tuesday the way it could during a drive-thru month.
How the evening works on the ground
For 2026, the County lists free parking and shuttles at Netflix, 121 Albright Way. The event itself is at the main park entrance, 333 Blossom Hill Road. Shuttle hours and street routing for this year haven't been posted yet.
Last year's walk-through nights are the best guide. In 2025, the County ran a one-way route of about 1.5 miles. Visitors entered at 333 Blossom Hill Road and exited on University Avenue, with an ADA exit back at Blossom Hill Road. Other trails and park entrances were closed during the event. Shuttles left Netflix from 3:45 to 8:15 p.m. and returned from the park through 9:15 p.m. The park entrance was open from 4 to 8:30 p.m., and the event closed at 9. If the County keeps that setup, the practical cutoff is entering by 8:30, not arriving by 9.
Before this change, traffic on Blossom Hill Road, Lark Avenue and University Avenue was the event's best-known side effect. The same Mercury News column described "huge traffic jams" on all three roads on both weekend evenings and weeknights. It called them "huge headaches for Los Gatos residents and business owners." The County switched to reservation-only, timed tickets in 2016 to spread the crowds across the week. The County hasn't said why it ended the drive-thru, and the traffic history doesn't explain the decision on its own. What the new calendar does show is a different pattern for the streets around Vasona. Three weeks of nightly car lines become four weekend evenings of pedestrians and shuttles heading out from Albright Way.
One older tradition carries over to the new format. The Mercury News columnist described getting dinner from Happy Hound on Los Gatos Boulevard before the drive. Eating in the car only worked on the drive-thru, but a stop on Los Gatos Boulevard still fits a walk-through night just as well.
The displays are staying put
The light displays themselves aren't changing as much as the format. The 2025 drive-thru covered 1.5 miles with more than 50 themed displays, including the erupting volcano in the Dinosaur Den, Santa shooting hoops, a pen of penguins, pirate cannons and a 90-foot tree. The 2025 walk-through page described the same set pieces, plus Moveable Feast food trucks. In 2024, the County rearranged the park layout in a big way for the first time, moving the dinosaurs from their usual spot. The Mercury News reported that feedback was good enough to keep that layout for 2025. So the change is mostly about pace. Families who used to watch the volcano through a windshield will now stop in front of it on foot.
Vasona between now and December 5
The new format puts more weight on Vasona as a walking park, and parts of it are already working around problems this fall. County Parks lists a closure from the fishing-dock area to the trail junction nearest the Circle Group Area because of a failed culvert, with detour signs posted. The County updates that page as conditions change, so check it before a weekend walk.
Next door at Oak Meadow, Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and the carousel run weekends only this fall, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Snack Shack is open 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. After the fall schedule ends on November 1, winter hours drop to 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the train and carousel and 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the Snack Shack. On a December 5 or 6 Saturday or Sunday, a family could ride the train in the early afternoon and still be in line at Netflix before the first shuttle, if 2025's 3:45 p.m. start holds.
Fall in town gets busy before then too. The Los Gatos Chamber's Halloween Kid & Pet PAWlooza is Sunday, October 25, from 9 a.m. to noon at Town Plaza Park. This year the Chamber is partnering with the Los Gatos Farmers' Market for the first time. One week later, the first round of Fantasy of Lights tickets goes on sale at 8 a.m. on November 1.
Our team pays attention to timing like this all year: when a calendar narrows, when a price model changes, and when the first window decides the outcome. If you're planning a spring listing and want to know which weeks will matter before your neighbors figure it out, talk with Gummow Brothers and we'll map the calendar with you. Sell My Home.
