Christmas Nights of Lights

Reading through older reviews, it looks like the 2022 experience was FAR better than previous versions logistically. The light show itself is fantastic -- takes a good 30 minutes to get through--you wind your way through the inner circle of the State Fairgrounds, if you're familiar with the layout. Cool bonus for the older kids is counting all the elves hidden throughout the show.Tickets for this year were in 2 2-hour blocks each night, and when you buy them you can see how many are remaining. For the shortest lines, REALLY pay attention to these. We went in the 8-10pm block a few days before Christmas, arrived around 8:30, and had absolutely no line until we were inside the show.Looks like they're constantly improving the logistics of this every year, so I'm absolutely looking forward to coming back again!

Last year, I would have given this 1 star--I bought tickets and we tried 3 different times to go and the lines were nightmarish at best. We gave up and that money was wasted. They changed the ticketing process slightly, so you buy ahead of time and for a specific window (6-8pm, 8-10pm). In addition, the website will tell you how many tickets are left for specific time slots, so you can sort of tell which times will be crazy ("only XX tickets left!") and which will be lighter.We had a carload of people ranging from my 79-year-old mom to my youngest nephew who is 8. Everyone loved this light display. The music was great, some of the displays wowed even my sometimes hard to impress self, and the kids loved counting all the elves throughout the display. It took about 20-30 minutes to drive through, which was the perfect amount of time. We left feeling thoroughly entertained, but it wasn't so long that the kids got bored. We will definitely make this a part of our holiday traditions in the future!

We weren't sure what to expect here and put off visiting but finally pulled in one night to see what they offered. $30 for a car (with up to 8 passengers)The drive through takes about 25-30 minutesSpeed is about 5mph throughout No stopping (as it creates long lines behind you)Fog lights needed (so many people turned their lights off altogether)Great for all ages, not just kids (in fact our group was all adults)The entire show is synced to music found on a local radio station. There's no commercials and the music is a nice mix of traditional Christmas songs, rock and pop songs and even Disney songs (Frozen). I did think it was a bit weird to have "God Bless the USA" as a song in the middle of the Christmas set (???) but other than that it was super festive - we loved it. We didn't take many pictures because we were enjoying everything around us!

I can't recommend this Christmas lights experience enough. I went for the first time this past December and was so dazzled. The staff was amazing too. They helped out anyone in any way they could, including troubleshooting with a broke down car. They had the space to accommodate the person who had to pull over and everyone else was able to move on down the trail. Loved the whole thing

It's a different experience for everyone in our families experience we have always found it fun. I would recommend to anyone that has fun around the Christmas time.

To be clear: the synchronized light show is four stars. Christmas Nights of Lights takes about 20-30 minutes to drive through (slowly) and it's all timed to a festive soundtrack of holiday music. Plus, it's affordable at $7 per person or $30 for a carload.Unfortunately, this event is an operational nightmare. We heard the wait on weekends could be 3+ hours, so we opted for a Thursday night and arrived at 5:45 p.m. near the time they open for the evening. We still waited in line for 90 minutes before entering the show. Guests enter off 42nd Street and zig-zag through the parking lot before waiting in a never-ending one-way line to get to the payment booth. It seems like there is a point of no-return where you cannot opt-out of the experience and leave. Make sure you've had dinner before you come, and bring snacks/drinks to pass the time. Don't drink too much liquid, though, because the only restroom option is a port-a-potty at the beginning and end. I can only imagine what it's like for parents to entertain kids during this madness. Hopefully, your car has a mini TV screen and you can play movies.I've heard the lines are shorter in November, before Thanksgiving. Definitely try to go on a weeknight (Monday-Wednesday) and get there between 5:30 and 6 p.m.If the wait was under 30 minutes, my review would be four stars, but the logistics bring down the Christmas cheer for me.

A drive-though, synchronized Christmas light show that you can enjoy in the warmth and comfort of your own car? Yes, sign me up. My family loves seeing Christmas lights during the holiday season, and Christmas Nights of Lights is one of the best that we've seen in Indiana. It's new to the area this year, and I hope it comes back for many seasons to come.I do believe this is one of the only synchronized light shows in the area. Which means that the lights are actually moving to the music that is coming through your car speakers as you drive through the light display. When you pull up to the booth to pay, a kind person tells you which radio station to set your dial to. Speaking of paying: It costs $7 per person, or $30 for a car full of people (up to 9 people). The lights begin at dusk and go until 10 p.m., but there are extended hours on weekends.According to the website, you should plan for it to take about 20-30 minutes to drive through the whole display. It's actually quite a large light display: it's about 2 miles and there are over 1 million lights! When we visited, it was during the weekday and there weren't very many people. If you are looking to beat the crowds, you should visit during the weekday!A couple of tips: There are no bathroom pit stops along the way, so if you are planning on going with young children, make sure you do your potty stops beforehand! Also, like I said, it takes about 30 minutes to get through, so plan ahead and bring snacks, water, etc., so that you're not hearing kids complaining about being hungry or thirsty while you're trying to admire the lights.By the way: Don't let my crappy photos deter you. This light show is amazing! Like most things, it's difficult to capture the beauty of something like a million lights going off all around you at once, so it's really something you have to experience in order to appreciate.

Absolutely unorganized for something you're paying for!!! They needed more police to control traffic with all the construction. For a holiday light show you'd think they'd have lights on signs to show you where you're going. They did have lit arrows on your way out of the show, kinda backwards... When we finally got through traffic and got on the the grounds they redirected us to the other side of the fairgrounds to enter more traffic for the light entrance. The workers were even frustrated. I drove from Avon to see this so we waited in all the traffic. It took us 2.5 hours to see this show. People were hopping out of their cars smoking and using the unlit porta potties while we waited in line. Was it worth it? Well, don't NOT waste your time on this if you don't have smaller kids. Once your enter all the blinking lights will make them happy and remove every memory of waiting in line for so long. For us (my child is 10) it was nice but I could've taken him to Wing Stop and he would've been just as happy. The music was synced to the lights so that was cool. I guess I was expecting something bigger and better since it was in a major city but it was ok for what you pay for ($7 per person, 4 & under free). We've been to the one in Atlanta and it's wonderful! We took our puppy to this and he seemed to enjoy it. :) In my opinion, find a neighborhood that's lit up with lights and enjoy that for free. If you don't have small child it's not worth the time being in line for hours. It might be better if you went during the week. We expected long lines on a Saturday and we also expected that it would've been organized better. Would I go again? Probably not.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best light and music displays we have seen and our nearly 60 years in the United States.!Christmas theme in the Nativity we like to specially and also the patriotic displays but the tunnels and everything along with the music was just really very very well done and we thought it was well worth $30 for our carload. I also liked how kids were able to stand up and look at their roofs of the cars and windows to really see you, and everybody clapped and sang along with the music.

Absolutely stunning! Fabulous show! My family and I truly appreciate the efforts that go into creating and maintaining the experience. Thank you so very much!