Lantern Festival - Lights of the World

My family booked us tickets while I was home visiting. I'd never heard of the Lantern Festival before, so I really didn't know what to expect. I'm so glad I went. It was wonderful being outdoors with lots of great people and fun music. I was really impressed at how well behaved everyone was. This is 100% a family friendly event that I would suggest any parents looking for an event for the clan to attend. The day was really relaxing, attendees were given a platform to express the issues that have weighed heavy on their hearts, and messages were written on lanterns that were cast off into the water. It was really beautiful and I hope to be doing it again with my family in the future.

I went to Food City to get discount tickets, per the websites request. Well....it was a less than desirable experience and waste of time...only to find out that it was a .30 cent savings not a $4 savings per ticket. $18 a ticket plus $10 to park on the fair grounds. It wasn't very well put together and there were random fair rides all over. I think this is worth more like $5 and free parking. I went to this same event 3 years ago in Chandler and it wasn't nearly as expensive and no parking fees. I wouldn't go again.

On the hunt for a family friendly activity over the weekend, I came across this "Lantern Festival," and it sounded great! Surprisingly, I'd never heard of it before, but according to the website, this festival "promises an unforgettable exploration of global cultures and cuisine," and it's "the largest lantern festival of its kind," so perhaps my expectations were set a bit high?We went in late January and missed the acrobatic show for a sea lion show instead, which I liked, but the rest of my family was more interested in the carnival rides. My kids, 5 and 7, enjoyed the slide, the ferris wheel, the swings, the tilt-a-whirl, and a couple of others... I actually joined them for most of the rides and had fun doing so; I felt like a kid again! We liked the lights too, and they were impressive indeed, but perhaps a tad bit underwhelming compared to the description.There were tons of vendors there selling cool things, but no global cuisine, unless you consider carnival fare like pretzels, corndogs, sno-cones, cotton candy, popcorn, etc... global cuisine. Perhaps that stopped after the busy holiday time? I was disappointed to see that one of the vendors was smoking a cigarette while selling little toys... not the greatest example.We spent just over 2 hours onsite and we had a lot of fun... Not sure if it was $25 worth of fun per person, but it was fund indeed. No regrets! If you are seeing this and looking for a fun family activity, this could definitely be it. It looks like it's an annual affair! Check the website for discounted tickets to save a few $$ if your schedule is flexible!

It's definitely worth for a visit at-least. One time experience to see millions of lights including many recreational activities and sea lion show.Not many but good enough things to eat including American, mexican and Chinese cuisine. Lights and decor arrangements will blow away your mind when you see for first time. Tickets price is all included except vendors selling stuffs or food. Monday Tuesday Wednesday online tickets are cheap ($15 pp) in last 2 weeks. But I noticed that ticket counter were selling for $25 yesterday on sunday. Mono pricing is missing and it seems this place is run by Chinese since all vendors were 80% chinese.Long story short - it's worth for first time visit if you could get discounted tickets.

All the light displays of the countries are grand. At the admission price of $18.00 for adults or purchase discounted tickets at Walgreen's or Groupon. The food kiosks offered an authentic selection of dumpling, soups and desserts. The chili beef noodle soup in broth ($10.00)was delicious. I thought it was too spicy at first but then the heat and the flavor grew on my palate and then I couldn't stop eating it!! My family enjoyed the BBQ pork dumplings, just not my favorite. For an $8.00 additional cost per ticket, the Chinese acrobat show was the highlight of the night for us. It made the 47 min. drive worth it for us.

A great holiday event. Tons of great light displays and beautiful decor to help create the beauty behind the holidays. We got to enjoy the Chinese acrobat show. I definitely recommend everyone to watch this especially if your with kids. The show, stunts, tricks and entertainment are all shocking. You will be watching on the edge of your seat.They have a few rides and a couple carnival type food stands on one side. The other side is filled with Chinese food stands, a couple Mexican stands and a few other fill ins. They don't let you pay cash though for anything, you have to get a cash card and pay with that. You do get your money back though if you don't use the entire amount you put on the card. Also, be mindful they don't really speak English well so the service is pretty slow. We had the beef noodle soup which was so good!!! We also had the steamed buns which were super fresh. I would definitely go back!

This is not an event that really needs to be attended.1. The footprint is very small. It is not throughout the entire fairgrounds as was expected.2. $10 cash parking is BS for something this small. 3. Only two rides and about six overpriced stuffed animal places.4. The video makes the place looks great. The reality is you can finish walking around in about 45 minutes.5. Spend your money at zoo lights instead. This is a cash grab crammed into a tiny corner just outside the fairgrounds

I lean more toward a 4 1/2 on this beautiful holiday display. There was so little wrong that I can't even mention those things. I barely remember them, now. The event has A LOT of colorful, bright, and beautifully detailed lighted "blow ups." Pictures don't do it justice. Also, enjoyed the acrobatics show done there. It was entertaining and the whole evening was a pleasant experience. I could have done without the few carnival rides, but they could be what made the whole thing work. I'm not familiar with a display like this. It is truly one of a kind.

It was a nice experience to say I did it, but I don't think it's something I would recommend or do again. There really wasn't any music playing and in some areas if you're trying to purchase drinks or food you needed to buy a card and load it with money. Then if you went to a different side of the lights you could not use the card there and had to pay cash. That was dumb in my opinion and they had no signage explaining this which was even more annoying. Some areas also did not have the best presentation either, but others were better. They did have a few activities to play which was entertaining not only for the kids but for me as well lolOhhh and they charge for parking too which I think they should have not done.

Wonderful experience!Nice stroll thru the lights. Go early and see it get brighter as the sun goes down.