With the ongoing global pandemic and newer, stricter lockdown rules, holiday fun in 2020 has been looking as remote as a snowfall in Los Angeles. But here in Hollywood, the holidays are anything but canceled. Working around business closures and social distancing guidelines, a number of festive drive-through experiences are emerging all over L.A.
In Woodland Hills, the first-ever WonderLAnd immersive drive-thru experience opened to the public on November 30 with synchronized dancing lights and all around good cheer. Through December 30, guests can drive through nearly a million lights, all time-coded to a festive array of seasonal songs from Mellodees‘ “Happy HoliDees” children’s album produced by Marshmello. Among the many themed, immersive vignettes and installations is a “Holidays Around the Globe” display and a magical wintry forest surrounding WonderLAnd’s version of the massive Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Vehicles can also travel around North Pole mountains and through a 90-foot twinkling snowflake tunnel and a snow flurry vortex tunnel. Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves will also be on hand with candy canes galore.
Produced by Experiential Supply Co., the same team behind Hauntoween, WonderLAnd kicked off with a star-studded event opening event attended by Kim Kardashian where superstar Jojo Siwa performed, much to the delight of Kardashian’s daughter North West). Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Eniko Hart, Stassi Schroeder and Dancing With The Stars pros Peta Murgatroyd and Gleb Savchenko are just a few of the other famous faces to cruise through already.
Over at King Gillette Ranch in Calabasas Holiday Road is taking place now through January 10. From television production and event industry veterans Ben Biscotti, Tony Schubert, and Bobby Rossi, the holiday experience follows the overwhelmingly successful Halloween-themed run with ‘Nights of the Jack,’ which was attended by the likes of Demi Lovato, Ashlee Simpson, Tyra Banks, Cheyenne Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Megan Fox, and even the Kardashian-Jenner clan.
Throughout the vast grounds of the history-filled ranch, the contactless drive-thru format is filled with thousands of lights and holiday installations complete with a North Pole, Elf Village, Gingerbread Lane, light tunnels, Christmas tree forests, and much more. The event debuted on December 4 with a number of famous visitors including Kylie Jenner, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Pete Wentz, Greer Grammer, Kendall Long, and more.
“During these uncertain times, Holiday Road will provide families with a fun and safe way to get out of the house and still experience the magic of this holiday season,” Biscotti, Schubert, and Rossi said in a joint statement. “We are looking forward to delivering another unforgettable experience.”
For family’s that take part in the Elf on the Shelf tradition like Victoria Beckham, Sarah Michelle Geller, Kourtney Kardashian and Busy Phillips, the Fairplex in Pomona is hosting The Elf on the Shelf’s Magical Holiday Journey. The one-of-a-kind immersive experience welcomes drivers and their elf-loving crew to “magically shrink down” to elf size and embark on a fun expedition to help repair Santa’s sleigh. Guests can enjoy a dazzling light spectacle with toy-repair workshops, gingerbread villages and all the sights and sounds of the holidays.
In addition, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Dodgers Stadium, Knott’s Berry Farm, Irwindale Speedway and South Coast Botanic Garden will all be doing their own drive-though events throughout the month of December.
