For 11 months of the year, Vasona Lake County Park is a perfectly beautiful spot in Los Gatos where you can enjoy a picnic, walk the creek trail or just chill out by the lake. But every December, it’s transformed into something so wildly different, it’s easy to forget you’re in the same park.
I’m talking about “Fantasy of Lights,” the annual light display that is equal parts sentiment and silliness. It’s truly spectacular for the very young, and then for many families — including mine — it’s something you keep doing because you’ve always done it. That’s the literal definition of tradition, and that’s why we love it.
Fantasy of Lights first took place in 1999, though it feels like there never was a time without it. My wife Amy and I remember visiting it for the first time in the mid-2000s and thinking it was kitschy fun but not something we needed to do every year.
Then we had kids — and it changed everything.
There’s really nothing better than watching your kids’ eyes light up as you drive through the colorful tunnel of flashing bulbs at the start, or hearing them begging you to slow down so they can see Santa Claus shoot one more one-handed basket. They sing along to the radio soundtrack, somehow managing to learn the words to obscure Christmas songs like “Dominick the Donkey” and “Mi Burrito Sabanero.”
And then comes that magical moment when your kids notice the random holiday non-sequiturs: Why are all these dinosaurs milling around? Why is there a volcano? Or the big pirate ship? And what’s the deal with that sea serpent?
But those have all become part of the fun, and we turn down the music and roll down our windows in the “Dinosaur Den” to listen to the jungle sounds as we creep along through a Vasona parking lot I literally would not be able to identify in the daylight.
It was during those years, when our kids were young enough to still be strapped into booster seats, that I was stunned — in the way that only new parents can be — by how many people let their kids pop up through their sunroofs to enjoy the lights. No seatbelts! Too many cars with distracted drivers! What if there’s an accident? I wrote a column wagging my finger at the scofflaws and the way the county parks department basically looked the other way.
Not surprisingly, the overwhelming response from readers told me to stop being a killjoy. Nearly a decade later, I’ve softened my stance and tried my best to ignore my inner scold during the 25 minutes or so it takes to complete the mile-and-a-half drive through the park. Our kids still haven’t gotten the chance to pop through the sunroof, as the roof rack on our Toyota makes such a maneuver impossible, or at least very uncomfortable. Darn.
For a holiday tradition that seems so reliably unchanging year after year, Fantasy of Lights has actually evolved quite a bit in its 26-year run. To begin with, it’s grown from fewer than 30 displays to more than 50. And nearly all of them are now illuminated by energy-saving, longer-lasting LED lights (though there are still a few incandescents around for old time’s sake).
To celebrate Fantasy of Lights’ 15th annual edition in 2013, the Santa Clara County Parks Department added a one-night walk-through option. It was so popular that it has become its own tradition, stretching to two nights and selling out 19,000 tickets every year now. (This year’s walkthrough nights are Dec. 6 and 7.) In recent years, visitors have also been given little cardboard glasses — like the old 3-D glasses at the movies — that add a snowflake or other holiday features to the viewing experience.
As the event’s popularity grew over the years, it created huge traffic jams along Blossom Hill Road, Lark Avenue and University Avenue as families jockeyed to get in during both prime weekend evenings and on weeknights when you would think the crowds would be lighter (they rarely were). This created huge headaches for Los Gatos residents and business owners and honestly made it a lot less fun for families, who might wait an hour or more in line to get in.
So in 2016, Fantasy of Lights switched to a reservation-only system. Tickets had to be purchased in advance online for a specific day and time window — no more driving up the night you wanted to visit. There were still long lines, but they were more manageable, and it spread out the crowds throughout the week. Tickets go quick, so it’s best to grab them when they go on sale on Nov. 1.
We generally aim for a Tuesday or Wednesday night around 7 p.m., leaving our house near downtown San Jose in plenty of time for another of our Fantasy of Lights traditions: grabbing dinner before to eat in the car from the Happy Hound on Los Gatos Boulevard. Nobody in the family remembers when or why we started that tradition, but it’s stuck. Pro tips: Don’t try to eat a chili dog in the car, but the family size bag of fries is a must.
Last year, the parks department decided to shake things up and changed the configuration in a major way for the first time, even moving the dinosaurs from their traditional spot. Feedback was good enough that they’re keeping it that way for this year, and within a few years, there’ll be a whole new generation of families visiting who won’t even remember the way things used to be.
As our kids get older — and closer to flying away from home altogether — we’ve already lost the annual photo with Santa, and they’re starting to grumble when I put on “Miracle on 34th Street.” But this may be one holiday tradition we hold on to for as long as we can — or at least until one of them can drive, and I can try to fit myself up through the sunroof.
Fantasy of Lights at Vasona Lake County Park
When: Walkthrough, Dec. 6-7; Drive through, Dec. 9-30, 6-10 p.m.Where: 333 Blossom Hill Road, Los GatosAdmission: 2024 regular vehicle price, $30; 2024 walkthrough price, $8-$17. Reservations required.Website: parks.santaclaracounty.gov/FantasyofLights