Brighten Your Family's Holiday Season With Callaway Gardens’® Famed Fantasy In Lights®
Once again, this year Callaway Gardens is doing its part to make sure the holiday season is merry and bright thanks to the return of Fantasy In Lights® from November 18 through December 31, 2005.
Selected as a 2005 Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Event, Fantasy in Lights will set the night sky ablaze with the power of more than eight million tiny lights depicting a variety of custom-designed holiday scenes. As families enter the five-mile wooded drive, they will see the natural landscape brought to life and transformed into a dream-like holiday wonderland, highlighted by the sights and sounds of super-sized seasonal scenes.
Some of the 13 scenes include Santa’s Workshop, The March of the Toy Soldiers, Twin Trees, Twelve Days of Christmas, Snowflake Valley and Enchanted Rainbow Forest. Each scene features its own sound system and custom musical score, adding to the sensory celebration and helping to set the attraction apart from other outdoor light shows.
Returning for a second engagement, the North Pole Express, a special holiday train, will carry kids (and kids-at-heart) around Chickadee Lake and through the woods. There, they will discover a new way to experience holiday lights while capturing snapshots of timeless winter memories including a child’s skating lesson, sledding, warming by the fire and more. The North Pole Express is available to all ages and costs $3 per person.
Visitors also can immerse themselves in the holiday fun in Fantasy In Lights’ Christmas Village. The village features a host of holiday treats and activities, including demonstrations by holiday crafters, gift booths, festive holiday décor and more…not to mention Santa himself, who will be on hand to lend a lap and an ear to every child who wants to share their Christmas wishes.
Every year, Fantasy In Lights shines bigger and brighter. Since it opened in 1992, Fantasy In Lights has brought holiday cheer to almost two million people!
Advance tickets to Fantasy In Lights are on sale now. The live-agent and virtual ticket offices officially open October 24th. Tickets range from $13-$15 plus tax for adults and $6.50-$7.50 plus tax for children (ages 6-12). Children five and younger are admitted free but require a “free child” ticket. Group rates are available. Time slots to view the lights are required on selected nights. Trolleys are available through December 25 only. Beginning November 18, same-day tickets may be purchased at the Ticket Booth in the Christmas Village at Robin Lake Beach from noon until closing. Same-day tickets are based on availability.
Tickets to Fantasy In Lights include admission into Callaway Gardens®, providing visitors twice the enjoyment from one ticket! Attractions in the Gardens include the Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center; Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center; Birds of Prey shows; Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl; John A. Sibley Horticultural Center; Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden; Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel; Pioneer Log Cabin; Discovery Bicycle Trail; walking trails and more.
For guests who prefer to avoid the rush home after the show, a special Fantasy In Lights Package starts at $141 in the Mountain Creek® Inn and includes VIP admission to Fantasy In Lights, Gardens admission, a collectible 2005 Fantasy ornament and more (cottage and villa rates are available).
New this year is the special value Fantasy In Lights Family Package. For only $98 per person double occupancy, the package includes lodging in the Mountain Creek Inn; breakfast; VIP Fantasy In Lights admission; a collectible 2005 Fantasy In Lights ornament (one per bedroom); a Fantasy In Lights oversized mug for delicious hot coffee or hot chocolate (one per person) and a souvenir family portrait to remember the special memories. The bonus is that children stay, eat and enjoy Fantasy In Lights for free (two children per room)!
November 20 is reserved for the annual Fantasy In Lights® Night Walk benefiting the March of Dimes and the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation™. On this special night, Fantasy In Lights is open only to pedestrians. A special overnight Night Walk package in the Mountain Creek® Inn is available.
For more information, to purchase tickets or to make overnight reservations for Fantasy In Lights, please call 1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292) or visit www.callawaygardens.com. A sellout season is expected so tickets should be ordered soon for best nights and times.
