By Charly SHELTON 

I’ve never been shy about my feelings toward Six Flags Magic Mountain. For years, I’ve written in articles – sometimes in a polite way, sometimes not – that it’s not my favorite park. The rides are great, the atmosphere less so, and the overall experience can feel more exhausting than fun. But once a year, something happens that pulls me back in despite of myself: Holiday in the Park.

For reasons I can’t fully explain, the whole place changes the moment the lights come on. Maybe it’s the cooler weather. Maybe it’s the fact that hot chocolate stands appear at nearly every corner like they were scattered from a passing sleigh. Or maybe it’s simply that the park looks its absolute best when it’s glowing instead of baking under the summer sun. Whatever it is, this event works.

The transformation starts the moment you walk in – trees are wrapped from bottom to top in lights, rooftops sparkle and entire plazas are washed in color. Holiday festival food stands are scattered around, intermixed with the cocoa stands, offering holiday twists on basic foods like the cranberry barbecue chicken pizza or the holiday burger with turkey bacon and cranberry aioli. Large open campfires are set up here and there around the park for guests to enjoy marshmallow roasting on an open fire while Jack Frost nips at your nose (as much as LA lets him).

But the standout year after year is the light displays, especially Peppermint Forest – an area that somehow manages to feel both classic and completely over-the-top. The trees shoot upward in red and white spirals, some reaching 20 feet into the air, and the whole place gently twinkles with holiday magic.

Then there’s the moment that seals the deal: climbing onto a roller coaster at night, the train clicking up the lift hill while the lights of Peppermint Forest stretch out below, the entry fountain shining and the cold air biting just enough to make you grateful for the warm cocoa you’ve already consumed in amounts great enough to give diabetes to Santa. 

I have plenty of issues with the park on a regular day – crowd management, park upkeep, general chaos – yet somehow none of that bothers me during Holiday in the Park. The lights soften the edges. The atmosphere feels warmer, friendlier. For a holiday festival so close to home, it’s become a quiet tradition of mine. Every winter, I find myself back under those lights, cocoa in hand, walking through a park I spend the rest of the year criticizing. And every winter, I’m reminded why I keep coming back. 

Even I can admit it: Holiday in the Park is Magic Mountain at its best.