Christmas in Color Drive Thru Christmas Lights – Federal Way, WA

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Disclosure: Christmas in Color provided us tickets to this event for the purpose of sharing our thoughts & experiences. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Christmas in Color – Federal Way, WA

*Special Promo Code for New Years Weekend:: Use promo code: HAPPYNEWYEARWA for an extra 20% off for tickets starting on New Years Eve! This will drop the price down to $28 for a vehicle! Plus, they will have new songs for the New Year!

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There is a new drive-thru Christmas light experience in the Pacific Northwest this year called Christmas in Color. They have over 1 million Christmas lights that are synchronized to music you’ll listen to on your car radio. These are LED lights, so they are bright & colorful & will definitely keep the attention of everyone in your car! You don’t have to ever get out of your car – just bring some hot cocoa & snacks & enjoy the Christmas lights! You could even drive over in your Christmas PJ’s to make it more fun & festive for the family!

Where, When & How Long:

There are actually 9 locations around the country where Christmas in Color is happening this year in 2021. We visited the Federal Way, WA location, which is in the parking lot of Wild Waves, which is literally right off the I5 freeway in between Seattle & Tacoma, WA.

The Christmas in Color event runs through Sunday January 2, 2022, at Wild Waves in WA. It runs nightly from 5 – 10pm including on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, New Years Eve & New Years day.

Here is the full list of locations for 2021:

• Wild Waves – Federal Way, WA
• Island H2O Park – Kissimmee, FL (near Disney World)
• Dorney Park – Allentown, PA
• Expo Idaho – Garden City, ID
• ValleyFair – Shakopee, MN
• Raging Waters – San Dimas, CA
• Water World – Federal Heights, CO
• Bandimere Speedway –  Morrison, CO
• Salt Lake County Fairgrounds – South Jordan, UT

How much does it cost:

It costs $35/vehicle. We have a unique 15% off promo code you can use when purchasing – just use this promo code at checkout: THRIFTY15 – this will drop the price to $29.75! This will work at any location!

Plus, for a limited time, Christmas in Color also is available on Groupon here in WA for discounted prices.

What to Expect:

The Christmas in Color drive thru lights takes place at the Wild Waves parking lot. We went on a Friday evening around 6pm & only had 2-3 cars ahead of us & it was very quick entrance thru the admissions. We just brought our printed tickets, but you could also show the tickets/bar code on your phone.  {Update: Thanks to info from readers, it sounds like it has definitely gotten much busier as it gets closer to Christmas on the weekends, so I would be prepared for some lines to get in.}

Once you arrive, they will give you the radio station to turn your car radio to, so that you can listen to the music synchronized to the lights. You will then enter the drive-thru Christmas light display right away as it’s all located together right there in the Wild Waves parking lot. It is pretty compact compared to other drive-thru light displays but there are still tons of lights (over 1 million) all in that area. Instead of driving along a longer path thru a park (like Fantasy Lights), these lights are all together & you drive up & down the rows of the parking lot to see all the displays.

There is SO much going on, that you will have so much to look at & it’s very entertaining for families. Our teen girls really liked it as they are bright, LED lights & you go thru multiple light tunnels with the lights moving & spiraling around the tunnels for some cool effects.  There are some funny aspects, too, as a lot of the animals, snowmen, etc had silly faces that were moving with the lights. It’s honestly quite a spectacular light show & display with the moving lights & bright displays.

Tips for Visiting:

When we go to drive-thru Christmas lights, at times, we have gotten dressed in our Christmas PJ’s & brought hot cocoa in to-go cups with us (& maybe some festive snacks too). This is just a way to make it a little more special & fun since they do not have any food vendors on site, so you could save money & bring your own. You could also just stop at your favorite coffee stand (just make sure they are open in the evening) for hot cocoa & drop by the store for treats along the way, too.

Another tip is to make sure you have the music turned up so that everyone can hear it well in your vehicle before you drive thru the lights.  This really makes it so fun to see the lights moving along with the music!

This is a very fun light display for adults & kids & teens – they will love all the variety of the light displays & how fun it is with the lights synchronized with the music!  But, if you have anyone in your group that is more sensitive to bright, LED lights or fast moving lights (prone to dizziness or motion sickness), this may not be the best option for them. I was getting over a severe bout of dizziness from a few weeks earlier, and realized quickly that the bright moving lights were a bit too much for my eyes. It did not bother the rest of our group, though.

More local Christmas activities & light displays around the Pacific Northwest::

Warm Beach Lights of Christmas Drive Thru Light Display – this is a great option if you are located in the North Sound. Warm Beach is located between Marysville & Stanwood, about an hour north of Seattle.

Pacific Northwest Christmas Events BIG list – this is a big list with all of the local PNW events, light displays & more!