25. March 2025
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Magic of Lights Coachella Valley

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Magic of Lights Coachella Valley (2023)

Magic of Lights Coachella Valley (2023)
4.5

Rating

 4.5/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Great light installation
  • Nice service
  • Longer visit than expected

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Christmas market section a bit of poor

During Christmas time 2023, I have been invited to watch the Weihnachts-Wunderwelt at Schloss Benrath in Dusseldorf, Germany. Even though there were some downsides of that light installation event held for the first time in Germany, I really liked the atmosphere. Thus, I just had to visit the Magic of Lights, when I ran into a reduced admission at Groupon. The drive-through light installation is driven in several places all over the USA and Canada. The one at Coachella Valley, hosted by the Empire Polo Club, has been a perfect fit into our travel planning through California and Nevada in late December 2023. I felt to share my thoughts with you right before the 2024 season is kicking off.

Obviously, the review is based on my 2023 experience. 

 

Empire Polo Club – Location

The Empire Polo Club is located in Indio in the Eastern part of Coachella Valley. From the main touristic areas like Palm Spring, it is a bit of a drive. Finally, you typically head South from the CA-111 route.

Magic of Lights – Times & Admission 2023

During 2023, Magic of Lights Coachella Valley opened from 17th November until 31st December 2023. The experience opened daily. From Sunday to Thursday, admission was between 17:00 and 21:00. On Fridays and Saturdays, Magic of Lights closed one hour later. The at-gate admission was 40 USD per vehicle during the week and 45 EUR on the weekends. Tickets have been cheaper if you pre-ordered online.

 

Magic of Lights Coachella Valley – Drive-Thru Experience

Magic of Lights is a one war driving course through the grounds of the Empire Polo Club. You are requested to switch off the lights of the car while driving. The speed limit is 5 mph, you must not overtake or stop (or even get out of your car). Here and there, cars had short stops or slowed down significantly during our visit, also in order to add distance to the car in front of you. You do pass different sections of this illuminated attraction. However, most of the light installments work for themselves. They feature classical Christmas-related topics as well as rather up-to-date ones. For example (see below), there was a short section themed after Barbie.

Driving through the illuminated course took some 30 minutes. To me, the highlight of our visit were two fully illuminated “tunnels”. Additional atmosphere is created by a dedicated radio station, which gives you basic information, but also some holiday tunes.

 

Magic of Lights Coachella Valley – Additional Experience & Services

At the end of the main loop, you are guided to a parking lot, from where you can walk to a major square with some additional illuminations. This area has some additional attractions like a small soccer field. Additionally, there are some booths with drinks, snacks and merchandise, which create a little bit of a Christmas market atmosphere. This area is also featuring the bathrooms.

 

Magic of Lights Coachella Valley – My View

I absolutely enjoyed our visit at the Magic of Lights. The Christmas market section at the end of the drive does have much more potential than Magic of Lights Coachella did create during our 2023 visit. The area is huge, the different light installments are very rich in variety. I definitely recommend visiting this place – or try out one of their other locations.

 

Flyctory.com about Christmas

Here are all Flyctory.com postings which deal with Christmas in any way:

 

USA Travel Contents (2024)

Here are all my travel-related postings about the USA published in 2024:

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