Review: Enchant Los Angeles
- ThomM
- Dec 21, 2025
- 7 min read
Arcadia is ablaze in holiday cheer and twinkling lights in this abundantly electrified spectacle.
Immersive Scene Los Angeles 2025 review
If sheer wattage in a winter wonderland setting is your cup of tea – or your cup of hot chocolate with a dash of Baileys for that matter – then Enchant Los Angeles is the seasonal event for you. There is so much holiday lighting at this dazzling spectacle that it’s probably visible from outer space. Immersive Scene L.A. just paid a visit ourselves.
Held adjacent to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, this eye-popping visual extravaganza has something for everyone in your crew. Don your ugly sweater and take a spin on the ice skating trail, zoom down the giant Stargazer snow slide on an inner-tube, chill with the DJ spinning an eclectic mix of seasonal classics, explore the outdoor shopping village – as close to a European Christmas market as you’re likely to find in Southern California - take a stomach churning spin on the Ferris wheel for a flying reindeer’s eye view of the festivities, or simply wander through various creatively designed zones populated with fanciful installations adorned with enough twinkling lights to draw the attention of a lost extraterrestrial looking for Earth. The path you choose is yours.
And make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes too, as extremely large crowds at this family-friendly holiday snow show mean you’ll have quite a trek just getting from the outer parking lot to the front gate. Once inside the outdoor event, expect to walk about two-miles if you plan on seeing everything this brilliantly illuminated, family-friendly presentation has to offer.
Our goal was to see it all, or at least try to. With tickets in hand and pre-planned timeslots booked for the add-on experiences – skating, Ferris wheel and snow hill – we began our enchanting night out shortly after sunset. Cue holiday music!
There’s really no wrong way to explore the wonder at Enchant, but Immersive Scene L.A.’s party of three did our best in doing so. And it didn’t diminish our enjoyment either way. For instance, if we’d started at “Santa’s Missing Timepiece,” the literal center of the event and the preferred entry point to a voluminous maze that covers nearly half of the grounds, we would have learned early on that St. Nick was counting on us to find the missing gears of his elaborate watch so that all would go well with Christmas. However, since there was no one telling us where or when to go, we just wandered. In fact, we wandered into the exit of the maze first, rather than its starting point. It wasn’t until the day after our visit that we realized, though there is no required method to explore the glowing pathways, there is a better method. Oh well.
Our night began with a warm drink and a festive meal at the Eatery, the unexpectedly pleasant gastronomic zone at Enchant. Instead of the food trucks we anticipated, we found charming wooden booths that brought smiles to our faces. There were plenty of options for everyone, and the communal tables provided adequate seating. Fully satisfied with our quickie meals, we dove into the action. After exploring a few nearby installations – giant snow globes, some large and brightly lit reindeer and a beautifully decorated sleigh (big time photo-op) - we hurried along as our pre-booked one-hour arrival timeslot for ice skating was nearly past.
Have no fear about being a bit tardy. Due to the large crowds, everyone is somewhat running late at Enchant, and the friendly staff are as lenient as they can be with your admittance window to the add-on experiences. Luckily, we’d opted for Premier Pass tickets, which allowed us to bypass a very long line to get to the skate rentals. In less than five-minutes we were buckled in and gliding, and nearly falling (thank you wall for keeping us upright) along the winding and surprisingly spacious ice trail. There was a lot of whooping and hitting the deck around us, but thankfully the nearby first aid station had no customers. Yes, you will be signing waivers.
One of our party negotiated in the shopping village as we negotiated on the blades. We soon reunited to enter the exit of the advertised “world’s largest Christmas light maze.” You’ll get no argument from me. It was enormous and went on for what seemed like a mile and was filled with every imaginable holiday theme and design a holiday merrymaker could hope for. Our favorites included the giant whale, shimmering in beautiful blue lights overhead, the towering and fully functioning windmill that even Don Quixote would have admired and, ultimately, the fully repaired and stunning “Santa’s Timepiece.” Had we entered the entrance instead of the exit, we would have been searching for its missing gears that were clearly found! Christmas lives on, no thanks to us.
Reversing our tracks with another pressing timeslot approaching, we made it just under the wire for our appointment with the Ferris Wheel. There were actually two of them, but one was shut down for repair, causing the line to swell. Fortunately, the premier ticket got us to the front, and our wait was only 20-minutes instead of what looked like an hour otherwise. The 80’s era carny-looking ride didn’t inspire much confidence, but it got us up nice and high for great photos and video. We also had a fantastic if brief view of the entire event below and could literally see our path forward for the remainder of the night.
Next up was some holiday shopping in the quaint retail area. There were just enough diverse options to keep it interesting without making it feel like the proverbial exit-through-the-gift-shop routine. You could find ornaments, clothing, baked goods, artwork, and even handmade manger scene artwork to take home if you were so inclined. Prices ranged from fair to outrageous depending on the booth, so if you shop at Enchant check all your options before making your purchases.
Soon, we were back out on the trail and finally at the real entrance to the mega-maze. Passing through the most colorful installation of the night – the Rainbow Tunnel – we encountered a quickie L.A. snowstorm welcoming us to the maze. We then got happily lost in the giant, walled-in wintry-themed puzzle for the next hour or so. The imaginative pathways had us on that mission of searching for those missing gears. It wasn’t too hard to locate Vega, Pegasus, Polaris and the other cosmically-named mechanisms needed to get Santa back in the skies. We and several thousand others that night did indeed help to save Christmas! You’re welcome.
Eventually, we found ourselves at the focal point of the whole night – the Gathering Tree. This spectacular 100-foot tall, electrified Tannenbaum appeared to be twice that height to the eye. You can probably see it from Pasadena. People gazed in awe at the star attraction of the night.
Afterwards, we considered trying out the mini-golf, visiting the large chill tent with full bar, and even had a brief glance at the swanky, and very expensive, private snow globe suites, cozily situated next to the ice-skating area. If you have a large group and/or a company credit card, one of these semi-private luxe options includes food, drinks, a fire pit and s’mores, all for the price of a weekend vacation to Mexico. We kept walking.
After making a final stop at the souvenir photo booth - our picture had been snapped when we’d arrived hours earlier – we decided to pass on the purchase (eyes were closed). Thankfully, we found a few goodies to buy at the main Enchant gift shop, which had some of the best prices in the retail village. Then it was back in the sleigh, make that the 2018 Toyota, for the journey home from this wintery wonderland to the realities of L.A. traffic. Hey, Santa, how about a lift home next time?
Enchant, or Enchant L.A. as it’s sometimes advertised, is a blazing addition to the Southern California holiday season. If measured by volume alone, it’s worth the ticket price. Speaking of which, unless you are immune to long-line syndrome, purchasing a prime ticket is highly encouraged. You have two alternatives – the Premier Pass, which includes front-of-line, a free drink, and $10-off coupon for the gift shop, or the somewhat less-expensive Fast Pass, which just gets you to the front of the long queues. Online, you can see the various ticket offers, but the upgrades aren’t a huge markup for what you get. If hanging in lines doesn’t faze you, you’ll be fine with general admittance. Whatever option you choose remember to purchase and select timeslots for the activities not covered by the general entrance fees. Also, remember to pre-book parking.
While Santa Anita’s large parking lot provides ample space for the massive event and plenty of parking too, it has one drawback: the parking lot itself. While it’s perfectly fine for cars, once you’re inside the Enchant experience, the asphalt below – a never-ending grid of lined parking spaces – can detract from the feeling of being in a true wintery playground. Of course, the 60-degree balmy SoCal weather could too, but putting temperature aside, if the show’s creators had covered the surface in snow-white flooring panels, as shown in promotional videos for the event, it would have significantly enhanced the escapism element of the night. Imagine a winter wonderland above, in front, and below you. As is, however, Enchant still adds up to a sensory delight and a fun evening out to celebrate the holidays in fully electrified glory.
Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)
Immersivity: 3.0
at
Santa Anita Park
285 W Huntington Dr.
Arcadia, CA 91007
Select nights through January 3rd, 2026
Tickets: Party of 3 - anywhere from $160-$300+ depending on date, add-ons and ticket level (general, fast-pass, premier). Check website for options.
Note: Not many helpers inside to guide you around, so plan your trip out beforehand
