When I was little, I remember the joy of watching Christmas Lights with my family.  Seeing the lights is still a joy many years later. All that has changed is now I get to enjoy them with my little guys and I have so much fun seeing them a whole new way through their eyes.  We had the opportunity to go to the Peppermint Parkway drive thru lights and we had a blast. Peppermint Parkway is located at Circuit of the Americas and what makes this drive thru extra special is that they have a ticket option that includes a drive around the F1 Racetrack. This is what brought us to this event and I am so glad we went!

My husband has always been a huge fan of car racing so when I saw that we had the opportunity to add on a trip around the track it was a total bonus for us and he loved every minute of it.  I will be honest I did not especially care about driving around the racetrack, but I am glad we did because I (and the kids) enjoyed it way more than I thought we would.  If you decide to add on the Candy Cane Cruise to your ticket you will still check in at the normal entrance for Peppermint Parkway and wait in that que.  I will say one of our least favorite parts about any of these drive thru lights shows is the wait to get in and this one was no different.  Once we were in line we had to wait about 45 minutes to get in which as we all know is not super fun for little ones. I definitely recommend bringing something to entertain your young children or have some snacks for them to enjoy while you wait. We usually pack some fun holiday treats and turn on Christmas music and try to make the best of it.

If you purchased the ticket that includes the F1 Track drive, when it’s your turn to enter Peppermint Parkway you will be directed to the track first, but if you are not participating in that part you will enter right into the light show.  The ticket prices vary depending on which option you choose and you can find all of the ticket types here: https://peppermintparkway.com/#ticket-packages. Since we were doing the F1 track ride we followed the directions and got lined up for that. Luckily the wait for this portion of the event was much shorter and after a few minutes our drive began. It was neat to see behind the scenes of the racetrack. We saw all of the garages and where the pit crews work. The drive was a lot of fun and it is a cool feeling to drive around the same racetrack as so many professional drivers. I am sure it’s not exactly the same feeling because we were doing it on our mini van, but either way it was neat!

After the F1 track drive they directed us to enter the rest of the Peppermint Parkway drive thru lights. The drive thru lights are also very fun and there are so many to see! We also got to wave to the characters Pepper and Mint and take multiple pictures of the lights and tunnels. Our favorite part was the hip Santa dancing at the end to upbeat Christmas music. The entire light show takes about 15 minutes so take your time and enjoy it!  

A few important items to note about Peppermint Parkway:

-There is a lot of great information on the Peppermint Parkway website so I highly recommend checking it out before you go: https://peppermintparkway.com 

-Be prepared to wait 45 to 60 minutes before entering the lights. Make sure to bring something to entertain your kids during that time. The Peppermint Parkway website mentions if you go at 6:30 p.m. right when it opens or later around 8:30 p.m. the wait should be a little shorter.

-They do offer a more expensive ticket where you can bypass most of the line so if you really don’t like to wait and you don’t mind spending extra for that, you have that option. You can find all of the ticket options here: https://peppermintparkway.com/#ticket-packages

-Before or after your drive you can check out Peppermint Plaza which has rides and shows. This is a walk thru area. We have not been to this part of the event before because it is usually too late for us to stay, however it looks like a lot of fun!

-I would recommend using the restroom before you leave home or plan to use it at Peppermint Plaza if necessary. They do have emergency restrooms at the ticketing tent, but as stated they are meant for emergencies.

-Take your time during the drive and get a lot of pictures because it goes by fast and there is a lot to see!

Drive thru Christmas lights have become a staple for our family during the holidays. We have enjoyed seeing the two different shows that Austin has to offer. Most likely in the future we will just pick one to go to each year because the tickets are on the pricey side, but this year was fun to see how they are the same and how they differ.  Each time we go see these lights they bring smiles to my kids faces and that is really what it is all about!