Lake Lanier Islands Magical Night of Lights
First, let's talk about Lake Lanier Islands Magical Nights of Lights. The only magic here is that so many people are willing to shell out $60 a carload to enter the worst traffic jam of their lives. I'd been wanting to see these lights for years and we decided to go last night - motivated by a double $10 off coupon. Sad when $40 a car sounds like a deal.The experience reminded me of when we first moved to Atlanta. People kept telling me how wonderful hot boiled peanuts were. How they looked forward to finding them at roadside stands in the fall. What a delicious treat they were when finally located. When I saw a stand on the way to Florida I talked Kevin into pulling over. A grizzled old dressed man in camouflage clothes sat by an open fire, with a boiling pot hanging over it. I was so excited - I was finally about to have my first hot boiled peanuts! We paid him $4 and he dumped a scoop of something from the pot into a brown paper bag. I looked inside. Hot, wet peanuts - still in the soggy shells. They smelled bad, they looked bad - they tasted awful.
Lake Lanier Islands Magical Night of Lights was equally disappointing. It was hot boiled peanuts all over again. Maybe if you've been exposed to it your whole life you develop a taste for it. Otherwise, it ranks as one of the area's largest disappointments.
The lights are nice. Many of them are animated. I imagine if this had been developed in the 1950s people would have gazed in wonder at the sight. As it is even my 6 year old was "bored, bored, bored," in her own words.
On the plus side, as you drive your own car the lights are completely handicap accessible. You can control the level of stimulus by opening or closing your windows as well as adjusting the volume on the radio if you chose to tune it to the suggested station.
We paid our money and drove through the gate. We proceeded - slowly- for almost a hour through 6 miles of lights. What they don't tell you is that it is more like 3 miles, because you drive to the end and turn around, and drive slowly back through the same lights. The speed barely registers on the speedometer.
Many of the light displays are just ads from local companies - Coca Cola, Georgia Power, etc. After you crawl through the lights you are forced into the "concession area". There is limited parking - which is ironic since they make every car enter the parking lot. However, we found a parking spot (thanks to flashing the handicap permit at an attendant) and explored the carnival.
It was on par with any other local carnival. The rides were a bit "vintage" (translation: old). There was a thrill factor to the Ferris wheel simply because it felt as if you could easily fall out of your open swinging seat. I love carnivals so even in 34 degree weather I had a good time. Rides averaged $3 per person. A pony ride was $6.
Like any carnival, it was hard to push a wheelchair around due to all of the electrical cords. A big problem was also a lack of curb cuts on the sidewalks around Santa's Village gift shop. We had to bump the wheelchair down the curb backwards to get onto the fair grounds. It was impossible to bump it back up and we just gave up and took Amanda back to the car.
We avoided the gift shop and the paid photos with Santa. The ice skating rink is a novelty and reasonably priced at $10 per person including skate rental.
We spent a total of $63 on the drive, rides and a box of popcorn. Boy, was I happy I had that double coupon! I could easily see a family of 4 spending $150+ on an evening here. Even at my "bargain" price I felt slightly ripped off. Like boiled peanuts, this is something I only needed to try once to discover that I did not like it.
In the video you can see the cars who have turned and are coming back through the lights in the opposite direction.
Stone Mountain Christmas
Stone Mountain Christmas, on the other hand was lots of fun. First, if you are Mountain Members its included in your membership. So, for us, entrance was free. If you aren't members the cost is $28 per adult and $22 per child. Truthfully I might be more critical if I had paid $106 for this experience. It wasn't worth $100+. If you want to go, consider purchasing the Mountain Membership. For twice the price of the Christmas admission ($56 per adult, $44 per child) you get unlimited admission to the park and free parking for an entire year. Regular membership includes a $10 discount off Snow Mountain - the deluxe membership includes free admission to Snow Mountain as well as free admission to the Summit Sky Ride and the Ducks.
So keeping the cost factor in mind our experience at Stone Mountain Christmas was a happy surprise. No one had ever told me about Stone Mountain Christmas so I had no expectations to be dashed. I discovered it because we are members and I was looking for something inexpensive to do. Like Lake Lanier, there are millions (no exaggeration) of lights at Stone Mountain for the holidays. Instead of driving through them the central area, Crossroads, is decked out so you can stroll through the displays.
Even the miniature golf course is decorated with thousands of little white lights, making night time golf a special treat. Part of the miniature golf course is accessible with a wheelchair - part is not. There is a sign which redirects you to the accessible holes partway through the course.
If you like, you can take the 30 minute train ride around the mountain. Holiday lights have been set up along the route so its a pretty ride. The rear car of the train has a wheelchair lift and staff are very helpful. There are ties to anchor the chair safely during the ride. The only downside it that it is an open air car and can be chilly. During this time of year they play Christmas carols which Amanda really enjoyed.
There is a small parade every evening at 6 PM. I think we counted six floats. The parade features the characters from the shows held in the park during Christmas so don't be surprised to see an alien robot dancing down the street. It was cute, but not something I would rush to see. The girls both liked it. Staff were very helpful and made sure that Amanda had a good view of the parade.
We were lucky to see the Georgia Bubbleman when we were there. He was wonderful! He created bubbles of all sizes and let the kids chase them. He made a special effort to include Amanda in the fun - coming over and blowing bubbles all around her wheelchair. He even gave an impromptu science lesson by blowing bubbles using the heated air from one of the fire pits.
There are several shows throughout the area: Toyrific, Forever Christmas, Holly Jolly Cabaret, A Crossroads Christmas Carol, Visit with Santa Claus. There is also a "4-D" holiday movie, The Polar Express. On select nights (at 9:45 PM) there are fireworks. From the outside, I could tell that the shows are loud and may be a problem for people with sensory issues. We didn't make it to any of the shows or the fireworks so I think we'll go back. When we do I'll expand this entry!
However, just the fact that I would go back (again the same year) demonstrates how much more enjoyable we found Stone Mountain Christmas. If you are going to drive almost an hour outside of the city for one holiday event (and spend $100) I would chose Stone Mountain hands down over Lake Lanier Islands.
Note: This is my opinion, based on my family's experiences. I wasn't compensated in any way by either location.
