Holiday Lights at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park returns Friday, November 27, and runs nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. through December 30. There are no Holiday Lights on December 24 or 25. For McCormick Ranch families, the park at 7301 E. Indian Bend Road is about as close to home as a holiday outing gets. You still need a plan, though, because the evening now runs on timed wristbands bought ahead of time. In early November, the first slot on opening night was already sold out.
On every night sampled, the earliest slot had far fewer openings left than the later ones.
One Price, Seven Start Times, One Closing Time
Wristbands cost $15 per person for ages 3 and up, and the price covers both the train and the carousel. Children 2 and under get in free and don't need to register. You buy through the City of Scottsdale's ActiveNet registration system and choose an entry time. The City's listing gives the options as every half hour from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It also says you can stay "until the event closes at 9:30 PM" whichever time you pick.
Put those rules together and the 5:30 wristband gets you four hours for $15, while an 8:00 wristband gets you ninety minutes for the same $15. The sampled listings showed the same $15 on a Saturday in late November and on a Wednesday two days before Christmas. When every slot costs the same, the longest evening sells first, and the remaining counts in early November show exactly that.
| Night | Entry time | Openings remaining, early November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 27 | 5:30 p.m. | Full |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | 5:30 p.m. | 95 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | 6:00 p.m. | 312 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | 6:30 p.m. | 284 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | 7:00 p.m. | 279 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | 348 |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | 8:00 p.m. | 500 |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 5:30 p.m. | 146 |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | 5:30 p.m. | 266 |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | 5:30 p.m. | 128 |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | 8:00 p.m. | 491 |
The Saturday after Thanksgiving shows the pattern most clearly. The 5:30 slot had fewer than a fifth of the openings the 8:00 slot still had. December 23 showed the same gap, with 128 openings at 5:30 and 491 at 8:00. These are early-November snapshots, so the numbers will keep dropping until each night is over.
The cutoff matters too, because online sales close before each slot starts. Sales for the 5:30 slot on November 27 ran until 4:59 p.m. that day, and sales for the 8:00 slot on November 28 ran until 6:59 p.m. If you live a few minutes from Indian Bend Road, a late slot is a short trip you can still book after dinner. Pick 7:00 or later and you'll have more choices on nearly any night.
The Park Got More Popular Before the Lights Went Up
Several things changed at the park in the last year and a half, and together they explain why the early slots go so fast.
In summer 2025, the park finished $13.1 million in improvements. They include the Roundhouse, a 10,000-square-foot indoor play space with a locomotive-shaped play structure, plus a 5,000-square-foot splashpad and a new entry plaza with shade, restrooms and lighting. Signals AZ reported that the Roundhouse and splashpad drew more than 39,000 visitors after opening on August 1, 2025, and summer attendance rose 160% over the year before. Voter-approved 2019 bonds paid for part of the work. So did the Scottsdale Railroad Mechanical Society, a nonprofit that contributes volunteer labor and donations. The park turned 50 in October 2025.
This fall added some demand of its own. The park canceled Spook-Track-Ula on Saturday, October 31, because of bad weather and flooding. Anyone who had already bought wristbands could ask for a refund or move to a Holiday Lights night. Some of those Halloween ticket holders may now be booking December slots too.
The City is also capping crowds on purpose. Members Night on Friday, November 20, is free for members, with up to four tickets per membership. The City's Members Night listing says the park "will not be selling tickets this year for additional family members" and that the limit "will help limit the crowd size and maintain wait times." The park's own event page says Holiday Lights "sells out every year."
What Ninety Minutes Covers
With a late slot, it helps to know what's there so you can plan the time. The official Holiday Lights page and the City's ticket listing describe these:
- Paradise & Pacific Railroad: the main ride, which runs through light tunnels and holiday scenes.
- Caroling Train: a holiday caroling ride on the River Rambler.
- Carousel: included with the wristband, like the train.
- S'more Land: a fire pit beside the train route with holiday music, where s'more kits cost $8 each.
- Food and drinks: for sale at Hartley's General Store and food trucks.
- Model Railroad Building: open during the event, with its miniature train displays.
The park lists Santa meet-and-greets on December 1, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17 and 19 through 23. It also says a calendar of extras, including live entertainment, characters and activations, will be posted on the event page. Check the page before you pick a night if a particular appearance matters to your kids.
A late slot also leaves time for dinner before you go. If you're aiming for both train rides and a stop at S'more Land, the earlier part of the evening is where the time pressure is.
The Membership Math, Seen From the Holiday Lights Line
The park's membership page lists four annual tiers:
- Individual, one person: $125
- Individual Plus, two people: $175
- Family, up to four people: $275
- Family Plus, up to six people: $375
The listed benefits include a year of unlimited daytime train and carousel rides, 10 timed entries to the Roundhouse, an invitation to Members Night, $5 off Holiday Lights and Spook-Track-Ula tickets, and 15% off food and souvenirs. The $5 discount saves a family of four $20 on a regular Holiday Lights night. Members Night is free and has the extra crowd limit. Most of a membership's value comes from daytime visits during the rest of the year. Its value from Holiday Lights depends on getting into Members Night, which still showed 883 openings when that listing was captured. Registration runs until 5:59 p.m. on November 20. Members with a six-person membership can email the park to add tickets beyond the standard four. The tier prices come from a page published in July 2025, so check the current price at checkout.
The Season's Dates, in Order
Holiday Lights is the main event, but a few other park dates fall around it:
- Thursday, November 19, 6 to 8 p.m.: Adaptive Recreation night at Holiday Lights. Everyone attending must register in advance. The fee is $5 for Scottsdale residents and $7 for nonresidents.
- Friday, November 20, 5:30 to 9 p.m.: Members Night, free, with online registration required.
- Friday, November 27: Holiday Lights opens to the public.
- December 24 and 25: no Holiday Lights.
- Wednesday, December 30: last night of Holiday Lights.
- Thursday, December 31, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Noon Year's Eve, a daytime family countdown.
For questions about wristbands, the park asks visitors to email [email protected].
Holiday Lights works best when you book ahead, and buying or selling a home works the same way. If a move is part of your 2027 plans, DiBiase Team can show you what your McCormick Ranch home is worth now, so you know your numbers before you choose your timing. Get Your Home Estimate.
