Winter Wonderland Offers an Explosion of Magical Color, Spectacular Displays

Dancing bears, frogs leaping over a shimmering river of light, a candy cane forest and the 12 days of Christmas are among the wonders waiting for visitors to the 26th annual Winter Wonderland holiday light display Nov. 23 through Jan. 1 at in Ladue.

For all of Santa’s helpers who have worked hard to prepare the display, opening night will be a chance to enjoy the fruits of that labor.

"Everyone who has a part to play in putting up Winter Wonderland, they really feel proud of our final product," said Diane White, the recreation supervisor in charge of Winter Wonderland for the St. Louis County Parks Department. "We work hard to make sure it is a well put on display and that everyone enjoys it. That’s what the holidays are about."

The one-mile loop through the scenic, wooded park offers an explosion of magical color and spectacular displays. It begins with a ride through a tunnel comprised of 55,000 lights, including 1,900 in the brilliant crimson wreath at the top front of the tunnel.

"It’s really vibrant," White said.

There are more than 1.5 million lights in Winter Wonderland, White said, including old-style, larger bulbs and new, environmentally friendly LED lights, which use less power.

"We’re trying to be greener," White said. "We’re trying to be smarter about how we work. Slowly but surely we’re converting into (all LED), but we still want a mix of traditional lights."

The traditional lights add texture to the displays.

"It’s different shapes of light and how you see it," she said.

There are 32 separate displays and more than 100 display pieces, plus 300 small "tripod trees" used as filler to brighten up dark spots.

"In the evening when the lights are on and it’s dark, they really give a nice effect," White said.

At night, the 75-acre park looks like something out of a sugarplum dream, with a myriad of colors and characters on the ground and in the trees. Among the highlights are the gingerbread house, old man winter blowing a gust of frosty air, a lawn blanketed with snowflakes, toy soldiers, carolers, reindeer, elves, Santa, and—new this year—a hippopotamus.

"One of the guys who’s been working Winter Wonderland setup probably for the last six to eight years always says, ‘How come we don’t have a hippopotamus? I want a hippopotamus for Christmas.’ That’s one of his favorite songs, too," White said.

So the purple hippo was designed and built, and now welcomes guests near the park’s Litzsinger Road entrance. Nearby is the candy cane forest.

"It looks really neat in the dark," she said. "I love it."

Beyond the first tunnel of light is the frog-frequented river of lights, a perennial favorite.

"I bet traffic will really back up out here," White said on a recent morning, stopping at the display. "People just aren’t going to want to leave."

Beyond that is a second light tunnel, with the overhead lights looking like stars in the sky. As the loop progresses, visitors will see the 12 days of Christmas and plenty of holiday and winter characters. Another crowd pleaser—visible from quite a distance—is the towering, multicolored "Happy Holidays" display.

"I think it’s 65 feet tall," White said. "It’s ginormous."

Also new this year is a 26 foot tall Christmas tree, with four, 8 foot tall trees surrounding it. It has a place of prominence in the park’s central glen, and the display will be synchronized to holiday music.

"We fired it up with the music for the first time yesterday, and it’s really cool," White said Wednesday. "People are really going to enjoy it."

The tunes will be played over speakers, so everyone in the park can hear them. The music will also be broadcast on 90.1 FM, the park’s radio station, which can be heard in the park and nearby.

Just as Santa doesn’t wait until the day before Christmas to start planning for the big day, preparations for Winter Wonderland kicked off Oct. 3, when parks department workers started putting up lights and displays.

"It usually takes 30 people six weeks to put the whole display together," she said.

There are 12 to 15 power boxes spread throughout the park, and miles of extension cords snaking along the ground. The Christmas tree display alone has 42, 100-foot-long extension cords supplying power. While it seems like this would be a whopping power bill, White said it’s only $5,000 to $6,000 for the season.

Workers use lifts to place lights among the treetops, but the biggest challenge is Mother Nature. Wind can make it difficult to hang lights and keep displays upright. Rain can make it dangerous to handle power cords and also introduces problems such as temporary lakes near where displays are set up.

"The toughest part is dealing with the weather," White said. "If the weather is nice, things go fairly easy."

Winter Wonderland typically draws 500 to 600 cars a night, according to ranger estimates. Mondays and Tuesdays during the dinner hour, 5:30 to 7 p.m., are usually slower. Once students are on winter break, the crowds increase, White said.

Winter Wonderland will be open for a walking preview this Saturday, Nov. 19, starting at 5:15 p.m., with a maximum of 1,000 people per one-hour slot. Cost is $5, which includes photo opportunities with Santa, who will also be handing out candy canes.

Hot chocolate and cookies will be available for purchase. Time slots are 5:15-6:15 p.m., 6:45-7:45 p.m., 8:15-9:15 p.m. and 9:30-10:30 p.m. Reservations are required by calling 314-615-8822 or 314-615-7373. This event sold out the last two years, White said.

White is happy to be part of making the holidays brighter for so many people.

"I love it. I really do," she said. "It’s really neat to have my family drive through and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so cool.’ I encourage everyone to come out and look at it."

Winter Wonderland is open Nov. 23 through Jan. 1, closed Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Cost is $9 per family vehicle, $15 per limousine, $30 per commercial transport van and $75 per tour bus. Carriage rides are also available each night by calling MetroTix at 314-534-1111 or going to www.metrotix.com. The cost is determined by the number of people in the party.

Tickets are also available at MetroTix outlets including Schnucks and Macy’s. Saturday nights are reserved for carriage rides only—no vehicular traffic allowed.

Getting there

Take highway 40 east to the McKnight Road exit, turn south (right) and drive about a half mile. The park entrance will be on the right. Be advised that there may be wait times approaching the park.