*PS I originally wrote this article last year when Enchant first arrived on the Seattle scene. Enchant Christmas is back in Seattle for the 2019 winter Season with the theme of “Enchant Mischievous” at T-mobile Park! We were invited the other night for a media preview and I love the updates to Enchant Seattle for 2019-the ice skating rink is bigger and there are way more local vendors in the Christmas Market area (like Nutty Squirrel and a really delicious looking raclette and pretzel stand called “Itty Bitty Schnitty” Many food items are priced around 10-12 dollars. The fancy lightbulb drinks you’ll see are 15.). Plan on ice skating early if that’s on your ‘must-do’ list for the evening and if you don’t have tickets yet, December 9th is a “Night of Giving” where all proceeds from tickets and skating rentals are donated to Mary’s Place.
All About Enchant Seattle in an Enchant VIP Suite
We were totally lucky to be invited to a party in a suite at Enchant Seattle in winter 2018 because I was really curious about what Enchant Seattle would be like but I was worried it might be crowded and spendy. There are also so many holiday things to go to at this time of year and I wasn’t sure if it would otherwise make it on our calendar. I didn’t realize that Enchant Christmas originally came from Vancouver Canada until I read this post by Elisa Murray for the Seattle Times but this makes sense now because friends up north had told me they went to Enchant last year and I went to something called Glow with my family there that was pretty fun too.
These types of indoor light festivals have been very popular in Vancouver and there is a spectacular FREE festival in my hometown at Lafarge Lake (Hello Coquitlam!!!) that is supposed to be the biggest one in the area. So the coolest thing about Enchant Christmas to me is that it is at T-mobile Park which makes an incredible INDOOR but outdoor venue and T-mobile Park is definitely an awesome Seattle landmark too. I hate paying horrendous prices for parking, so maybe if you go on a Sunday you might have the best chance at spending the least on going to the event because free parking is definitely more plentiful on a Sunday.
What kind of Enchant Tickets should I buy? What do Enchant VIP tickets include?
I did not pay for my Enchant Christmas tickets so I really have no skin in the game, but I’ve been asked a lot about Enchant Seattle since I posted a picture of the hubby and I ice skating at the event so I thought I would write about our experience. Because our event was in a suite it included VIP access which I considered buying so I can kind of compare what I would buy now that I know what it is.
Having Enchant VIP access might pay off if it is crowded and you don’t like waiting to get in line to enter because we did not wait in any lines and I think that added immensely to our experience. I’m not sure what the VIP meal is like-we had some snacks and other delicious foods in our suite and it was nice to check things out from above before we joined the masses in the maze and ice skating rink below.
Once we got to the maze and ice skating the VIP pass didn’t seem to do anything different than the regular pass. You still needed to wait in line to rent skates if you have a VIP pass so it didn’t seem like it would save much time there. We did not check out Santa but I’m sure there will probably be a line, so a VIP pass might help there too if you are planning on getting Santa pics. For other savings I’ve seen “Jolly Deals” and “Merry Hour tickets” that help save money during what might otherwise be quieter times-those may be worth checking out because you may luck out on both a less-crowded experience and a less-expensive ticket.
Is there food at Enchant Seattle?
There is definitely food to purchase but this time we didn’t end up buying anything because we were full from what we ate in the suite. You can get Kid Valley burgers and some yummy looking Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and I saw some chips and guacamole that seemed a bit enticing too. We were looking for mini donuts that I heard might be at Enchant but since we didn’t see anyone walking around with them I don’t think they were being made the night we went. I thought about buying a fun light up light-bulb shaped drink too but there was a bit of a line and we tried them at Glow last year. They are also around 15 dollars and we had two kids with us so I didn’t feel like buying two or having to monitor sharing. If you think you’re going to go to Enchant at a time you might be very hungry and be tempted to buy a lot of food this may be another factor that goes into considering an Enchant VIP pass because you cannot bring snacks or food into this venue.
How long will it take to do the whole Enchant event?
Because I went with the three men in my life and they are not much into posing with all the lights our experience could have taken as little as an hour. The boys were really excited to find all the reindeer and that became a mission and they said that this kind of goal helped them enjoy the light show. We used the big tree in the middle of the event as a landmark just in case anyone got lost. Since we brought our own ice skates, we were able to skip the rental line (skate rentals are $10) and we all skated around the mini rink a few times. This was my favorite part of the event because ice skating in the winter is one of my favorite holiday things. I had fun snapping a few pictures and it was nice that we weren’t outside and the festive fake snow falling everywhere was a nice holiday touch too. The weather in Seattle has been unusually dry and I think if it was wet and miserable outside, the appeal of having an indoor holiday light show would go up as well. (We were at Wildlights on a wet and rainy night this year and it was not as comfortable as being indoors.)
Is Enchant Seattle “worth it”?
There are so many holiday things to do in Seattle, and this one is definitely a big and beautiful one. Ultimately, I think Enchant Christmas is a fun group activity with friends and kids because it is a contained, indoor, festive holiday space so it is not weather dependent and easy to arrange tickets in advance. It would be a great way to get pictures with your family for holiday cards and it’s also good place to go if you like to get a bunch of selfies in front of pretty lights. It is also one that has the potential to be pricey and crowded and because I’m always considering value and wary of crowds when I spend my hard-earned money on things, I think the value of this event is ultimately determined by how busy it is when you go and how much you like being in crowds and how bad the weather is outside. If I were to buy tickets for Enchant, I would probably buy the cheapest ticket and chance it being crowded or splurge on the VIP ticket to beat the crowds and have a meal so that at least I’m guaranteed a ‘win’ with either price or time with my purchase. I’m so thankful though that I was invited to a party here because we had a really great time and we were able to experience this in a really non-crowded, comfortable and fabulous way.
Other ways to see pretty lights and celebrate the holidays too
As I considered buying the VIP pass I realized that $230ish dollars is around the same price a family of 4 could end up spending to go for a night in a hotel in Vancouver BC and skytrain tickets to go check out the free festival in my hometown. It is also similar in cost as a staycation in Bellevue and visiting Snowflake Lane for free. So these might be a few options to consider when you think about your holiday plans. Another spendy but intriguing holiday event I saw is a holiday tea at the Fairmont in Seattle with Santa and I would love to hear if you are going because I’m really tempted by that one too. Our holiday light traditions usually include Wildlights in Seattle every year, Winterfest at Seattle Center and Bright Nights in Stanley Park in Vancouver and it’s so nice to have a growing repertoire or holiday options in our beautiful city.
Have you been to Enchant Seattle? And do you have tips on getting a good price or see it crowd free?
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)