Magic of Lights is coming back to Jones Beach. The drive-through holiday light show returns to Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh on Friday, November 20 and runs through January 3, 2027, with the park's roads strung into a route of LED displays, animated scenes and holiday characters that families roll through without leaving the car.

The event runs nightly: 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, starting from 350 Bay Parkway at the park.

What is new for 2026: a cheaper November and a season pass

Two things change this year, and both are about price. The first is a November-only ticket: a standard car can book any November night online for $22, a discount the event is selling through November 30. The catch is in the name, since the November ticket cannot be used in December, which is when the show is busiest. The second addition is a season pass, at $89.99 for a standard vehicle, good for unlimited visits across the whole run.

For a family planning one early trip, the November ticket is the cheapest way through the gates this year. For one planning to go more than twice, the season pass pays for itself quickly against the gate price.

The rest of the pricing

Standard any-day car tickets are $30 at the gate. The event's Santa Saver pricing, sold online through November 19, puts an any-day car ticket at $29.98 and a Monday through Thursday weekday ticket at $25.99. Larger vehicles pay more: a limo or party bus is $54.99 online and $65 at the gate, and a full-size bus is $79.99 online and $90 at the gate. Everything is priced per vehicle, not per person, so a full minivan pays the same as a car with one rider.

What you drive through

The route carries the show's familiar inventory: holiday scenes and characters built in LED, digital animations, and arches that pass over the car. Santa photos are part of the event again this year. The displays change little from a car at the front of the line to one at the back, so the slower nights early in the run are the same show with shorter waits.

How to go

Magic of Lights runs November 20, 2026 through January 3, 2027 at Jones Beach State Park, 350 Bay Parkway in Wantagh, nightly from 5 p.m. Tickets are sold per vehicle at magicoflights.com, where the November-only and Santa Saver discounts are online codes with their own deadlines: November 19 for the Santa Saver prices and November 30 for the $22 November ticket.

Sources