Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland is a spectacular drive-through holiday light show located at Soaky Mountain Waterpark, on the north side of Sevierville. It’s a magical experience for the whole family, and it charges per vehicle, not person, so load up the whole crew and head over for a unique light show.
The Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland show lets the whole family and pets stay in the car and drive through a world of high-tech lighting synchronized to Christmas music. It’s a spectacular light show and driving through it ll with the windows cracked is a surreal experience – one to remember, and a great favorite of many people, both locals and visitors.
Images courtesy of Shadrack’s
The Shadrack season starts in November and then Shadrack’s is open every evening from 6 pm until 10 pm – including Christmas – and often a little later on weekends. This year the show remains through January 5, 2025.
Stay warm in the car as you drive into a world of Christmas animations made from millions of LED lights, synchronized in a high-tech animation that matches music that you tune your car radio to on the Shadrack channel. Split-second synchronizations make the scenery around you dance to the Christmas music.
Turn off the high beams and enjoy the slow drive through Shadrack’s maze of special constructs, Christmas lights, huge hanging ornaments and decorations. The programmed sound and lighting effects of Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland are award-winning and nationally acclaimed for their creativity and inventiveness (audio-visual buffs will drool at knowing more than 1,600 signal channels create this Christmas magic).
Since its inception in Bristol, Tennessee, through today with five locations across the country, Shadrack has received numerous awards and national acclaim for its creative inventions and its button-down display choreography. It now offers walk through setups for customers to purchase for their own venues and occasions, as well as the component lights and parts of their technical magic.
Meanwhile, the big show on the ground at Soaky Mountain offers reasons to get out of the car, with Soaky Mountain Village, featuring children’s activities, photo opportunities, carnival games, kids’ crafts, a petting zoo and pony rides, as well as food and dessert vendors, and hot cocoa and coffee.
The course spans over 10 acres with a mile-long drive-through route. Look for different themes each year, and expect characters and cameos such as Santa getting stuck in a chimney, elves bustling in Santa’s workshop, and a reindeer training school. It’s a lot of fun.
Check the schedule to make sure that all activities are open before you head to Shadrack’s. Keep in mind that Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days, so the entrance line might be a touch longer than usual. Be sure to leave room for enjoying food and drinks from local vendors. Hot chocolate with whipped cream and fresh kettle corn are the perfect accompaniment to your drive through the magical winter wonderland.
You can purchase tickets online through the web site or directly from the comfort of your vehicle, and cash and credit cards are accepted for all vehicles. The location is here and you can follow Parkway all the way north from Gatlinburg through Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, or you can take the faster way along Veteran’s Boulevard (which you’ll know about if you’ve seen our guide to Back Roads & Shortcuts in the area).
For more information and directions check the Shadrack Web Site.
And here’s a favorite Christmas carol, performed the Shadrack way:
