Yuletide at Old Tucson!

 

Did you know there is an old western town in Tucson that was built in 1939 & is a movie set used in multiple movie scenes including moves like the Three Amigos & Tombstone and shows like Little House on the Prairie. That location is called Old Tucson! It is still open as a filming location & when there isn't anything being filmed there you can visit to explore the town or participate in one of their holiday events. On December 23rd, we took a road trip to Old Tucson to experience Yuletide the old west way. The tickets may seem slightly pricey however all of the shows & rides at the park are included in the price of admission & there is quite a bit to do. 

When you first arrive, the first show is the opening ceremony. You'll learn the story of how the "West Pole" came to be & how Santa made his secondary home Old Tucson. Santa is brought into town in a wagon & he welcomes everyone to Old Tucson with a tree lighting ceremony. However, things don't go quite as planned when Jack Frost shows up to try & ruin the night. Everyone at Yuletide is invited to help join in the festivities to chase Jack Frost away and show the power of Christmas Magic. 

For entertainment there are magic shows, stunt shows, trivia games for kids, live blacksmith demonstrations, The goofs on the roof which are two adorable elves that sit on top one of the buildings talking with all of the guests. There is also a horse drawn carriage ride where you can sing Christmas carols, a train ride that takes you around the circumference of Old Tucson allowing you to see some sights & buildings you aren't able to see from inside of the town. 

That isn't all, they had a small movie theatre playing classic holiday movies, a small maze for kids, skee ball, a carousel, face painting, a shooting range, photo opportunities & you can explore Jack Frosts layer to see what he has been up to at Old Tucson. If you are looking for a way to warm up in the chilly night there is hot chocolate for sale along with a few spots to grab food or you can head inside for some in doors activities like pictures with Santa, Story time with Mrs. Claus or write a letter to Santa. There is also a small museum with movies props from films/shows that have taken place there, two sweets shops and of course gift shops. 

As mentioned, there was a lot to do! We went from one show or ride right to another, they kept the schedule packed and well organized. We spent a few hours at Old Tucson & enjoyed everything they had to offer especially the stunt show. There were a few neat stunts, but that isn't what really made the show, the actors themselves are what made the show quite entertaining. While this event might be over for the time being, if you are close & able to travel to Tucson you should consider visiting this event at the end of 2024!

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. This was not a sponsored review, we paid to get into the zoo ourselves. I enjoy being able to share spots like this with my readers who may not be able to visit in person but are still interested in learning more about these spots, or for anyone planning vacations in the area. 

West Valley Wonderland at State Farm Stadium!

 

I am always on the look out for fun new pop-up events in Arizona that are family friendly & will get us out of the house for a bit, so I was happy to receive an invite to check out a new holiday pop-up event called the West Valley Wonderland. West Valley Wonderland took place over the weekend at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. If you've been following me for a while you might have seen the announcement I put up for the event back in October. This is the events first year, but I hope they come back again next year. 

This was a holiday shopping market mixed with a small holiday event for families. There are a few dozen shops selling a range of products from treats & food to clothing, books, toys and more. Along side the shops there were also a few local companies such as the Boys & Girls club of America promoting what their programs have to offer. 

Shopping wasn't the only thing found at the West Valley Wonderland, there were bounce houses for the kids, free pictures with Santa, bumper boats on ice, a mechanical reindeer, a human claw machine, photo opportunity areas set up, craft spots for small children and live entertainment. Some of the activities such as the bounce houses were free, while others like the bumper cars & human claw machine were $10 per play. The human claw machine had a bit full of large Squishmallows and players were allowed to grab any one they wanted when lowered down into the pit. 

On your way into the event they had a caroling group performing & a red carpet which had a light tunnel surrounding it that led you into the entrance where there was falling "snow" (bubbles). We thought it was a lovely, we enjoyed browsing the shops & actually ended up buying a few more things than we thought we were going to. I thought there was a decent assortment of products to browse, 80% of the shops were handmade sellers and others were an assortment of larger companies/resellers. All of the vendors were friendly & seemed to be enjoying the market. 

Between browsing the vendors & stopping for a little bit to watch the performers we were at the event for just under two hours. Parking was included in the price & even though there was a decent amount of people when we arrived it didn't take very long to get past security, get scanned in & walk down to the area where the event was held. I hope this is an event that continues to come back during the holidays & even possibly for two weekends instead of one each year, I think it is a fun way for families to get a bit of holiday shopping done together while having a good time. 

Here is a look at most of what we purchased while we were at the event, minus a piece of art & a cup of churros! 

Disclaimer- The Encore Agency provided four tickets for this event, for this review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

World Of Illumination in Glendale,AZ! Reindeer Road Review.

 

One of the best ways to make holiday memories with your family is to bundle up, make or pick up some hot chocolates & a sweet treat then head out to look at some holiday lights. We are very lucky & there are a few spots near Phoenix that do holiday light shows that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your car. World of Illumination is a yearly event that we enjoy visiting together! They have two separate locations each with its own theme. This year we visited the Glendale location which is located behind the Desert Diamond Casino off of Northern & the 101 freeway. Its theme is Reindeer Road, tickets range from $39.99 to $49.99 per carload depending on what day you visit. If you enjoy bringing your dog out on a car ride, they are welcome to join you in your car to see the lights. 

Signs to the entrance are easy to follow & although there were two or three dozen cars when we arrived, we were able to get in quickly and enjoy a nice slow ride enjoying the lights and music. They will have signs at the front entrance to let you know what station to tune your vehicle to. The music that is playing on the designated station are synced with the holiday lights & many of the elves, reindeer, etc. will look like they are signing along to the songs. 

They had a great assortment of traditional Christmas songs that have a slight remix to them along with some holiday movie songs. It is a great family friendly event that kids in particular will love, it is exciting to hear what song they will play next and see the light show that goes with each one. This event will include lighted tunnels, giant Christmas trees & more. In total it took about half an hour to drive through & view everything they have set up. I always look forward to seeing the light show each year. If you want to add something extra special to the experience for yourself or for your children they sell light up cheer sticks and 3D glasses to really make the lights pop. If you aren't near the Glendale location they have another in Tempe with the theme Cosmic Sleighride. At the moment they do not have any kind of bundle package, but it would be nice to see a bundle in the future where you can get tickets for both locations with a slight discount for the dual tickets. 

🎄 Does this sound like an event that you & your family would enjoy? Which theme do you think you would enjoy more the Reindeer Road or Cosmic Sleighride?

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Disclaimer- World Of Illumination provided a pass for the event for this review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

The Phoenix Zoo Lights are back for the 2023 Holiday season!

 

It's that time of the year again! The stores are decked in holiday decorations & goodies, Christmas music is starting to play and several of my neighbors are putting up their holiday decorations outdoors. I personally love seeing all of the holiday lights during this time of year. Speaking of holiday light displays, the Phoenix Zoo has brought back their Zoo Lights this year. It doesn't officially start until November 22nd, however I was able to visit early during an event so I have shared a reel over on my Instagram of a peek at this years event & will share some photos below. This is not a sponsored post, we paid for discount tickets as part of an event that was put on by the zoo. 

The event runs from November 22nd until Jan 14th & cost $35 per person at the gate or $30 a person if you buy tickets ahead of time online. Depending on how fast you walk & how many photos you stop to take, expect to be at the zoo for anywhere from an hour to two hours. Their merchandise booths & food/drink areas stay open during this event so you can purchase hot chocolate, kettle corn & more to enjoy on your walk.

This year they added some new displays & more of the wildlife lanterns which are my favorite part! I love how they look and want to get some to show off in my yard. We also haven't been to the zoo since last year so even though it was dark we were able to see the newest section of the zoo that we hadn't seen before. 

The walk itself is very easy, they have everything set up to keep the flow of traffic moving along while still being able to go at your own pace. There were tons of people at the event we went to but we didn't feel crowded while looking at all the lights. There is a lot of walking & some areas with hills so you will get a small workout as you go along looking at everything. The zoolights event is wheelchair, motor scooter & baby stroller friendly.  

Be sure to keep an eye on what time they will do the main show on the giant floating tree in the middle of the lake! Good spots tend to fill up fast so if you arrive to a viewing spot slightly early you'll be able to view the show without anyone blocking your view. My family & I always enjoy visiting the zoo lights, it is nice to stroll through the zoo while the weather is cooled down and see what they do differently each year. 

Have you ever been to a Zoolights event at your local zoo? If not, does it look like an event you would want to attend? Drop a comment below and let me know. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

The Immersive Nutcracker event!

 

It is always nice to get out of the house & be able to do a family event together as a family. New to Arizona this year is the Immersive Nutcracker being hosted at the Lighthouse Artspace Phoenix located in Scottsdale at 4301 N Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, Arizona 85251. The lighthouse does not have it's own designated parking so you will need to park at the parking garage up the street or find an open street parking spot, during the time we went we were lucky & found a parking spot just one street over so we had a short three minute walk to get to where we needed to be. 

When purchasing a ticket you will need to select a time slot you'd like to visit, we selected the 4:30pm time as I felt like it wouldn't be quite as busy during that time. Tickets are $29.99 each or if you buy the Family pack it lowers it slightly to $26.99 per person for a total of $107.96 for a family of four, it includes admission + a small gift. 

Okay, so now that I have the information about the event out of the way now comes the part which is always a little awkward when a review isn't always a hundred percent positive. But, that is the whole point of reading a review, to read the good & the bad to make a decision on whether you want to purchase a product or attend an event. While this was a neat short experience to see, is it worth thirty dollars a person to see it? In our opinion, no it should be at a lower price point. They had a few cute photo opportunities set up that you could stop & take photos at including one that had a life sized nutcracker you could take a photo with then you walked into the main exhibit. There were two large rooms that had projectors on the walls & floor, the floor projectors played things like gems, snowflakes and lights to match the mini Nutcracker movie being played on the walls. The movie was about twenty minutes long then it went to a few winter scenes, in total we were there about half an hour so roughly it came out to a dollar per minute per person to be there. 

We stuck around for a little bit to see what else might pop up on the projectors, but not much seemed to be happening. Exiting the exhibit takes you into the gift shop then the exit to head back to your car. I saw a few people enter & then exit without spending more than five minutes watching the projectors so it felt like we weren't the only ones who weren't sure what to expect. It was fun for some of the smaller kids, as they were able to run around and chase the projections on the floors and it was calming sitting there for the twenty minutes watching the nutcracker on the large walls, however I feel like it might be better suited to be closer to ten dollars a person than thirty, we were never offered the "small gift" either so I can not comment on what the admission was supposed to come with. There are thirteen different cities across the nation so each one may have different photo opportunities & be set up slightly different than the one here in Scottsdale. Keep in mind this is just our opinion, you could end up enjoying it significantly more.

If you are looking for other fun events to attend for the holidays or in general in Arizona check out my "Things to do in Arizona" section which features delicious spots to eat & events like the Phoenix Zoo Lights, Sugar Rush the drive thru holiday light event and more. 

Disclaimer- US Family Guide along side The Immersive Nutcracker provided tickets to the event mentioned above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchasing the product.