All month long, we’ve been highlighting our favorite holiday events and this one really revs our engines! Peppermint Parkway is a magical drive-thru holiday experience at Circuit of The Americas that features one-mile of immersive holiday displays, millions of lights, dancing elves and more. Guests are also invited to experience Peppermint Plaza, located in the Grand Plaza, for rides, food trucks, a meet & greet with Santa, Pepper, Mint, and more.
Here’s everything you need to know about Peppermint Parkway at Circuit of the Americas!
- It’s a drive-thru experience happening on select nights through December 26.
- Guests follow the official mascots of Peppermint Parkway Pepper and Mint on their journey down COTA’s Tunnel Road as they race to deliver their letters to Santa.
- The thoughtfully designed holiday experience features dozens of live characters including dancing elves, roller skating snowflakes, and everyone’s favorite holiday grump, the Grinch. These characters will interact with guests’ vehicles, creating an unmatched and immersive holiday experience not found anywhere else.
- The whole attraction includes more than six million lights that create an illuminating, immersive experience. For scale, that’s 200X the amount of lights that are hung in Rockefeller Center for their annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.
- Ticket packages start at $35 (more info below).
New for 2021!
There are all kinds of new features in 2021. Guests can share a kiss with loved ones in the Mistletoe Kissing Booth for an unforgettable photo op that’s perfect for your holiday card. Families can also take a photo with Santa, write a letter to Santa, and travel to the top of the COTA Candy Cane. COTA’s 251-ft tall Observation Tower offers an amazing view of the Parkway and illuminated Austin skyline. COTA will also offer Twinkle Trams this year, a chance to ride in an open-air shuttle through the Parkway with all your friends, a great option for parties and group events.
And that’s not all! There are also two new villages: ONEderland is a whimsical world of giant illuminated mushrooms mixed with mesmerizing mosaic sculptures and Twinkle Trail is a dazzling golden display of dancing lights that is sure to leave you breathless.
Also new this year is the North Pole Palooza, the perfect finale to a night at Peppermint Parkway. With performances at 7, 8, and 9 p.m., this 15-minute nightly spectacular features Rockette style performers who invite the crowd is to join them on-stage with Santa for the Santa Shuffle. No holiday celebration would be complete without a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” by the big man in red and a holiday dance number, complete with falling snow – a spectacle guests won’t want to miss! In between shows guests will have the opportunity to meet and snap a pic with the event’s mascots, Pepper and Mint.
Race fans can also enjoy the Candy Cane Cruise, an exclusive opportunity that will allow guests to take their own cars for a parade lap on COTA’s world-famous 3.41 mile FIA-grade Formula 1 track, a course many world champions have raced on before them.
Ticket Options:
- The Parkway (Cars/SUV) — $40. Peppermint Parkway admission is priced per vehicle. No individual tickets are needed for each guest in each vehicle.
- Candy Cane Cruise — $65. This ticket includes admission to Peppermint Parkway AND the once-in-a-lifetime experience of taking a 25 MPH lap around the only purpose built F1 track in the US.
- Polar Express Pass — $80. Skip the line with the Polar Express Pass! Bypass cars in queue with premium access to Peppermint Parkway. Admission to The Parkway and access to the premium entrance is included with this ticket.
- The Sweetest Deal — $95. Want it all? The Sweetest Deal includes admission to The Parkway through a premium, expedited entrance and a parade lap around The Circuit.
Get more info and buy tickets HERE!
Here’s how you can attend Peppermint Parkway for FREE!
Make sure you’re following Free Fun In Austin on Instagram because we’re giving away a Sweetest Deal ticket! But our giveaway won’t last long to head over and enter NOW!
