7 Things That Happen in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Before Christmas Candylane Opens

Before Christmas Candylane opened in 2023, all nine of Santa’s reindeer had arrived at Hersheypark.

This year’s season opens Nov. 13, and people who visit see only the finished lights.

Here’s what happens in Hershey, Pennsylvania, before Christmas Candylane opens.

1. Estate of Evil’s Holiday Makeover

Christmas Candylane opens Nov. 13, and its page lists an all-new holiday open house inside the Estate of Evil, one of five haunted houses at Hersheypark’s Dark Nights this fall.

The mansion’s staff decorated the rooms for the holidays, scary touches included.

It’s still a haunted house.

The park’s Halloween guide runs the event through Nov. 1, so the switch to holiday decor falls somewhere in the 11 days before opening.

If you’ve walked through it at Halloween, you’ll want to see what changed.

2. Lights Hidden in the Trees

Christmas Candylane’s lights start going up while Hersheypark is still running its Halloween event.

A 2017 release from the park says crews hang lights in trees and string them in bushes where guests won’t see them.

The maintenance team described the same routine in 2019.

That’s on purpose.

So if you’ve been to the Halloween event, you may have walked under Christmas lights already.

3. Wiring the NOEL Light Show

Hersheypark’s NOEL light show for Christmas Candylane runs along Spring Creek, and crews need days to install it.

In 2019, two crews of two men worked for days to put 250,000 lights in the trees and bushes around the creek.

In 2017, the job took 37 days for two crews of two men, with more than 200,000 dancing lights.

That’s more than a month.

In 2025, the show started nightly at 5 p.m. and repeated every 15 minutes.

So if you catch it on opening night, you’re watching work that took crews days.

4. Pumpkins Out, Trees In

Hersheypark’s changeover to Christmas Candylane in 2014 began the day after the Halloween event ended, when crews swapped pumpkins for Christmas trees.

A team of 75 employees put in about 8,000 hours that year to turn the park into a winter wonderland.

In 2017, large light displays, wreaths and garland came in the day after Halloween wrapped up.

Evergreens get a trim.

Hershey Nursery staff handle that job along the park’s paths.

So when you walk the paths on opening day, the decorations and lights you pass went up in the two weeks before the gates opened, according to the park’s 2019 account.

5. Building Santa’s Candy Cottage

In 2017 and 2019, Hersheypark’s maintenance team built a Candy Cottage for Christmas Candylane, a house that serves as Santa’s residence.

The same team built Santa’s Stables, where nine live reindeer stay during the season.

Santa gets a house.

If you’re there on opening day, you’ll see a finished cottage, not the construction.

6. Winter Maintenance for the Coasters

Hersheypark’s Halloween event was the final chance this year to ride select high-thrill coasters before they went into winter maintenance, the park said.

If you missed one of those coasters, you’ll be waiting until the 2027 season.

In 2014, the park took all twelve of its roller coasters into the Service Center for the annual winter maintenance.

The coasters go indoors.

In 2025, temperatures generally had to be at least 38 degrees and rising for rides to begin the day.

If you’re heading to Christmas Candylane on a cold morning, check the forecast first.

7. Reindeer Arrivals

Before Christmas Candylane opened on Nov. 10, 2023, all nine of Santa’s reindeer had arrived at Hersheypark.

All nine made it.

ZooAmerica’s team cares for the reindeer inside Hersheypark during the holiday season.

In 2021, Santa’s reindeer marked their 25th year visiting Hersheypark.

This year, Santa and all nine of his reindeer take over the Mary N. Bright Airfield, the park’s Christmas Candylane page says.

If you’re hoping to see them, that’s where you’ll go.

New for 2026

Hersheypark’s Christmas Candylane page lists an all-new Fire & Ice Experience this year, with icy lights and blazing flames.

New festive cars and displays are also coming to Twin Turnpike.

Holly Jolly Laff Trakk adds an all-new holiday soundtrack.

Look for them.

If you’re walking through for the first time this year, those are the changes to look for on your visit.

Tickets and Passes

In 2025, Hersheypark was selling Christmas Candylane pre-sale tickets online for $46.99 plus taxes and fees.

In 2020, a one-day ticket cost $34.95 if you bought it online by opening day, Nov. 13.

Ticket prices vary by year.

The park's homepage also shows 2027 season passes on sale now.

Check the park's ticket page before you buy.

The Light Count Over the Years

Hersheypark's Christmas Candylane has gone from more than 2 million lights in 2014 to more than 5 million in 2025.

There's more to hang now.

In 2014, the park set up 130 Christmas trees and a 50-foot Kissmass tree with more than 150,000 lights synchronized to holiday music.

The total was more than 4 million lights in both 2017 and 2019.