Only come if you want 2020 to feel even longer. We aged 10yrs while waiting in line for 4hrs. Too bad there's no emergency exits, because we would've taken one. They do have bathrooms, but you can't park. This resulted in children and parents running through thousands of moving cars to get to the restroom and run for their family's car. Lights were cool. They just weren't worth the wait. I'm new to NC, and would highly recommend you don't attend this event. If you do, your last hour will be two hours unless you bought an express lane ticket. Good luck, and may the force be with you read more

I am from Ohio. I came into town to spend time with my parents and my son. Entering the Carolina christmas was... well now I know how it feels to be in the hunger games. I have considered suicide twice, almost died of starvation, felt like a holocaust survivor, and been thankful for only one thing, not being epileptic. I just did 8 years in prison and have done nothing to deserve to feel so incarcerated all over again. Dont do it. Go to the movies down the street. read more

While trying to decide if I wanted to check out Carolina Christmas, I checked Yelp for a review. There wasn't one...so here I am. I feel I owe it to the next person who thinks about attending. The website makes Carolina Christmas look super cool. In my somewhat jaded view it's only somewhat pleasant. My first mistake was to attend on a Saturday night. Lines of cars for days. They offer "express access" for an extra $10...I recommend saving your money. It moves you further up the line but you'll still be in a line for a long time. I didn't keep a close eye on my watch but I believe it was about 30 minutes from entering the line to seeing the first light display. There were alot of light displays, but most of them seemed kind of skimpy. I didn't see any light display that made me say "WOW". In this age of super-technology I was disappointed at the amateur nature of the displays. The route drives you through the speedway area and onto the track. Driving on a real racetrack was honestly the best part of the experience. Definately something I'll probably never experience again so I thought it was kinda cool. But was it worth $30 ($20 + $10 for the "express" lane)? Probably not. I feel like a real Grinch giving 2 stars to a holiday activity. I was hoping it would be really amazing...perhaps my expectations were unrealistic. If you like to sit in your car for almost 2 hours while looking at relatively lame Christmas displays, you'll love this. Now, back to putting chunks of coal in kids' stockings. read more

We are in day 43 of waiting to get in to the speedway Christmas lights. Luckily we have had the advent calendar candy to survive on Easter has come and gone. We all gave up christmas lights for lent this year. On the bright-side once we got in we were able to get a great spot to watch the May race. Dear Santa, please send bojangles and vodka. read more

Awful experience! Never, ever again. Like previous reviewer, I also feel l owe it to whomever is considering a nice evening out looking at Christmas lights to avoid this event at all costs. We took our kids on a surprise road trip from the Raleigh area to the Charlotte Motor Speedway light show the Saturday evening before Christmas (12/29/2018). We arrived at the gate at 7:30pm, and we were routed through the parking lot, weaving up and down the rows for THREE HOURS before we approached the gate to drive on the speedway. By the time we arrived at the gate at 10:30pm, we were so irritated and tired it was hard to enjoy the show. Our kids had been excited about going on the ferris wheel and getting food in the Christmas Village. However, it was so late when we finished, it was closed. It took about 45 minutes to drive through the event. Thank goodness we had gotten a hotel room for the night, because we were exhausted from a very late and very long night of sitting in the car. The actual light show was strange. The first half was a display of fairy tales lit up, provided by sponsors. It had nothing to do with Christmas other than that they were lit up. The latter part of the show was an impressive synchronized light show, but set to weird Christmas songs. However, after sitting in the car for 3 hours, we were over it. Very disappointing. I would never recommend anyone do this. Thank goodness we had the foresight to eat before hand, and our kids were good-natured enough to play road trip games as we spiraled up and down the parking lot. They would do better to have everyone park, and ride through the event on shuttle buses which cycle continuously through the speedway. This way, the driver could also enjoy the show. They could also make stops at the Christmas village. This is the event plan we came up with during our 4 hour ordeal. read more

Over sold tickets by 100s...VIP ticket useless..save yourself..especially if you have young kids. Update..found an exit, thank goodness..bailed wont be back in the future to such a poorly managed event. read more

The past few years have been great. You could show up and drive through in about 20 minutes. This year, at 4 hours, that's not the case. I cannot stress just how torturous the course felt this year. I would've gladly paid an additional $20 for a swift exit. There's not even an exit provided at the ticket booths and you are stuck on the ride from the moment you enter the speedway. By the time we got to the light displays, all I really wanted to see was a way out. If you do feel like braving the Carolina Christmas, be sure to bring plenty of food, water, and gas. Also, make sure to bring a comfy vehicle... but no vans, there's a hefty upcharge for that. read more

Stay away! Currently trapped in a line of cars for past 2 hours and no ability to escape. You may want to pack your Depends for this wait.

Unfortunately, I failed to read the other reviews before attending this event. However, after having spent nearly four hours stuck at "Speedway Christmas" last night, I must say that, as negative as the other reviews appear to be, they do not come close to truly describing what a disappointing, frustrating, insulting, painful waste of time this is. Our evening began at approximately 8:00 PM as we entered the main gate of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Once on CMS grounds, we were stuck in 3-wide traffic on a one-way road, with no possibility of leaving. After approximately 45 minutes of waiting in traffic, we finally made it to the ticket booth. Initially, we were happy that we had finally "made it", however, when we looked to our left, we saw what looked like a 2-mile serpentine pattern through a remote parking lot, with vehicle lights leading off into the distance (reminiscent of the final scene in "Field of Dreams"). After another approximately hour-long slog through the parking lot serpentine (with no discernable possibility of escape), we entered the race track. After nearly 2 hours of waiting, we hoped that we would be impressed by a dazzling, memorable light display that would make our wait worth the time. Unfortunately, once we entered the race track, we immediately realized that would not be the case. The light displays were amateurish, poorly maintained, very sparse . . . and . . . there was no way of exiting once we realized what a complete sham this entire event was. We were stuck in a painful, 90-minute holiday death march that would be the perfect foundation for a National Lampoon Christmas Vacation sequel. We were able to make the most of it, trying to devise clever escape plans and laughing at the odd juxtapositions of imagery (where else can you go to see LED displays of Jesus walking on water, the space shuttle, the last supper, a HMMWV, an elf singing a Taylor Swift song, and a M1A2 Abrams tank?) The night continued to become more and more frustrating as we realized that this would not be just a one-loop trip around the track, but would include a mind-numbing serpentine through the infield. Then, just as we approached the exit tunnel under turn 3 and thought our pain was mercifully ending, we realized that the nightmare would continue . . . with a trip underneath the grand stand to hammer the last bit of sanity out of our heads with a final quarter-mile of random, dilapidated, Griswold-esque light displays . . . again, with no possibility of escape! At approximately 11:30 PM, Speedway Christmas finally released us from captivity. Once we exited the display, we were dumped out onto a desolate, poorly-lit section of the CMS grounds, with no one from the organization in sight. This was clearly a strategy of the organization running this event to ensure that they avoided the wrath of their recently-escaped detainees. As we exited CMS, I noticed a port-a-potty nearby and momentarily considered tipping it over in a futile act of defiance and retribution for the 3 1/2 hours that had just been stolen from me and my family. However, my better judgment intervened as I realized that, if caught, I would have, most likely, been dragged back into the speedway for processing. In all seriousness, this event is every bit as bad as every review suggests. My Christmas gift to you is my warning to avoid this event and save yourselves $20, a quarter tank of gas and 4 hours of your family's time. read more

I was looking at the reviews for Carolina Christmas and most were pretty old and negative, thinking that they might have fixed a few things after a few years I decided to give it a shot on my weekend off. Got there about 6:30 and expected a line... (5 HOURS LATER) we didn't even get into the speedway until 11pm and there was an Hour line to get out , By then almost everything was closed on the inside, there was mediocre light displays, the best part of the whole experience was driving on the track. Don't go on Saturdays.... read more

This was VERY PAINFUL! I wish I had read the previous reviews prior to this excursion. I would not have attended. We entered the front gate at 7:00 p.m., it is now 9:41 p.m. and we were just told by the parking attendant we had another hour to go before exiting the speedway. And, unfortunately the lights were mediocre!! Waste of money and waste of time. read more

If I could rate this zero stars I would. From start to finish it took about 5 hours. Thinking we would be impressed the second we (finally) entered the speedway, the lights were not impressive. Even worse, the radio station they have you tune into plays the same 7 songs on repeat. They should really provide Advil at the end because you'll need it after being confined to your car for so long. Talk about a waste of $30! read more

I did this about 5 years ago and had no problems. The lights weren't nothing special, but it entertained the kids, so it was a win. I'm back here now and, ummmm, no. The wait to purchase a ticket was literally 55 minutes. Then, it was extra 60 minutes before we got the see the lights. The string of lights that lit the way to the show was pretty sad. A lot of the bulbs were blown or missing. Once you start the show, you can switch the radio station to the one they have provided and you can listen to christmas music while cruising on the speedway. The lights displayed was nothing new and there was no creativity shown. It was super basic. Pretty much the exact same setup as it was 5yrs ago. At the end of the light show, you can stop and park at the village, where they have food, petting zoo, animal rides, and more. I didn't go to this because I was mentally drained from sitting in the car for almost 3hrs. It look like fun. Maybe something one should experience during the week versus the weekend. For $30, not worth it unless you're going to the village. read more

Just went through the Speedway Torture Maze. What a complete Clusterfuck that is. 3.5 hours for a half ass show. Wont be back thats for sure. From the older reviews, a few years ago it was better. Shouldn't the show build and get better every year? Sounds like a money grab... read more

By the time we got onto the track, I didn't even care to see the lights. Been here for 3 hours, the lights are boring, and it's too expensive. Do not waste $30 on this. read more

I wish I could give this negative stars. We began this family tradition a couple years ago. We went twice in 2013 and loved it both times. This year though, I wish I could have my $30 and 7 hours of my life back. I live about an hour and a half away from the speedway so that meant I was there for approximately 4 hours! I loved taking photos of the lights for my kids to remember their favorites each year. However, this year 95% the lights were seemingly synchronized with music on a radio station. Never mind that the songs were the same couple of songs played repeatedly. This was the biggest waste of time. I have seen better lights in local neighborhoods. Will not go back next year if it's the same as this year's. read more

I am sitting in my car driving through the Christmas lights. This is HORRIBLE. They have no emergency exits - if they did i would've gladly taken one to get the heck out of here. if you want to waste your money and your time, please come here. read more

Wish I could give this 0 stars, as I sit in an endless line of cars snaking back and forth across the outside of the speedway. We have been in line for 1.5 hours with no hope of getting in any time soon. There is an "express line" where you can pay 10 bucks MORE to go straight into the speedway. Had we had a clue what this dam express lane entailed we would have gladly paid the 10.dollar extortion fee to get in sooner. We came the past 2 years and waited behind 3 or 4 cars to get straight in. DO NOT COME OUT TO SEE THE LIGHTS!!!! read more

All I can say is what a disappointment. There was no organization all; we waited in line for 35 minutes to turn into the dragway entrance just to wait another hour to get into the beginning of the light show (with the express pass of $30). The light show was a joke, half the lights did not work and it looked like it was designed by a 5 year old. There were three rows of cars that the never ending line of brake lights overpowered the actual light display. The best part of the trip was being able to drive on the speedway, I don't know who loved it more my husband or my children. After the speedway we could have stopped to visit the Christmas village but decided not go because our children were tired. I would not waste your money or time on this show it's really not worth it. read more

We are sitting in the car on hour number 3. Finally seeing the lights which are the most unexciting display we have ever seen. Completely unimpressed and a total waste of time and money. We would like our money back total ripoff read more

I read the other two reviews and even after reading those, we decided to go to Carolina Christmas. We went the first year and thought in the 3rd year, things may be better NOT!!!!! I agree, the light displays were skimpy and not impressive at all. This was not worth the $20 this year and we probably won't return again. In my opinion there were very few vendors. The ride on the track is a very short one. What bothered me the most was a longhorn tied up for photographs. This longhorn was tied with a two foot rope, had a saddle and they were selling photographs for $5. I must add NO ONE was buying a photo. What a sad way to make $5. This animal was tied in a way that it could only stand in one position and could not move very much! Very cruel way to make $5. read more

I take my kids every year but this year I was disappointed no where near as good as the past years we will not go back next year after we got 1/2 way through finally the light show began read more

We were very excited to bring my Mom to see the lights at the speedway since we have come the previous years before. This year though, there was NOTHING enjoyable about the experience. We pulled into the line at 8:30 and went through almost 2 hours of what seemed like a line while waiting for a roller coaster. By the time we got to the lights we were ready to leave and running low on gas. Unfortunately there is no emergency exits provided so be prepared. Once you're in, you're in for at least 3-4 hours. It is now 11:30 and we're still not done yet. My son just wants to go home and sleep and what says the most about this whole experience was that I chose to write this review during the whole thing. read more