The Holiday Lights Safari Benefit is an award-winning event and the most exciting seasonal attraction in the Upstate of South Carolina. – Our Holiday Lights Safari Benefit is a one-of-a-kind event that runs nightly from November 23, 2013 - January 4, 2014, (including all holidays). You drive your own vehicle through nearly 100 acres magically decorated with millions of twinkling lights, dazzling holiday themes, light sculptures, a life-sized Nativity, plus HERDS OF LIVE ANIMALS and much more.

Opening nightly from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. with extended hours on weekends through December. (See Exact Hours here)

Along the way you will enter the "Enchanted Deer Forest," where you will encounter herds of free roaming animals. The Enchanted Deer Forest is included in your fee of admission. Animal food is available to allow for added interaction with the animals. Animal food is available. It is highly recommended to enter this section with treats in hand. Hundreds of animals will approach your vehicle and many will eat right out of your hand! This area is a favorite of all ages. Be sure to bring your camera!

Also included in the Holiday Lights is "The Walk" where you can park, get out of your vehicle, enjoy time outdoors in South Carolina’s moderate weather, walk around, meet, pet and feed many of Hollywild’s friendly animals. A favored activity in this section is to gather around the bonfire, share time with family and friends, roast marshmallows, drink hot-cocoa and fully enjoy a relaxing evening. There are also many children’s activities, such as Pony Rides, bottle babies, a giant slide, visits with Santa, photos with Santa’s babies and much more. But don’t be mistaken!... this is not just a children’s area, it is for ALL the young at heart.

Santa and his Elf are there every night through December 24th with a treat for the children.

Specific Schedule for admissions*
Please note:  Only the admission gate will close at the end time listed here.  The park remains open for those already in at that time so that they can enjoy their time here.  

November 23rd – November 28th
(Saturday-Thursday):  6:00pm – 9:00pm
November 29th (Friday): 6:00pm – 10:00pm
November 30th (Saturday): 6:00pm – 11:00pm
December 1st – 5th (Monday-Thursday): 6:00pm – 9:00pm
December 6th (Friday): 6:00pm – 10:00pm
December 7th (Saturday): 6:00pm – 11:00pm
December 8th – 12th (Sunday – Thursday): 6:00pm – 9:00pm
December 13th (Friday): 6:00pm – 10:00pm
December 14th (Saturday): 6:00pm – 11:00pm
December 15th-19th (Sunday – Thursday): 6:00pm – 10:00pm
December 20th  - 23rd (Friday -Monday): 6:00 PM – 11:00 pm
December 24th – January 4th: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

* Inclement weather:  It is rare that the park closes completely on any night during the Holiday Lights Safari Benefit.  The Park has three separate areas open during the event:  the lights drive-thru (self-drive) plus the bonus areas of Santa’s Village (park and walk) and the Deer Forest (self-drive).  Admission grants you access to all three areas.  In the event of inclement weather, we may need to close Santa’s Village and/or the Deer Forest, but rarely will we close the self-drive lights.  If a partial closure or early closure of admissions is decided prior to 3 PM on any day, we will change our after-hours phone message to reflect the closure.  If the decision is made after that time, we will post that information on the Park’s Facebook Page (embed link). 

Traffic Notes:  When possible, we will open the event at 5:30 PM to better facilitate traffic flow, especially on Friday and Saturday nights in December.  We have had reported wait times of up to 2 hours to get into the Park on those, our busiest nights.  We encourage visitors with limited time for their visit to come early in the evening or plan to come on a weeknight, Sunday through Thursday.  These are also better times to bring small children who tend to get tired early. 

Time:  We get many questions about how long to plan for a visit.  It’s really up to you!  We have groups coming through for just the lights and they plan for about an hour, once they get in.  If you wish to do all three areas, we suggest a 2-3 hour timeframe.  

Holiday Lights Safari Benefit – For rates, click here.