Copper thieves force Winter Magic to move to Northland

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Halloween may have only been October 31st, but on November 1st it was already starting to look a lot like Christmas in Kansas City.

Winter Magic opened Friday in a new home, Platte Purchase Park. Now in its fifth year, this exhibit has been a bit eventful, but the owner and park officials hope they have the perfect spot this year.

Work began on August 15 to prepare hundreds of Christmas displays with more than two million LED lights in Platte Purchase Park.

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Some might say November 1 is a little early for Christmas lights, but that’s not true for young Weston, who defeated Kansas City First District Councilman Nathan Willett with the light switch and officially opened Winter Magic before running to remove all the lights. to see. Others would then follow by car.

“Everyone needs to be in the Christmas spirit,” said Brian Mamerow, one of the park’s first visitors.

Winter Magic has operated one display in Bonner Springs and another in Kansas City for the past four years. It’s been moved from Swope Park, where they dealt with traffic issues, to Cliff Drive and Kessler Park, where copper thief Grinches took a bite out of the fun.

“I think it’s at home, we’ve been through a few different ones and there’s always something that stands out during installation that seems to become a problem, and we just really haven’t had it here (at Platte Purchase Park),” said Winter Magic owner Skylar O’Dell.

They expect about 20,000 cars in the next two months.

“We tell people if you don’t want to wait in line at all, come before Thanksgiving. But we shortened the number of slots this year to speed up the queue so that people don’t get angry while waiting in line. We have done everything we can to make sure we turn on lights before they get to the ticket line.”

Winter Magic features the longest animated light tunnel in the Midwest with displays dedicated to the 12 days of Christmas, a toy workshop, Kansas City and more.

“It’s exciting to have something like this, allowing families to enjoy the holiday magic. Lights are exciting, from the Plaza Lights south of the river to the park lights here in the Northland. It’s an exciting time at Christmas in Kansas City, you can’t beat it,” Willett said.

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Winter Magic is open every evening at 6pm from now until January 5th. The park is located on US 169, at the NW 100th Street exit on Platte Purchase Drive.

Tickets can be purchased online. Prices range from $20 per carload Monday through Thursday, Friday and Sunday for $30, to $40 on Saturday evenings.

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