LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Who doesn’t love looking at Christmas lights?
Taking in the seasonal displays is a staple of the holiday season.
One of the best spots lighting up the Bluegrass is the Mega Cavern in Louisville.
Better known for offering ziplining adventures, the cave takes on a new look once winter rolls around.
Lights Under Louisville is a tradition that has been 16 years in the making.
“It’s definitely an honor and a privilege. I know a lot of families within the region trust us with this. It’s become a family tradition, so we take that tradition very seriously,” Louisville Mega Cavern executive vice president Charles Park said.
Every year, right after Labor Day, Park leads a small team in adorning the cave with 6.5 million lights through a 1.3-mile stretch of the Mega Cavern.
It takes roughly two months to get everything for folks to drive through and admire all the December décor.
“We have a crew from 15-25 every single day for 5-6 days a week,” Park said. “We have five new themes this year, and we’ve enhanced seven themes from last year.”
From Santa Claus and his elves to Buzz and Woody from Toy Story to the Marvel Avengers squad, more than 900 figures are calling the Mega Cavern home for the season.
Putting it all together is a lot of work, but it never gets old for Charles Park.
His family started the attraction 16 years ago, wanting to brighten things up during a particularly dark and scary time.
“My sister-in-law was actually going into surgery for a rare disease at Standford University. My parents-in-law were getting a little stir-crazy in the hospital. They asked the hospital staff what is there to do, what’s around here. They said go to this Christmas light show,” Park said. “They said, why not bring a Christmas light show to Louisville, and here it is. Here we are at lights under Louisville.”
More than a decade later, the cave has never been brighter.
Park prides himself on being able to expand on the trail every year.
From inflatables accompanying the lights to a laser light show finale as drivers pull back out into civilization.
“One of the things we really look at is how do we now enhance and how do we top the previous year’s experience and that’s what we really look forward to,” Park said.
The Mega Cavern is located at 1841 Taylor Avenue in Louisville.
If you want to get tickets to Lights Under Louisville, click here.
