Guide to IlumiOcean in Dana Point (7 more days left!)

Guide to IllumiOcean in Dana Point!

Nov. 24 – Jan. 4

Over winter break, my kids and I visited the new IllumiOcean holiday lights display presented by The Resorts of Dana Point.  If I could choose one word to describe IllumiOcean, I would say it was unique.

Dana Point’s IlluminOcean electrifies the world famous Dana Point Harbor with 40 nights of holiday lights.  The wonderland by the sea features a brilliant spectacle of 18 oversized lighting sculptures with over 225,000 LED lights, and is free to the public for viewing nightly from sundown to 10pm on weeknights and 11pm on weekends.

From octopus and sharks, starfish and surfers, frolicking fish, leaping dolphins, and enchanted mermaids, the dazzling displays are highlighted by a towering glow-motion tree and light tunnels stretching longer than a football field and over a dozen gigantic lighted sculptures – some so large, visitors can walk through them to include the inside of a glowing 40-foot Blue whale’s belly!  (source: www.danapoint.org)

My family found IlluminOcean to be a refreshing and original take on the traditional holiday light display.  It was as if a marine biologist designed and built it from the ground up.  Overall, they used over 4,000 pounds of steel and 23 miles of glowing LED light strands.  It was beautiful!

Here are a few tips when visiting IllumiOcean:

• FREE parking is available at the Dana Point Harbor.
• It took us approximately 40 minutes to see all the lights.
• A stroller is helpful if you have younger children.
• To see ALL the lights, you need to start walking at the beginning of the harbor (where the restaurants are located) to the very end where the main light display is located (by the Ocean Institute).
• Dress in layers and bring a jacket.  It gets very cold near the ocean at night.
• As an added bonus, you can try and pick up some FREE 3D glasses at select harbor stores along the way.  However, they are hard to come by.  Better yet, bring your own!