Sever's changes ticket model after huge lines for holiday lights
Credit: Sever's Festivals
Sever's in Shakopee has announced it's making changes to its ticketing model after the opening of its holiday lights drive-thru attraction led to huge lines and long waits.
The drive-through show featuring 1.2 million lights opened on Thanksgiving evening, and over its first two nights the attraction has become overwhelmed.
Previously, those who bought tickets weren't given a set time slot to attend, and could instead show up whenever they like during opening hours.
But that's going to change, with Sever's saying it's now moving its online ticket system to a limited capacity model where buyers choose a date and one of two time slots.
In an email to customers, Sever's said drivers were waiting on average 1-1.5 hours to get into the attraction, and said that with its new ticket model not up and running, Saturday is expected to be similarly busy.
"For those that attended Sever's Holiday Lights this evening, you'll know that we were overwhelmed by the support and excitement for this season's event," Sever's wrote Friday.
"The down side of that overwhelming support is we had more traffic and longer wait times than anticipated. Originally, we wanted to maximize flexibility for our guests in a time that it doesn't seem we have much of it.
"However, after this evening, we've made the decision to move our online ticket system to a limited capacity reservation model where guests choose a date and 1 of 2 time slots."
Those who have already bought tickets without a specific time slot have been told their tickets are still valid and can be used any time the attraction is open, but are advised to mention to staff upon arrival that the tickets were bought before time slots were introduced.
