Christmas at the princess
Christmas at the Princess is a ticketed holiday festival at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is a night event on the resort grounds, not a royal household.
How it works
The resort dresses its campus for the season and sells evening admission to the public. You buy a ticket and, separately, parking unless you are staying overnight or using a package that already includes them. Wristbands are issued from the QR code in the confirmation mail. Overnight hotel guests receive admission and VIP Express Lane access for listed attractions; that express lane is not sold on its own, and it does not cover ice skating or photos with Santa.
For 2026 the official dates are nightly from 20 November 2026 through 2 January 2027. Published hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday, with later December shifting to daily evening hours as the resort posts that year. Children aged three and under enter without a fee. Everyone older needs a ticket. The event is cashless. It is listed as rain or shine. Santa, on the resort’s own FAQ, is not there after Christmas Eve.
The grounds are about 65 acres. One evening can cover a lot of it if you arrive at opening; the resort itself suggests two evenings or a stay if you do not want to rush. This is desert winter, not a mountain village. Days can be mild. Nights drop. Ice is manufactured. The date of Christmas Day remains 25 December. The festival simply brackets it.
What a ticket is, and what it is not
General admission is the walk-through: lights, character areas, the listed shows and trains that the wristband covers that season. Ice skating at Desert Ice is a separate Ice Pass: skate hire and skating in timed sessions as capacity allows. Photos with Santa are their own booking on top of admission. Fire tables and igloos are reservations that include admission, and in the fire-table case valet parking, with check-in rules of their own. Read the item you paid for. A pretty map is not a receipt.
Buy tickets and parking from the official event sale, not from a reseller. Resale tickets are stated as void. Admission and parking are separate purchases unless a package says otherwise. Arrive at opening if you want the whole site without a sprint.
Book dining ahead; the resort asks for about a month on the signature rooms. Service dogs are the pets allowed on the event grounds. Overnight guests have a separate hotel pet policy. You can dine at the resort without joining the festival: valet staff issue a different wristband for that. You cannot bring outside food onto the event. You cannot assume a stroller-free path on a packed Saturday. Height rules on rides run from 36 to 54 inches depending on the ride. Ice skating requires that the skater can stand unassisted; walkers are not provided.
A warm-weather Christmas, on purpose
Scottsdale in late November is not New England. People come because the lights and the ice sit in a climate that does not require a parka at noon. Bring a layer for night anyway. Blankets are allowed. Umbrellas appear on fire tables if rain arrives. Lightning can pause rides. A weather forecast is not a refund. Date changes, when offered, carry a fee and depend on space.
Self-parking follows signs onto Cottage Terrace; valet is the hotel front drive. Rideshare has a marked drop. Construction around parking can send evening visitors to an overflow lot in a given year — follow the staff on the night you go, not a blog from a previous season. The official site is christmasattheprincess.com. Hours, prices, and which attractions run belong there for the night on your ticket.
In the Sonoran Desert, snow is an attraction you pay to stand on. The date of Christmas is still the 25th, and it does not care how many lights are in the lagoon. If you wanted a church service, a city market, or a walk-through farm of lights in another state, this is the wrong princess. If you wanted an evening on a Scottsdale resort campus with a wristband, this is the one. Match the year on the ticket to the year you travel. Last season’s map is a souvenir.
Questions and answers
- Where is it?
- At the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is a public, ticketed festival on the resort grounds.
- When does the 2026 season run?
- Nightly from 20 November 2026 through 2 January 2027. Confirm hours for your date on the official event pages.
- Do hotel guests need a separate ticket?
- Overnight stays during the event include admission and VIP Express access as the resort describes that package. Ice skating and Santa photos are still extra. Day visitors buy tickets.
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