Christmas at the Princess 2026: The Scottsdale Holiday Limo Guide

Six Weeks, Sixty-Five Acres, Seventeen Million Lights

Christmas at the Princess returns to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess for its 17th season, running November 20, 2026 through January 2, 2027.

It is the largest holiday spectacle in the Southwest, and the numbers are genuinely absurd: 17 million lights across 65 acres, with two miles of them wrapped around the four-story tree in the Enchanted Plaza.

There is a 6,000-square-foot outdoor ice rink with real ice. There is a 120-foot Ferris wheel — the largest traveling wheel in the country. There is a train, an Elf Academy, two separate Santa experiences and 128 fire tables and igloos.

What there is not, on a December Saturday, is parking.

The Arrival Is Half the Evening

This is a resort event at a resort address, and everyone arrives in roughly the same two-hour window.

A chauffeured arrival skips all of it. You are dropped at the entrance, the vehicle disappears, and your night starts at the tree instead of in a shuttle line.

At the end, there is no cold walk across a dark lot with tired kids or a sleeping toddler. You text your driver and the vehicle comes to you.

Know the Hours Before You Book the Pickup

• Monday–Thursday: 5–10 p.m.
• Friday–Sunday: 4–11 p.m.
• December 17 onward: daily, 4–11 p.m.

Weeknights in late November are the calmest the event ever gets. The stretch between December 17 and New Year's is the busiest, and it is worth building an extra half hour into the plan.

Three Ways Valley Groups Actually Do This Night

The family evening. A sprinter or SUV from Gilbert, Chandler or Mesa, arriving at 5 p.m. for the rink and the train before the youngest one fades. Car seats are no problem — just tell us how many.

The adults-only version. Chateau Champagne, the S'mores Chalet, the fire tables and the Ferris wheel at night, with a party bus that keeps the champagne going both directions.

The corporate holiday party. Round up the team from a Phoenix or Tempe office, run everyone out together, and skip the annual conversation about who is driving. Hourly charters start at $150 per hour; all-day and evening charters start at $2,000.

Pairing It With the Rest of a Scottsdale Holiday Night

The Princess is in North Scottsdale, which puts it a short ride from some of the best dining in the state.

Plenty of groups book dinner first, then arrive at the resort around 7 p.m. when the lights have fully taken over and the daytime crowd has thinned.

Others flip it — lights early, then Old Town Scottsdale for a nightcap. With a chauffeur on the clock, either order works and nobody has to re-park.

Where We Pick Up

We run to the Princess from across the metro: Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Peoria, Glendale, Cave Creek, Carefree and Anthem.

Point-to-point transfers start at $500. If your group wants the vehicle to wait through the evening, an hourly charter is usually the better value.

Book Early — This One Sells the Fleet Out

Christmas at the Princess is a six-week event, but demand is not spread evenly across those six weeks. December weekends and the week between Christmas and New Year's go first, and they go months ahead.

Advance tickets to the event itself are discounted up to 30 percent, so booking the transportation and the tickets in the same sitting is the smart move.

Call (602) 866-7777 or start a booking inquiry with your date, group size and pickup city.

Seventeen million lights deserve a better entrance than the overflow lot.