AT: Tim Baldwin

ELYSBURG, Pa. — From COVID to Christmas, the reimagining of an old park tradition at Knoebels Amusement Resort has since become an even greater one. However, it didn’t come easy.

In 2020, Pennsylvania had some of the more stringent COVID-19 restrictions. As the pandemic started, amusement parks were left wondering if they could even salvage any of their season. Before staff could even be hired, park management was already thinking.

Although the park’s season did begin in July, the financial impact, as felt everywhere, was significant. A decision in the spring to potentially bring a Christmas drive-through event to the resort turned out to be a practical one. For the first year, Knoebels offered Joy Through The Grove.

“It was an idea literally kicked around for 20 years,” said Trevor Knoebel, fourth generation family member. “We did an event for about five years in the ‘90s but with limited success. We had gift shops and a food stand open and we decorated a little bit of the park. It was a lot of work, and after we ended that, we breathed a sigh of relief. There was little return for us. A few years after that, someone wondered if we could do a drive-through someday. Along came the Halloween season, and that took off — industry-wide. We really focused our energy on that.”

It was the pandemic that really made the drive-through idea gel again, particularly after the family had seen numerous light displays the Christmas before. It was decided the timing was right.

“We engaged our electricians and started looking at companies, and Joy Through The Grove was born,” said Knoebel. “And this was a period of time when we didn’t even have our staff back yet.”

Lauren Muscato, fourth-generation family member, is credited with supplying the name. 

“This was not on my docket of responsibilities when I moved back from California, but I enjoy creative projects and it was something that appealed to me personally,” she told Amusement Today. “I love to brainstorm names for things.”

Muscato said close to 100 names were created, but the final decision came down to deciding between Joy To The Grove or Joy Through The Grove. When it came time to enact the layout, she laid out the scenes.

“We knew our guests would have seen other light displays, so we wanted to make sure we did it well,” said Knoebel. “Even in that first year, I was blown away.”

“One of the things that makes ours unique is that we have this campground,” added Muscato. “We have these cozy cabins right at the heart of our drive-through. It looked like a cute Christmas village. It got a lot of feedback. We found out that people didn’t even know we had a campground.”

To no one’s surprise, the first year presented a learning curve.

“I laid everything out by myself that first year. As a team, you can see what works better,” said Muscato. 

“Now we know to do more ahead. Time is of the essence,” said Knoebel. “We’re a little restricted with our Halloween season because we have campers in our campground until the end of October. We’re finding ways to get some things ready that may not be noticed.”

“We also learned how eager our guests were to enjoy the Christmas season but also our snacks,” laughed Muscato. “We were so underprepared on opening night [in 2020]. We expected people to be cautiously spending, but we couldn’t make kettle corn fast enough. They all wanted the biggest snack pack.”

Although the new revenue stream exceeded expectations, attendance during its second year dipped slightly.

“I think [year two] was still successful,” said Jon Slodysko, ride operations manager. “While attendance was slightly lower, what we were able to do was still provide that Knoebels tradition. Now people are coming back year after year in a completely new season. They are tickled that they can drive through the park.”

“[In 2020] there wasn’t much else to do — no shopping, no restaurants, no sporting events,” said Knoebel. “Even though we were down, we were still busier than what we hoped we would be for year one.”

The event continues to grow. Knoebels has made the 2022 version even bigger. With the third year, more displays require more time and pre-planning. The resort has also learned to retain more staff following the Halloween season.

New scenes are being done for 2022, as well as more lighting in outlying cabins along the drive. Knoebels is also implementing newer displays that feature the park’s mascots and rides. A second light tunnel is being added that uses a completely different technology from the first covered bridge.

“It’s going to be like no other tunnel out there,” said Knoebel.

The experience takes about 30 to 40 minutes.

In addition, a Christmas village is open free of charge at Knoebels’ adjacent golf course on weekends and not related to the drive-through experience. Photos with Santa and Kozmo are available, as well as a train display and singing reindeer show. Nickel Plate Bar and Grill and other food options are also open.

This article appears in the  DECEMBER 2022 issue of Amusement Today.
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