LOUSIVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The holidays are over, and it's lights out for Lights Under Louisville.
The Louisville Mega Cavern welcomed a record number of visitors for Lights Under Louisville this year with more than 200,000 people.
“It's one of the Top-10 USA Today light shows in the U.S.,” Louisville Mega Cavern Executive Vice President Charles Park said.
Mega Cavern officials wouldn’t reveal how much money the light show brought in, but a standard vehicle was $27, the Christmas express was $20 per person, and the Christmas Priority pass was $49.99 per standard vehicle.
The longest wait for Lights Under Louisville in 2018 was two and a half hours, which was down from the year before, Park said.
“We get people from everywhere coming from California, from Texas, from Ohio, from Indiana, from West Virginia,” he said.
WDRB News went underground to see how crews tear down the more than 3 million light bulbs.
“It was a labor of love, for sure,” Director of Group Sales and Events Sarah Harris said.
There are 15 people working on breaking down the fixtures. Crews started on Thursday, and it will take them one month to complete.
“The great thing about the Mega Cavern is we also have a warehousing side to the business,” Park said. “So we store it in our warehouses.”
There’s one full-time employee who works year-round to fix any broken lights for next year.
“We actually have one person on staff all year long who will be just be replacing and repairing light bulbs for the next Christmas season,” Park said.
Park promises changes to the show for next year but wouldn’t reveal his plans.
“This was our 10th year, and for the 11th year, we have a couple things up our sleeves,” Park said. “We are really excited about the [new] Christmas Express and the Winter Wonderland. We are waiting to blow it out next year.”
Once the lights are put away, the offseason doesn't last long. Crews will start setting up again in August for next Christmas.
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