From Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Georgia to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., theme parks that remain open through the Christmas season are touting the use of LED holiday lighting.
Six Flags, in Alpharetta, Ga., teamed up with Christmas Lights Etc. to install two giant LED Christmas trees. The two also used LED holiday lights to replace some strands of traditional holiday lighting, according to a press release.
The Six Flags Discovery Kingdom now is on par with two sister locations - Six Flags The Great Escape and Six Flags Fiesta Texas - in using giant LED-lit Christmas trees. All three use 60-foot-tall Giant Everest Commercial Christmas Trees that each feature 8,000 LED lights.
Six Flags expects to save 80 percent in energy costs for each strand of incandescent Christmas lights replaced with LEDs.
In Branson, the hillbilly-themed Silver Dollar City is noted for its holiday lighting displays. In total, the park strings up more than 4 million lights.
One of the main features is the giant LED Christmas tree that is coordinated with a music show.
Consumer Reports in November compared the energy efficiency of LED holiday lights versus the traditional variety, finding that a string of LED lights uses 1 to 3 kilowatt hours of energy, compared to 12 to 105 kWh for incandescents.
