Desert Ridge's Holiday Season Has A Free Side And A Ticketed Side This Year
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
On November 18, the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa opens a walk-through attraction built from 2 million pounds of carved ice. The sculptures show scenes from Elf™, and you need a ticket to get in. Five days later, Desert Ridge Marketplace lights its holiday tree in The District, with Santa photos, live entertainment and a free craft. The evening is free and open to the public.
The resort and the shopping center are Desert Ridge's two holiday anchors, and this year they run on opposite models. The resort charges for its biggest season yet. The Marketplace keeps its main events free to attend, and they take place around a store lineup that is in the middle of a turnover, with one new store open, one due in November and two more still to come.
Jingle at JW runs November 18, 2026, through January 3, 2027. This year's new piece is ice! featuring Elf™. Visitors walk through colossal ice sculptures of scenes from the film, then move on to ice skating and the other activities at Jingle Junction. The resort's Jingle at JW page sells most of the season as separate tickets:
The pricing favors people who stay overnight. Overnight guests get flexible ticket changes, a "Chill Hour" for ice! and Chill Pass skip-the-line access at Jingle Junction. Marriott Bonvoy members can save up to 15% on room nights when they book with two or four tickets to ice! and other select activities.
Desert Ridge residents can drive over, so they'll mostly be day visitors. Day visitors don't get the Chill Hour or the skip-the-line pass. If you're buying tickets from a few minutes away, it makes sense to book early in the run, before the late-December crowds, and to check which time slots are left before promising the kids a specific evening.
Desert Ridge Marketplace runs its holidays the other way. The Annual Holiday Tree Lighting is Monday, November 23, from 6 to 9 p.m., with activities throughout The District. The ceremony is at 7:15 p.m., followed by free Santa photos from 7:30 to 9 p.m., plus live entertainment, strolling characters and a free craft. The event is free and open to the public. From 5 to 6 p.m., before it starts, there is an optional paid VIP/VVIP early-access experience benefiting Phoenix Children's. VIP costs $40 for adults and $5 for kids 4 to 12, and kids 3 and under get in free. VVIP is $300 per reservation for up to six guests, with guaranteed seating. Crafts, activities and photo ops are first come, first served while supplies last. November 23 is the Monday of Thanksgiving week, so the lighting falls just before the long weekend, not on it.
The center also lists free digital photos with Santa on December 6 and December 19, from 1 to 3 p.m. The listing calls December 6 a Saturday, but in 2026 it falls on a Sunday. Check the page before you plan around that date. December 19 is a Saturday.
Earlier in the month, the Marketplace lists the Scottsdale Children's Business Fair for Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
At the resort, Santa photos are one ticket among many. At the Marketplace, they come free with the tree lighting and on two more dates in December. If you mainly want the photo, the Marketplace has three chances at no cost.
What makes this season different at the Marketplace is the store lineup around the tree. In late August, Vestar announced leases for three fashion and value retailers totaling about 33,500 square feet. Greater Phoenix In Business Magazine and KTAR both reported the plans. Here's where each one stood as of mid-October 2026:
| Store | Approximate size | Status as of mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Gap Factory | 8,500 sq ft | Open; listed among the center's "Now Open" stores |
| Ann Taylor Factory | 5,000 sq ft | "Coming Soon"; opening planned for November |
| Sierra | 20,000 sq ft | "Coming Soon"; opening planned for spring 2027 |
Sierra, which KTAR notes was formerly Sierra Trading Post, takes up more floor space than the other two stores combined. It sells off-price outdoor, fitness and apparel goods. It won't open this holiday season, though. Gap Factory is the new store you can shop now, and Ann Taylor Factory may open in time if its November target holds. The center hasn't posted a confirmed opening day for Ann Taylor Factory.
Vestar's leasing lead described the strategy in the announcement KTAR reported:
"These additions reflect our continued focus on curating a dynamic mix of fashion, value and lifestyle experiences that resonate with a wide range of shoppers and further strengthen the destination's appeal in north Phoenix." Jenny Cushing, vice president of leasing at Vestar
Milano Nail Spa also appears on the center's "Coming Soon" list, with no date posted. Taken together, the free events and the new tenants explain this year's Marketplace. The tree lighting brings people into The District at the moment its store mix is changing. Holiday shopping close to home now includes options the center didn't have last year, and a larger store is already signed for spring.
The biggest change for everyday errands is the one still behind construction fencing. In June 2026, AZFamily reported that construction was underway on a Trader Joe's at Desert Ridge Marketplace in the former Joann Fabric and Craft space near Loop 101 and Tatum Boulevard. No opening date had been announced.
That hasn't changed. Trader Joe's own store page for the location, store #320 at 21001 North Tatum Blvd., Suite #1030, still says "Coming Soon!" and gives no date. The Marketplace's own list shows it the same way.
The other new Phoenix Trader Joe's is further along on paper. AZFamily reported the same month that a store at Arcadia Crossing, near 44th Street and Thomas Road, was expected to open in December 2026. No comparable date has been published for Desert Ridge. Until one is, the company's existing Phoenix stores in Ahwatukee, at Paradise Valley Marketplace and in the Biltmore area remain the options for holiday hosting runs. Plan your November grocery trips around those stores, not around a Desert Ridge opening that hasn't been scheduled.
With both sides on one calendar, the ten weeks after Halloween look like this:
Gap Factory is already open for anyone shopping on any of these dates. Sierra and Trader Joe's are still to come: Sierra is set for spring 2027, and Trader Joe's hasn't posted a date.
If you're thinking ahead to the new year while Desert Ridge's retail mix keeps changing, Agent Above can walk you through how nearby openings like these factor into what your home is worth today. Start with an instant home valuation and we'll take it from there.
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