L.A. Zoo Lights is back once again for all to enjoy! It’s the Los Angeles Zoo’s fourth year in a row to host this stunning extravaganza. This past Friday, my family attended the opening night festivities & we were thoroughly wowed by it all!
After we went through the L.A. Zoo entrance gates, we were amazed by the beautiful Christmas tree in the zoo’s entryway.
We made our way over to the Reindeer Village where we saw Rudolph’s friends taking a nap. 😉 A zookeeper was on hand to explain some reindeer fun facts to the crowd. After listening for a few moments, we decided to buy some hot cocoa & churros from the booth near the reindeer exhibit.
From there we headed on over to the Luminous LAIR, where my daughter begged us to go inside to look at the snakes, lizards & other insects. At this time of night, most of the L.A. Zoo’s animal residents are asleep. However, there are a few that are awake such as the ones at the LAIR.
Just a short distance from the LAIR lies a photo opp area with Santa in the “North Pole.” Note: For an additional fee, your family can meet Santa & take pics with him. Check the zoo website, as Santa is only available on certain dates. Although we didn’t have time to meet with Santa, we did check out the Lightscapes Water Show that was visible to us from the bridge area near Santa. The music & lights show is so spectacular (the photo below doesn’t do it justice) and it’s really something that you MUST see in person!
The dazzling lights all around the L.A. Zoo are amazing – from the Glow Frogs, to the “Deck the Halls with Disco Balls” forest & the carousel.
(Photo credit: Jamie Pham)
However our favorite part of L.A. Zoo Lights was walking through the Twinkle Tunnel.
To view the Twinkle Tunnel, you have two options – to walk through the tunnel (there is a line but it seemed to move at a pretty good rate) or to look from the lane.
As we walked through the tunnel, it reminded me a lot of The Broad’s “Infinity Mirrors” exhibit – only it was outdoors & you got to experience it for a longer period of time.
During the days, our SoCal temps are somewhat warm but in the evening the temperature drops. It was fun to spend a nice, chilly LA evening outdoors, bundled in jackets, sipping on a hot chocolate while taking in the spectacular sights & sounds of L.A. Zoo Lights. All in all, it was a blast & I highly recommend this family-friendly event!
L.A. Zoo Lights 2017 presents a “Preview Week” with discounted admission of $10 for all ages (under 2 free), available online only for November 17 to 22 dates, an unlimited-visits Season Pass, exclusive HOLIDAY HAPPY HOURS for ages 21-and-up on December 7 and 14 and a popular FAMILY NEW YEAR’S EVE for all ages. Tickets for members of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association are $10 during the entire run, the deepest member discount ever offered. Memberships are available for purchase at www.lazoo.org/membership.
L.A. Zoo Lights is open in the evenings (6-10pm) starting now through January 7th. It’s closed November 23, December 24 & 25. Visit the L.A. Zoo Lights website for more information.
Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I attended a media event which helped facilitate this review. All images are mine unless otherwise noted. As always, my opinions are 100% my own.
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