I'm surprised the average review is so low. I came this year for the first time and LOVED it. Free and easy parking, and more lights than I ever could have imagined. There was so much to see and enjoy and I really loved the experience. Concessions were available throughout, though the stand my friends went to was running out of items. My two surprises: 1) They were still playing Christmas music in January 2) the Friday of MLK weekend was the last night. I could easily see this experience going to at least Valentine's Day (with different music). All this to say... I loved it and would definitely go again. I went to a similar event in LA at a botanical garden and it PALED in comparison to the Phoenix Zoo Lights read more

Zoolights - Zoos Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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This was such a wonderful time. The amount of lights and different designs they have is so fun. It seems they have updated and improved since previous times. My favorite part is that they played the classic Christmas music ! It was the perfect wrap up to the holidays. I really love that they have this even after the holidays because there's always so many other things going on during that time. Not having to rush and still enjoy this with Christmas music still was truly wonderful. We went 2 weeks after Christmas on a Wednesday at 800pm and it was perfect. Not crowded, peaceful. It took us about an hour to complete going at a casual mod pace, taking pics. If you want to see some of the shows they offer then definitely worth arriving more towards opening and planning to spend a few hours. Parking easy and plentiful, no stress Again this is after the holidays so I can't speak for the time before that seems it can get pretty busy Recommend for any age, a date, or even enjoying a stroll by yourself The price can be a bit steep coming from the zoo directly so maybe shop around a bit. "Get your guide" offered it 10$ cheaper total. I can't wait for next year read more

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This is our second year attending Zoolights, and it's quickly becoming a Thanksgiving tradition for us. I originally learned about it through SRP (my electric company) and have been lucky enough to use their BOGO offer each year -- such a great perk! This time we brought my boyfriend's family, who were visiting for Thanksgiving week. His sister has a 17-year-old and twin 12-year-olds... and honestly, keeping teens entertained these days is an Olympic sport, but they loved it. They were genuinely in awe of all the lights and displays. His parents, who are in their 70s, were equally impressed -- especially by the light show. You can tell how much effort goes into creating everything, and it really shows. The doors opened at 5:30pm, so you won't see many animals out at night, which is totally understandable. Just keep in mind this is truly a Zoolights event -- if you want to see the animals, plan for a daytime pass or a membership visit. Overall, it's a fantastic experience for locals and visitors. Just wear comfy shoes or plan a few sitting breaks -- the property is pretty big! We all left feeling festive, cozy, and definitely in the holiday spirit. read more

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A nice stroll through the doesn't area of the zoo with lights and animal lanterns throughout the zoo. They had good and drinks available for purchase. It took us more than 2 hours to get through and we still didn't see all the lights in the zoo. It was a fun experience and so nice to not have to wear heavy winter coats and freeze seeing the lights. If you have Sam's membership, they have discounted tickets available for the zoolights and regular zoo admissions read more

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Great kid friendly event with awesome light displays! Parking was a little difficult, I would recommend coming a little early in order to avoid traffic and waiting in long lines to park. read more

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We go to zoolights every year! It's better to go earlier in the season if crowds bother you like they do me, but otherwise it's a perfect nighttime outing. They make a lot of accommodations for parking too so even on busy nights when the zoo lot is full, they have free parking just down the road. They add new lights every year and I think each year gets better and better. There's also attractions you can pay additionally for, which I usually don't do, but they have stuff like bounce houses, camel rides, carousel, hot chocolate, etc. read more

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Great way to enjoy the holiday lights. The zoo is covered in lights and illuminated animal decorations help to bring the excitement. Don't expect to see live animals, some are out on display but there are no lights inside the enclosures so spotting them can be difficult. Instead joy the festive environment and running into friends you haven't seen in a while. Great place for groups or a company nighttime event. read more

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Always an amazing time year each year! This is my 3rd year going as my company will rent out the zoo for the night for our Christmas event! Right when we walk in they scan our private event tickets. There's a gift shop to the right and a place to rent wheelchairs or electric scooter. Once in we usually make our way to the carousel so the kids can use the ride tickets that the company provides. I was sad to see that we missed the reveal of the new carousel upgrade. There are plenty of places to get hot chocolate or other food items for sale. It's beautiful as you walk around and see the different Animal lights, but none of the animals are out at night. One year, we were lucky to see them feeding the elephants. It's a lot of walking and it can get a bit chilly at night. So you might wanna bring a jacket. We bring a wagon just in case the kids get tried from all the walking. This year they had lighted swings for the kids to swing on. The line was too long. They also didn't have the camels out to ride as the year before they did. It started to rain around 9:30 so we rushed out of there as soon as the thunder and lighting hit. Parking is free and there's plenty of it. They even have a EV charging station available. Look forward to next year! read more

Zoolights - Christmas light tree in middle of lake that turns into a musical light show! - Zoos Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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I had so much fun! We went in at 1:30/2 ish and had plenty of time to see everything. We went on a Monday so a lot of the activities were closed, but we got to feed the giraffes! It was so fun and all the employees working in that section was so kind. I do think it was crazy to charge $18 for two people to feed the giraffes when the tickets alone were $75. We ran into Shannon, he was giving us such great details about the big cats such as the mountain lions and jaguars. read more

Zoolights is such a wonderful event! The lights, the animals, the hot cocoa! Music is the background as you enjoy the show! The lights are so beautiful and the views are gorgeous! Beyond that, the hot chocolate is amazing! If you go at 540, it'll be early enough so you can see some of the animals! Near the camels. there is a whole section where you can sit at a fire and make s'mores with your family read more

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Atmosphere - It was quite festive despite being early in the season. I liked that it wasn't too crowded early in the night. After a while it did get more crowded and we bumped into more people standing in the middle of the lane, taking photos, or just the kids generally roaming around. There were restrooms available here and there, but I didn't visit any of them. Near the lake you can see the light show on the tree in the lake with lights in time with the music. Food: I didn't buy anything there, but it looked like they had a hot chocolate station, a s'mores station, and other food shops open for people to purchase food. Service - There were many employees. The service to get into the event was quick and friendly. They scanned our QR code and we were ready to go. There are employees along the trail to make sure people don't go into unauthorized areas and don't come out of any too. Parking - Was crowded. No signage or landmarks in the parking lot to help you find your car again later. No parking meters or parking structures. No shaded spots available. If during a summer day, your car will be HOT in the summer. Future - May come back. Have been to this event before. Saw some photos on Yelp of lights I didn't see this time around or previously. Didn't know they sometimes change a few of the lights. Some of the lights I did recognize from prior years. I don't like seeing the Halloween lights during the later holiday season after October. They don't give off the right vibe for December. Didn't get to see the elephant in prior years. Great for some evening walking. It was nice to see. read more

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Zoolights are so lovely. This has been our 5th visit since it's existence. Our nephew's amazing girlfriend volunteers here and invited us this year for a little Zoolight adventure with our girls. It was their last night of the season. Parking was a breeze. Walking up and downhill was a treat. Very accessible for wheelchairs and mobility scooter. Wide blacktop walking path throughout. Colorful lights are always fun to walk and see, plus bonus exercise. Great family or date night. For those with food allergies, you're best off to bring your own food and drink if needed. It is allowed. They are not set up to accommodate allergies, nor have knowledge of ingredients. I was told by one of 4 areas you can grab a snack, that the kettle corn was cooked in soy oil, so that is all I could find out. No biggie for us. We don't expect anyone to, and we always come prepared. Staff is nice. It was a treat having a guided tour of someone who works there so we didn't miss anything including animal sightings at night. And interesting tidbits. Our girls enjoyed the carousel, and camel ride. They are so good to the animals here and put a lot into their zoo. Definitely will be coming back to see the animals during the day. Never mind splurging a bit as the money goes to a good cause in the shop. You can see the plane land at the airport, yet not hear them. A lovely night out with family. We thought we would be in and out in 2 hours. We were there just over 3 and could have stayed longer, but had school and work early the following day. read more

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Had a great time. Just know you will not see any animals but the lights are nice. Is it worth the money probably not for $35 per person. That's probably hard for a family of four. Kids around us seemed entertained so that's all that mattered. read more

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We decided to visit ZooLights with our friends after not going for several years! It was a fantastic experience, and our friends, who had never been before, absolutely loved it! The lights were stunning, and the atmosphere was just right! The weather was perfect and it wasn't overly crowded! We did feel like there were many more lights and trees in previous years, but since we hadn't been in a while we weren't sure. We definitely had a great time and can't wait to go back next year! We may make just this a new annual tradition! read more

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This is our second time to the Phoenix zoo lights, and we've always enjoyed walking in the night around the zoo. We went during the holiday season, and it was packed. Every year the zoo is lit up with the festive decorations and light, complimenting the zoo. This year they had beautiful light fixtures of animals. We love the arch way with coordinated music and lights. The whole atmosphere is festive and a perfect activity with family and kids. Definitely recommend stroller for young kids. They have a nice carousel at the end which is a highlight. The ticket is a little pricey given there's not much other than the lights. Otherwise a great activity for all read more

Zoolights - Zoos Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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This was my first time visiting ZooLights during the holidays in quite some time. It was a holiday tradition for my family to go here for many years. I had taken a break to try some other holiday attractions in the Valley. I was quite impressed with how much ZooLIghts has evolved since my last visit. There are more lights and displays. There is also more space to walk around which is a good thing because this place can get packed! The Phoenix Zoo started doing ZooLights in 1992 with a few hundred thousand lights. It starts around the week of Thanksgiving and runs through mid-January in the evenings. Today they have grown to over 4 millions lights. They have displays, a floating tree that does a synchronized light show with music, a play area for kids, a s'mores station, and concession stands with food and hot cocoa. Some new things I saw this year was this cool 200-foot-long light tunnel and a glow garden. One thing about ZooLIghts is that you don't actually see any real animals because most of them are asleep. But most of the light displays are in the shape of animals and they have lanterns in the shape of various wildlife that light up. The Phoenix Zoo is still open during the day while ZooLights is going on. I personally have been visiting this zoo since I was a kid. The Phoenix Zoo is a non-profit zoo and was established in 1962 in Papago Park. They have over 3,000 animals that include tigers, lions, elephants, Komodo dragons, monkeys and giraffes. I had a nice time visiting ZooLights this year and enjoyed many of the new additions. Overflow parking is at Phoenix Municipal Stadium if you can't find a spot. It is about a 5-10 minute walk to the Zoo from there. read more

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This was my first time attending ZooLights, I always imagined it was for little kids. It's totally appropriate for all ages. So many cool things to see all over the zoo, there are lots of flashing and twinkly lights everywhere. The zoo was appropriately lit for a night walk on uneven surfaces. The colors and holiday music made this a magical experience. Lots of walking, decent crowd for a Friday night. Parking was packed. Definitely bring your patience and enjoy the experience. There was a good mix of families, couples on dates, friend groups in all ages. read more

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I haven't been to zoo lights in ages. Last night I met my daughter and granddaughter there and I was so impressed by how well the zoo light experience was run and the beautiful displays. I have to say the weather was perfect for strolling along the lit pathways listening to Christmas music and sipping hot cocoa. There are some vendors for food, snacks and assorted beverages. Also they have an entire area for roasting marshmallows and making smores. It was a very enjoyable night and definitely recommend this for families and our out of town visitors. read more

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Thank you to Yelp and Zoolights for the tickets to Zoologhts 2023! It was a very fun experience. We went early in the evening with some light from the sun setting for part of it which made it even more scenic. The map close to the entrance was helpful for finding which ways to go. The lights are pretty. Some animals were out which was cool looking for them. The lake light show was neat to see, and we found an area with some chairs to watch it from. It was very well done and a nice way to spend Christmas Eve evening. Also, parking flowed very well. I was impressed with that! read more

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So nostalgic coming to zoolights as I havent been in years and I remember as a kid they didnt have those cool animals that look like blow up statue things but theyre lanterns! Theyre really cool and definitely add to the zoo light experience. I also like the little igloo section with lighted swings. Such a cool opportunity to attend, thank you to YELP and Phoenix Zoo. I would recommend it for a cute date night or something fun for your little ones to enjoy. I would also recommend going early as the zoo parking lot was full and we had to park further away and had quite a walk to get to the zoo. Loved seeing the beautiful new display of lights and lanterns since I've last been. read more

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I've been to zoolights three times now thanks to my realtor who hosts an event with free entrance each year. It's a fun and festive way to spend an hour or two. It's a lot of walking and not many animals are visible, but we did get to see an elephant this time around. This year we splurged and did the s'mores experience. It's pricey for what you get and they limit you to 20 minutes, but my mom really wanted to roast marshmallows so we did it. Dress warm and be prepared to walk! read more

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This is a great holiday experience that is fun for the whole family. The lights are great and the lake show beautiful. It is easy to see everything in about 2 hours. The animals are all away for the evening so just be prepared to not see any. It is crowded and parking can be a bit of a struggle if you get there right at opening, but just come a little early and you will be fine. read more

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As a tourist from the other side the country, I'd never heard of the Zoo Lights until the family I'm visiting suggested it. What a wonderful experience! We went on the low sensory night, where the volume of music is lower and most of the flashing displays are steady lighting instead to minimize stimulation. This is reserved with tickets and supposed to be limited to people with a need for lower stimulation. That said, it's on the honor system and based on the large number of people running around and being quite loud, not real heavily enforced. Still, it was nice to have the displays toned down. As for the displays themselves: how wonderful! I'm in awe of the amount of labor and planning that went into this! My favorite part is all the trees wrapped down to the individual branches, and some of them are huge. I can't imagine how much work that took. There's music, tons of very detailed lanterns, and of course you can still see a few of the animals. There was even an area to make s'mores over fire pits (though we didn't partake.) This is a great holiday activity for adults and children alike! read more

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Beautiful lights! Well attended. I have been to many around the world. It was very popular and well attended. I enjoyed the video/live animal show. I wish they zoom into the animals. We did get to see a hyena in its enclosure. The lights were so pretty. I am glad I came! read more

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Zoolights 455 N Galvin Pkwy Phoenix, AZ January 14, 2022 Drink: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Portion size: 5/5 Visit: Brought my family for ZooLights, wanted to bring Val to get hot chocolate and walk to see animals. Drink: Starbucks "hot chocolate" very thick and made the walk worth it. Service: walk in, great experience had free tickets through SRP only problem was during this trip you will not see any animals just lights and made up animals, dinosaurs. read more

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Beautiful light display! Lots of things to see and vivid colors captivating the kiddos. Would have been nice to incorporate more actual animal sightings but I suppose they need their rest too! Things can get very expensive from $6-8 cocoa etc but that's to be expected with any "attraction" outing. It's crowded! You want to wear good shoes, dress warmly, and have a side of patience. Whomever adorned the park with all the lights deserves some praise. Thank you! read more

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Well, they changed the admission to $30 prepay this year. The changes at the Zoo Lights don't warrant the increase. The show in the middle of the Lake was pretty bad with only the tree having any fun. The discovery trail was only average as well. They added lights they said, but didn't notice. read more

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The only reason I took away one star is because I feel like it's a little bit pricey. With a zoo membership, it is still $25 a person, so a family of 4 pay $100. We got there right at 5:30 and had to wait in line for about 10 minutes to get inside because it seems like we're not the only ones who got there right as it opened. if you are hoping to see a lot of animals, this event is really about the light shows. we did to see hyenas, lions, rhinos, and maybe a few other animals in the two hours we were there. The merry-go-round is very fun at night for the kids. we snagged a hot chocolate while we were walking around. We sat and watched the light show on the lake two different times. We are very frequent zoo visitors (we went three times over things break) so it was easy to navigate to as we know our way around the zoo very well. I would suggest checking out the main predator passage and doing that loop as well as the Arizona read more

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Always great but expensive this year, $30 with $5 discount per person. However, worth the experience and they did have at least 2 animal encounter shows. read more

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This was the best light display I've seen in a while. Bring a good pair of walking shoes because there is so much a seat and you won't want to miss any of it. Being from Tucson, this was a really fun thing to do while visiting family in Phoenix. We went on a Friday, but it wasn't too crowded as we showed up a little later (9pm) so I think that gave space for all the crowds and families to come and go. Overall, this is ways were really well done and worth the entrance fee! read more

Zoo lights, Arizona style. Synchronize lights and music and we heard the lion roar. Love my friends and family I am blessed! I WOULD RECOMMEND. read more

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We've lived in AZ for over 9 years. Thanks to a friend, we were able to go to Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. Definitely worth it! But, make sure to wear comfortable shoes if you want to see over 3 million lights. read more

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Phoenix Zoo lights was a lovely evening. I have wanted to go for years. It was not quite what we expected. I thought there would be more lights throught the park. It seems there were areas where there were a lot of lights and then no lights while walking until another area with a lot of lights. It was hard to know where you were going in the dark. Suggestion: light up the directional sign posts!! Put ground lights along the path. $27 for three hot chocolates? Come on! I did like the smores area. Put in more of those!! The worst part was parking. I expected it to be busy, however this was crazy. You have had this event for years, why can't you figure out how to handle parking? It took 40 minutes to park in a long line of cars being forced to drive though the entire lot and out the other side as we passed several open spaces, only to be directed to additional parking accross the street. You need better parking management and better signs on the streets outside the park.​ read more

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I came for the camel ride but ended up seeing a plethora of Christmas lights. They were ok but it was overcrowded and overpriced. Not a good place for small children. They don't run the camel rides at night so it was overall a dispointment. read more

I'm glad we walked through Zoolights today for I hear the weekends are crazy busy!  It was pretty packed even when we arrived this evening at 5:50 pm, 20 mins after they opened.  We were directed to park in the closest available spots which were in the second lot.  With an older teenager and two adults, we were able to make it through in 75 mins.  If you have little ones or older ones, be sure to allot time for their traveling speed.  We've visited frequent years prior and I guess it is past my kids age for peak enjoyment.  I'm happy we had two complimentary tickets, so if anything we enjoyed a nice walk in the cool 54 degree evening before it began to rain at 7:17 pm.  We walked to our vehicle and saw that the third tier parking lot was full as well  as lots 2 and 1.   There was many, many more people walking/ driving up to enter as we departed.  BUSY! read more

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We have attended ZooLights since its inception. When Cruise Zoolights became available during Covid, we started attending that way. We had always enjoyed ourselves and got into the holiday spirit. The prices for the drive through have always been on the high end, but I think that this year was the most expensive yet at $150 per car. We would have been okay with that, except the display really lacked. It seemed like half the lights that it used to have, and nothing that was overly special. I was disappointed this year, and found the kettle corn to be the best part! Maybe not everything was set up yet?? On a positive note, the staff were all friendly and helpful! Better luck next year. read more

Lights and on premise experience is nice. Parking and quick access to food/drink needs a as lot of process improvement. Getting out of parking lot is a nightmare read more

Fun night out with the girls! The light displays are very impressive and so much fun to look at. Endless photo opportunities throughout the entire zoo. You can easily spend 2 hours there enjoying the lights. Definitely family friendly and pretty much all their snack/food areas were up and running. We got there around 7pm and the parking was busy but we found a spot easily. If you are looking for something Christmas-ey to do, go see the light! read more

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5 stars for the efforts and zoolights. 4 stars for the schedule. Tips: avoid Friday night and weekend. 7:30pm and 10:30pm will be a better time to tour, to avoid crazy crowds. read more

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Zoo lights is always nice to enjoy the lights and time with family and friends. Plenty of activities for the littles to keep them busy. Parking was a breeze, they had it set up very nice. read more