LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow (2023)
Want to know how to enjoy LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow? We’ve got you covered with all the details!
Animals Aglow is an annual night time event at the LA Zoo and this year’s dates have been announced!
Planning A Trip? Use Our Favorite Resources Below!
👉🏼 Accommodations
👉🏼 Tours/Experiences
👉🏼 Flights
👉🏼 Car Rentals
LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow
This year’s winter event at the LA Zoo is called LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow.
The event runs from November 17th – January 7th.
Getting To The LA Zoo
The LA Zoo is located in the Griffith Park area, across from The Autry Museum of the American West.
You can take Metro line 96 here from Burbank and Downtown LA, with free parking at the downtown Burbank station.
If you’re driving, take the Zoo Drive exit if you’re on the 5 or the 134.
Weekdays are generally less busy and cheaper to visit, so if at all possible, try for those days.
The Animals
One thing we love about this event is that you can still see a lot of the animals in the evening.
So you’re getting a 2-for-1 deal with zoo tickets + attending a holiday event.
I had never been to the LA Zoo before.
So this was my first time seeing what all they had.
We were able to see some of the elephants.
But it was too dark for them to show up in photos.
Here is one animal that actually did show up on camera!
Of course with the zoo being the backdrop of the event, many of the LA Zoo Lights were animal themed.
They had a lot of good ones that were very vibrant and made for great photo ops.
They were also spread all over the zoo, rather than all being in one place.
Most were along the walkways as you walked from each area of the zoo to the next.
There was also quite a bit of them right as you enter the zoo around a big courtyard.
Light Tunnels
Now for one of my favorite features of the LA Zoo Lights: the light tunnels!
Water Show
After the light tunnels, we saw a light and water show that was done in one of the ponds.
It ran sporadically throughout the night and we happened to come upon it just a few minutes before the next show was set to start.
We were able to get a good spot along the railing to watch the show.
I believe it was only about 10 minutes or so. But it was fun to watch.
The light and water effects were all synced to various Christmas songs.
I think it would be cool if someone with a water feature like this at home could re-create it.
People do it already with the Christmas lights on their house or their Christmas tree.
So why not on a fountain, pond, or pool?
Here are some other miscellaneous photos from the night from various photo ops and light displays along the walkways to each area of the zoo.
There wasn’t a single spot in the zoo that didn’t have something.
Entrance Display
Lastly, the entrance of the LA Zoo had an awesome light display that we weren’t able to get photos of until we were leaving, which is why I saved it for the end:
Before leaving we made sure to stop in the gift shop to get a Christmas ornament to add to our collection.
If you don’t already know, JP and I collect Christmas ornaments on all of our travels.
We have a little 3 foot Christmas tree where we put all of the ornaments we collected before we were married, and this year we started on a new 3 foot Christmas tree with all of the ornaments we’ve collected since we got married.
The ornament we picked out from the LA Zoo is a metallic elephant and the design across the whole ornament looks like those “ugly” Christmas sweater patterns that are actually cute.
Other Fun Holiday Events Near LA
If you’re looking for other events exclusive to the Winter holiday season, we’ve got you covered!
✅ Night of Lights OC
This drive-thru event is at the Orange County Fairgrounds and is as immersive as it gets.
There’s snow, food, drinks, photo ops, and of course, Santa!
Other Cool Things To Do In The LA Area
The LA Zoo is located within Griffith Park, which has a ton of other things to do.
☑️ Griffith Observatory Hike
On this small group hike you’ll take in views from the Griffith Observatory.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Griffith Observatory Hike Today!
☑️ The Original Hollywood Sign Tour
On this small group tour, you’ll take in views of the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Park.
👉 Click Here To Book Your Hollywood Sign Tour Today!
Explore More WithGoCity!
A great way to see all that Los Angeles has to offer is with a GoCity Pass!
We’ve used them in several cities and it’s a great way to get discounted deals on many attractions around town.
GoCity attractions cards offer included admission to over 400 top attractions, activities, tours, and museums for one low price!
Save up to 50% compared to buying separate tickets at the attractions and receive a full-color guide book with your purchase.
Choose from two options: Go City’s All-Inclusive Pass offers admission to top attractions and activities for one low price with a savings of up to 50%.
Build Your Own Pass allows you to customize a pass and save up to 20% on top attractions!
👉 Click Here To Purchase Your GoCity Los Angeles Pass Today!
LA Zoo Lights Recap
Let us know what you think!
Have you been to the LA Zoo or to their LA Zoo Lights event? What about your local zoo? Do they do a Christmas light event too?
