LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow (2024)
Looking to visit LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow?
Animals Aglow is an annual night time event at the LA Zoo just for the holidays.
The event runs from November 15th – January 5th this year and parking is free!
Tickets start at $18 and they also offer seasonal treats and drinks.
Check out LA Zoo Lights in this video on our YouTube Channel!
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LA Zoo Lights: Animals Aglow
The LA Zoo is located in the Griffith Park area, across from The Autry Museum of the American West.
Weekdays are generally less busy and cheaper to visit, so if at all possible, try for those days.
If you’re driving, take the Zoo Drive exit if you’re on the 5 or the 134.
You can also take Metro line 96 from Burbank and Downtown LA, with free parking at the downtown Burbank station.
Here are some of the highlights of the LA Zoo lights:
❄️ Entrance Display
The entrance of the LA Zoo has a great light display.
You can also see a lot of the zoo lights right inside the entrance since it is a pretty open area.
❄️ Light Tunnels
Now for one of my favorite features of the LA Zoo Lights: the light tunnels!
There are a few throughout the zoo and they play music with synchronized lights.
❄️ 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 synchronized 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?
❄️ Photo Ops
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.
❄️ 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.
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.
❄️ Shopping
Before leaving we made sure to stop in the gift shop to get a Christmas ornament to add to our collection.
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.
Then we started on a new full sized 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!
Check out our favorite things to do in California in December.
Some of our favorite events have come and gone over the years like Snow Day LA and Malibu Lights: Winter Nights, but there’s one event that’s been around for a decade now and continues to grow each year.
☃️ Winter Fest OC
This 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!
☃️ Big Bear Lake Winter Weekend Getaway
Big Bear is a mountain town just outside of LA that is the best place in Southern California for skiing and snowboarding.
They have a small village with shops and restaurants where you can enjoy hot apple cider while checking out the holiday lights.
☃️ Theme Park Holiday Events
All of our local theme parks have special events during the winter holiday season.
I recommend visiting Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott’s Berry Farm (which transforms into Knott’s Merry Farm), and Disneyland.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to see the LA Zoo lights?
If you’re walking straight through, you can see all of the lights in about 30 minutes.
I recommend spending at least an hour here though to take pictures, look at the animals, and enjoy some of the live entertainment.
Ideally, I’d plan to spend about 2 hours here.
Can you see the animals at LA Zoo Lights?
Many of the animals will still be out, but there’s no guarantee which ones you’ll see.
Any of the smaller, indoor animals like reptiles, amphibians, and fish you’ll definitely be able to see.
We saw elephants, but it was very dark and they didn’t show up on any photos.
How much is parking at the LA Zoo?
For this event, parking is free!
Does it snow in LA?
Generally no, but every few years or so there will be snow.
You can check out our post (called “does it snow in Los Angeles“) where we did a deep dive on how much it has snowed in LA over the years.
Just a couple years ago, we got a lot of snow that was visible from just about everywhere.
Conclusion: LA Zoo Animals Aglow
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?
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