ZooTampa at Lowry Park brings back Creatures of the Night this month, and the 2026 edition has an unusual pitch: one new area built for kids who want to be scared, and another built for kids who do not.
The event runs 15 select nights from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., starting September 25 and finishing on Halloween.
New for 2026
- Scared of the Dark: a Halloween realm for the bravest ghouls and goblins, where iconic Halloween figures come to life and guests face the monsters that haunt their dreams. This is the one aimed at older kids.
- Ghostly Groves: a family-friendly walk through an abandoned haunted neighborhood, with hidden ghosts around every corner and eerie sounds echoing through the night.
- Jack-O-Lantern Lane: a 360-degree walkthrough that turns the zoo’s Florida realm into a field of illuminated jack-o’-lanterns with sound and special effects.
- Enchanted Circle: a fountain show of living statues, where water and dance are performed together.
Returning
- The Dancing Dead: an expanded dance party in a 1970s studio full of zombies in flashy outfits, with a DJ running disco under the lights.
- Carousel de los Muertos: sugar skull stilt walkers and Dia de los Muertos decor, honoring a tradition kept in Mexico, Central America and Latino communities across the United States.
- Happy Harvest Hollow: a harvest festival in the Australia realm led by dancing scarecrows.
- Land of Oz: characters from L. Frank Baum’s book meeting the youngest guests.
- Troll Cave: a neon walkthrough with colorful trolls.
- Pirates Paradise: mermaids, pirate decor and a pirate magician.
- Haunted Light Show: a light and music show every 15 minutes in front of the zoo’s haunted house.
The costume rule is the one to read before you go
Children 12 and under are invited to wear their spookiest Halloween attire. Guests 13 and up may not wear Halloween masks, wigs, face paint or costumes of any kind. Toy weapons are prohibited at any age.
This trips up families every year, and it is not ZooTampa being fussy. Costumed adults in a night event are hard to tell apart from staff performers, and a park with a few thousand guests moving through dark walkways after 8 p.m. needs to know at a glance who works there. The rule reads as a restriction and functions as crowd control.
If you go
Event nights: September 25 (members only), September 26, October 2 and 3, October 9 to 11, October 16 to 18, October 23 to 25, and October 30 and 31.
Hours: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Tickets: general admission after 4 p.m. is $34.95 Friday and Sunday, $39.95 Saturday, available at zootampa.org. No reservations are needed.
Free with a membership or a Zoo Fun Ticket. Zoo Fun Ticket holders have blockout dates on October 10, 17 and 24.
ZooTampa is at 1101 W. Sligh Avenue in Tampa.
Source: ZooTampa at Lowry Park.
