Boo at the Zoo at the Santa Ana Zoo runs four evenings this month, October 17 and 18 and October 24 and 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The zoo bills it as Orange County’s premier Halloween event for kids and calls the register merry, not scary, which for a two-hour evening aimed at small children is the right call. This is the 35th year the zoo has run it.
Prices, and the discount that matters
General admission to the event is $25 for adults and $20 for children aged 3 to 12. Zoo members and Santa Ana residents pay $10 each, which is a substantial enough gap that a family of four from the city saves $50 or more on one evening. Children aged 2 and under are free. Tickets are sold online.
The core of the evening is a Trick-or-Treat Trail with ten prize stations, run alongside Halloween games and activities with storytelling and sing-alongs, and visits from nocturnal animals. The Boofari Express train, the Conservation Carrousel and the Fifty Monkey Ferris Wheel are running and carry their own charges, as does a Spooky Search game with prizes. There are free photo stops through the zoo and a larger one on the way out, and food and drink at the Bean Sprouts Cafe.
The allergy detail is the good one
The zoo participates in the Orange County Teal Pumpkin Project, so children with food allergies get non-food treats and takeaways at the stations rather than being handed something they cannot eat and told to trade it later. The Teal Pumpkin Project is a national campaign that asks households and events to offer at least one non-food option and mark it with a teal pumpkin. At a ticketed event with ten stations it is a straightforward thing to do and it removes a quiet, annual indignity for a lot of families.
If you are going
Four nights is not many, and two of them are Sundays, so the Saturdays will be the busy ones. The $10 member and resident rate is worth checking before you buy at the gate price: on a family of four it is the difference between $90 and $40. Buy online, and plan for the rides and the Spooky Search game to cost extra on top of admission.
Details and tickets are on the zoo’s Boo at the Zoo page. If you are weighing an evening event against a daytime one, the Bronx Zoo runs its own Boo at the Zoo on a daytime schedule, and the trade-off is the same everywhere: after dark is more atmospheric and considerably harder on anyone under five.
Quick answers
- When is Boo at the Zoo at the Santa Ana Zoo?
October 17 and 18 and October 24 and 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. each evening. Note that the City of Santa Ana website still carries last year's dates; the zoo's own event page has the current ones.
- How much are tickets?
$25 for adults and $20 for children aged 3 to 12. Zoo members and Santa Ana residents pay $10 each. Children aged 2 and under are free. Tickets are sold online.
- What is included?
A Trick-or-Treat Trail with ten prize stations, Halloween games and activities with storytelling and sing-alongs, visits from nocturnal animals, and free photo stops. The Boofari Express train, the Conservation Carrousel, the Fifty Monkey Ferris Wheel and the Spooky Search game carry their own charges.
- Is it scary?
The zoo describes it as merry, not scary, and aims it at children of all ages. It runs two hours in the early evening rather than late at night.
- What is the Teal Pumpkin Project?
A national campaign asking households and events to offer at least one non-food treat and mark it with a teal pumpkin, so children with food allergies are not left out. The Santa Ana Zoo takes part, so the stations carry non-food treats and takeaways.
