Boo at the Zoo is still happening at Gulf Breeze Zoo, on four dates rather than the six it was meant to run: October 24 and 25, October 31 and November 1. Hurricane Isaias took the first two weekends, and tickets bought for the canceled nights will be honored on any of the remaining ones.
The storm was the one that came ashore on the Florida Panhandle in the second week of October, and the National Hurricane Center’s advisory archive for Isaias runs from October 6 to October 11. Gulf Breeze sits across the bay from Pensacola, close enough to the center of it that the zoo is still working through storm recovery while it gets the Halloween event back up.
What the four nights hold
The spine of it is the Trick-or-Treat Trail, which winds through the zoo and ends with a bag full of candy, toys and assorted goodies handed out by local businesses and organizations stationed along the way. Around that there are bounce houses, face painting and activities scattered through the park, and costumes are the expected dress code rather than an optional extra.
The part worth planning for is the keepers. Staff roam the zoo during the event with animal ambassadors, which means the animal you meet is not on a schedule and not behind glass, and you find it by walking around rather than by reading a board.
A Boo at the Zoo ticket also includes admission to the rest of the zoo, so the afternoon before the trail opens is a normal day out: the giraffes, the hippos, the rhinos and everything else, with Safari Express train rides included with regular admission and for Adventure Pass holders.
Times and tickets
The zoo opens at 10 a.m. on event days and nobody comes in before that, members included. Boo at the Zoo is separately ticketed, and zoo members need to buy a $10 event ticket to get in during it.
Four dates compressed out of six means each one will be busier than it would have been, which is the arithmetic of a storm rather than a programming decision.
Gulf Breeze is not the only place running this: we have covered Boo at the Zoo’s 35th year at the Santa Ana Zoo and the after-dark version at Nashville Zoo this season. The details and the vendor lineup for the Gulf Breeze event are on the zoo’s event page.
A zoo that spent the first half of October counting damage is putting on a Halloween party in the second half. That is worth four nights of somebody’s attention.
Quick answers
- When is Boo at the Zoo 2026 at Gulf Breeze Zoo?
October 24 and 25, October 31 and November 1, 2026. The first two weekends were canceled because of Hurricane Isaias.
- Will tickets for the canceled nights be honored?
Yes. The zoo says tickets purchased for the canceled weekends will be honored on any of the remaining dates.
- Do zoo members need a ticket?
Yes. Boo at the Zoo is separately ticketed, and members must buy a $10 event ticket to enter the zoo during it.
- What time does the zoo open on event days?
10 a.m. No guests are admitted before then, members included.
- What is included?
A Boo at the Zoo ticket includes admission to the rest of the zoo. Safari Express train rides are included with regular admission and for Adventure Pass holders.
- What happens at the event?
A Trick-or-Treat Trail through the zoo where local businesses and organizations hand out candy, toys and goodies, plus bounce houses, face painting and activities around the park, and keepers roaming with animal ambassadors.
