The Bronx Zoo will open animal exhibits during Holiday Lights for the first time when the festival returns on November 21, adding after-dark access to the Children’s Zoo farmyard, World of Darkness and World of Reptiles to a walk that has until now been about the lanterns.
That is the actual change, and it is worth stating precisely, because “animal encounters at Holiday Lights” could mean almost anything. Three named buildings open on select winter evenings that were previously closed once the lights came on. Guests can feed and pet goats, sheep, donkeys and alpacas at the Children’s Zoo, walk the reverse light cycle of World of Darkness, where two-toed sloths and sand cats are awake because the building runs their day backward, and warm up in World of Reptiles among crocodiles, anacondas and giant river turtles.
What is new, and what is returning?
New this year: the three exhibits above, plus a music wall with instruments at Somba Village.
Returning: the Lantern Safari, which spreads more than 400 illuminated wildlife lanterns across six geographically themed trails, a towering holiday tree with synchronized musical light shows, a walk-through light tunnel, the holiday train, ice carvers working blocks into wildlife sculptures, illuminated performers, the Bronx Zoo’s own theater company running puppet shows and wildlife trivia, a snow tube slide and photo setups in the Freeze Zone, and s’mores over a fire pit at The Patio.
“We’re proud to now offer access to select exhibits during Holiday Lights, inviting guests to meaningfully engage in new ways with the animals at the heart of our zoo,” said Craig Piper, interim executive vice president of zoos and aquarium and director of the Bronx Zoo for the Wildlife Conservation Society. “Alongside the cherished traditions so many families return for each year, animal experiences will add to the magic of Holiday Lights and further our mission to connect guests with wildlife through memories that last a lifetime.”
Dates, tickets and one detail worth knowing
Holiday Lights runs on select dates from November 21, 2026 through January 3, 2027: November 21 and 22, November 27 to 29, December 3 to 6, December 10 to 13, December 17 to 23, December 26 to 31, and January 2 and 3. Wildlife Conservation Society members get free preview nights on November 19 and 20, and a sensory inclusive night is scheduled for December 3.
The lantern trails switch on at 4:30 p.m. and final park entry is 8 p.m. The detail that changes how you plan the day: a Holiday Lights ticket this year admits you to the zoo from 1 p.m., so the same booking covers a winter afternoon among the animals and the lights afterward. Tickets must be reserved in advance through the zoo’s Holiday Lights page. Con Edison is the presenting sponsor and Stonyfield Organic the supporting sponsor.
For the Bronx Zoo’s other seasonal event, see our report on Boo at the Zoo, and for what the same organization does with its research budget, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s work on measuring whether conservation projects actually work. The full announcement is on the WCS newsroom.
