Experience Holiday Lights in Los Angeles with Animals Aglow

Los Angeles is filled with fun, colorful light displays celebrating the holiday season, but one of the most unique ways for family travelers to experience this joy is at Los Angeles Zoo with its nighttime light show, Animals Aglow. Zoo Lights is an LA Zoo tradition, drawing crowds to experience the wonders of the zoo at night with spectacular light shows. This year, the show focuses on the zoo’s inhabitants.

While the animals will be safely tucked away in their habitats and not on display, larger-than-life lantern sculptures of the animals have been created in brilliant colors and set among a dazzling landscape of flowers, trees and colorful lights. From animatronic chameleons catching flies to butterflies flapping their beautiful wings and peacocks showing off their majestic crowns of feathers, the displays at Animals Aglow put on a show the whole family will enjoy.

Visitors can experience the different displays, including the butterfly garden, sloth forest and an African savanna complete with giraffes and zebras, with a 60–90-minute, self-guided walking tour.

Animals Aglow runs Wednesday–Sunday, 6–10 p.m. until Jan. 22, 2023, with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets, which must be purchased separately from daytime zoo admission, run $27–32 for children (ages 2–12) and $34–39 for adults. Children under 2 get in for free. Parking is free and there will be warm and tasty treats, like hot cocoa, available for purchase.