Zoo Lights

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courtesy Henry Vilas Zoo.

A bear statute in front of a colorful light display.

A Zoo Lights display.

One of the Madison area’s most elaborate holiday light displays can be found at Henry Vilas Zoo, and ticket purchases help keep the lights on all year (the zoo does not typically charge admission). Zoo Lights features timed entry starting at 5:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 29-Dec. 8, and daily from Dec. 13-28 (closed Dec. 24-25). Santa will be on hand for photos with the kiddos through Dec. 23, and unlimited carousel rides are included with admission. Tickets are only available online in advance: henryvilaszoo.doubleknot.com.

media release: Zoo Lights is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from Friday, November 29 - Saturday, December 28.

WE ARE CLOSED CHRISTMAS EVE & CHRISTMAS DAY

In addition to our regularly scheduled nights, we have added additional Bonus Nights! We will be open daily the week of Christmas and the week after Christmas. Open Daily December 13 - December 23, and December 26 - December 28

All tickets include unlimited carousel rides. Pictures with Santa are available every night through December 23. Santa will not be here after Christmas. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase with proof of ID.

Select your desired date on the ticketing calendar below. **YOUR DESIRED DATE MAY LOOK RED AND UNAVAILABLE UNTIL YOU CLICK ON THE DATE.** Once you have selected your desired date, all available entry times will be displayed. Click the entry time you desire and the next available time, then hit reserve. (For example: for a 5:30 p.m. time slot you would click both 5:30 p.m and 6:00 p.m. then select reserve). If an entry time is not listed, that time block has reached capacity and is no longer available. Each arrival time is available in 30-minute windows. (So if you purchase tickets for a 5:30pm entry time, you can arrive anytime between 5:30pm - 6pm.) Please select the time you would like to arrive. You are welcome to stay for as long as you like once you are inside the Zoo! 

Zoo Lights tickets will be scanned at the gates. All guests require a ticket, discounts on groups of 4 or more general admission tickets are automatically applied at purchase. There are two ways to show us your tickets:

• Via a mobile phone - you can pull up your receipt in your email and CLICK ON THE TICKET LINK or save your tickets to your phone wallet. 
• Print your tickets at home

We do not have a will call option for tickets this year. 

Please note: the bar code in your email receipt is not your ticket. Please scroll to the end of your email to find the QR code. That is your ticket. Each ticket has a unique QR code that will be scanned