"Can I stay for Holiday Lights if I come during the day?" The answer on the Bronx Zoo's Holiday Lights FAQ is one word long: "No." Every guest needs a Holiday Lights ticket to be in the zoo after daytime hours end, and that includes members.
That rule isn't new. This year the event ticket also reaches back into the afternoon. Starting November 21, a Holiday Lights ticket gets you into the park at 1 p.m., three and a half hours before the lantern trails light up. Two of the zoo's four gates close at 2 p.m. on the same dates. For anyone who uses the zoo as a nearby park, 28 dates between now and January 3 now run on a different afternoon schedule.
What one Holiday Lights date looks like, hour by hour
The zoo's regular winter schedule, posted from November 1, 2026 through March 2027, is 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily apart from holiday closures, and animal exhibits close at 4. On a Holiday Lights date that schedule still applies until midday. Then the evening event starts taking over.
| Time | What happens on a Holiday Lights date |
|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. | Park opens for daytime guests |
| 12:00 p.m. | Last daytime tickets sold |
| 1:00 p.m. | Holiday Lights ticket holders can start arriving |
| 2:00 p.m. | Asia and Fordham Road gates close; Asia Gate also closes to pedestrians leaving |
| 3:00 p.m. | Children's Zoo farmyard opens for Holiday Lights guests |
| 4:00 p.m. | Most animal exhibits close; World of Darkness and World of Reptiles stay open |
| 4:30 p.m. | Daytime guests must leave; lights and lantern trails switch on |
| 8:00 p.m. | Last entry |
| 9:00 p.m. | Holiday Lights ends |
The 4:30 exit lines up with the normal winter closing time, so daytime visitors lose no hours. What they lose is the option to stay. Holiday Lights guests, on the other hand, have had afternoon time added to their ticket. If you arrive at 1 p.m., you get a daytime zoo visit, the indoor exhibits, and then the lights, all on one ticket.
The gates change before the lights come on
On Holiday Lights dates the only ways in are the Bronx River Gate and the Southern Boulevard Gate. The Asia Gate and the Fordham Road Gate are closed for the event. Both shut at 2 p.m., and after 2 the Asia Gate can't be used as a pedestrian exit either.
So if you came in through Fordham Road at noon on a December Saturday, you'll leave by a different gate. If you're heading over for the lights, these are the routes the zoo itself recommends:
- On foot or by rideshare, Southern Boulevard. The zoo calls the Southern Boulevard pedestrian entrance, on Southern Boulevard between 183rd and 185th Streets, "the best choice" for taxi and rideshare drop-offs.
- By subway, Bronx River Gate. The FAQ lists the #2 train to Pelham Parkway as the ADA-accessible route. The station has three elevators down to the street, and from there it's a walk west to the Bronx River entrance, Gate B.
- By car, either open gate. Parking is through the Southern Boulevard or Bronx River Parkway entrances. A car costs $22, it's first come, first served, and a space isn't guaranteed.
The BxM11 express bus also goes straight to Gate B from Madison Avenue in Manhattan, so the Bronx River Gate gets the Manhattan crowd as well.
Why the afternoon now matters
There's a reason for the earlier entry. The WCS announcement from August 17 adds three animal areas to the event that used to sit outside it.
- Children's Zoo Farmyard. WCS describes it as a "typically seasonal exhibit." On event nights it gets holiday decorations, and donkeys, sheep, goats, and alpacas are there to feed and pet. It opens at 3 p.m. for Holiday Lights guests.
- World of Darkness. It runs on a reversed light cycle, with nocturnal animals from two-toed sloths to sand cats.
- World of Reptiles. Crocodiles, anacondas, and giant river turtles, and it's one of two indoor spots that stay open all evening.
News 12 Bronx reported the expansion the next day, highlighting the petting zoo and the two indoor exhibits. The lights themselves are much like last year's setup: more than 400 wildlife lanterns on six themed trails, covering Africa, Asia, North America, Latin America, the Ocean, and a Forest of Color. The one other new item WCS lists for the trail is a music wall with instruments at Somba Village.
If you arrive at 1, you can see the zoo in daylight, get to the farmyard when it opens at 3, and be at a trail when the lights come on at 4:30.
The Thursdays that cost less, and the Wednesdays that don't change
Date-specific tickets are listed at $37.95 for adults, $32.95 for seniors, and $22.95 for children ages 3 to 12. Children 2 and under get in free. Three dates are cheaper. On the Deal Days, December 3, 10, and 17, it's $29.95 for adults, $24.95 for seniors, and $14.95 for children. That's $8 off each ticket, and on a child's ticket it's more than a third. All three are Thursdays, the first night of each December weekend run. December 3 is also the Sensory-Friendly Night, with some experiences adjusted.
A few other offers are also listed:
- WCS members at the Zoos, Zoos PLUS, or Legacy level get free access to the November 19 and 20 member previews, though the zoo's event page lists both preview dates as sold out. Members can get up to 25% off tickets for other dates.
- Active military and veterans get a free date-specific ticket and 50% off for up to three guests, booked in advance with code MILITARYBZ or VETERANBZ.
- NYC undergraduate students get 30% off date-specific tickets with code NYCCOLLEGE.
- Any-Night tickets, good on any date, run $42.95 for adults.
The free Wednesday works the same as before. The zoo offers free Limited Admission on Wednesdays all year. You reserve it in advance, and the Wednesday ticket store opens at 5 p.m. on the Monday before. It covers daytime only, and Holiday Lights isn't free on Wednesdays. Only two Wednesdays fall on event dates this season, December 23 and December 30. On those days a free-Wednesday visit runs the same 10-to-4:30 window as any other winter Wednesday, but the Fordham Road and Asia gates close at 2.
The full public schedule is November 21 to 22 and 27 to 29; December 3 to 6, 10 to 13, 17 to 23, and 26 to 31; and January 2 to 3. Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day are off the calendar, since the zoo lists all three as winter closures.
NYBG goes first, by a week
Across Southern Boulevard, the New York Botanical Garden opens its Holiday Train Show this Saturday, November 14, and it runs through January 10, 2027. NYBG's event page lists a miniature One Vanderbilt as this season's new building. The garden has the neighborhood's holiday crowd to itself for one week. From November 21 on, both institutions run on the same weekends, and the zoo's season ends a week before the train show does. Our earlier look at NYBG's fall calendar covered how the garden's seasons stack up for Fordham, Belmont, and Bedford Park.
Before 1 p.m. or after 9
Inside the zoo, the food stands sell s'mores at a fire pit on The Patio, hot cocoa, adult beverages, and warm pretzels. For anything outside the gates, a few nearby names have turned up in local coverage this year:
- Lydig Coffee House, 721 Lydig Avenue, and ekosfere Bakery & Coffee, 766 Lydig Avenue, both appeared in a February 2026 East Bronx coffee guide from Macaroni KID.
- Majestic Restaurant, 711 East 187th Street, was on the participant list for this summer's Savor the Bronx Restaurant Week, as reported by Bronx Times.
If the plan is coffee, then the 1 p.m. entry, then the farmyard at 3, the Lydig Avenue stops line up with the #2 train route to the Bronx River Gate. More Bronx holiday calendars are on our blog.
If you're thinking about a home near the zoo, the garden, or anywhere else in the Bronx, Legacy Group can tell you how the blocks around these institutions change from season to season. Find your piece of the Emerald Coast, or your corner of the Bronx, with a team that knows the details.
