TACOMA – Zoolights, the best-loved, original holiday light display in the Puget Sound area, opens Nov. 29 at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, and tickets are on sale now. Discounted admissions are online at www.pdza.org. Regular priced admission tickets will be sold at the zoo’s front gate.
The 2013 edition is a well-executed marriage of some things old, some things new, so visitors will see traditional favorites shining brighter with new LED lights, along with dazzling new displays.
Zoolights opens the day after Thanksgiving and runs until Jan. 5, 2014.
New this year is a polar bear family frolicking on ice floes and reimagined scenes of an eagle swooping down to snatch a salmon and a huge tiger head – both in 3D-style. That’s just a sampling. There is so much fresh to see, it’s like a holiday tree piled high with new gifts.
Zoolights crews began installing more than 525,000 lights at the beginning of October. And 94 percent of them are energy-efficient LEDs.
Scuba-diving Santa is back for six encore appearances, visitors can watch members of the public dive with the sharks, Stingray Cove will be open for stingray touch experiences and many other animal exhibits will delight zoo fans of all ages.
Zoolights hours are 5 to 9 p.m. nightly Nov. 29-Jan. 5, except for a one-night closure on Dec. 24.
Discounted tickets are $7.50 each. They will cost $8.75 at the gate.
Zoo members’ tickets are $4.25 and may be purchased online at www.pdza.org.
Children 2 and under are admitted at no charge.
Parking is free.