Review: Christmas Lanterns and Light at Chester Zoo*

Christmas Lanterns and Light at Chester Zoo

[Ad-gifted] How do you get into the festivities especially in the lead up to Christmas?

For us, we have always done various activities with the kids from they were little. We first started heading to their school to visit Santa’s grotto, this was then followed by Breakfast with Santa at our local Garden Centre, Santa Sleepover at local theme parks, Santa Train rides, heading to the theatre to watch pantos and more recently experiencing Christmas Light Trails.

As our children get older, we are still trying to keep the tradition of going out as a family and look for something different to experience. This year, we were invited to Chester Zoo‘s Lanterns and Light wintertime event which is back with more animal lantern puppets as well as captivating light installations.

So keep on reading to find out more about our day out to Chester Zoo and what we thought of their Lanterns and Light event.

What did we think of the Christmas Lantern ?

We love Chester Zoo and it is a place we can never get enough off, as animals fascinate us as a family and we all have our favourite areas in the Zoo which we like to go to whenever we visit.  Did you know that Chester Zoo is home to 37,000 animals from nearly 600 species and many of the species they care for are endangered in the wild?  We have only visited the Zoo during the day so were curious to visit it at night and find out what was installed for the day.

We were offered timed slots and booked the earlier slot as wanted to make most of our day there whilst there was still day light.  The timed slots are allocated so that everyone has time to enjoy each section and not feel like they needed to be rushed off or wait in a queue line.  I also noticed many of the people had visited the zoo in the day and had pre-booked tickets for the Lanterns and Light event.

We were lucky that the weather was good on the day we visited, with it being mildly cold and no rain. We were dressed warm and ready to experience the light trail.

The light installations has been laid out beautifully, covering a large area. Each area clearly marked with the name of the designer. There were many animal-inspired installations that caught our eyes but the Dragonflies by Martha Ellis was one of our favourite.

Light decorations are not just tools to illuminate the night sky, they are more like storytellers, telling us stories about nature, life, and hope in colourful language. If you also want to have Neon Signs with personal characteristics and ideas, you might as well go to neonsigns.com to have a look. 

You can choose to be inspired by everything in nature, such as the memorable animal images in Chester Zoo, or your favourite natural elements. You can also choose your favourite light colour according to your personal preferences, and you can also choose to add dynamic effects to add a flowing rhythm and vitality to the static beauty of neon signs. With the illumination of neon signs, every night is full of infinite possibilities and surprises.

There were QR codes for scanning available at each section, so you could read more about the installation as you walked.  There were other light installations throughout our one-way trail featuring giant lit-up animals such as elephants, rhino, the lion and her cubs, orangutan and birds which were breathtaking to look at and almost magical.

We were also fascinated by the puppeteers who were manning the interactive animals including red pandas, energetic meerkats, colourful peacocks, and playful snow leopards. The puppets lighted up in the dark, caught out eyes and seemed truly magical.

The puppeteers interacted with the crowd especially children and captivated young hearts and minds. Even adults stood next to the animals staring at them in adoration of these realistic looking animals.

Light trails such as this is sensory based, so if you have a child who is autistic or on the spectrum, it will allow them to fully experience the trail.

Children are able to touch the light strings and walk around it as they marvel at the lights.  In partnership with Sony Music, this spectacular Christmas light trail played alongside festive songs (in sync with the lights) to keep us entertained as we walked around the trail.

Half-way through our trail, we came across the Food Village offering festive drinks such as Mulled Wine (£5.95), Luxury Loaded Hot Chocolate (£5.50) , hot food such as Cheese Burger with sides (£12.50), Hot Dogs, Pizza (£10.50), Pie and Mash (£12.50), Yorkshire Pudding Wraps amongst other delicious options.

Unlike other food vendors we have been too, these genuinely tasted delicious and the portion size was generous as well. There is an indoor area where patrons can sit down to enjoy their food which has been bought from the vendors or a picnic which you have packed from home.

If you still have room for dessert after, there are plenty of options available from Chocolate-Dipped Waffle (£5.50), Hot Churros (£6.50), Artisan Doughnuts (£5.50), Classic Apple Crumble (£7.50) and more.

There is even an area to toast festive flavoured Marshmallows which are sold at £2 each or enjoy Candy Floss (£4.50) or Popcorn (£4.50). So for a family of four, I estimate a cost of around £20 per person for a 2-course meal plus drinks. But of course you could share the meals as the portion size is large especially if you have little children with you so it will be cheaper.

If food is not your thing, there are also a couple of fairground rides and Carousel horses. The staff at Chester Zoo are super friendly and helpful which is very refreshing to see. I also spotted many of them interacting with the visitors to make their visit extra special.

My children were wondering where the animals were as we did not get to see any as it was dark. I remember doing a Night Safari in Singapore years ago, and wondered if they could perhaps add this into the trail next year as it would have been nice to see the actual animals. But that being said the giant animal light structures were equally as amazing to look at.

We next walked through the Fire Garden (Culture Creative) which was beautifully lit up, before passing Giant Candy Canes, Fairy Lights and the Ribbon Tunnels. Lastly a quick wave and chat with Father Christmas before we made our way to the exit.

We took nearly 2 hours to do the trail as we stopped to have our dinner at the Food Village and did not rush to eat our meal. I would suggest allocating at least an hour and half to do the whole trail as it is long. Do bring a pram along if you have little ones who get tired easily.

Tickets for the event start from just £12 and the event runs until 1 January 2025, and every tickets supports the  conservation zoo’s efforts to protect some of the planet’s most threatened species. So money well spent!

Where is Chester Zoo?

Chester Zoo is easy to get to and not far from the M56 or Chester city centre. You’ll see lots of signposts on the main roads around Chester. If you’re visiting them via motorway, follow the signs to Chester until you see the brown tourist zoo signs. Once you get onto the A41, stay on that road until you reach a roundabout with signs for Chester Zoo. Sat navs often get confused so please ignore them once you get onto the A41.  Don’t turn down Flag Lane North as it’s a dead end. There is ample FREE parking at the main entrance to the zoo.

Chester CH2 1LE
01244 380280

How long is Christmas Lanterns and Light on for at Chester Zoo?

Lanterns and Light will be at Chester Zoo until Wednesday, 1 January 2025 with time slots from 4.30 until 8pm

To make Lanterns and Light as magical as possible Chester Zoo are offering entry every 15 minutes. When you book, you will be able to select your preferred session time, from 4.15pm to 8pm. The last entry for Lanterns and Light is 8.15pm and the zoo will close at 9.15pm.

If you’re visiting the zoo during the day you’ll need to go back to the main entrance at 3.30pm when the zoo closes and wait for your arrival time for Lanterns and Light so we recommend booking an earlier session time to avoid having to wait around. Please ensure you have bought a separate zoo admission ticket, or you have a valid member’s card if you want to visit during the day. You will be able to buy your zoo tickets using the ‘book now’ button at the top right of the webpage once tickets go on sale.

Which part of the Zoo will be open during this time?

Lanterns and Light follows a specific route around the zoo and their indoor animal habitats will stay closed. Which mean, you won’t be able to see any of their animals during the event. Please ensure that you stick to the route for your safety and to ensure the wellbeing of animals.

How much are the entry tickets to Christmas Lantern and Lights?

It is cheaper to pre-book tickets online as it will save you up to 20% compared to their gate prices.  Tickets can only be purchased online before 9.30am on the day of your visit. After this time, tickets can be purchased from their ticket office at the main entrance.

Do visit their website here, to book your tickets. Visitors with disabilities may admit one accompanying carer free of charge when they pay for a full price adult or child ticket online; carer tickets can be collected from their Ticket Sales windows on arrival.

FAQ

• Weather – Wrap up warm and bring your waterproof clothes and we’re sure you’ll still have a wonderful time and make precious, lasting memories. If they have very extreme weather, they may need to cancel the event or close certain elements of the trail. If they experience high winds, elements of the trail such as their hologram mammoth may need to close for health and safety reasons. So if they need to cancel the event completely or delay opening, we’ll be in touch with you by email.
• Photography – Is allowed, feel free to take then on social media, using #LanternsatChesterZoo
• Food -They have lots of food and drink options available to buy on the night but you are more than welcome to bring your own if you would prefer to. But they request that you don’t bring any alcohol to the zoo with you. There are covered area for you to eat in with tables and chairs
• Time – The trail is estimated to take around 90 minutes, but expect to spend around an two hours or more if you are going to have a meal/snacks there.
• Carers – Visitors with disabilities may admit one accompanying carer free of charge when they pay for a full price adult or child ticket; tickets can be collected from their Ticket Sales windows when you arrive. To collect the carer ticket, please make sure you bring along your supporting documents that shows you require a carer such as Disability Allowance Letter/PIP letter/Access Pass or any other appropriate supporting documentation as issued by your local council.

About Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo is a zoo at Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, England. Chester Zoo was opened in 1931 by George Mottershead and his family. It is one of the UK’s largest zoos at 51 hectares. The zoo has a total land holding of approximately 128 acres of zoological gardens with 20,000 animals.

They are the most visited zoo in the UK and a conservation and education charity committed to preventing extinction. You would not realise it, but there are over 1000 people hard at work at the Zoo caring for the animals, running conservation projects and giving guests an inspirational day out!

You may also want to read this:

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* We were provided with free entry to Chester Zoo in return for a feature. All opinions are our own. Some of the photos have been provided to us by Chester Zoo.