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Enjoy viewing Wild Winter Nights pictures & plan your visit to this annual Christmas activity at the Wildlife World Zoo in greater Phoenix, AZ! Updated March 12, 2008. Links: HOME :: Latest News :: Wild Winter Nights :: Santa's Theme Park :: Wild Winter Nights PicturesEnjoy stunning lights, animals and rides at the Wildlife World Zoo's annual Christmas events!
If you visit or live near greater Phoenix, Arizona, you'll enjoy visiting Wild Winter Nights this Christmas season!
What is "Wild Winter Nights?" The Wildlife World Zoo's Christmas celebration! Many different zoos around the USA hold special holiday events featuring seasonal lighting displays. In many ways, the Wildlife World Zoo's display is similar to all the others; and in other ways, it has its own special charms. On this page, we'll talk about the different features of the Wildlife World Zoo's holiday lighting display, and you'll find the practical information you need, as well, for planning your fun family outing to this special holiday event. Wild Winter Nights = Beautiful Lights!
In the entry area of the zoo, almost every tree and bush is laden with decorative holiday lighting. You'll see a rainbow of colors and different styles. Since the entrance area of the zoo features a lovely little lake, you'll also be able to admire how the reflection of the lights glimmers on the water (as you saw at the top of this page, with the swan's image echoed in the pond.)
Since this lighting display is at a zoo, you'll find that most of the special effects center around various zoo animals. An there's certainly no shortage of animal scenes at Wild Winter Nights! During the course of your stay, you'll walk by lizards (like the cute lizard you see in the photo to your left) lions, kangaroos, camels, fish, sea horses, monkeys, various types of birds, snakes, spiders, deer and more---all made of Christmas lights! 
Of course, here and there, you'll also see traditional Christmas scenes, such as the lighted "reindeer and sleigh" that you see in the picture to your right. You'll also spot snowflakes, Santa Claus and snowmen here and there throughout the zoo as you make your way past the different lighted scenes.
In the picture to your left, you see a monkey climbing a palm tree. If you were seeing this display at the Wildlife World Zoo, you would first see the monkey start at the bottom of the palm tree...then climb higher and higher until reaching the top.
Once the money reaches the palm tree's heights, there's still more to come! Down, down, down the monkey jumps...until he reaches the ground again! In the picture to your right, you can see the monkey as he leaps towards the lawn.
From time to time, the little hummingbird moves forward, bends down her head, and takes a sip of nectar from the flower!
In the animated scene to your right, you see a hungry spider waiting for prey to arrive in his carefully spun web...made out of Christmas lights, of course! At the top of the web, a trapped insect frantically flitters his wings in an attempt to escape from this snare! In the picture just below, you see a cute gecko...once again, made completely of holiday lights. As you watch this animated display, the gecko extends his tongue bit by bit, as he tries to catch the unsuspecting insect on the right hand side of this scene.
Wild Winter Nights Activities
Looking at the many Christmas-themed light displays will take up much of your evening at the Wild Winter Nights festival. But, if you make the time, there are still other activities that you and your family may enjoy!
While much of the zoo is dark and the animals are sleeping, there are three buildings which are open for animal-viewing: the small mammals building, the aquarium building and the reptile building. (The aquarium building, it should be noted, will soon be outdated---the Wildlife World Zoo is in the process of building a large new aquarium!) The Small Animal building is abuzz with life during the evening. This is the building which houses such favorites as hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, mice and other small animals which are popular as children's pets. These are animals who love to sleep during the day...and wake up at night to play. So, an evening visit to the small animal building is actually more fun during the Wild Winter Nights festival than it is during daytime visits to the zoo!
In the photo to your left, you see a cute little tamarin staring at the camera. The tamarin is one of the animals on display in the small mammals building.
To your right, you see a picture of two baby white crocodiles! White crocodiles are a special treat at the Wildlife World Zoo. Several years ago, the zoo had a "rented" white crocodile, which turned out to be such a popular attraction that the zoo purchased the animal! And, the adult white crocodile still remains at the zoo. Meanwhile, these two youngsters also delight reptile lovers who visit the Reptile House at the Wildlife World Zoo. In addition to the animal houses, the Wildlife World Zoo's popular children's petting zoo is open during the Wild Winter Nights celebration. This is a very active petting zoo, where kids are still allowed to feed the animals (with special "zoo food" pellets which you can purchase from gumball-type machines.) There's no doubt that kids love the petting zoo--you'll see a number of children making a beeline in that direction when you visit here! Another animal activity you may enjoy during the Wild Winter Nights event is the Animal Encounters Show. Every evening of the event, there will be one showtime. You can sit on the bleachers as one of the zoo's attendants brings out several animals to show the crowd...and explain a number of little-known fun facts about these creatures.
Rides at Wild Winter Nights
There are several rides you may enjoy at the Wildlife World Zoo's "Wild Winter Nights" holiday festival. (Note: all of these rides require a small extra fee on top of the event's normal admission price.)
To your left, you can see a picture of the Wildlife World Zoo's miniature train ride. This little train ride is open both during the daytime at the zoo---and takes you past a number of animal enclosures. At night, the animal areas are dark, and you'll view Christmas lighting displays, instead. Other rides open at Wild Winter Nights include--- 1.) Boat Ride 2.) Sky ride 3.) Children's Carousel In addition to the rides, the free children's playground is open. Also, one of the zoo's snack bars is open during the event. The cute "choo choo train" lighted display that you see in the picture below adorns the zoo's snack bar during Wild Winter Nights.
Wild Winter Nights: Address, map, directions
Wild Winter Nights is a family Christmas activity held annually at the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, Arizona (which is a part of the Greater Phoenix metro area.)
The Wildlife World Zoo's phone number is (623) 935-9453. The Wildlife World Zoo's address is: 16501 W. Northern Ave, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340. This location is at the corner of Northern Avenue and Rt. 303 on the western edge of the Phoenix metro area. Wildlife World Zoo directions: From I-10, take the Cotton Rd. exit and head north to Northern Avenue. Wild Winter Nights ticket prices: The Wild Winter Nights celebration is an "after hours" event at the Wildlife World Zoo which requires a separate admission ticket to attend. (In other words, even if you paid to visit the zoo during normal daytime hours of operation, you'll have to exit the zoo, then purchase a Wild Winter Nights ticket to re-enter.) For 2007, Wild Winter Nights tickets cost $8 each (for both adults and children.) Kids under the age of 2 enter free.
Wild Winter Nights hours of operation: The Wild Winter Nights Celebration opened on November 23, 2007 (the day after Thanksgiving.) Up through December 13, 2007, this holiday festival will run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only. (In other words, you may attend on November 24, 25 and 30th; and December 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9th.) Then, beginning Friday, December 14, 2007, Wild Winter Nights runs nightly through Sunday, January 13, 2008. Hours of the Wild Winter Nights event: On evenings when it's being held, the Wild Winter Nights activity opens at 5:30 pm and closes at 9 pm. If you plan to participate in the rides and animal viewing, it's advised to come early so you'll have time to enjoy all the activities without rushing through them. If you would like to simply view the lighting displays, allow one to 1 1/2 hours. Practical notes: Wear comfortable shoes...and leave the high heels at home. The pathways of the Wildlife World Zoo are not paved, so you'll want to wear comfortable shoes that won't get soiled by a little dirt. Also, the lights are spread over a large area; comfortable shoes will allow you to walk around and enjoy them all!
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As you leave the zoo's entrance area, you'll start to notice more and more animal-themed decorations.
