Brookfield Zoo Holiday Magic
Celebrate the Yule season at the Brookfield Zoo Holiday Magic spectacular December 1 through New Year’s Eve, and stay at the nearby and affordable Best Western Plus Chicago Hotel at Hillside!
Brookfield Zoo’s Holiday Magic event is chock full of family activities. Come early to enjoy the entire zoo and stay later for the festivities, which begin at 4:00 p.m. Holiday Magic officially begins with an opening ceremony that includes switching on the lights of the 41-foot-tall Talking Tree on December 2 at 5:00 p.m.
This year, Brookfield Zoo will be aglow with new light displays throughout the park. The South Mall will showcase spectacular larger-than-life animal figures featuring a bear, giraffe, and bison. Just south of The Carousel, guests can walk through a nearly 20-foot-tall lit orb—making for memorable photo opportunities. In addition, there will be searchlights illuminating the sky at Roosevelt Fountain, the Formal Pool, and the North Gate. The East Mall will twinkle from the lights on gigantic reindeer created from telephone poles that are surrounded by lit spheres. On the opposite mall, guests can view hexagon-shaped trees that “dance” to music. Finally, lining the walkways along the zoo’s four malls and around the fountain will be nearly 600 lit trees decorated with ornaments by Chicagoland communities and corporations.
Each night of Holiday Magic will feature a full schedule of music and live entertainment in the Holly Jolly Theater, professional ice carving demonstrations, magic shows, costumed characters who will greet zoogoers of all ages, a model train display, and an animated video accompanied to holiday tunes that will illuminate the front of The Swamp.
The Brookfield Zoo is located at 8400 31st Street in Brookfield. For tickets and more information, go online to https://www.czs.org/Brookfield-ZOO/Events/Upcoming-Events and follow the prompts. Any and all military personnel are admitted free with service ID. Regular zoo admission applies.
Best Western Plus Chicago Hotel at Hillside, just minutes away from the Brookfield Zoo’s Holiday Magic spectacular, offers free shuttle service to and from O’Hare Airport in Chicago. The hotel offers affordable, comfortable rooms, a breakfast bar and restaurant and much more. The hotel is pet friendly and offers AAA rates.