On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights in October, the San Diego Zoo stays open late for HalGLOWeen, its household Halloween occasion. The lineup contains dwell bands, glowing character exhibits, and keeper talks fairly than haunted homes. No matter admission acquired you thru the gate that day contains these night festivities.
I’ve been a San Diego Zoo member for years, and October is the month an everyday ticket offers guests probably the most worth between this occasion and the annual Children Free San Diego. (The latter permits as much as six children ages 11 and below per grownup with legitimate admission to enter without cost!)
Exploring the Zoo after darkish will not be one thing you are able to do year-round, which is what makes this occasion particular. Lights and leisure go up, and it feels nothing just like the Zoo you walked by way of that afternoon.
HalGLOWeen Dates and Hours for 2026
This 12 months, Halloween falls on a Saturday, so the schedule runs straight by way of Halloween evening.
- Occasion nights: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October 2026, 14 nights in all, together with Halloween
- Zoo hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on occasion nights, towards a 6 p.m. shut Monday by way of Thursday. HalGLOWeen actions start at 5 p.m.
- Value: Included with any legitimate admission
- The place: 5 areas, most of them close to the doorway
Katie’s Tip
Saturday is the busiest day of the week on the Zoo in any season, and October weekends are often busier due to Children Free. Sunday nights are prone to be quieter.
An occasion evening buys three additional hours on the identical ticket. Sundown falls round 6:30 p.m. in early October and nearer to six p.m. by Halloween, so actions begin whereas it’s nonetheless mild, and the glow solely works as soon as the solar is down. In case your children can handle a later evening, the hours after sundown are those you got here for.
Showtimes shift a bit of from 12 months to 12 months, and the Zoo posts the present schedule on its HalGLOWeen web page, so examine it the week you go.
What to Count on After Darkish
The leisure is staged in 5 areas, however it’s not unfold evenly. Eleven of the twelve acts occur within the areas nearest the doorway, alongside Entrance Road, Centennial Plaza, Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, and the Outback.
Solely the strolling mariachi is deeper in, at Elephant Odyssey, so you may catch many of the night with out strolling the entire Zoo.
| The place | What’s on |
|---|---|
| Entrance Road | A dwell band protecting Halloween songs, stilt-walking scarecrow characters posing for photographs, and the Reptile Home lit up after darkish as Python Path. |
| Centennial Plaza | Video games and prizes set to Halloween music, plus wildlife trivia with Dr. Zoolittle. |
| Wildlife Explorers Basecamp | An acrobat weaving an internet overhead as a glowing spider, a gaggle of neon singing pumpkins, and keeper talks introducing the animals individuals name spooky. |
| Outback | A spread present of acrobatic acts, an organist taking part in the spooky requirements, and Zoo characters in Halloween costume. |
| Elephant Odyssey | A strolling Día de los Muertos mariachi group. |
Reveals repeat each hour or so by way of the night, so the order you stroll by way of it in doesn’t matter a lot.
Three issues price planning round earlier than the solar goes down:
- The pandas: see them earlier than the occasion begins, as a result of that’s when you may see them. In my expertise, they aren’t often tremendous near the glass, so that you need the daylight.
- The Skyfari: runs day by day from 10 a.m. to shut, which makes it a fast method to cross the park as soon as it’s darkish.
- Dinner: you may be there by way of the dinner hour, and my information to the place to eat on the San Diego Zoo covers the choices contained in the park.
Who HalGLOWeen Is Good For, and How one can Do It
It fits three sorts of customer, and the best way you run the day modifications with every.
- Locals with a membership: one thing new at a spot we go year-round, and your parking is free as soon as your plate is registered.
- Guests who lose the morning: in case you can’t get to the Zoo till the afternoon, the 9 p.m. shut turns a late begin right into a full go to.
- Households with a napper: in case you are staying downtown or in Mission Valley, come very first thing, have your palms stamped on the exit in your means out, return to the resort for the nap, and return by way of the primary turnstiles that night together with your ticket and stamp. Members present a membership card and ID as a substitute.
Katie’s Tip
Nonetheless you do it, get some daylight. Crowds skinny from about 3 p.m., so a day arrival will get you the animals in good mild and the occasion beginning round you. One admission and one parking spot cowl each halves of the day.
Zoo Tickets and October’s Children Free Provide
In case your children are 11 or youthful, grownup tickets are the entire October buy:
- The provide: As much as six kids ages 11 and below enter free with every grownup who has legitimate admission.
- What counts: A day ticket, a membership, or a sightseeing cross. There’s nothing to register and nothing additional to point out on the gate.
- Legitimate: October 1–31, 2026, at each the Zoo and the Safari Park.
- Occasion nights included: HalGLOWeen evenings are unusual October days, so the children’ free admission covers them too.
Parking is the associated fee that surprises returning guests. It was free on the Zoo for years and it’s not anymore.
| Parking possibility | What it prices |
|---|---|
| Basic parking | $16 per automobile |
| Metropolis of San Diego residents | $8 per automobile, with advance registration |
| Members | Free, however add your license plate to the member parking portal earlier than you go |
| Free shuttle | Free on choose days, from the Decrease Inspiration Level lot at Park Boulevard and Presidents Means, 11 a.m. till an hour after the Zoo closes |
I maintain the total October playbook, together with how Children Free works on the museums and the opposite parks, in my Children Free San Diego information. For some other month, begin with my recommendation on shopping for San Diego Zoo tickets.
The Safari Park in October
San Diego Zoo Safari Park doesn’t have HalGLOWeen. Its October occasion is Autumn Pageant, held on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s a daytime fall pageant with scarecrow characters, nation and bluegrass musicians, a walk-through maze aimed toward youthful children, and a lighted lantern ceremony on the finish of the day.
Children Free applies at each parks, so a household doing each in October will get the free children’ admission at every. You may see the Safari Park’s schedule on its Autumn Pageant web page.
Photographs are courtesy of San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.
HalGLOWeen FAQs
Is HalGLOWeen included with San Diego Zoo admission?
Sure. HalGLOWeen nights are common working hours prolonged into the night, so any legitimate admission covers the occasion. SeaWorld’s daytime Spooktacular and LEGOLAND’s Brick-or-Deal with work the identical means, included with park admission, whereas after-dark scare occasions like SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream promote their very own tickets. I evaluate all of them in my Halloween information to Southern California theme parks.
Is HalGLOWeen too scary for younger children?
No. This system is constructed for households with dwell music, costumed characters, acrobats, and keeper talks. The closest factor to a fright is a stilt-walking scarecrow who needs a photograph with you. In case your children are sufficiently old to need actual scares, my San Diego Halloween information covers the place Howl-O-Scream and the haunted points of interest match.
Can children put on costumes to HalGLOWeen?
Sure. The Zoo’s costume coverage is written for teenagers, the place visitors 11 and below can gown in family-friendly costumes, they usually could put on masks so long as their eyes keep seen. Go away toy weapons and something that might poke one other visitor at house, and skip costumes that drag on the bottom.
Does the Safari Park have HalGLOWeen?
No. HalGLOWeen is a San Diego Zoo occasion. On October weekends, the Safari Park runs Autumn Pageant as a substitute, a daytime fall pageant fairly than an after-dark Halloween evening.
