Review - Dallas - Dallas Zoo Lights

Dallas Zoo Lights is a family-friendly event on select nights at the Dallas Zoo featuring millions of holiday lights strung throughout the zoo grounds, cute holiday-themed photo-ops with and without lights, a meet-and-greet with Santa, and treats on sale for purchase.

The Dallas Zoo closes at 4pm and the Dallas Zoo Lights starts at 5:30pm on select nights. I highly recommend arriving early to get into the main parking lot (versus going down and around the zoo to the back overflow parking lot). As an added bonus, the main parking areas also contain lanterns (the lit up animals as shown).

Although there are no animals present during Dallas Zoo Lights, the carousel and the mini-train are still running. Tickets are available for purchase at each ride's booth. Bring your patience to the train as the conductor was also running the ticket booth so the line got backed up.

You'll also find some special "characters" wandering throughout the zoo in costumes for photo-ops.

A big draw for this event is the Santa Claus meet-and-greet. I highly suggest your family head to Santa's workshop first because the line kept growing and growing throughout the night. The elf helpers will take your family picture on your own device. Please note you must climb stairs up and down the platform.

Some of the animal lanterns.

Some of the holiday light decorations.

One special treat - the Dinosaur exhibit is open during the Lights event and the dinos are decorated with holiday lights and accessories. (Sorry, my photos turned out horribly for those dark area dinos)

Address: 650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway (I-35E), Dallas, TX 75203
Hours: 5:30pm-9:00pm
Tickets: Prices vary by dates but general starts at $16; certain Dallas Zoo membership gives discounts
For more info: www.dallaszoo.org

Review - Texas - Dallas - Dallas Zoo - Destination: Dinosaurs

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to visit the temporary exhibit, Destination: Dinosaurs, presented by Reliant Energy. The exhibit ends September 30th, so try to squeeze in a visit if you can. It's one of the largest immersive dinosaur exhibits in America. I personally thought it was well laid out and offered plenty of hands-on fun for visitors of all ages.
The exhibit is located in the back of the North Zoo (near the Tiger exhibit and some monkeys) - follow the dino footprints on the ground. After you purchase your tickets (see below for prices) at the ticket booth, you will walk along the paved trail that loops around and returns down a long hill (for those in wheelchairs please be careful) back to the booth. You will find a few photo-ops at the front entrance.
A fun banner allowing you to compare the wingspan of several creatures hangs on a fence to the right. A photo-op sign and dino behind some benches are on the left.
Most of the dinosaurs are animatronic with moving parts and sounds. Some of the dinosaurs were just statues. All of them were nestled into the scenery. A few were placed into scenes (which I'll show in a bit).

Cute baby dinosaurs
Two "scenes" where several dinosaurs or dinosaur species are put together in an interesting display. There's a "splash" zone area with dinosaurs that squirt water and there are many signs to warn you about such a thrill in case you prefer not to get sprayed.
Here are some of the hands-on fun within the dinosaur trail. Go ahead and touch the dinosaur bones or teeth. Compare your hands or feet to dinosaurs' prints or other animals' prints. They do have a dinosaur dig site (ask ahead to be sure it's open during your visit) and a few other interactive areas.
The merchandise store/area was closed during our visit.
Overall, it was a nice walk through a well-created exhibit with lots of greenery and animations. It didn't feel crowded and youngsters seemed to enjoy it as well as older visitors.
Tickets: General Admission $6.00, Members below Patron $4.00, and Patron or Above Members Free
information, visit https://www.dallaszoo.com