With young kids, late nights during the holidays are a rare currency—you only get so many before the crankiness kicks in, so you really have to prioritize which festive outings are worth staying up past bedtime. For us, Bee City Zoo’s Festival of Lights had always been on the “maybe someday” list. But this week, the stars finally aligned—everyone was healthy, the weather was perfect, and we decided to go for it, and I’m so glad we did.
Bee City is already one of the most unique and interactive places to take your kids in the Lowcountry. Feeding lemurs and kangaroos by hand, watching monkeys leap around their enclosures to get food, getting up close with alpacas and even giraffes—it’s the kind of place that makes an impression year-round. But during the holidays, it transforms into something truly magical.
The Festival of Lights overlays all the fun of Bee City’s animal encounters with thousands (maybe millions?) of twinkling lights in dazzling displays. Daniel and I were completely mesmerized walking through the zoo—every corner lit up, from tunnels of color to glowing animal silhouettes and festive scenes. We kept saying to each other, “Can you imagine how many hours it took to set this up?” It was truly next-level.
The best part? It’s such a great value. Tickets start at just $14/person, which includes admission and access to feed the giraffes and kangaroos. For just $5 more, the $19 ticket also includes a 30-minute Winter Wonderland Wagon Ride through a stunning light trail—something we definitely recommend. We chose a 6:30pm ride time, and it worked perfectly with our arrival a little after 5pm (yes, you can enter at 5 even though the event officially runs 6–9pm on weeknights!). After the wagon ride, we did a quick trip to see Santa then changed the kids into their pajamas for the ride home and transferred them to their beds all before 8pm.
For little ones, it’s a dream:
Kids 2 & under are free (our 19-month-old was completely enchanted)
It wasn’t crowded at all (we did go on a weeknight, so it may be busier on the weekends)
We even visited Santa with almost no wait—just a quick five-minute line. The setup was adorable, and you have the option to purchase a professional photo of your child with Santa and a furry friend. The night we went, kids were getting their pictures taken with a baby kangaroo.
There’s also:
A cozy “S’moreland” where you can roast marshmallows over bonfires (small fee)
Plenty of festival food for sale (Daniel tried the fried cookie dough—he’s still talking about it)
Sweet touches everywhere that make the whole experience feel special, not stressful
They also offer a combo ticket if you want to go during the day and stay for the festival ($28/person), but honestly, we felt like the evening event alone was more than enough fun.
If you're thinking about going, there's still time! The Festival of Lights runs through January 4. It's open:
6–9pm Sunday–Thursday
6–10pm Friday & Saturday
(They’re closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.)
See the schedule of Santa/Grinch appearances and pre-purchase your tickets at beecityzoo.com.