Zoolumination is off and Glow Wild is on
Nashville Zoo canceled Zoolumination for 2026 and cites visa issues affecting its event partner. The replacement is Glow Wild, a holiday light show at 3777 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, Tennessee 37211. It runs nightly from November 13, 2026 through January 3, 2027, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The show builds around an 85-foot synchronized Christmas tree in Holiday Square on Festival Field. Santa visits nightly from November 27 to December 24. The Sumatran tiger, Andean bear and flamingos stay out until 8:30 p.m., and Unseen New World runs all night except on selected Night Owl weekends. Quills Cafe & Grill, Screaming Gibbon Pizza Kitchen and the concession stands sell food and drink until about 8:00 p.m.
Two price sheets for two trips
The zoo publishes holiday admission on the Glow Wild page and bulk daytime admission on the group page. A team that plans a December evening out needs the first one.
Glow Wild costs $27 for a single night and $39 for a Platinum Pass with unlimited visits. Members save $5 on a single-night ticket. Parking at the show costs $10, and members and Platinum Pass holders park free.
The bulk ladder: 22, 20, 18
Bulk daytime tickets run $22 for adults and $18 for children aged 2 to 12 at 20 to 99 tickets. The 100 to 499 band drops to $20 and $16. The 500-and-above band drops to $18 and $14. Group Sales prints the ladder as savings above 40 percent.
Each bulk ticket carries four terms. It works any day the zoo is open. It includes parking, which the zoo values at $10. The buyer can use the stack one at a time or all at once. One order can cover a spring family day and a December staff outing.
An expiry line splits across two pages. The group page reads that the tickets do not expire for a full year from purchase. The tickets page reads that group tickets are valid through the calendar year. Get the expiry in writing on the order.
Add-ons with published prices
Attraction tickets cost $1.00 each. Three tickets buy the Wild Animal Carousel, the Wilderness Express Train and Lorikeet Landing. Four buy the Chick-fil-A Adventure 4D Theater. Eight buy the Soaring Eagle Zip Line. A meal voucher costs $15 and covers a regular soda and one entree. A snack voucher costs $10 for a soda plus cotton candy, popcorn or a pretzel with cheese. An all-day souvenir cup costs $9 with unlimited refills.
A 60-person team at one meal voucher each spends $900 on food. Every guest gets a published menu choice at that price.
Glow Wild at group size
The show page takes groups from 20 upward and directs buyers to email Group Sales. It publishes no group rate for the holiday show. Single-night tickets transfer person to person, and a date change depends on availability. A ticket cannot move to a sold-out night, and a used single-night ticket cannot count toward a Platinum Pass.
Event rules are firm. The show runs rain, snow or shine with no refunds and no rainchecks. The ticket block carries two lines on infants. One reads that children under 2 enter free. The other reads that every guest needs a ticket, children under 2 included. Get that in writing on the group order.
The Smashville Ice Rink, presented by the Nashville Predators, sells separately at $12 for non-members and $10 for members. Each ticket covers a 45-minute session and skate rentals. The rink may close when the temperature rises above 50 degrees, and skaters holding a ticket for that night receive a full refund.
Jungle Terrace holds 350 cocktail style
Private events run through the Event Sales Department at 615-833-1534 extension 190 or groupsales@nashvillezoo.org. The zoo sells after-hours buy-outs of its venues.
Jungle Terrace Pavilion is the largest published space at 350 guests cocktail style and 250 seated. It is a covered tented area, and the zoo names it for company picnics and client appreciation parties. The other rooms carry published caps. Wild Animal Carousel holds 150 cocktail style and 60 seated. Unseen New World and Plaza hold 200 including the outdoor area, with 100 seated. Expedition Peru and Flamingo Lagoon each hold 150 standing. Botswana Overlook holds 100 cocktail style and 60 seated. Kangaroo Kickabout holds 100 standing and 60 seated. The Gallery holds 100 theater style and 50 classroom.
Food comes from Taste, the zoo's on-site caterer, with a la carte options. Venue enhancements cover animal meet and greets, carousel rides, the Soaring Eagle, cornhole, a photo booth, sound, lighting, linens and china.
The zoo publishes no rental fee, deposit or cancellation term for any of these spaces. Extension 190 holds every number.
What to ask before the order goes in
Five questions carry the budget. Ask the per-person rate for a group of 20 or more at Glow Wild, and whether it holds for a Friday or Saturday in December. Ask whether a bulk daytime order can cover a holiday night. Ask whether a buyout includes show admission, rink time and catering, and which of those items prices separately. Ask the room rental fee, deposit and cancellation terms for Jungle Terrace at the group's headcount. Ask how coaches arrive and where they stage, because the site prints no motorcoach rate.
A December date needs an early call. The window runs from November 13 to January 3.
The room side of the trip
The zoo publishes no hotel partner and no room rate. Run the block through bookMyTeam's request form, and the request reaches 50 or more hotels in the destination on one submission. bookMyTeam prints 15-40% off rack rates for blocks of 10 or more rooms. The group rate calculator prices a block from the planner's dates and room count. Nashville's team hotel directory lists properties by area when the team splits across two hotels.
