Glow Wild opens at Nashville Zoo on November 13, 2026 and runs nightly from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM through January 3, 2027. The show replaces Zoolumination. The Zoo states that visa issues affecting its event partner cancelled Zoolumination for 2026.
The four-hour window sits after a workday. The Zoo sits at 3777 Nolensville Pike, and its daytime gate closes at 4:00 PM.
What runs inside the four hours
The grounds carry glowing wildlife displays, festive lighting and an 85-foot synchronized Christmas tree in The Holiday Square on Festival Field. Santa visits nightly from November 27 to December 24.
Four animal exhibits stay open past dark. The Sumatran tiger, the Andean bear and the flamingos hold until 8:30 PM. Unseen New World stays open all night, with an exception for select weekend nights given to Night Owls.
Food runs until around 8:00 PM nightly. Quills Cafe & Grill serves a seasonal menu, Screaming Gibbon Pizza Kitchen makes pizza to order, and concession stands carry festive sweets and standard zoo snacks. Beverages run to about 8:00 PM as well, across hot cocoa, beer, margaritas, specialty cocktails, coffee and soda.
The Smashville Ice Rink, presented by the Nashville Predators, sells a 45-minute session with skate rentals at $12 for non-members and $10 for members. Skating tickets sit on top of admission. The rink may close when the temperature passes 50 degrees, and skaters booked for that night receive a full refund.
The Adventure 4D Theater runs a holiday short film, and tickets sell at Entry Village and at the theater. The Soaring Eagle Zip Line and The Wild Animal Carousel sell rides on site.
Tickets, parking and the weather rule
Single-Night Admission costs $27 per person and holds the selected night only. A Platinum Pass costs $39 per person and covers unlimited visits. Members take $5 off a single-night ticket. Children under age 2 enter free, and the page also states that tickets are required for all guests including kids under 2.
Single-night tickets transfer person to person. A date change depends on availability, and no ticket moves to a sold-out night. A used single-night ticket cannot count toward a Platinum Pass.
Parking costs $10. Members and Platinum Pass holders park free. Glow Wild runs rain, snow or shine, with no refunds and no rainchecks.
The hour between the two clocks
Zoo hours from October 13, 2026 to March 11, 2027 run 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Glow Wild gates at 5:00 PM. One hour sits between the daytime close and the evening gate.
The Zoo prints a quieter line for weekday evenings. Families looking to avoid large crowds may find a quieter experience by arriving when gates open at 5 pm on weekday evenings. Complimentary Zooper Packs at the ticket booth hold fidget toys, earplugs and similar items.
Where a day room fits
The Dayuse read of Nashville on 24 October 2026 returned 20 priced day rooms from $66 to $170. The mean is $97.80, and booking fees of $5 to $10 sit inside those figures. Distances are straight-line from the Zoo at 36.0906, -86.7344.
Best Western Plus Executive Residency Nashville: $66, one window from 15:00 to 21:00, 8.53 miles. That window starts two hours before the gate and closes at the end of the show.
GLo Best Western Nashville Airport: $85, windows from 7:00 to 13:00, 10:00 to 18:00 and 19:00 to 23:00, 3.72 miles. It is the nearest card on the read, and its evening window starts two hours into the show.
Sonesta Select Nashville Airport Suites: $81, windows from 7:00 to 13:00, 10:00 to 16:00 and 18:00 to 23:00, 5.42 miles. The 18:00 start lands an hour into the show.
Hampton Inn Nashville / Vanderbilt: $85, windows from 8:00 to 14:00, 10:00 to 16:00 and 17:00 to 23:00, 5.51 miles. The 17:00 window covers the gate and the close.
Radisson Hotel Nashville Airport: $86, windows from 8:00 to 14:00, 10:00 to 18:00 and 12:00 to 20:00, 5.36 miles. The 12:00 window carries the afternoon and the first three hours of the show.
Baymont by Wyndham Nashville Airport: $66, windows from 8:00 to 14:00 and 9:00 to 17:00, 5.16 miles. Both windows end at the gate, so the room serves the workday and not the show.
Closures to confirm
The event page prints nightly from November 13 to January 3 and lists no dark dates. The Zoo hours page prints that the Zoo is open every day except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Both lines sit on nashvillezoo.org. A visitor planning November 26, December 25 or January 1 should call 615-833-1534 before booking.
Booking the room
hotelslots.org lists 222 hotels in Nashville across four slots: Morning 6AM-12PM, Afternoon 12PM-6PM, Evening 6PM-12AM and Overnight 12AM-6AM. The directory prints addresses and no rates. The platform takes no commission, and the guest pays the hotel directly.
Groups of 20 or more buy discounted Glow Wild tickets through the Zoo group sales desk, and the Zoo publishes no group rate.
