Wild Wonderland at Bearizona: A Fun Holiday Event in Northern Arizona
Disclaimer: We are not paid to promote any restaurant, hotel, activity, product, or attraction. All opinions are subjective and based on our personal experience. Your experience may be different.
UPDATE: This event closed in 2020. However, they still offer a free light show at the entrance. There are no details at this point as to whether or not they plan on bringing back this fantastic event. Let’s hope so! In the meantime, check out my N Arizona holiday guide for more great shows and events in this area.
2015 marks the 1st annual holiday light spectacular, known as Wild Wonderland, at Bearizona, a popular drive thru wildlife park in Northern Arizona. The park is open year round for regular activities, which include both a drive through and walk through area featuring all different types of animals including black bears, bison, Alaskan tundra wolves, mountain goats, and bobcats.
The great aspect of visiting Bearizona is that you can see all the animals up pretty close and the setting of the drive thru park reflects the animal’s natural environment in the wild. Wild Wonderland offers you the opportunity to stroll around the walk thru portion of the park after dark and enjoy a different, yet festive holiday setting (perhaps next year they can decorate the drive-thru portion as well?!).
Wild Wonderland is similar to a Zoo Lights event, although you will not see as many animals. However, this is a wonderful light display in a wintry setting. As you stroll the grounds, you will see hundreds of pine trees lit up beautifully for the season. According to Bearizona, this year’s event is only 20% of what is expected for future seasons of Wild Wonderland. If this is the case, we are in for a real treat in coming years!
The grounds are quiet and tastefully decorated. You can easily see that they put a lot of time into organizing the lights and stringing them as opposed to just plopping the lights down with no direction. In my opinion, this is what sets a good light show apart from a bad one! Fortunately, Bearizona does get overcrowded, as is the case of many area holiday events. You can actually relax and stroll around with a hot cup of coffee or hot cocoa (you will need a warm drink as the temps are very cold at night this time of year, no matter the daytime highs) as you walk the grounds at your own leisure.
The highlight of the event is a synchronized light and music show, accompanied by various classic and modern holiday songs such as Hot Chocolate from The Polar Express, Let it Go from Frozen, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, and classic music from Trans Siberia Orchestra.
Besides the lights, a Meet and Greet with Mrs. Claus takes place each night at 6 and 7. In addition, there are wonderful photo opportunities, one being a festive sleigh with a tree in the background: the perfect setting for your holiday greeting cards. Another great photo spot is next to a beautiful tree with a snowman by the side. Take a look below.
The park is closed off for the event, so you will not see many animals. Also, it’s quite dark so you wouldn’t see anything anyways. The one exception is the Black Bear cubs, who were having a great time playing around. How adorable!
While visiting Wild Wonderland is a much different experience than visiting the park during the afternoon, the experience is still worthy of the small price tag of just 10 bucks a person. This is one of the nicer holiday events in Northern Arizona, and I recommend visiting if you find yourself traveling through this area of the country in December.
There are 2 great gift shops at Bearizona, one selling Native American crafts and souvenirs (the dream catchers are a steal here!), and another selling Bearizona souvenirs and animal themed gifts. Why not pick up a few unique holiday gifts for the animal lover on your list?!
While Wild Wonderland is a great event, I also recommend visiting Bearizona during the daytime to experience the drive-thru wildlife park, while also getting the opportunity to see more animals in the walk thru including bobcats, river otters, red foxes, and more. A great Birds of Prey show is also included with your admission.
Location and Hours
Bearizona is located at: 1500 Historic Rte 66, Williams, AZ 86046
Wild Wonderland hours are: November 29th-December 28th (Fridays-Sundays only) from 5-8pm. On December 14th, the park is open every day at the listed hours. Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Admission is $10 per person. Check the website for details on this year’s dates and pricing.
More holiday fun in Northern Arizona
Other holiday events nearby include The Polar Express in Williams, the North Pole Experience in Flagstaff, and the holiday light display at Flagstaff’s Little America. If you are staying in Flagstaff or Williams, you may as well check out several events while you are here. In addition, both Flagstaff and Williams are nicely decorated downtown for the holidays (Flagstaff and Williams are just 30 minutes or so away from each other). Also, be sure to walk around the Grand Canyon Railway as they have a pretty nice light display.
