Christmas 2018 | The Lanterns at Chester Zoo

On Sunday we headed over to Chester to experience The Lanterns at Chester Zoo. We have never been before but some of the family went last year and loved it so they booked for us all to go this year. I had no idea what to expect so I was really surprised when we got there to see lots of animals made out of lights.

The Lanterns is a walk through experience following a trail of 9 specific points. When we arrived we were offered the chance to carry a lantern on a big pole for adults and handheld lanterns for the children.

The main areas are

1. Garden of Delight
2. Moonlit Meadow
3. Shangri La
4. Cloud Cuckoo Land
5. Northern Lights
6. Enchanted Woodland
7. Wonderland
8. Rainforest Aglow
9. Ice Kingdom

In-between 5 and 6 there is a chance to buy some food and drinks at the Christmas Market Food Stalls.

As you will tell from the names of each area they are themed and some of the animals are just amazing.

The animals lanterns are either part of display or walking around. We had lovely one to one time petting a snail, stroking an emu and lots of fun with a cheeky penguin.

We began our walk at 5pm so it was actually quite dark by this time. We were greeted by a friendly snail who took a liking to big J's trainers. He was happy smelling the trainers - something I'd never do!!!!

We continued to make our way through the different areas. Seeing the lions, elephants and giraffes was a highlight for me. They were amazing.

We found that the characters walking around were really engaging with the children. The emus enjoyed pecking at little J's hat and the penguins had us laughing, they were so funny.

Santa and his reindeer can be spotted up by the Northern Lights area. He is riding up and down on his sleigh. You might see Rudolph too.

We didn't stop for anything to eat as we had eaten before we got there but there was plenty on offer. The waffles and churros smelt delicious.

There were so many opportunities to take photos whether it was of the animal lanterns, standing under the snow machine or of the 3D walkway. Unfortunately I forgot my camera and the photos on my phone don't do it justice so you will have go and see it for yourself.

The Lanterns at Chester Zoo on open until the 23rd December and you can read more about it by visiting Chester Zoo.

Michelle

We have reviewed The Lanterns at Chester Zoo on our blog because we enjoyed the experience. We paid for our own tickets and we have not been asked to mention Chester Zoo on our blog.