New Magic at Roger Williams Park Zoo Holiday Lights 2025

The holidays are lighting up across Southern New England and family favorites are returning for another season of memory making.

For the sixth year in a row, Roger Williams Park Zoo is going to cover 40 acres of New England's oldest zoo in millions of twinkling bulbs and plenty of festive fun.

The Holiday Lights Spectacular, presented by Rhode Island Energy, returns November 28th with the illuminated installations guests have loved for years and several new additions as well.

My family has been enjoying the Holiday Lights Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo since it was a drive-through-only event. Year after year we've returned for a nighttime walk through the zoo surrounded by millions of twinkling lights and every year my daughters are in awe of all the illumination.

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New Additions to the 2025 Holiday Lights Spectacular

This year I have a feeling my youngest is going to enjoy things even more, because the zoo has added Meet & Greets with Frozen Favorites this season. On Monday and Wednesday nights from 5:30-7:30 p.m visitors can take photos with Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and even the Grinch, to their 'spectacular' night of lights.

Santa Visits and Discount Tuesdays

There's also the traditional Visits with Santa every Thursday night from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and this year each Tuesday will be a Discount Tuesday with $5 off admission for all guests.

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The Holiday Lights Spectacular returns Friday, November 28, 2025 and runs through Sunday, January 4, 2026. The zoo will be illuminated each night from 5:30-9:30 p.m. only closing Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

20 Things To See at Roger Williams Park (Other Than the Zoo)

There are over 427 acres of beautiful landscaping, historical buildings and family friendly spaces at Roger Williams Park in Providence. Gifted to the city in 1872 by the last descendant of Roger Williams, Betsey Williams, the park has become primarily known for its amazing zoo. But throughout this historic district listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, there are plenty of other stunning things to see.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

LOOK: 25 over-the-top Christmas displays from across America

To help get everyone in the mood for the upcoming holiday season, Stacker compiled a list of some of the most over-the-top Christmas displays across America.

Gallery Credit: Annalise Mantz & Madison Troyer

LOOK: What Christmas was like the year you were born

To see how Christmas has changed over the last century, Stacker explored how popular traditions, like food and decorations, emerged and evolved from 1920 to 2021 in the U.S. and around the world.

Gallery Credit: Stacker