The Santa Experience

All children who would like to take part in The Santa Experience and receive a gift, will require a Santa Experience ticket. Child CZS Annual Members, Child Complimentary Ticket Holders (including Adopters and children attending Animal Experiences) must also purchase a Santa Experience Ticket if they wish to participate and receive a toy.

Children aged under 1 year may enter the Santa Experience free of charge, when accompanying an older sibling who is participating in the experience. However, if you would like them to receive a gift, a Santa Experience ticket must be purchased per child. Adults accompanying children taking part in the experience do not require a Santa Experience ticket.

The Santa Experience takes place within the grounds of CZS. Therefore, all children visiting the Santa Experience will need a valid Santa Experience ticket along with a valid admission ticket to CZS or valid Annual Membership. Guests accompanying children to the Santa Experience will also need a CZS admission ticket or valid Annual Membership to be admitted entry.

This event is for children only. If a Child CZS Annual Member wishes to take part in The Santa Experience and receive a gift, a Santa Experience ticket must be purchased online in advance. A CZS Annual Membership will allow access to our Magic of Christmas activities, but the Santa Experience is not included.

Adults are not required to purchase a Santa Experience ticket to accompany children through the experience but they will require a valid Admission Ticket or Annual Membership to enter the Zoo.

Santa Experience tickets can be purchased online via the CZS website in advance only. Our Santa Experience is a timed-slot attraction and therefore, you must purchase your ticket online in advance for a specific date and timeslot. We cannot gurantee availability on the day of your visit to The Santa Experience due to a maximum capacity per time slot.

If you are unable to book online, we can assist with your booking in advance in person at the Zoo. Please note that bookings cannot be made on the day of the experience.

No, all children who wish to take part in The Santa Experience and enter the Zoo’s grotto, will require a Santa Experience ticket. This includes children under 3 years old. Child CZS Annual Members, Child Complimentary Ticket Holders (including Adopters and children attending Animal Experiences) must also purchase a Santa Experience Ticket if they wish to participate.

Children aged under 1 year may enter the Santa Experience free of charge, when accompanying an older sibling who is participating in the experience. However, if you would like them to receive a gift, a Santa Experience ticket must be purchased per child. Adults accompanying children taking part in the experience do not require a Santa Experience ticket.

Santa Experience tickets cannot be shared. One ticket allows entry for one child to the Santa Experience and will become invalid once scanned.

Santa Experience tickets are non-transferrable and non-refundable. Please note that Tesco Clubcard Reward Codes cannot be redeemed towards a Santa Experience ticket.

Our Santa Experience is a capacity managed, timed-slot attraction. Therefore, all participants must pre-book a Santa Experience ticket online in advance for a specific date and timeslot. We hope that this will limit the time you may have to wait however, queues may still occur to enter the grotto.

Any children under the age of 16 years must be accompanied by a responsible guardian aged 16 years or over at all times. Unaccompanied children under the age of 16 years will not be admitted into the Zoo. Photo ID may be requested by our Team at any time during your visit.

Santa Experience tickets are only required and valid for children. Any children under the age of 16 years must be accompanied by a responsible guardian aged 16 years or over at all times.

Any adults accompanying children will need to have a Zoo Admission Ticket or valid Annual Membership as the Santa Experience is located within the Zoo grounds.

We plan to go ahead in all weather conditions, unless the team feel that it is unsafe to do so. If we are unable to open due to adverse weather or any other extreme circumstance, a member of our team will be in contact with you as soon as possible.

Our Magic of Christmas days take place on 21st, 22nd, 28th & 29th November, 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, 19th – 24th December 2026. This event takes place during normal zoo opening hours and is included in standard admission.

The Santa Experience is not included in our Magic of Christmas event and a Santa Experience ticket must be pre-booked separately in addition to standard admission in order to take part.

If you or a member of your party are unable to queue due to accessibility needs, please speak to a member of our Grotto team on arrival. The Santa Experience is designed as a journey through a series of themed rooms before reaching the final destination to meet Santa himself. Due to the layout and nature of the experience, we are unfortunately unable to offer a fast-track queue system. However, our team will always do their best to assist where possible and may be able to provide direct access to meet Santa. Please note that this may mean some parts of the Santa Experience are missed.

• The grotto has flat floor surfaces throughout.
• All doorways and corridors are wheelchair accessible with a minimum door width of 86cm with straight on access to the doorway.
• There are some turns to navigate however, sufficient turning space has been allocated.

Neurodivergence:

• The grotto can be quite noisy and busy with excited children (and adults!)
• There will be background Christmas music playing so ear defenders may be considered.
• There will be some flashing Christmas lights but no strobe effects.
• There is one special ‘magical’ effect that includes noise and flashes.
• Some imagery will be displayed on screens similar to television screens.

Assistance Dogs:

• We welcome assistance and medical alert dogs however, ask owners to cooperate with our Assistance Dogs policy.
• Therapy dogs are not allowed in CZS as they are not considered to be assistance dogs in the UK.
• We do not allow dogs to be left in cars during your visit.