Visit The Grand Canyon Deer Farm in Williams, Arizona!

 

I love animals of all shapes & sizes so when we have a chance to visit a new zoo, animal experience or new area to go hiking/exploring, I am all for it. I live in Arizona & as long as you have the paperwork for it the state has a large list of animals you are allowed to legally own which means there are several animal experiences & interactive ranches/farms that have unique animals for you to see. I have written reviews for a few locations here in Arizona in the past & today I will be sharing a spot called the Grand Canyon Deer Farm which is located in Williams, Arizona. If you are interested in what the other animal spots I've reviewed are, I will include them at the end of this post. This is a spot we paid to visit, it is not a sponsored post. The Deer Farm is easy to reach, it is just off of Interstate 40, so even if you aren't planning on staying in the area it is a fun spot to stop on a road trip through the area or during a day trip like we did. 

As the name suggests the Grand Canyon Deer farm is home to dozen of deer, however they also have a few other farm animals & a couple exotic animals as well that you get to see up close. The farm has a few species of deer including reindeer along with peacocks, a cockatoo, wallabies, a camel, a marmoset monkey, coatis, Zonkeys & more. You will be able to see & pet a few of the animals up close, the others are just for viewing. How much does it cost to get in? It is $16 per adult and $9 per child, the cost does not include food for the deer. Based off of our experiences at other animals experiences like this I would say the price is moderate in comparison. They also have encounter opportunities that can be purchased separate for example you would pay $30 per person to interact with the wallabies. I would recommend booking that part ahead of time to make sure you can get in. We had stopped by on a trip & had wanted to do the animal experiences but there wasn't enough staff on hand that day to do it so they were not letting anyone buy the extras. 

In total I would say we stayed for about an hour and a half, some of the spots we stayed at just a little bit longer than others. Wear close toed shoes as you will be walking through dirt & possibly mud depending on the weather and of course some animal poop. They didn't put any holes into our clothing, but just in case I wouldn't wear your favorite top while visiting. Some of the deer started nibbling onto our shirts if they weren't being fed fast enough. Most of the deer were very sweet while we were walking around feeding & petting them, a couple were slightly pushy but that is any animal when they want a snack. Depending on what time of the year you go, you might get lucky & get to see some baby animals while you are there. 

The farm is set up in a way that it is easy to do a self guided tour without assistance, the paths are easy to follow & all of the animals pens are set up along the trail so you can see them as you walk. One of our favorite animals to see was the mini Zebu cow! She was so sweet and soft. Another stop that was a favorite of mine was over at the Coati cage! I love how cute those little critters are, they are like a cross between a lemur and a raccoon & they are actually native to Arizona. I hope to one day be able to spot them out in the wild while hiking & exploring. 

It was a nice spot to stop, we enjoyed the bit of time we spent there viewing the animals & interacting with some of them. They also have a huge gift shop & indoor bathrooms available & they also have outdoor sinks so you can wash your hands after touching the animals. If you want to make your trip more of an adventure the deer farm is right up the road from the Grand Canyon Go-Karts (click the name to be taken to the review). It is also located just up the road from Bearizona which is a walkthrough & drive thru animal park. 

If you want to check out other animal experiences in Arizona here are some of our favorites! Click on the name of the attraction & you will be brought to the review I wrote for it.

★ Bearizona which is mentioned above is wonder it has bears, wolves, otters & more that you can see up close. 

★ Ghost Ranch Exotics out near Tucson offers up close encounters with a Kangaroo, Capybaras & more. 

★ The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a mini zoo, aquarium, hiking zone and more where you get see a number of amazing animals + you can pay to feed a sting ray. 

★ The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch near Tucson offers you a chance to feed & touch a number of animals including Donkeys, Rainbow Lorikeets, Deer, Goats, Ducks & More. 

★ The Phoenix Herpetological Society in Scottsdale gives you a chance to see gators, monitor lizards, otters, raccoons, snakes & more up-close. 

★ Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale is home to hundreds of fish, but they also offer the chance to have unique encounters with a Sloth & with Penguins!

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

UFO Experience in Scottsdale,Arizona!

 

Have you ever wondered if Aliens really exist? Ever wondered how some of our ancestors were able to do the amazing feats they accomplished such as the pyramids, Stonehenge and more?  For anyone who is curious to know more about the unexplained & unknown you can check out the "UFO Experience" that opened up at the Arizona Boardwalk earlier this year. They are open seven days a week from 10am-6pm & it is located in Scottsdale. It is $21.95 per adult & $15.95 per child, you can expect to spend about 35-60 minutes here. 

The UFO Experience is a small alien focused exhibit that has been set up like a museum. You'll find a few interactive spots, replicas & props along with a ton of information on different UFO/Alien sightings. We got lucky & there were not a ton of people around when we visited so we were able to take our time & read each of the plaques and screens they had set up with information. Some of the events we know of & have heard of while others we haven't so it was neat being able to learn about some events we didn't know about. Everything is self-guided so you can go at your own pace, the flow of the exhibit is straight forward and easy to navigate. 

In the first area you visit you will find a wall with headphones that you can put on & listen to real 911 and air traffic control calls of people who have experienced something out of this world. You will also find a few TV's playing videos of UFO's people have taped, court cases and more featuring aliens and unknown flying objects. There are also some highlighted events such as the Phoenix lights, a reenacted alien autopsy and a moon walk for the kids. (It is big enough adults can get in it as well). 

Following this room, you will wander into a section that has a number of weapons & props from different alien related movies. You'll find an alien shooting range, a Men-In-Black featured corner, an interactive game on the floor and a fake autopsied alien body that you can poke & feel if you wish. In the other sections you will find busts of various alien species that are said to have been seen on Earth, clips from movies about aliens along with some large replicas of the aliens themselves plus more alien encounter moments.

There is also a whole section on pyramids & similar structures that are incredible when you really think about how they managed to build them without some of the advantages we have today. I was very excited in the room with the pyramid information because they actually have a replica of a very old artifact that I've read about before. In 1973 a three-thousand-year-old artifact was found in Turkey; hundreds of artifacts have been found all of the world so what makes this one so special? The shape of it looks like a rocket ship with an astronaut (missing its head) sitting in the cockpit. For a time period that did not have rocket ships, it really makes you wonder, how and why it was created or what inspired them to make it. It looks like a piece that may have been made to be used as a toy for young children. It is kind of hard to see in the photo that I took above due to the lighting so I have also provided a sketch from google of what the artifact looks like so you can see it for yourself plus a photo of the actual artifact. 

You will find a lot of fun photo opportunities along the way so be sure to have a camera or your phone with you. Is the experience worth a visit? My family & I enjoyed what they had to offer, this is something we were already interested in and discussed so it was neat getting to read about some experiences we haven't heard of. I liked that they had some things for small kids to enjoy as well like the moon walk, touching the aliens' insides, they had an area with two sofas plus some kids alien themed books for them to read and more to keep the little ones occupied. Before you leave you can put a chip into a voting bin to state whether you believe in aliens or not! You can see in the image below that there is a decent amount of people who have said no, along with many maybe's however the yes has a large majority of the votes. Where do you think you'd stand with your vote? As you exit you will exit into the gift shop where you'll find a number of cute alien products from kitchen goods to stuffed animals and jewelry. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Disclaimer- Tickets to the center + exhibit mentioned above were provided by The Arizona Boardwalk + UFO Experience for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Exotic Animal Experience in Arizona!

 

When we visit fun new places that I think others will enjoy, I like sharing them here on my blog! This time around it isn't really a review of the location just some fun highlights of when we visited. Why isn't it quite a full review? When we had visited this location, it was under another name & address. Shortly after we had paid a visit to the farm, they moved to their new location taking the exotic animals with & have the farm animals at another location as part of the new mobile petting zoo services they offer. The exotic animal portion is now called Ghost Ranch Exotics which is located just outside of Tucson, Arizona. We personally loved getting to go on the exotic animals tour as we were able to see & pet Capybaras, Patagonian Maras, a red-rumped agouti, a kangaroo & more along with being able to feed porcupines and other animals. This is a spot we paid for on our own while on vacation to Tucson and it is not sponsored by the ranch. 

They have several different packages depending on your budget & what kind of animals you want to interact with. We opted to do the all in exotic animals package which allowed us to feed & pet the farm animals which included ducks, goats, pigs, emus, and chickens plus the exotic animal tour. During our visit they had a bunch of baby goats you were able to pick up & hold, they were so cute and sweet. I've been to a lot of zoo's & small owned locations like the Ghost Ranch Exotics, from what I saw while we were there, the animals are well taken care of. They looked healthy, they looked happy & seemed to really enjoy all the attention they were getting. Appearance wise they looked well groomed, after getting to pet them your hands didn't feel disgusting & were not overly dirty. They had a wash station where you could wash your hands & hand sanitizer if you wanted to use it. 

It also included a tour through the exotic animal areas, in each area we were handed some food & told which animals we were able to give the food to. There were only a few animals that weren't able to be pet during this tour which were the porcupines (you were still able to feed them carrots) & the birds. The package we purchased also had the kangaroo included so after the exotic tour we were taken to another area to see the kangaroo & a warthog. We got extremely lucky & there weren't any others who had purchased the kangaroo part at the same time so the four of us were able to be with the kangaroo & staff member by ourselves almost the entire time until another couple joined us toward the end. 

On your way out you can stop by the gift shop to purchase a souvenir from your trip. Not only do they have personally branded items such as clothing, notebooks, and more, but you can purchase peacock feathers, porcupine quills (they shed them naturally just like bird feathers) & some other goods. I bought a cute Capybara pin & a Halloween themed fridge magnet that has a kangaroo on it.

I have no idea what the new location looks like, but the old location was pretty well kept for how many animals they had. We had an amazing time seeing all the animals, getting to pet them & feed them. We were there for about two hours in total. Cost wise it is different now from what it was when we visited & their new website doesn't state if the costs are per person or per group. When we had paid it was per person but was a lot less than the currently listed prices so maybe it is for a small group? The price for the all animals experience at the new location is $375. They also have other options for certain animals if you'd like to only see certain animals. 

What is an animal you've always wanted to have an interaction with??? Is this a spot you think you'd want to visit??

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Golf N' Stuff - Tucson, Arizona.

 

My family & I always enjoy getting outside to do activities together when the weather is nice. One of our favorite things to do is mini golf, we have both indoor & outdoor courses here which makes it great because we can enjoy the weather when it is nice or escape the heat in the summer. Some of you who have been a follower of my blog for a while have seen me talk about the POGO pass before, but if you haven't it is an local attractions pass that can be purchased for $60 per person & it gets you into a number of activities for free saving you hundreds of dollars. You can get a Pogo Pass for a discounted cost $59.99 using code 6c8d10a3. You can learn more information about the pogo pass by visiting my review here. One of the places included in the Phoenix/Tucson POGO Pass is Golf N' Stuff in Tucson. It is located at 6503 E. Tanque Verde Rd. Tucson, Arizona 85715.

With your pass you will be able to get a free round of mini golf, a free round of laser tag & a free round of the bumper boats. Each will need to be used on a separate occasion, if you do not live near Tucson but will be in the area for vacation you can either use the trips on the different days you are there or visit once in the morning, leave & then visit later in the day you can claim your visits. 

When we were on a mini in-state vacation we stopped by Golf N' Stuff while we were on vacation to claim our mini golf visit. They have two different eighteen-hole courses you can complete & you are free to choose which you'd like to do. We got lucky & visited on a day when there weren't a lot of people golfing as it was closer to when they were going to close and it was also a little rainy that day so we mostly have the course we choose to ourselves. 

Like most mini golf spots the course could use a little bit of updating as some spots were a little beat up, but overall, we really enjoyed the course. It was well set up; each section was pretty cute and the holes themselves were fun. My favorite hole was the one near a miniature Victorian house because I love how older homes like that look. We were able to go at our own pace which was very enjoyable & fun since we weren't trying to rush so a group behind us could play next. We spent a little over an hour there playing golf, then we went inside to play some of their arcade games. They have a wide range of arcade games for all ages & it didn't cost a lot to play which is a bonus. 

You can find more Arizona attractions, events & restaurants by clicking the "Things to do in Arizona" link on the right-hand side of my blog or click the purple link in this sentence. 

**This is not a sponsored post, we stopped by here as a family & I decided to share about our experience with my readers.**

A must see destination in Arizona, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum!

I recently found my favorite museum that I've ever visited & I wish I lived closer so I could buy a yearly membership to it because I would visit all the time. My family & I wanted to go on a small vacation for the holidays instead of doing a bunch of gifts so I planned a mini vacation to a city in our state that had several attractions we'd never been to before, one of those spots is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It is so much more than just a museum it is a 98-acre zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum & art gallery. It is located at 2021 N Kinney Rd Tucson, AZ 85743.

It is a popular tourist type spot so I highly recommend getting there early to get a parking spot closer to the entrance, or if you don't mind a short hike there are parking lots a bit further back. We arrived shortly after they opened & the parking lot was already pretty full with a decent line at the ticket window. The line moved quickly & the staff were all very friendly, the place is big enough that even with the number of people visiting you didn't feel crowded or overwhelmed which is nice. It also helps in spots like this when everyone takes their turn to look at exhibits, etc. without cutting in front of others so that made everything run smoothly. The website states it takes about 2-3 hours to see everything & it is quite true, depending on how much time you spend at each stop you might be there for even longer. A large majority of the museum is outdoors so if you aren't a fan of the heat the best time to visit is in the winter/spring months to avoid the Arizona summer heat. We visited on a beautiful slightly cloudy winter morning & the weather was perfect for visiting. 

The aquarium didn't open for another ten minutes after we arrived so our first stop was to the reptile house where we were able to see a large assortment of snakes, scorpions, frog/toads and more. We even had a chance to see one of the staff members feeding the toads which is always neat. My favorite enclosure in the reptile house were the walking sticks (or stick bugs), I haven't seen one out in the wild since I was a kid & I love how they look so getting to see a bunch of them up close was fantastic. After exiting we went straight for the aquarium & got lucky because the only other person in it was a staff member doing a bit of maintenance on one of the tanks so we had the whole place to ourselves. There was an assortment of fish both native to Arizona & non-native species such as seahorses to watch swim. No matter what aquarium I visit, I always enjoy spending a few minutes in front of the seahorses, it is so cute to watch them float around & grab onto the seaweed/plants with their tails. 

Shortly after we left the aquarium it was about time for the birds of prey show they host almost daily, but we decided to use that time to check out a few of the other exhibits since could see that 90% of the visitors there that day were headed to the show. We walked around the cactus botanical garden a little bit & I snapped some photos of the wild birds along with the cactus on display. They have multiple gardens around the museum, you can grab a map before heading into the museum that will show you where everything is & label it so you know where you are. Next I wanted to visit the hummingbird aviary, you actually get to go inside & be in an indoor garden with the hummingbirds flying right next to your head. I've been in bird aviaries before, none of which have had hummingbirds and I love them so I was overly excited. We spent quite a bit of time inside of it watching the hummingbirds, relaxing on the benches talking a little & of course I was snapping photos the whole time. 

Right next to the hummingbird aviary is an art galley, the art work was gorgeous & most of it featured native wildlife or scenery and everything is available for purchase. There was also a small section with trinkets like postcards, 3D printed items & more. The restaurant they had there smelled amazing, so if you get hungry while there stop in for a bite to eat or visit their café for a snack + coffee. They have an underground animal area where you actually head underground to check out a few small enclosures to see critters that you don't typically get to see. Then we explored a bit more of the gardens & went to the bird aviary that has bigger birds such as cardinals, quail & more which of course I loved and we spent time at some of the benches just watching the different birds. 

In total you will go on a hike that is about two miles long, while viewing wildlife habitats set up along the way with animals such as javelina, bobcats, bears, wolves and more. They also have another underground section that takes you into a cave area & a mine where they have minerals on display. Just writing about the Sonora desert museum makes me want to go back again! There was so much to do & so much to see, it was quite the adventure. If we lived closer I would get a membership as mentioned, because it would be a great place to go for a mini hike for exercise while getting to see some neat stuff. They had some other great things to do, but if I talk about it anymore this post is going to be gigantic so if you are ever in the area you need to check this place out & enjoy it for yourself, you won't regret it. Admission is $29.95 per adult & $19.95 for kids - If you live in AZ & are a bit short on cash but still want to visit this museum they are part of the Culture Pass program through the Arizona public library system, you can visit your local libraries website to see which location has a culture pass for this zoo - the library allows you to "check out" 2 passes per family per month through their program (1 pass at a time) for free & each pass gets you two free admissions into where ever the pass is for. 

If you are looking for more adventures in Tucson type in "Things to do in Tucson" or "Things to do in Arizona" in the search bar of my blog, I have several more fantastic animal attractions and more in Tucson to share with you & when all done within a few days it makes for a action packed vacation. 

Which part of this museum do you think you would be most interested in? What would you want to see first? 

**This is not a sponsored post, my family & I decided to visit the museum while we were in the area and paid to visit the museum. I enjoy sharing some of the fun places we've been & things we've seen with my readers so they can enjoy it too if they get a chance.**

Hotel McCoy in Tucson a cute alternative hotel!

 

Aside from selecting a destination, the first step in planning any vacation is deciding which hotel you want to stay at. I always like to look for a hotel that is not only within our set budget for the trip, but also close to what ever attractions we will be visiting. I recently planned a mini in-state trip to Tucson which is only about a two hour drive from us to visit some attractions in the area we hadn't been to before & also visit an old favorite. Prior to the trip I had already seen a few posts online about a newer hotel called Hotel McCoy & decided to reach out to the property owner about checking out their hotel while we were in the area. Before booking a hotel it is always nice to check out reviews of previous guests to read about the good, the bad and the ugly, after all you are paying hard earned cash to stay so you want to make sure the property is right for you. On Google they have a 4.7 star rating with 87% five star reviews and 13% four star or less reviews which isn't too shabby, after staying I can agree with both some of the good and bad reviews left for the hotel. They are located at 720 W Silverlake Rd #302 Tucson, AZ 85713 which is right off of the interstate and is close to pretty much everything we had planned for the trip. 

One of the main things that originally drew my attention to the hotel is that they have tried to create a fun & welcoming hotel experience that sets them apart from other hotels in the area. Every room on the property has some kind of mural on the wall or art work displayed in the room, there are murals painted all over the property itself and they have a wide range of amenities available for their guests. I do want to note for families with small children who book a double queen room or singles room to put a crib in, aside from the murals painted directly onto the walls any photography or artwork in the rooms is for sale & range in cost thus if anything gets damaged you will have to pay for it (You should take care of items in your room, no matter where you stay). Each room features a different artist/art style, we had several lovely photography canvas prints in our room. Parking is free, each room has a space in front of it to make your room easy to access. There is also a retro mini fridge in each room which is nice as we ended up picking up some cereal bowls & milk for breakfast our second day there so we were able to keep the milk cold over night along with our other beverages.

This hotel also has a small gift shop that has snacks, drinks & souvenirs next to a small bar that serves beer and wine. When you first check in you will be given one poker chip per member of your party, each adult can cash their chip in for a free small glass of wine or beer and kids will get to select a non alcoholic beverage from under the check in desk. My kids went with the Jones Soda! If you get a little hungry they have some local tamales they can pop in the microwave which will run you $4 each or there is a cute food truck that sits in front of the lobby that is open in the evening. It smelled really good, but we didn't end up trying it out for a family of four the prices were a little high so we went into town for dinner. Free breakfast is included in your stay, they set everything up on the bar in the morning which is poptarts, oatmeal with a number of toppings to add to it, apples/oranges, fruit juice boxes and coffee/tea. For various reasons I would give the breakfast a 2.5 star rating. You can eat in their lobby dinning hall which has a good amount of seating, at any of the outdoor seating arrangements or in your hotel room. There is a small on site bookstore, I was told the hours of it vary but we were able to check it out the second day we were there and my daughter found a pair of earrings she loved & bought. The hotel pool is saltwater & it is heated, they provide pool towels so you won't need to bring the towels from your room. It was nice to get into the pool for a bit, but man was it cold running back to the hotel room after getting out of the warm water. 

During our stay there were a few things we feel could have been improved a bit, such as our room cards didn't seem to want to open any of the pool gates or the room which has the gym/ice/water bottle refill station so to get into the pool we just had to reach over the gate and open it from the other side, but we never got to visit to get ice or water as we couldn't get into the room. The hotel is a remodeled old motel strip so the shower pressure & shower head quality were poor, the water had primarily one setting which didn't get that hot but I am not sure if that part can be improved. Wear socks in the room or bring slippers, after check in we decided to unpack a little & relax which meant walking around the room. When I went to sit down on the bed to lean back & relax against the wall to watch TV, I noticed that my feet had picked up a lot of dirt from the floor they looked grey on the bottoms, so I went to the bathroom to wash my feet off and throw on a pair of socks so they would pick up the dirt instead & I could take them off before bed to prevent any dirt from getting onto the white sheets of the bed. 

However there were other perks we did take advantage of that most hotels don't have, in the front lobby area they have a ping pong table, a foosball table, a claw machine, a pinball machine and a mini grass area with cornhole. We played used the ping pong table, foosball table & pinball machine several times plus we played a fun round of cornhole in the morning. They have it set up to where you can easily play at night as well because it is well lit and there is a firepit you can relax next to if you get cold. The mattress on the bed was very comfortable & the blankets kept us cozy. Each room also has a 55" TV with a roku hooked up to it, they had Netflix and Disney+ easily accessible on it so we watched a few things on Disney+ when we were relaxing in the room in the evenings, our remote had a few issues but we got it figured out. As mentioned before it was also really coinvent because we were close to all of the places we visited during our trip. Is it affordable for families on a budget? Yes and no, it honestly depends on when you plan on visiting. Like most hotels the price per night can vary depending on what events are happening in the area at the time, if it is busy season, etc. so the price can range from anywhere from $100 up to $400 a night for a room. Lastly I did also enjoy a lot of the artwork & murals that were painted along the hotel walls, there were some pretty whimsical & fun characters. You can see it all as you drive by to your room, or go for a stroll to see it all. My daughter & I took a short walk along the walls to look at everything. The hotel is also pet friendly, they allow dogs and fish however they can not accept poisonous animals such as snakes, nor do they allow cats. We were able to see a lot of cute dogs that hotel guests brought with them & everyone was doing a great job of cleaning up after their pets. 

So there you have it! A review of the good and bad from my point of view, I always feel slightly awkward writing about the things that I didn't like about a review opportunity but it is life & the whole point of why people read reviews in the first place. If you are an art lover & want to check out a new type of hotel experience, this hotel may be for you the next time you are in the Tucson area. If you are looking for more adventures in Tucson type in "Things to do in Tucson" or "Things to do in Arizona" in the search bar of my blog, I have several more fantastic animal attractions and more in Tucson to share with you & when all done within a few days it makes for a action packed vacation. 

Which part of the hotel do you think you would enjoy the most?

Disclaimer- A one night stay was provided free of charge + a 50% off was applied to a second night stay which were provided by Hotel McCoy for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Phoenix Zoo ZooLights & Dinosaurs in the Desert.

 

Two of the most popular events hosted by the Phoenix Zoo are back for the holiday season! Both events are fun to do at least once if you've never done them before, both give you a chance to look at the nice displays the zoo has set up while getting some exercise walking around. I have a little bit of information on both events below;

ZooLights
Runs from November November 23rd- January 15th
Zoo Member Preview nights are the 21st & 22nd
Daily from 5:30PM-10PM
$35 Per person for general admission or $30 for zoo members.

The phoenix Zoolights aren't open to the public just yet, but tickets have started to go on sale for when they do open. I was able to visit the Zoolights last night during a private event so I have some photos to share with all of you of some of the displays they have to offer this year, & will have a short reel on my instagram page soon for anyone who can't make it in person. 

Zoolights are a separate event & is not included with zoo admission nor does it run during regular zoo hours so this ticket will be bought separate from any visit to the zoo. They have everything set up so you can easily guide yourself through the zoo to see the lights, and also visit the Dinosaurs in the desert. Any areas you aren't allowed to visit during this time such as some of the exhibits are roped off with lights. We enjoyed our visit last night, the weather was perfect, the walk was nice & easily accessible for anyone pushing a stroller or using a wheelchair/electric scooter. We think they've definitely stepped up some of their displays since the last time we were here a few years ago, we loved the life sized light up animals.

Dinosaurs in the Desert
Runs from now until April 30th,2023
Daily during regular zoo hours + zoolights hours
FREE with general admission into the zoo/zoolights

This event takes place along the desert trail portion of the zoo, it is a self guided path that has a number of giant life sized dinosaur animatronics set up for viewing. Quite a few of the figures are just beyond the pathway markers so you are able to see them up close & it makes for some great photo opportunities. They also have speakers set up to play the sounds of the dinosaurs as well which makes the experience even better. 

If you visit during the normal zoo hours you will also get to see the various animals houses along this trail as well. Sadly during zoolights most of the animals are sleeping & it is dark so you can't really see them anyway, but the dinosaurs are well lit so they can still easily be seen, plus it is a different experience getting to see them in the dark. The trail is almost entirely dirt, however it is easy to push strollers or bring wheelchairs/electric scooters through the area and we didn't have any issues with it being dusty. 

There is also a fossil dig area the kids can explore, dino themed photo opportunities set up for you & a gift shop at the end where you can find an assortment of dinosaur themed goodies. I though the paleontologist doll they had was pretty cute & a great way to get kids interested in the field. 

Which event would you want to visit or would you want to do both?

As a final note I do want to remind my local Arizona residents that purchasing & using a POGO Pass will get you into the Phoenix Zoo once for free. This saves you $37.95 on regular admission price, a Pogo Pass for a discounted cost $49.99 using code 6c8d10a3. You might be thinking "But, Luna that is more expensive than the regular zoo admission", while this is true not only do you get into the Phoenix Zoo for free using your pass it also includes a number of free visits to several other valley attractions such as Pangea Land of the Dinosaurs, Bowling, Mini Golf, & more saving you over $200 on fun! You can learn more information about the pogo pass by visiting my review here. 

*This is not a sponsored post. We really enjoy visiting our local zoo & decided to do Zoolights again this year, we went with a family member to a private event.*