The Asian Lantern Festival: Into The Wild returns to light up Central Florida Zoo starting Nov.14, 2025
- Alastair Mac
- Sep 23
- 3 min read
One of the most anticipated and beloved holiday events in Central Florida is returning for another year of holiday magic at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens.
The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens enchanting holiday tradition, Asian Lantern Festival: Into the Wild, presented by Publix, returns for the 6th year at Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, in Sanford.
The event will take place select nights from November 14, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
The festival features larger-than-life handcrafted lanterns lit by more than 10,000 LED lights. Lanterns are situated on a 3/4-mile loop around the Zoo, providing a unique take on a holiday lights show.
The event combines beautiful color, light and sound to deliver a true experience celebrating traditional Asian lantern festivals.
The festival features dozens of larger-than-life, hand-crafted lanterns that are lit by thousands of LED lights, resulting in a gorgeous display of color, light and sound that celebrates traditional Asian lantern festivals.
The lanterns are situated on a 3/4-mile loop around the Zoo, providing a truly unique take on a holiday lights show that will leave attendees clamoring to come back again and again with friends and family.
This is the sixth year of the festival, which started in 2019. Last year's festival broke attendance records yet again, with more than 120,000 guests wandering the zoo's pathways under an array of artisan lanterns.
“Asian Lantern Festival: Into the Wild has become a beloved tradition for so many in our community, and we’re thrilled to bring it back for a sixth spectacular year,” comments Zoo CEO Richard E. Glover, Jr. “This event transforms the Zoo into something truly magical offering a one-of-a-kind experience that blends art, culture and nature in a way that only the Zoo can. We’re proud to continue our collaboration with Publix and welcome guests to make holiday memories with us this season.”
“Publix is honored to continue our support of the Asian Lantern Festival: Into the Wild as presenting sponsor,” said Hannah Herring, Publix Media Relations Manager. “We’re proud to be part of the communities we serve and hope this event will bring families together in a meaningful way during the holiday season.”
The Asian Lantern Festival is presented in partnership with Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc.
Tickets
Family and individual tickets go on sale October 1, 2025. Reservations for groups are already under way and buy-outs for select nights are also available.
For more information about the “Asian Lantern Festival: Into the Wild,” visit CentralFloridaZoo.org.
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