Meet Santa at London Zoo
Join us this November and December, as Santa returns to London Zoo! Little ones can take part in Christmas crafts before they meet Santa in his magical grotto and receive a very special early Christmas gift to take home.
Choose from Meet Santa, Meet Santa Upgraded and Meet Santa VIP Breakfast sessions. Relaxed sessions are also available. Gold members, Fellows and Patrons who register their interest will have one week's priority access to book for four special dates at a discounted rate, and will be the first to know as soon as tickets are live!
To register your interest and be one of the first to hear about Meet Santa tickets for 2024, please sign up below.
The booking links will only be emailed to those who register their interest, so make sure you're registered if you want the chance to book for Meet Santa 2024. If you are a Gold member, Fellow or Patron, please use the email address associated to your membership to ensure you receive your priority booking links.
Note: London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo have separate register your interest forms.
What Meet Santa sessions are available this year at London Zoo?
Meet Santa
30 November and 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23 & 24 December
Little ones can take part in Christmas crafts before they meet Santa in his magical grotto at the heart of London Zoo and receive a very special early Christmas gift to take home. Perhaps they’ll even be lucky enough to spot our animals snuffling around next door as well! This experience is £17.50 per child.
Meet Santa Priority for Gold members, Fellows and Patrons
23 & 24 November and 19 & 20 December
Gold members, Fellows and Patrons have priority access to these sessions for 1 week only. The sessions include the same experience as standard Meet Santa sessions but are offered at a 10% discount. If you are a Gold member, Fellow or Patron, please use the email address associated to your membership to ensure you receive your priority booking links.
Meet Santa Priority Relaxed sessions are also available on 24 November and 19 December.
Meet Santa Relaxed
30 November and 1, 16, 17 & 18 December
These sessions include the same experience as standard Meet Santa sessions, but with dimmed lighting, quieter sounds and other reduced sensory stimulation to make the area feel more relaxed, specifically designed for those with additional needs. This experience is £17.50 per child.
Meet Santa Upgraded
30 November and 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 & 24 December
For only £22.50 more per child*, enjoy a really special treat this year. Little ones will love meeting Mrs Claus and helping to prepare some Christmas dinner for the animals, before the whole group enjoys a sweet treat and a delicious hot** drink each plus a 30-minute Zoo tour. And of course, every child will meet Santa in his grotto and take away a Christmas gift.
Meet Santa Upgraded Relaxed sessions are also available on 23 & 24 December.
Meet Santa VIP Breakfast
23, 24 & 30 November and 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 & 24 December
For only £25 more per child*, our elves will sneak you into the Zoo at 8am, before normal opening, for a very special VIP Breakfast with Mrs Claus in our Tiny Giants exhibit. After a delicious continental breakfast, you’ll embark on a special early morning tour whilst the Zoo is waking up before little ones meet Santa in his grotto, taking home a special Christmas gift.
The booking links for Meet Santa 2024 at London Zoo will only be emailed to those who register their interest, so make sure you're registered if you want the chance to book.
*Adults priced separately.
**Cold drink alternative available for our littlest guests.
Meet Santa Frequently Asked Questions
Please find a list of available dates per Meet Santa session type below.
Meet Santa
30 November and 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23 & 24 December
Meet Santa Priority
23 & 24 November and 19 & 20 December
Meet Santa Priority Relaxed
24 November and 19 December
Meet Santa Relaxed
30 November and 1, 16, 17 & 18 December
Meet Santa Upgraded
30 November and 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,23 & 24 December
Meet Santa Upgraded Relaxed
23 & 24 December
Meet Santa VIP Breakfast
23, 24 & 30 November and 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 & 24 December
Yes, Gold members, Fellows and Patrons who register their interest will have one week's priority access to book for four special dates at a discounted rate: 23 & 24 November and 19 & 20 December.
Registered Gold members, Fellows and Patrons will also be the first to know as soon as tickets are live!
Please register your interest at the top of this page, using the email address associated to your membership fellowship or patronage, to receive the booking links when they release.
These are the available Meet Santa session types for 2024:
- Meet Santa
- Meet Santa Priority
- Meet Santa Priority Relaxed
- Meet Santa Relaxed
- Meet Santa Upgraded
- Meet Santa Upgraded Relaxed
- Meet Santa VIP Breakfast
We appreciate that the Zoo and our events can be quite loud or overwhelming for some visitors. Our Meet Santa Relaxed Sessions offer visitors with additional needs a more comfortable experience. This may mean less lighting, reduced noise, and off-peak times to limit the number of visitors on site.
Meet Santa tickets are valid for the experience only and do not include Zoo admission. All participants and accompanying adults also need either a valid ZSL Membership or Zoo admission tickets.
The prices for all different session types for Meet Santa 2024 are listed below:
- Meet Santa - £17.50 per child
- Meet Santa Priority - £15.75 per child
- Meet Santa Priority Relaxed - £15.75 per child
- Meet Santa Relaxed - £17.50 per child
- Meet Santa Upgraded - £40 per child / £15.00 per adult
- Meet Santa Upgraded Relaxed - £40 per child / £15.00 per adult
- Meet Santa VIP Breakfast - £42.50 per child / £21.50 per adult
There’s a maximum of three children per booking, but if you wanted to book for more children, you’d just need to make two online bookings. If booked into the same time slot, we’ll do our best to allow the children to enter together; the limit per booking just allows us to manage the time slots and capacities of the event.
At London Zoo there is no limit on accompanying adults in the grotto. You can include up to two free accompanying adult tickets when you make your Meet Santa booking. If you’d like to have more than two adults attend the grotto session, please just mention this to the team on the day.
For upgraded sessions and VIP Breakfast, to ensure the maximum number of children can enjoy these special Christmas experiences, the maximum number of adults per booking is two.
If you don’t wish for them to meet Santa or receive a gift (e.g. babes in arms), they do not need a ticket. If you wish for them to participate in the experience in any way, you must book them an Under 3s Meet Santa ticket.
The Meet Santa ticket alone does not include Zoo admission.
Members, Fellows and Patrons will be granted Zoo entry on arrival simply by showing their membership card. Membership alone only provides access to the Zoo.
All other visitors, including Under 3s and any non-members accompanying members, will need a valid Zoo ticket in addition to any Meet Santa ticket in order to enter the Zoo.
Please note, any child members wanting to see Santa will need a Meet Santa ticket.
We want to make the Christmas experience as magical as possible, and just one or two bits of information can help the conversation with Santa be more tailored to your child.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. Tickets are only valid at the Zoo the booking was made for and at the date/time shown on the tickets.
If you have already made a booking and have a query about your booking, please quote your booking reference in the SEE Tickets Customer Service portal:
https://zsllondonzoo.seetickets.com/customerservice
If you do not already have a booking and your question is not answered in the FAQs, contact ZSL’s Supporter Contact team on 0344 225 1826 or [email protected].