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Two In Tow & On The Go: This zoo adventure was no snoozer
Snagging a spot for the exclusive Zoo Snooze at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium isn’t just special — it’s downright rare.
With a limited number of people chosen each year, this unforgettable sleepover inside the zoo’s Pacific Seas Aquarium is formatted as a group event and managed through a competitive lottery system based on chance. But “winning” only grants the opportunity to book the experience — complete with its $1,360+ price tag. The payoff? Sleeping beside the glow of dreamy underwater habitats, behind-the-scenes tours, and a nighttime walk through the zoo after everyone else has gone home.
Here’s our story about how Clara, Wyatt and I got in last month and how you possibly can too – in 2026.
Our 2024 Zoo Snooze:
Wyatt in the secret staff entrance. Just look at that grin.
Zoo Snooze, also sometimes called Group Snooze in its latest format, invites guests to sleep on the Pacific Seas Aquarium’s carpeted Northwest Waters gallery. That $1,360+ price tag mentioned above might induce some serious sticker-shock at first, but it covers a group of 14 people, so if you split it up that sum ends up being about $100 per person. And, since spots are not sold individually, it’s up to you to gather the group members and pay all at once ahead of time. The Snooze activity agenda, always on a Friday-to-Saturday schedule, invites you into the zoo after-hours on Friday night through a special door. Then there’s time for settling in, seeing indoor aquarium things and even heading outside for a brief pre-bedtime walk to the Rocky Shores and the Red Wolf Woods habitats. That tour takes place at night, under the stars – or, as is life around here – under a thick layer of damp and misty cloud cover so everyone is encouraged to bring their rain jacket.
At bedtime, the groups go back into the aquarium, cozy up in all the bedding gear they brought themselves, and doze off next to their new marinelife friends drifting effortlessly below the waterline. After an early morning wake-up, Saturday offers a continental breakfast at the nearby zoo cafe, a visit to the Kids’ Zone to feed the goats and visit at the playground, and then one final trek across the zoo to the Asian Forest Sanctuary for a private animal encounter (the deets of which we’re sworn to secrecy for in order to keep the mystery alive for those yet to book their own zoo add-on outside of the Snooze, such as the $70 Wild Zoo Tour). Snooze guests are then invited to stay during regular zoo hours Saturday at no extra cost to explore on their own for the remainder of the day.
Our schedule
Time: 7 p.m. Friday to 9:30 a.m. Saturday
Here was our program schedule for Friday night.
Ages: Humans age 5+ only
Chaperones: one adult was required for every seven kids. This 1:7 ratio helps the two Zoo Snooze guides wrangle the bigger crowds during the evening.
Cost: Minimum of $1,360 plus tax which covers up to 14 kids including two adult chaperones. Each additional person (adult or youth) costs an extra $85 plus tax. The price also included admission to the zoo on the Saturday immediately following the Snooze.
Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of $300 was required at the time of booking to reserve a date, which was later applied to the total cost. A signed contract, final guest count and the balance were all due no later than 30 days before our reserved date.
Size: Maximum of 40 total people.
Food: Dinner and snacks were not provided on Friday evening. They told us to eat dinner before arriving. We could bring our own snacks and non-alcoholic beverages in sealable containers. A continental breakfast on Saturday morning included with bagels, fruit, and yogurt with granola, juice – and, yes, all the coffee!
➤ TIP: For more info Check out the handy Zoo Snooze FAQ page here.
Zoo Snooze lottery
Clara and Wyatt at the October 25 Zoo Snooze with our friends at Gig Harbor’s Cub Scout Pack 202.
Each year, only 30 or so groups can get in on the Zoo Snooze action at Point Defiance, organizers told Gig Harbor Now. While the program was initially a traditional registered event, a lottery system was introduced two years ago to promote fair access to the limited dates available.
The process is simple, yet nerve-wracking. Each August, an entry window opens for folks to submit a no-commitment online request to book. When that window snaps shut by September, zoo staff tallies all the entries and then uses a random number generator to draw the first 30 or so groups they’ll present the scheduling opportunity to. Winners are then contacted in the fall to book a Snooze sometime during the following calendar year.
For the Snoozes taking place this year, in 2024, organizers said only 32 dates were available during the lottery. But a whopping 70 entries — more than double the open spots — poured in. The zoo staff doesn’t enjoy turning people away – they want to provide ample opportunity for people to connect with the animals (and the zoo’s conservation message), so even after the first round of names are drawn, everyone else who entered goes on a waiting list for that year.
We fed goats on Saturday.
“Sometimes the most difficult animals for us to build a connection with are the animals that are the least like us,” said Cathleen McConnell, the zoo’s conservation engagement group programs coordinator. “Time spent interacting with sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins with the guidance of an experienced Zoo Snooze host may open a new world of curiosity.”
And just in case you were thinking this process was a one-time thing — the waiting list doesn’t rollover into the next year, so folks are encouraged to re-enter for a Snooze spot every summer. Now, if you’ve already left my amazing column to pop over to the zoo’s website to see if the 2025 Zoo Snooze lottery is somehow still open, you’d know that, alas, that window has closed (but, hey, thanks for coming back to catch the end of my story!). Zoo staff reminds folks on its Snooze page (linked above) to check back in summer 2025 for updated details on the next lottery. Perhaps 2026 is your lucky year!
And that’s just about where I entered the picture:
And here I am. In the picture.
In August 2023, I didn’t know the Zoo Snooze existed. I was too busy scouring the interwebs for potential party venues for Clara and Wyatt’s dual December birthdays when I stumbled on the lottery page. I was lucky that August just happened to be the month I start my party planning every year, because, as I mentioned above, the lottery is only open during that one month out of all 12. While I wasn’t necessarily looking for an overnight birthday experience for the kids (and that big ‘ol group fee that comes with it), the words “A Night At The Zoo” in catchy bold header text called to me. I am a local kid-adventure writer, after all. Rationalizing away my worries like my children promising to clean their rooms after “one more episode,” I concluded that a zoo sleepover would make one heck of a cool birthday at any age. And that all those measly factors about costs and logistics (pffft, sooo overrated) could be figured out later. So … I went for it.
(Ps. I’m totally that friend who will wholeheartedly support your absurd mall purchase with a barrage of well-meaning and quite convincing rationalizations designed to nudge you into full-on treat-yourself-mode. You’ve been warned).
➤ RELATED: Check out our list of local birthday party venues
To be fair, though, I didn’t actually disclose that the hundy was for an awesome zoo sleepover. I did that on purpose because if my name was selected, I wanted it to be a surprise when I invited people or have anyone not invited to feel left out.
So, unfortunately my zoo slumber party birthday idea tanked, since fronting that much cash solo was something I could not talk myself into – even for me grandiose kid party planner like me. But all was well – for their birthdays I ended up booking the ah-mazing Ahoy Kitsap indoor playground in Bremerton for an after-hours party — and I highly recommend it! For the Zoo Snooze, I held out hope that a 2024 bonus trip (that I’d somehow pull together with 14 people willing to pay for it) was in our future. And then … that idea tanked too. A few weeks later, I got the “We regret to inform you …” email from the zoo letting me know I was one unlucky lady. Ok, so they didn’t actually phrase it that way. Lol. But, if the zoo’s response was a college admissions letter, it would’ve been the skinny one.
Five months later …
I first weighed a few invitation scenarios. Some examples had me inviting:
- Clara or Wyatt’s entire classroom as a special thank-you present to their teacher … but with a 40-person Zoo Snooze maximum, how could I possibly choose which child’s class? Nope. Couldn’t do it.
- A Two In Two hangout sesh where I ask at least 14 random strangers off Facebook to fork over $100 each with me to sleep at the zoo. But given the nature of that … I could see several ways it could go awry. Namely, with the image of me, Clara, Wyatt and 11 creepy stalker dudes all on the guest list. Eeek.
- Random IRL friends who’d also shell out $100 each with us. But … making sure I got all 14 of them to commit and pay upfront seemed like a lot of work and coordinating.
- Then — light bulb! — I remembered that Wyatt is a Cub Scout. Surely, his pack of adventure-loving outdoorsy folk would want to sleep at the zoo with us! Plus, bedtime on the aquarium floor sounded like every 70s and 80s kids’ best old school childhood memory of the good ‘ol days when times were simpler (and required a lot fewer participation waivers).
Saturday morning behind-the-scenes with Cub Scout Pack 202.
Sure enough, the den leaders at Gig Harbor’s Cub Scouts Pack 202 were 100% on board. And it was super fun to surprise them with the opportunity. I don’t think most people even know about the Zoo Snooze — much less its lottery process. So, it’s safe to say that an unexpected, guaranteed opportunity to book a Snooze was an instant hit with that parent crowd. By the end of signups, our Cub Scout pack had 28 to 30 kids and adults paid in full for Oct. 25, 2024 – and 17 of them had signed up so lightning fast that they booked on the first day the Cub Scout interest form went out. (Note: Bowen didn’t join us because he didn’t want to lay awake for 8 hours on the aquarium floor since he’s a picky sleeper #dadproblems).
➤ RELATED: Check out our story about the history (and names!) of the horses at the zoo’s Paul Titus Carousel
The night of
On Friday, the first thing they told us to do was meet our Zoo Snooze peeps at 7 p.m., after the zoo closed to the general public. There, we met our Snooze Hosts—the total MVPs of the night—who were there to guide us through the whole experience. They even stayed overnight with us, which made the whole thing feel super chill. After a quick chat about what to expect and all the cool stuff we’d get to do, we grabbed our gear and headed in.
Everyone brings their own bedding to Zoo Snooze. The hosts recommended beforehand to haul it over in a wagon.
➤ TIP | The Gear: Participants bring all their bedding plus overnight basics like pjs and a toothbrush (there are no showers/bathing) to mimic an indoor camping feel. We’re not big campers, so I picked up a self-inflating sleep mat from Amazon a few days before. It was a double – just roomy enough for two kids and a mama paired with a comforter and a sheet from home. We also brought a couple stuffed animals, pillows and a soccer wagon to throw it all in.
Staff elevator with sound-blocking fabric for sharks.
The guides gave us directions to a backdoor of the Pacific Seas Aquarium (the one near the Point Defiance Park playground I wrote about last November) as the place to meet. It felt super secret and awesome to meet there under the cover of darkness. (Yes, just like Batman). From there, we turned in our participation waivers (the info for which I scrawled out while crouched on one knee just outside the door – because #momproblems). And then our big group headed up to the aquarium’s second floor through a behind-the-scenes staff elevator. The elevator had large gray quilts hanging on its walls, something our guides said buffers the scary mechanical sounds elevators make that are apparently amplified for sound-sensitive sharks while they’re in transit tanks (such a cool fun fact).
Picking a sleep spot
I don’t know what the “best spot” was for sleeping in the aquarium – they’re all pretty darn good in my book. But the guides gave us a distance range to choose from – any floorspace in the Pacific Seas gallery from the Jelly Globe to the edge of the Northwest Waters tank – and if you reach the hallway down to the Tidal Touch Zone, you went too far. Many of the Cub Scout crew (being camping pros and all) brought folding cots or staked claims next to the wall outlets for their inflatable mattresses. I realize now that those wall spots are also good for cell phone charging (something I would have sought out had I not brought my portable powerbank like the photo-obsessed documenter that I am).
Here are some places people chose for their sleep setups:
Wyatt and the rockfish. Sounds like a pretty cool band name if you ask me.
In any case, I let Clara and Wyatt pick the spot. They set up camp in front of the Northwest Waters gallery with its floor-to-ceiling glass wall measuring 10 feet tall and 25 feet across. Our slumber party entertainment? None other than 30-year-old rockfish who take their sweet time meandering through their 100,000-gallon habitat of earthy pinks, browns and greens taking on the likeness of a side of the Puget Sound most of us never see. In their company were tall strands of wavy anemones (the ones that think they’re selling used cars), along with ratfish, salmon, sturgeon and lingcod.
After going over the rules, establishing a kiddo supervision gameplan and finishing a planned introductory scavenger hunt, we made a pit stop at the curvy, 280,000 tube-like exhibit of Baja Bay showcasing the warm water microcosm of the ocean near Baja, California. This spot has sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and a hammerhead shark. The other kids in our group were really excited to see the green sea turtles.
Apparently, that species of turtle can live 80 years and grow up to 400 pounds! They’re herbivores and are fed romaine lettuce and bell pepper by their zoo keepers, among other veggies. But the kids and I (or maybe it was just me) were more fascinated with the spotted eagle rays who fight off threats with stinging spines at the base of their loooooong tails. Like — crazy long. So crazy that it looked like the rays were trailing a single strand of thin black electrical wire behind them as they cruised on 
Tidal Touch Zone
After that, it was off to the Tidal Touch Zone where the instructors reminded us to”use just one finger” to gently feel the rust-colored sea stars and purplish anemones in the shallow tabletop tide pools. And get this — we even got a little “hug” from a sea urchin! Yep, it’s coolest thing ever when they grab onto your fingertip with their sticky-feeling little arms to check you out before quickly letting go after realizing you’re not food and just a boring, stinky hooman.
➤ EXTRA: The zoo also has an online “Social Story” guide to help guests know what to expect during the Zoo Snooze. Written in plain language and organized in a step-by-step format with pictures, the downloadable PDF serves as a teaching tool designed to give kids (or anyone, for that matter) a general heads-up on the social situations and routines they’ll encounter. I wish I’d seen the guide before we attended the Snooze so I could’ve shared it with Clara and Wyatt, helping them better understand what an overnight at the zoo would be like.
➤ RELATED: Point Defiance offers three additional guides of this type to help guests prepare for a daily zoo visit, exploring the holiday Zoolights event, and the importance of handwashing. I’ve linked them for you in this paragraph or you can find them on the zoo’s inclusivity page.
Night tour outside
For the night time tour outside, a few of the adults had flashlights, but they pointed them down, so we could see without disturbing any of the sleepy creatures hanging out nearby. The hosts brought red-bulb flashlights since those are less harsh on animals’ eyes. My pictures didn’t turn out on that trek, but it only rained on us for 10 minutes out of the hour so I’m still calling the night tour a win.
Bedtime
Shameless toothbrush selfie in the aquarium restroom.
Around 10 p.m., we were back inside the aquarium and it was time to wind down. A lot of us used the restroom down the ramps, past the Tidal Touch Zone, past Baja Bay and to the left of the free interactive self-portrait exhibit stationed in the lobby area at the aquarium’s exit. That’s where the cool glass sculptures hang down from the ceiling.
At 10:30 p.m., the lights went out on an automatic shut-off timer. But fear not – the hosts did a cool thing to help guide us to the restrooms in the dark — they stretched a rope light (like the ones folks wrap around posts and stair banisters during the holidays) across the floor to follow. I thought that was such a creative idea! So, kudos on that. The kids and I made no less than 4.73 restroom trips mostly due to forgotten or dropped items between our sleeping mat and the restroom. Plus, the lighted rope walk was fun and different, so I suspect a little novelty was at play as well.
The coolest nightlight ever.
After we settled down to actually sleep – sleep didn’t come. Not for most of the parents anyway, haha. (It’s hard work coordinating, getting all our gear there, and wrangling the kids in this new space – but so worth it). The sounds of the water and occasional hum of whatever equipment was running in the background felt like the best kind of nighttime soundtrack.
I said in my introduction that the rockfish appeared suspended mid-swim as they sleepily slowed their pace across the water. Our guides mentioned earlier that fish do sleep – just not like humans do. The rockfish, from what I witnessed in the wee hours of the night, mostly maintained a stationary position with the occasional flick of their tailfin. Also, fun fact, Google tells me that fish don’t have eyelids! So that makes it hard to tell when our water-bound friends have drifted off.
The next morning
Morning came fast with a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call as the aquarium lights brightened to greet the day. After we packed up, we caravanned in all of our separate cars over to the zoo’s staff parking lot to sneak into the zoo’s café before its normal hours. Ok, so we didn’t really sneak in. The food crew was expecting us – and they had our complimentary Snooze continental breakfast laid out on the counter with bagels and yogurt that sure hit the spot. For me, I brought a bag of sliced gluten-free bread from home because of food allergies, although they can accommodate food allergy requests if arranged ahead of time. Besides corralling everyone up for a group photo at my request, we had a couple of final adventures — exploring Kids’ Zone 
where we hand fed the goats, and then got to witness some behind-the-scenes action with a mystery animal at the Asian Forest Sanctuary (they asked participants not to give the surprise away since it’s one of their zoo experience add-ons posted online).Watching the goats eat made everyone laugh, and petting them felt surprisingly comforting.
Huge thanks to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium for making this Zoo Snooze unforgettable — sleeping next to marine life and exploring under the sta … er, rain clouds made for one of the best overnight kid trips yet.
For my bonus content, here’s some Zoo Snooze history at Point Defiance:
Snoozes over the years
1988, Tacoma News Tribune
The Zoo Snooze is not a new concept at Point Defiance, which is probably why every single parent jumped at the chance to curl up in sleeping bags with their kiddos on the aquarium carpet for the sweet, sweet nostalgia of it all. But the structure of the program has adapted and evolved over the years.
Local newspapers give a glimpse into those changes. In 1988, a news brief lists it as a “slumber party for children 5 to 10 years old” with “supervised games, activities, tours and encounters with live animals,” per the Tacoma News Tribune’s calendar pages.
Another ad, printed the following year, offered a “Zoo Reptile Snooze” for children 5 to 8 years old featuring “art projects and encounters with reptiles” for $20 per kid.
In 1990, the zoo offered something called a “Sea Snooze” as an overnight program for children ages 9 to 13 “centering on Rocky Shores,” according to a news clip. Pre-registration was still required back then, but the fee was just $25 per child.
1989, Tacoma News Tribune
@two.n.tow
Tonya Strickland is a Gig Harbor mom-of-two and longtime journalist. Now in the travel and family niche, her blog, Two in Tow & On the Go, was named among the 10 Seattle-Area Instagram Accounts to Follow by ParentMap magazine. Tonya and her husband Bowen moved to Gig Harbor from California with their two kids, Clara (10) and Wyatt (8) in 2021. Find them on Facebook for all the kid-friendly places in and around town.