A zoo day is typically filled with treats, animals and the inevitable toddler meltdown at the penguin exhibit. Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo is reimagining this typical zoo day, taking the possibility for a toddler meltdown completely out of the picture for its first-ever adult-only zoo day.
While the zoo has hosted after-dark events for the 21+ crowd before, they’re taking it to a new level by closing their gates to children for an entire day. On Saturday, “All You Can Zoo” will transform the zoo into an adult playground.
What is ‘All You Can Zoo,’ anyway?
For an $89 entrance fee for non-zoo members, grown-ups get the run of the place, including zoo admission, all-you-can-eat food, unlimited non-alcoholic fountain beverages and access to various activities throughout the zoo. Alcohol is available for purchase at bars throughout the zoo.
As the Seattle Times reported, event director Joanna Moore said she designed everything to “coax your inner child out of hiding,” just without actual children present.
Not everyone is wild about it
In reference to a similar London zoo event, one X user questioned the difference between the adult-only event and a normal zoo day with kids.
Woodland Park isn’t the only 21+ event host
This isn’t just Seattle being Seattle. Across the country, traditionally family-focused venues are carving out adults-only time, driven by several post-pandemic realities
While Woodland Park is branching out to host its first-ever adult-only day event, other zoos like the Houston Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo and Utah’s Hogle Zoo, each host their own after-hours adult events.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the hosting and event industry saw a rise in adult-only events for parents and partners to reconnect with one another after spending much of their time home with their kids.
Adults-only: The latest trend
The adults-only trend extends well beyond zoos. The hospitality and restaurant industry have recognized adults-only experiences as a premium category, some demanding top dollar to participate in the experience.
Virgin Voyages launched as an adults-only cruise line. Even industry giants that have catered to the family-friendly experience like Hyatt and Marriott have joined the adults-only trend, now offering their own versions of kid-free resorts.
In 2021 a Wall Street Journal article noted that the 61% of summer trips the travel company Embark Beyond booked that year were for adults only, compared to just 48% in 2019.
According to a 2025 blog post by Smart Luxury, writer Adam Graham noted that, “once upon a time, the term ‘adults-only’ sounded anti-family and almost lewd. But after the pandemic forced parents to homeschool their kids, adults-only properties hit a new nerve and skyrocketed in popularity.”
Graham continued, “today, they’re becoming synonymous with quiet retreats and places to deepen your travel experiences while reconnecting with your friends, partner, or just yourself.”
When the current trend of adult-only venues was growing, pioneers were faced with backlash after making the controversial decision. In 2018, Oma’s Küche, a restaurant on Germany’s largest holiday island, banned children from the dining experience after 5 p.m. after the owner Rudolf Markl noted that his business was “a restaurant, not a playground,” per Business Insider.
Many restaurants have continued to implement similar practices, with the response to such restrictions varied among consumers.
Despite the backlash and criticism from some consumers, banning children or having adult-only periods is within each business’s rights.
The Lindley Law Office noted that “businesses are given leeway to set their own rules and have the right to refuse service. Under federal law, however, (The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act), business owners are only prohibited from discriminating based on race, religion, national origin, or disability. Age is not a protected class," per Business Insider.