A bottle of water or a cok will cost you $3.69. Thirsty? You better bring your own drinks. However, with multiple strollers trying to get throught, this is not a very efficient exit. What a great marketing strategy, of course. When you are ready to leave the Zoo, you must exit throught the Gift Shop. Yes, there were, but for the lack of an individual map, I have marked my rating down a notch. When I asked about that, I was told that there were Zoo maps scattered throughout. However, unlike the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the nearby Desert Botanical Garden, the Zoo does not provide even one sheet of a photocopied map. But, I expected a map upon entry to the Zoo. I expected a sizeable admission fee since the upkeep costs of the facility must be enormus. Let me explain my average rating in the next three paragraphs. The signage of the animal exhibits is excellent. The collection and display of the animals is pretty impressive. The Zoo is pretty sizeable (125 acres), and it takes quite a while to walk through it. I don't think i would pay their fees to bring kiddos who would get hot and tired easily. I guess you can say most of the animals were at a great distance. The giraffes and elephants were far away. It was neat to see all of the cactus throughout the park. You could picnic in their parking lot if you brought your own lunch. It was pretty busy, people and strollers all over the place. I think if you ride the bus you get more of that sort of interpretation- but why pay more? It was another zoo visitor who told me the elephant was playing with a beer keg filled with cheerios to keep it's mind sharp. You had park workers walking around, but it would be nice if you had more of them interact with the visitors and explain stuff. Pay to feed the giraffes, pay for the photo op's. So back we went to the other area to repeat some of our steps. It is lacking 'flow.' We wound our way around some trails to come to the other end and find out we missed a few animals. The layout of the park was hard to navigate. By early afternoon, the crowd had gone and the rest of the day was pretty quiet. The only negative was that the zoo was very busy early. As an AZA member, the admission is reasonable through reciprocation. While general admission is a little steep, the fact that parking is free at the zoo pretty much offsets that.typically $10+ at other zoos with lower admissions. Monkey village has been 'cleared' of a lot of the thick vegetation it had last time I was here so it is much more open and easier to get good shots of the inhabitants. Makes the trip more of exploration to see what's around the corner or in that rock. I like the way they have incorporated reptile and amphibian displays as well as bird exhibits throughout the zoo. Nice to be able to shoot some pictures without wires or fences, too. The walk through area with reptile and amphibian displays is a nice concept. Well laid out and attractive enclosures though some could be larger. Even the employees I asked about it were unaware of the story and the zoo's significance in this project. A success story they should be proud of but, unless you're looking, you'd never know the story. I think they could/should do a much better job of highlighting the zoo's integral role in saving the Arabian oryx and the world herd project. The grounds were clean and well kept.Įven with the construction, a clear and clean passage is maintained to access Dinosaurs in the Desert, big horn sheep and Arabian oryx. While it was a cool day by Arizona standards, it was ideal to see active animals. Some construction in progress for predator passage has a small area closed off. The zoo is well laid out and fairly easy to get around with some grade but nothing outrageous.
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