Cleveland Zoo

Location: 3900 Wildlife Way
Hours: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (Box office closes at 4)
Admission:
Adults $12.25 (April - Oct), $8:25 (Nov - March)
Children: $8.25 (April - oct), $5.25 (Nov - March)
Children 2 and under: FREE
Stars: **

Recap:
   It was a very hot and MUGGY day when we went to the Cleveland Zoo, so that didn't do the zoo any favors. What made it worse is that the zoo is   S  O    S  P  R  E  A  D    O U T. The exhibits are very sectioned off (by animal location) and there's not a lot to see in-between. We spent about 2.5 hours at the zoo, but had the exhibits been closer it probably would have only taken an hour. Not only that, but the animals aren't marked very well.
   We went to the Australian Outback area first (not typical for zoos, so that was exciting), but once we got beyond the koala bear and red panda, we weren't really sure where to find the animals. There's a train that runs throughout the Outback, and so we thin the animals were partitioned for that. The rain is probably your best bet to see the animals in the Outback. Otherwise, you're just looking at a lot of different pens that seems to hold only kangaroos.
   And with each section of animals came at least 5 different restaurants/cafes/gift shops. I swear we saw more retail businesses at the zoo than animals. It was definitely very gimmicky and probably more enjoyable (and expensive) if you have small kids.
   The other problem with the spaced out exhibits is that it was difficult to get to each one--and not just for the distance. A temporary dinosaur exhibit had closed off a lot of the paths. And the gorilla house seems to have only one way of getting there--the deck walk. The deck walk is exactly what you're thinking, dozens of decks crisscrossing there way up a hill to the gorillas. Unfortunately, I had done a squats workout and help John's sister move in the day before so this deck walk SUCKED! We opted for stairs over the ramps (it is handicap accessible at least!), so it was a very painful trek to the top.

Zoo Woo's:

• Australian Outback: As I mentioned, the Australian Outback area was actually a highlight of the zoo. You don't see too many koala bears, kangaroos and dingos, so that was a fun anomaly.
• Elephant Walk: The elephants have two different pens and twice a day they walk from one to the other. The neat thing is that they cross through a pedestrian pathway. This seems a lot cooler in concept that it actually was, but it was still a highlight of the trip. You think the elephants are walking directly in front of you without many barricades, but in actuality they closed of the pathway with a tall gate. So you can see the elephants crossing, but it's almost no different than seeing them walk in an exhibit. The point it to show how elephants and humans can co-exist, but I'm not sure how well that message is delivered when theres heavy barriers separating the two. (I should clarify that we thought the Elephant Walk was much cooler before we went to the DC Zoo, which had a different walk putting this one to shame).
• Rainforest: We nearly passed up the rainforest because we were hot, tired and ready to go home. However, the otters are housed in the rainforest, and I just love otters so much. The rainforest is actually located outside of the zoo across from the main gate (so hold on to your tickets). It turned out to be a nice surprise and one of the best exhibits. Part of it has free-flying birds and free-climbing monkeys! The guy in front of us was feeding the monkeys caramels--not advised. It also had some neat aquariums and other fun animals. It may be tempting to pass up the rainforest but don't!

Zoo Boo's:

• Way too spaced out. You see a few animals and then walk 5-10 minutes to see the next 2-3 animals. You want to make sure you go on a cool day because you will be doing a good amount of walking.
• Way too many restaurants. More animals and less attractions, please!

The koala from the Outback Adventure.
He pretty much just sat there the whole time.

Curious red panda, and the koala bear's roommate.

Elephant coming through the HIGH gate
during the elephant walk!

Another shot of the elephant walk.

They had a polar bear, which was "cool."

The horrible deck walk--just to see a few gorillas. 

You can see John walking to the "Rainforest,"
which is across from the zoo's entrance!

Just a sloth. Hanging ou.

My favorite--the otters!

He was playing with his pool toy!

Guide to the Zoo Review

This is our completely biased guide to zoos we've visited across the U.S. We are not zoo or animal experts, but we can relay our experiences and comparisons.

As John travels across the U.S. to visit all the major league ballparks, I have insisted we visit the zoos in those cities as well. We will then share and rate our experiences at each zoo here. It will be based on a 5-star scale, with 1 being the worst and 5 the best.

This being said, there are a few outside factors you need to consider while reading my reviews: weather, hunger level and our annoyance with each other.

WEATHER: I don’t do heat very well. Any kind of heat. Hot, sweltering Texas heat, or mild, muggy Pittsburgh heat. So if I have sweat dripping down my back, my zoo experience will be affected. And that will probably affect some of the scores.

HUNGER LEVEL: We once made the mistake of not eating lunch before we went to the zoo. By the end of the trip, John was introduced to a different side of Jessica that I don’t like people to see. I didn’t even stick around to see the otter feeding—my favorite animal—I was so hungry! This hasn’t been too much of a factor, as we have learned to always eat before we go and pack a few zoo snacks. However if either of those are forgotten, the scores will likely decrease.

ANNOYANCE LEVEL: We don’t generally get annoyed with each other, so this really isn’t much of a factor at all. If any of the aforementioned issues appear, then I might be more easily annoyed. John’s pretty levelheaded though, even through my complaining! He’s come up with his own Jessica Complaining Scale, which may or may not be included with each review. That scale will be on a 1-10, 10 being the most complaining, but he’s already said I will never score below a 5. During our last trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo (when it was SUPER muggy), my level was apparently a 35. So now you get how the scale works.

Why I Love Zoos

I love zoos. This is a little weird because I don't love animals that much. People don’t seem understand why I enjoy going to the zoo so much. So let me explain:

I didn’t like zoos until I got to college. Call it lack of things to do in Waco or a sign of maturity, but a trip to the Waco Zoo changed my mind on zoos.  The Waco Zoo will forever be the greatest zoo to me. It’s the perfect size, has the perfect amount of animal to walking ratio and the otter exhibit is the greatest place in the world. After a few trips to the zoo, I realized it would be cheaper to just become a member. So, I became the proud owner of a Cameron Park Zoo membership. The membership got me in free to the Cameron Park Zoo and a few other small zoos in the U.S., plus half off to zoos in major cities.

This is one of the reasons why I started going to zoos everywhere I visited. But there are a plethora of other reasons. For example, it’s good exercise. I’m not one that can sit in the same place for a long period of time. Movies often bore me, and I can only watch so much tv. I enjoy getting to walk around as a source of entertainment.

It’s also the perfect activity to do with friends/family (although I’m guilty of going to the Waco Zoo by myself). Walking around the zoo gives you a chance to talk and catch up and laugh. However, if you run out of things to say, it’s not awkward because there are animals to look at and comment on. I think the zoo would be a perfect first date because there would be no awkward pauses or forced conversations. It would be very natural.

No zoo experience is ever the same! Even if you go to the same zoo roughly 50 times (give or take), each time it will be different. You may see the same exhibits and animals, but different ones are always active or playing or doing different things. There are always different photo opportunities. And they’re beautiful photo opps! Zoos are always so green and florally and manicured. Where will you find a better backdrop?

Finally, there are zoos in nearly every city—no mater how big or small! Whenever you have a visitor and are at a loss of what to do, go to the zoo! Go walk around for an hour or so, share some good conversation and watch the animals play! I don’t think you can ever go to a zoo and leave feeling like it was a wasted time.

Granted, I’ve never taken small kids to the zoo. My opinion may change when I have kids.