We were pretty disappointed by the Calgary Zoo.

We were pretty disappointed by the Calgary Zoo.

Of course, any zoo is going to contain children, but the amount of screaming, wild children running all over the place and climbing any wall, bench, or decoration in sight was ridiculous. Even more appalling were their idiotic parents not doing anything about it. Strollers/wagons should NOT be allowed in the many indoor exhibits where there are already so many people and space is at a premium. We spent more time dodging getting hit by children running and shoving and having our toes ran over by some tuned out mom's giant stroller than we did focusing on the animals.

The layout made it so the most popular animals were grouped together, resulting in crowds and lines. The line to get into the penguin exhibit because of the huge, slow revolving door that kept stopping because people were touching the walls was ridiculous. We would have liked to have seen the lemurs, but there was another line just to get to the exhibit. Crowds and lines seem to make up this zoo. We've been to arguably the best zoo in North America, the San Diego Zoo, and it blew this zoo out of the water. Way more spacious, and more to see.

We're glad we got to see the adorable penguins and entertaining giraffes, but won't be back for a long time - it's just not worth the headache. It was hard to relax and really enjoy this zoo, and we thought it was safe to go as soon as the zoo opened on a weekday before school let out. I can't imagine how crazy this place gets on weekends or summer holidays.