So I have been living in NYC for 15 years, work in...

So I have been living in NYC for 15 years, work in the Bronx (off the 44 line which comes straight here) have friends who have season passes to NYC zoos and am finally coming here. Though I must say I am glad I waited until my daughter got older (she is 8, that will come into play for me).

But finally decided to come here on a Friday morning with my daughter to check out the zoo. And I have to say it is way better than I thought it would be, and I typically find zoos boring. First the landscaping is great with lots of trees to engulf your stay you easily forget you are in the Bronx. I opted to get the total pass, which I am glad I did. As many others have said come prepared to walk and walk alot. We came at 10 when it opened left at 3:30, saw 90-95%of the exhibits and ended up walking 13000+ steps. The exhibits are clean and well maintained. The staff is friendly and even though we came on a Friday during the summer (prime camp time) it never felt overly crowded. I would imagine on the free day it would be, but today was perfect.

As some have said bring your own food, though with me and my daughter I opted to just buy there and not lug around food. But if you have a lot of people it can get very pricey.
And with the total experience, I would really only get for kids like 4+ IMO. It is already so much to see without that, so to add that much more walking with a toddler would be torture to me. But again just my 2cents.
Hands down the best zoo in NYC and one of the best I have been to! Just this zoo alone may make the yearly pass worth it.