sarah Parent

Review of The Woodland Park Zoo

The family passport membership is worth it. We hav...

The family passport membership is worth it. We have a flex adult, named adult and 1 child membership as the other 2 are young enough to be free.

Nice weekends mean tight parking. So, if you get there within an hour of opening parking in the close lots is easy.

The carousel is about 3$ a ride (you can prepurchase at membership or guest services) parents can ride free with younger kids and is always a hit. There are 2 main kids play area, Discovery Habitat and Zoomasium. The first is an outdoor play area and the latter is indoor which is nice during winter months or cooler days. Planning your trip (with kids) to include playtime towards the end is a good idea.

The exhibits are static as compared to point defiance zoo and point defiance has a better outdoor kid area as it includes several animal exhibits. However, they don't have a good indoor run around area like woodland.

There are several close up encounters at Woodland and feeding options (penguin, giraffes, birds, and rhino). Woodland has a lot of good viewing options and if you consult the board by the west entrance you can see all the days' activities.

2 main eateries are Gather and Graze ( was the chowder house) and the pavillion (by zoomasium). South entrance also has an eating option (it's more of a coffee shop).

There are 2 different outdoor animal encounter/show areas. The bird one gets closed soon after starting so be on time to that one.

Some exhibits sections are more interactive than others.

African Savanna has a lot of different animals to see and kids can play in the village. New baby giraffe born 2019

Temperate forest: family farm has a petting area with goats and sheep most days, but you can pet through the fences anytime. There is also a small play garden and tractor.
The bug zone is a small walkthrough with a peekaboo hole for kids
Up the hill and through the birds area there is a large pond you can feed some birds through a feeding station

Tropical Rainforest has a close up with birds in their aviary. The building circles back to stroller parking.

Tropical Aisa is close by with a small play area near the river otters. And is split into 2 parts. The one fed from the rainforest does not have the rhinos

Tropical Aisa part II has the rhinos and large pavillion for eating and running around. There are rhino encounters (consult the schedule)

Australiasia has the bird feeding area ($3 a stick or 3 for $5) and a kangaroo wallaby viewing area. Sometimes you can see a baby tail out of the pouch.

Northern Trail has a video area inside the Tundra area near the bears. And in 2019 the otter Valkyrie gave birth to some baby otters.

Komodo Dragons and adaptations have small play areas on either end of the building.

Butterflies are seasonal generally May to Fall

I'm sure I've left things out. To see everything as adult plan for 3 to 4 hours with kids I've never done it all in 1 day.

Parking is 7 dollars plus tax