We have been at Turtle Back Zoo in the past, and i...

We have been at Turtle Back Zoo in the past, and it is truly a wonderfully simple place. However, after going to the zoo today, I have two MAJOR complaints that people need to be aware of before they arrive at the zoo:

1. If you want to go from the zoo to the Treetop Adventure course (with zipline), you need to actually exit the zoo, and you will not be allowed back in without purchasing zoo tickets again. Because tickets must be purchased online for specific time slots during the day ahead of time for the zoo (and strongly suggested for the Treetop Adventure), you should space them apart and plan ahead. We did not, as we were not aware that we could not come back into the zoo after taking a break and experiencing the Treetop Adventure course; therefore, we had to skip the Treetop Adventure (which we already paid for ahead of time) so we could see the rest of the zoo. Lost a good amount of money there, and we wish that was more clear to us when we purchased the tickets online.

2. BEES!! There are hundreds and hundreds of bees all throughout the park, and it is getting really out of control. Many of them surround trash cans (see picture), but there are tons of them simply around the whole zoo, and it was constantly a scary experience for everyone at the park. In fact, my 9 year-old daughter did get stung by one of the bees, which made the remainder of our stay at the zoo very unpleasant. Luckily, she is not allergic to new stings, but for people who are allergic, BEWARE! The zoo really needs to find a way to control this, as our family does not feel comfortable coming back to the zoo until something is done about this.

Other than these two unpleasant experiences, the zoo can be a fun place to visit. There were several animals not present, and overall it was a bit too crowded (the zoo could have controlled this a little better), but when it comes down to it, Turtle Back Zoo can be a very family-friendly place.