Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens Reviews

We had a very good time! It was hot but the splash pad cooled the kids off. The kids loved feeding the giraffes.

All you can expect from a great zoo experience. I suggest going early in the day because when it gets too hot, the outaide animals arw not very active most of the time. Also, check prices for season passes before you pay for a single visit, because if you think that you will visit more oftwn the season pass is very worth the cost. You can also use the season pass at other Zoos around the country.

Very nice, but zip-lines could be faster, at least as an option for us daredevils! ;)

Great splash pad. Lots of things to do for the kids.

The zoo was too small. I was able to walk around the entire zoo in 30 minutes. It's great for small children since it is a small zoo. I did regret paying the ticket price since I was out of there within the hour. No botanical gardens either, the "gardens" are the trees and flowers you see around the zoo walkway. I gave three stars because the staff were very nice. If the price was lower it would have been better.

Love the zoo. Much smaller then expected. All of the exhibits were. That trainer chats were awesome and were up close and personal.

Was expecting more animals and most of the animals weren't out when the park opened.

It's a small but well done zoo. They have several unique animals bit not as many rare ones as you'd see in a large city zoo.

Very nice small zoo. The train ride is a little short for the price, but my 3 year old loved it.

Was told I could buy train tickets as we are leaving, only to find line to get tickets was 30 or more deep. Same guy running carosel runs train so it's all a waiting game on a Saturday when it's crowded and you got little ones in patient.

It is small, but nice to walk with the family and also has activities for children and other for adults.

Fun place to spend a few hours. Been many years since my last visit and the place looks great!

Great place for kids...kind of small but has a splash park and zip lining and a small train to ride around the zoo

It's a pretty disappointing zoo. It's not worth what you pay to enter.

A beautiful place. We went oh a hot day, don't do that. Only 4/5 because none of the dippin dots shacks were open. =)

Great family activity and with a toddler and grand parents. Outdoor zoo with a variety of animals. There are animal encounters and presentations throughout the day. In the summer there is a ok water area for the kids. Food... I recommend eating before, bringing snacks and planning to eat after. If your not expect hot dogs and chips. Of course like any Florida excursion there is access to beer, hard seltzer and wine. Open space areas where you can spread out to take off your mask. Plenty of rest areas to have a seat. Lastly with Covid I appreciated seeing workers wipe down the glass for animal exhibits but there was not hand sanitizers for public access so bring your own.

This place was so amazing and very quiet for a zoo. It was so nice to be able to see the animals without having to fight the crowds. They also had certain enclosures where you were able to meet and talk with the keepers and we got to watch the reptiles feed! Very fun and inexpensive experience.

Using the "directions" from the website it is incorrect, takes you to a industrial park full of warehouses. Best manually inputting the address when using Google maps. The zoo was good and a lot bigger than I thought it would be with a lot of animals.

My family and I loved it! Feeding the giraffes was the best!

Very nice zoo .staff is friendly and animals are taken care of really well

Beautiful, very well maintained, easy access. But relatively small

Well, considering that me and the little one have been to zoos that are very clean, interactive, indoor viewing areas, with large kiddy water parks. This was just ok. Honestly, it is in Florida, so more indoor areas to beat the heat would be appropriate. No joke, the parking lot is larger than the entire zoo. Not making fun, just saying. However, there is zip lines, which seems very fun and other activities. Go check it out. Great way to spend a few hours.

It was a very nice place a lot of animals to see.place was real clean ,we love it a lot,children enjoy it to.

Fun for the kids- animal exhibits, splash pad, playground, petting zoo. Our kids love it! Parts are still dated/old, but they've done a lot to improve it in recent years.

The new Bear exhibit is great. We are pass holders and visit all the time.

My boyfriend took me here for my birthday since he knows I love animals. This place is a great place to come and spend some time outdoors. They have a lot of encounters with animals that allow you to feed and touch them. It was a great time. I would definitely come again. A great place for the little kids as well!

Lantern exhibit is amazing. Ends in January, a must see.

I had the experience of being there in the afternoon before 3:30 since the zoo is small & 5 is the closing advertised time, figured in 1.5 hrs would be plenty of time to see all the animals. To our surprise, the animals are fed starting around 4 & are brought inside their cage/building so you can't see them after that. There were many animals we didn't get to see at all because they were inside & know for a fact, we weren't the the only ones complaining about the same issue. Of course Cashier doesn't tell you you're not gonna be able to see a lot of the animals & manager offered a 50% off tickets to come back again when I complained about it, which means I have to pay again. All in all, it would be $60 in total to go again, Doesn't make sense to pay more $ for a party of 3 just for a zoo. That's not a resolution as a manager & unhappy visitors.

Very disappointed,,, for the price we expected to see alot ,they dont have many animals, its really more walking then seeing animals. Its not worth what you pay,, we walked it in a hour and thats because my 5 and 8 year old wanted to play at a little bitty so called playground they have. Very very disappointed, dont waste your money here especially if your an out of towner like us.

I will start we the good. The place is big and seems to be well maintained. It has a little kiddies water play area and an obstacle looking challenge but that was closed. The day my family visited it was raining, the staff was ok but not very friendly or helpful. Now as for the animals it seems as if they were all in a retirement stage, they were either hiding, sleeping or lazing around. The only thing that wowed us was the Giraffe. They didn't have any elephants, tigers, lions...they have cougar, monkey, snakes, bear, some birds, Giraffe, Donkey and some other animals that didn't care to see us. Lol. Nice family outing but wouldn't repeat a visit.

A fun way to spend an afternoon with beautiful well kept animals. A plus were the many birds (downy woodpecker) who made their home in the foliage throughout the park.

Nice for the kids, lot of interesting animals, birds, snakes, and insects and plenty of shade from the Florida sun

Watched the snakes eat was my boys favorite part...its smaller than some zoos and it felt like u were super close to all the animals.

Small zoo. Good for family with children who want to play in the water area or climb the obstacles. Not many animals.

This giraffe struggled to get food out of a make shift feeding holster. It was 10 gallon refill jug with a hole cut on the side. This is a small zoo, renovations are needed.

Amazing place for my family. Everytime we go, we have a blast. What's amazing is the options of activities for the moment you walk in, the cleanliness, and the good treatment the animals receive. Would recommend to anyone.

A a very cute and small place to visit but nice zoo! Prices are a bit steep for it's size but if you're from out of town and have a zoo membership from back home present your card and you'll receive 50% off admission.

Amazing zoo and very hands on. I recommend to anyone

Great little zoo, just the right amount of walking for my 7 and 5 year olds. Well trained and friendly zookeepers who know how to entertain the children.The splash pad is certainly a plus, as well as the train and the zipline, and obstacle course.

Went to the lantern festival, it was gorgeous. A little crowded, but the wonderful lights fully made up for it.

Small but well run and they animals do not look crowded or unattended. I like it!

Beautiful day to be at the zoo!! Still having construction going on.

I haven't been there in years but when i was it was small it felt like i walked in the entrance seen one or two exhibits and i was walking out the exits but i have heard they have made improvement's zipline course etc.

Very interesting to see the zoo in the botanical gardens. Sadly it was raining when we went but still had fun seeing the zoo.

It was so hot but the animals were great. Was able to learn a lot from well educated volunteers. You gain a new perspective on things when you stand next to a giraffe and offer it lettuce. Llamas were fun and friendly. They came up to ya for pets.

Such a waste of money! We decided to visit a zoo while visiting Orlando and I could've honestly seen more animals at the local pet store. This place has the nerve to say they have over 400 species of animals but failed to mention they were not live. Listen, the struggle has to be real if you think you can fool people with cardboard animals. Come on now, really? I wish I could give this place 0 stars because they really need to get it together but I guess this one star will go towards the lovely giraffes that were actually real. I want my money back. You have to do better Orlando!

It was a hot, humid day in middle of the week. When I got there, with 2 children under age of 2, was disappointed at how many areas were closed due to construction. I'm glad to see they are improving and maintaining but if there was notice as you are going in of "pardon our dust", would have been nice.

Love how this place has grown so much. Would like to see larger habitats for the animals.

I want to give it morebstars but the zoo seems to have less and less animals. They dont even have monkeys really anymore. Wr just go for the splash park now amd even that is getting old. Barely any shade for young kids to play under.

Went here with my husband, and granddaughter during the Asian Lantern Festival. We were totally blown away by the beautiful lantern exhibits. This is the first time we have been here, but want to see the zoo during the day.

Pretty cheap to get into. Staff was all really friendly and would engage with patrons. A good selection of animals for being a small zoo.

Central Florida zoo is a little jewel hidden in Sanford, just before you get to the greater Orlando area. They have lots of awesome animals to see, some groovy exhibits, small train, and a zipline course. The staff is great and always seem ready to help answer questions, and the restaurant is one of the fastest zoo restaurants I've seen! If you're looking for a wild time, go to the zoo!

Nice small zoo. They had it set up for one way walking. You could go back around as often as you want. Some exhibits were not open.

I haven't been to many zoos, but this on is more interactive with zip cording through trees, moth and butterfly exhibit, along with poisonous animals on display. But the real reason we went was for the Asian Lantern Festival which ends in January. It's a beautiful stroll through the zoo and garden starting at 6. Mind you bring some mosquito repellent, this is central Florida after all. Also it's not free but not expensive and definitely worth seeing. Kids will enjoy. I've attached some pics of these hand made lanterns for your enjoyment.

The Central Florida Zoo is a great small zoo with lots to offer in about 2-3 hours of roaming around. We found the assortment of animals to be varied and interesting, and we learned a lot. This zoo is about education and conservation on a small scale, so your price of admission should be viewed as a contribution to those efforts not just entertainment value. We love this place, and will support it with an annual membership.

This place is tucked up animals are in small cages like prisoners they dont even have a damm lion in here terrible service very slow animals are all hungry they should definitely close this place and return the animals to their habitat it's a no gooooooo

Such a great place for the kids especially the splash pad

A nice way to kill a few hours. You won't leave thinking "that was amazing!" but you'll likely be glad you went.

Should have listened to the reviews before wasting money on this zoo.

Incredibly tiny, two small indoor exhibits. Very few animals, no lions, zebras, hippos, etc.

Busch Gardens is 10 times the zoo this is, save your money.

So many exotic animals! Well worth the price and staff were all very nice.

All the animals are sedated and they will not refund your money your trip on loss bords and it just sad...

Great budget friendly place to take the kids! They have a playground there, too and do birthday parties. Lots of interesting exhibits BUT mostly outdoors. It was very hot and there were only a handful of indoor exhibits, so keep that in mind!

Animals are very well cared for. We especially enjoyed the Rhino encounter. The employees are very knowledgeable. Brittany and her helper.

IF YOU ARE VISITING THE ZOO PLEASE MAKE SURE NOT TO BRING IN BAGS OR CALL IN ADVANCE PRIOR TO ENTERING...THE ENTRANCE EMPLOYEE MADE IT A BIG DEAL MY WIFE AND I HAD A SMALL BAG FOR MY 2 YEAR OLD SON'S MILK BOTTLES ...I HAD WALK BACK TO MY CAR TO TAKE THE SMALL BAG TO BE ALLOWED IN....WHEN WALKING BACK I NOTICED HE ALLOWED OTHER VISITORS WITH LARGE BAGS IN WITH NO PROBLEM....I FEEL IF YOU'RE GOING TO INFORCE RULES DO IT FOR ALL NOT JUST SOME....DEFINITELY NOT RETURNING AFTER THIS!!!!

Me and my wife came from Pinellas County to visit. We had a wonderful time also they have a lot to animals to see. It's a lot of shade also.

We went with family and it was a wonderful experience. We got annual passes for a very good deal.

This zoo is a timeless classic to Sanford. It's helped make Sanford well known. The animals are kept in the best care ever! There is a playground inside the zoo for kids to play on and there is a small splash pad inside the zoo for hot summer days! All kinds of species of animals to view. My favorite are the rhinos and otters!