Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens Review

Love it. Will definitely be back. The staff was friendly. The animals looked like they where all well taken care of.

A bit old and tired. The bears will be a welcome addition, but there's not a great deal to see. Not enough food and drink options either.

Think twice before making a reservation. No rain checks and no refunds, even if it s pouring outside on the day you go. What a joke. We will never go back. This place is overpriced and underwhelming anyway. There are much better options to spend your day in the Orlando area.

Great place for the kids! Easily walked in 2 1/2 hours! Giraffe feeding for $5. Train rides for $2 or $3. Zip line/adventure course

Splash pad and shadded boardwalk make this a great summer activity, although I recommend getting an annual pass because admission for one day is pretty high. Sad to say that the actual zoo part with animals is pretty underwhelming, we mostly go for the train rides, splash pad, and dip'n'dots.

Honestly it was somewhat disappointing. The park was nice and clean, the staff was nice. It just the selection iof animals to view isn't that great. It seemed like every exhibit we went to had a " sorry " sign on it.

Now their reptile selection and their moth and butterfly selection is impressive. That was really cool and put together. They do offer military and teacher discounts.

I gave my boys the choice of here or going to SeaWorld. They choose the zoo. They visiting the animals, especially the Otters.

Great beginners course - few short zip lines and lots of treetop rope bridges and obstacle courses. Groupon usually has great deals for this place.

We got there around 3 on a Sunday so we had about two hours before they closed. We didn t get to see all the animals because it was raining and by the time it went away the animals were put away for feeding time. But overall it was nice to see the animals my kids had a blast. They have a train so you can ride around the zoo I believe is $3.00 per person. Like I said it was raining so we didn t get to ride the train but maybe next time we go we can.

Great prices, Nice park.
Easy to find.
Kept my kids entertained.

This is an enjoyable place to visit. Monday s seem to be two for one which is a great deal. They have a good assortment of animals and a nice layout. There is also a ropes course. It s right there and quite big.

It s been very noisy when we ve been there - it s right next to a train track and there is often construction going on. many of the animals seem stressed out - cage sizes and proximity to noise might contribute to that. But I m no expert. Take it for what it s worth.

I think this place could use some investment so that they can expand and improve the amenities. It s the only zoo in Central Florida - a rapidly growing area that could support a larger zoo.

Perfect, well cared for animals, no foul smell, clean place.
Suitable for the whole family.

This zoo was so small! They have no elephants, no tigers, no lions, no kangaroos & more! But they do let the kids feed the animals so of course you have to buy the food which I thought was awesome. They have a train ride, zip-line, bungee jumping, & a water park area. They did have some cheetahs, cougars, a jaguar, a few different monkeys, rhinos, bears, giraffes, tortoises, warthogs, llama, alpaca, goats, donkeys & I believe that was it. Of course they have their reptile enclosure buildings but from being out of town I expected more coming here but this was the only zoo close to Orlando. I liked that the walking trial made you feel like you were in the wild with the animals.

The event and the lights are really nice and a pleasant family night out. A little bit of exaggeration on food availability and drinks were really expensive.

Its a small and unique zoo. Lemur monkeys big cats reptiles etc. Theres activities for all kids too. Free parking. 19.95 adults .

Some animals that every child would like to see do not have them. Lion,

A good place to go with the family, although a little small compared to other zoos.

Amazing for kids under 3. They have a nice water splash area. Bring a towel!

None of the food stands throughout the park were open excepts for one and it was 93 degrees out with 100+ heat index. Also, there were hardly no animals out due to the heat

Such a nice little zoo tucked away in Orlando. The zoo is pretty small, but they utilize the space amazingly. The staff is very present around the park and the animals were active and seemed will taken care of. We did not visit the water park area as our child was too small but it looked very fun.

Staff was great. Loved the Rhino. Pretty good zoo, could us a few more animals

Went there with my children and we were all disappointed, there are NO animals! And the ones they have are in very small areas, its very sad... Dont waste your money and time. Just go to animal kingdom atleast they have more animal's.

Asian Lantern Festival has great lights display put together by craftsmen from Sichuan, China. A great evening outing place in this holiday season!

Came here from ohio. Our family of four absolutely loved it despite the heat. We loved your selection of animals.

What a great zoo for children and adults alike. It is a smaller zoo which actually makes it wonderful in my opinion because you get a chance to see every animal. It's only crowded on the weekends or if school is out, but even then it isn't so crowded that you can't experience everything. They have a fun splash park for kids and also a playground. The employees are helpful and knowledgeable as well. I must say, if you're local, get the family annual pass. It's affordable and pays for itself within 2 visits. Plus you get discounts a the Aquarium and other zoos with the pass.

It was nice to see all of the animals but the zip line was a joke and Sonny's was worse. I'll be sending a message to Sonny's about the horrible conditions in this park. Don't go in the summer, it was hot as hell with just 3 places to cool off. Not even Sonny's was air conditioned or even had a ceiling fan in the 2 booth eating area. The prices were just as bad as Disney & the choices were very little.I will never be there again or recommend it.

Absolutely charming little zoo with giraffe and rhinoceros closeup encounters. Wish the wild cats had bigger enclosures but there was not a single animal that didn't look clean and healthy. Beautiful experience.

Fed the Giraffes n ended it with a carousel ride. Best two days ever.

Great way to spend a day. Something for everyone and great staff

It is not very well coordinated and organized. Missing animals

A wonderful day with the kids at the zoo is waiting for you! Been here many times over the years with the kids at various ages and they always had a great time. Can't go wrong here. Try the zip lines and train ride!

Disappointing zoo. Very few animals. No elephants, zebra, lion, etc... Food is always closed. There is a cute splash pad and playground.

I am giving a mid range review because when we went in Sep. 2018 there were several exhibits under construction and the animals weren't around. The admission was also quite high. It took us right around an hour to see everything and we were out 60 bucks. However, the grounds were clean and the animals seemed happy. Feeding the giraffe was a fun experience.

Fewer animals than they had 20 years ago but my grandson and I had a very good time.

Great little zoo. Well kept and lots of cool animals to check out. They also have a pretty cool aerial course perfect for older kids and young adults. There's a little water park for the kiddos along with a changing area afterward. There's a snack/bbq shack next to the water park with a big indoor and outdoor eating area. The staff is friendly the parking is free and entrance is inexpensive. Good place to kill a few hours or more with the kids.

There animals look very healthy and they have a wide variety of species. I loved the park that was in it. The prices are pretty fair.

Smaller zoo than most ,,well kept..zipline was a lot of fun

I expected to see elephants but other than that a great place to take your family

Went to the Asian Lantern Festival. Quite beautiful!

Enjoyed the experience immensely with my 2 y.o. grandson and highly recommend the zoo. Disappointed the train was not working but plan to return for the entire zoo experience.

Not a good zoo. Seems like many people go here for the zip lines, splash park, choo-choo, and merry go round, rather than the zoo. The parking lot was packed, but most people seemed to be there for an event, or the other stuff; the actual zoo part was quite empty in terms of guest, animals, staff, exhibitions, you know, zoo stuff. A lot was in disrepair, including the only bathrooms at the Sonny's BBQ shack, which is the only actual food in the place. The nature walk is being rebuilt, and most of it is closed off. I'm all for natural environments but wear dark pants as it's hard to find a seat without dirt on it. Finally found a bathroom at the snack shack, which is barely indoors, a little grimy, and full of wasp nests. The snack shack literally has beer, chips, soda, and ice cream. There's a playground there too. The Brevard county zoo is about an hour away from here, and smaller, but packs a much better zoo experience into their space.

We came this weekend. and was very happy showing the kids all the animals. Never had seen so many monkeys that close before!

Took my granddaughter and had a great time. Clean with nice boardwalk for most of the park.

We were visiting from Toronto. It was a small zoo but with 3 kids it was a perfect size for us to walk around, they had almost all the animals. Kids loved it

They have made many improvements since I was there last (5+ years). Some habitats still seem small, but more are adapted to the biome of the animals. We went a few hours before close, got a discount because of the time, and still saw everything in a few hours. The lanterns were set up for the holiday season, and were fun to look at (even in the daytime).

Nice alot of cats
were asleep. And don't follow Google directions takes u the wrong way. Follow the signs.

I liked it is not to big or to small. The day I went was super hot so I advised you to go when it's a little bit cold that way the animals get out of their caves, beds etc. and interact more with us. They seemed well taking care of. Even with ventilators for the heat.

Nice place relaxing can bring your own stroller and water maybe snack they sell food there too love it splash pad in the summer

It's not the biggest zoo or the coolest you've ever been to, but for what it is, this place is great.

Tons of fun for the kids. The giraffe feeding and goat petting are especially fun

Awesome place for everyone, smaller zoo with easy to navigate paths. Outside entrance is a bug museum and adventure ropes course. Great shade throughout and fun kids playground and garden.

it was the worst zoo i ever been to for the money u paid there was more fake animals then real and u have to paid for all the rides and most of all the bathroom were very dirty your luckey u didnt get sue that day water was all over the floor and when i told someone they didnt care

The staff was very rude to our group. They seemed to want to get off work early so they made us rush through the course (we didn't even finish the course). When I first went up, they said it was optional to wear gloves, well i decided to wear it up to the platform and Benjamin the "assistant manager" told me I didnt have to, and I responded with "im going to anyways". He gave Wilson the "Woooww" look. I do not recommend this place for the price. Keep in mind if you do come here, you won't get a refund once you step on the first steps.

Great place to take younger kids. Lots of animals to see and feed. Splash park and playground upon entrance. Recommend getting there early at opening while not crowded and leaving for lunch before nap time.

Good weather. Saw some animals. Fun times with my son and family.

This zoo is awesome! There are many animals to look at and learn about. The staff is amazing!

Great little zoo. Not a whole lot on the botanical side of things, but some nice specimens and a cool little healing garden. Great places for play for the kids, including a small water park and playground. Wish the train was working!

Great place to take an annual family pass. Besides the zoo, one can access to the splash park which is a fun activity for the kids. Zoom Air is just outside the zoo entrance.

Lovely little zoo. We have a membership and go a couple times a month. Perfect for small kids. Awesome splash pad for warmer weather.

Very nice place for young kids...lots of animals and shows

Very nice and relaxing. Enjoyed seeing all the animals. My roommate even got to feed a giraffe.

Kids enjoyed themselves especially at the splash pads. They got excited about the Rhino, the giraffe, and even the beers. The cheetah launch at us everybody actually. Quite a few exhibits were down I guess they were just opening back up properly for the year

I can t understand the raving reviews about this place. They want to charge you for every little thing, admission price is reasonable but anything additional is an extra charge. Felt like a money making scheme and not a place that s vested in educating and garnering a child s interest in animals. As soon as you walk in the zoo there are around 4-5 activities that are pay if you want to participate (air bubble, zip lining, train & carousel). If you want to feed the giraffes it s $5 for THREE pieces of lettuce. We ve been to quite a few zoos in North America and this one has been the worst. There are no elephants, lions, zebras or tigers. It seems that this zoo is just interested in investing money on the splash pad.

Nice place to spend the day, they even had a mini water park for small kids. Lots of shade too