Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens Reviews

Had a great time. Seeing all the exotic animals was a real treat.

Nice but they need more animals. Construction was going on in the area and they didn't have enough signs up telling you the new route to go

Good place for the kids as it's an easily walkable zoo. Go early to see the most animals as around lunch time, well it's their lunch time too.

Zoo is very nice but a little small for the price. But the zoo is very well maintained and would be great for young kids.

Over priced money pit. Price gouging experience. $3.00 for a water and $6.00 for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ridiculous.

Just no animal's very disappointing. We also bought feed the giraffe and wasn't able to feed them because the had been fed to many time's and that was by 11 am. Wouldn't waste my time at this zoo.

Very clean, engaging and friendly zoo. Children will love it!

A pretty cute zoo, just a lot smaller than I thought it was. You can definitely spend at least 2 hours here if it's not busy. But they are still under construction, so maybe it wasn't as good as it could have been.

I had a fantastic time took my niece and she got to see a bunch of animals..

This was a GREAT zoo!!! Not so large you can't see the whole thing in a couple hours....and quite a variety of different animals!!! The staff that was walking around we're very friendly and informative....they seemed to know lots of fun facts about the animals!!! We did have a little bummer feeding the giraffes....they weren't hungry!!! Haha The zoo gave us a refund for our giraffe experience... We will definitely go back in years to come it's a perfect activity for kids of all ages!!!!

It's great for a good family fun day. Explore the animals then get wet in the splash pad with the kiddos! I cant wait to see this place grow!

Friendly, but small with everything outside. Kid Zipline platform is only 3-4 feet off ground.

First year they have held this event, is what I was told. They move around from State to state. Everything is handmade from wire and silk. Very nice experience for family, friends everyone!!

Awesome going there for the first time for a field trip

Very beautiful everything I liked very much good place to take the children

They are updating some areas, but I am in a wheelchair and had no problem getting around. They have lots of new animals and little gardens. Love It

Beautiful! Saw a cheetah and giraffe feeding. Zookeepers were very knowledgeable. The train was fun, even for adult children. I did not do the zippines, however the kids looked like they were having fun!

Our BOYS had a great time..

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I have a year pass and the only thing my kids like about this zoo is the water splash area, unfortunately not the animals. I'd like to see tigers and lions, maybe some monkeys? Maybe do some funny interactive shows like gatorland does. Just make it more fun and less bland, doesn't take much resources to get it done.

Went to Sunset at the Zoo. So fun & relaxing. Enjoyed the animals, food and live music.

Asian Lantern Festival in December, 2019 at the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, FL is amazing! Great family fun each evening and bring your walking shoes. The dragon is 30 feet high and 1000 feet long! Beautiful Asian music from the boardwalk and live music performers also along the friendly and well staffed boardwalk path. Wheelchair rentals, gift shops, and full concession cafe are available. A fantastic evening out and well worth the drive!

One of my favorite places to visit in Seminole County

Visited this zoo with my daughter and a group of her friends. We had a fantastic time. It was a great first zo experience for my daughter.

Great price for everything it has. Lots of stuff to do.

It's a nice place to spend a few hours. It was quite hot and most of the animals were sleeping under the shade.

Nice place to visit take around and hour and half to see the entire zoo, they do shows too and the staff seems friendly. Go here on a cool day there isint many places with shade and most thr animals hide due to the heat.

It sucked they did not have much candy at all you had to make a donation to get some then you had to pay 5 dollars for a bag of popcorn, also even though you had a zoo pass you had to pay 5 dollars extra per person I will never go for Halloween again

It was too hot the day we went so the animals were in the shade. Didn't get to see much

Great place! Little pricey but the annual pass is so worth it!

This was a sorry and boreing trip i mad to come to this zoo $52.75 to go see sum animals that not even moveing around i mean really what the animals has cronavirus i mean they look like they was sick or something i think this where they take the animal thats on there last legs cause the bald eagle look so small oh well the prices need to be drop no sanitation area no where the only apot where someone was it the giraffe area a young lady was there tell people about the animals it a wast of time and money to go here

Lovevthe experience here. At first i though it was too easy and low but boy was i wrong. It got harder and higher. Worth the money

Great zoo and terrific staff. Very friendly and great with kids. Food service is slow and the results below average. After 30 minutes got a burger that was raw and lukewarm in the middle. Other than that, highly recommend.

Been going to this zoo for over 10 years and keeps getting better. Great place to take the family. Lots to see and do. My son and his friends went on the camel ride and loved the play ground. The have zip lines and other activities for the kids and adults. Highly recommended.

Small but cute. "Food" was over priced...no surprise there.

Fun times the splash pad and playground were an extra bonus for our family!

This place was fantastic, I enjoyed every minute of it, definitely something everyone can do, very fun and challenging. Will definitely be going back!!! Its worth every penny

So much space... not too many exhibits. Also, the enclosures were quite small. Hopefully, growth of the zoo is in the future. I walked through the whole zoo in 30 minutes.

Lots of animals. Great train ride. But wish there was a sign to take a pic of the kids in front of, like the one at the entrance. Will be returning, kids had a great time.

Great zoo. However my only recommendation is that they could use more animals in the petting area such as pigs and etc. and maybe some animals from the cold like penguins

The petting area is small with only a goat and llama. The first 3 put of 4 exhibits were empty. We didn't bother going any farther. Went to get a refund or our money used toward the airline and they refused. This is not a big zoo at all. Was a total waste of money.

I literally felt like the jungle made a secret place and let me have the password!! Awesome for kids too!! (There is some kind of elevated wooden trail thing that looks awesome but was a ghost town on that Monday afternoon.)

Beautiful place. There's a small train ride. A bit disappointed that the train basically goes through the parking lot and not in the zoo. Other than that the zoo itself is well kept and has an awesome splash pad area for kids. The otter area is adorable.

Beautiful, fun, engaging little zoo. I got an all-day behind the scenes tour and the staff were amazing. Safety and animal preference were key and so educational.

Great place to go with the family... They are always improving the facilities and adding more entertainment for the whole family...

It was great the first time for my daughter and she love it next time we going to do the Zipline..

Large and filled with so much for the kids to do. Planning on returning when it warms up to use the splash park.

We love this local Zoo, GO VISIT! Feed the giraffe, sit and watch the Rhino, have a Sonny's BBQ sandwich, watch the Hornbill's, talk to the clouded leopard, enjoy. There are folks all over to answer questions, especially the ladies at the giraffe exhibit. Just a quiet low key escape. We became members and go often, just love it.

Small but fun. Bring a pair of clothes for your kids to get wet in. The fountians are alot of fun. The animal enclosures are nice if a little small. It's not a big zoo but it is good enough for an afternoon out

Great zoo with opportunities for kids to learn about and get closer to certain animals.

This is a very small zoo, and only a handful of animals. It's focused on 2-5 year old kids. Older kids will get bored after an hour.

This is a fantastic place to visit. Relatively small, but lots to see. All fully accessible by wheelchair/electric scooter, even the indoor parts. Lots of talks & feeding events daily, although not all events take place every day. All staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Coaches and School Trips welcome. There's a small Sonny's on site, as well as a snack bar, drinks vending machines and a Gift Store. There's also a Children's Barnyard area, with a Llama, Alpaca & pigmy goats, amongst others. The Zoo is organised in such a way that everyone doesn't have to go around one way - there are different routes possible, but you will always get to see everything. One of the star attractions at the moment, is two beautiful big Bears - brother and sister - in a huge new enclosure. Well worth the visit, and the staff manning this enclosure are very knowledgeable on both the Bears, and the rest of the animals at the Zoo. All animals are clearly identified, with detailed information on plaques by their enclosures, and there are always members of staff available for any additional questions. This is not only a Zoo and Botanical gardens though, there is a Butterfly Garden, and a small Train that goes around the Car Park (which is pretty big, and has dedicated parking for Buses/Coaches). There is even an extensive Zip Line park, with platforms, tunnels and bridges between the trees, plus a small Bungee Jumping area for the kids. This is suitable for both Adults and children, and has a separate Entry Price. A great day out (or more, to do it justice) for all the family, with reductions for Children under 12 (under 3's are free), Seniors and Military/Veterans.

Not the best Zoo. But there are some good activities for kids. Splash Pad looks cool and so does the Zip Line & Ropes Course.

Went there for Happy hour. You get in for $5 from 5:30 till 7:00 pm.very pleasant not to crowed.

Small-scale zoo. In the middle of a forest. Very nicely made. Many types of animals. In addition, everything is affordable. You can have fun here for 2 to 3 hours, then you'll be through.

Great place for seniors adults and kids. A lot to see,learn and play.

My kids love going there. We have an annual pass and have been there nearly ten times this season. Kids ages are 9 and 7.
I'm a little disappointed that the bear exhibit is just bears behind a fence. Give them something more than that!
Those who work at the zoo do seem to have the animals best interest at heart. Good knowledge of their base.

Staff was super friendly! Loved it! Great for younger kids! Not alot of animals for bigger kids! A little disapointed that some stuff was closed because it was monday! Over all good first time experience for my sons 4th birthday!

Tons of animals you couldn't find in the Cape may zoo

Great experience, learn something new each time there.

Place is not maintained well, very run down.. Many items not operating: splash park, kids ropes course, train, etc. Not worth the $$$

Absolutely love the zoo. Taking the family there is always a great time!

Enjoyed our visit. Great for my active 5 year old. The Keeper Chats were so informative and friendly. The zoo is not too big so we were able to really enjoy everything instead of rushing from place to place. The entrance looks run down but it s beautiful once inside the zoo.

Very disappointed by this zoo. They don't have a big selection of animals. You can literally walk through the entire zoo in 30 min. You are able to feed some animals but the lama is VERY aggressive! They do have a nice splash pad for kids. That was the only enjoyable part of visit.

It is a small cute zoo with small variety of animals.

Great zoo. Good botaical garden, but a better zoo with a fun, short train ride.

Great staff had fun feeding the giraffe but it was a hot day and most of the animals were hiding can't say I blame them LoL