Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens Review

Amazing place! Me and my husband had SO much fun! Very polite staff, nice and clean place, very interesting for adults and, of course, for children.

Small but a great place for small kids and they have a splash pad!

Excellent family atmosphere although there are many animals that are not seen

Clean and well managed. You dont feel like the animals are just not cared for.

Nice place to spend half a day, a lot of animals my kids have never seen before, one of the biggest Florida Crocodiles I have ever seen

Not a huge zoo, and not many animals. Their reptile room is pretty disappointing..animals cohabed with others that they shouldn't be with. Prices are a bit steep, but it was a nice quick trip for the kids. Hoping to go back to do the zipline!

Nice but price was to high for not enough exotic animals

Cute little zoo if you're in the area. Feeding the giraffe seemed to be a highlight for engaging kids and they have a nice mix of animals from farm animals, brown bears and bald eagles to cheetahs, otters and various primates.

Great local zoo, family friendly, even has a small splash park.

Very fun place. Clean splash pad. Nice little zoo. Kiddos enjoyed it!

Clean layout, most of the staff is friendly. Food prices leave a little to be desired but the animals were all beautiful and well kept

I had an amazing time here. I learned so much about animals and got to see them to! The staff was very friendly and they even had a zip lining area that is very thrilling!

I loved it! Not as many animals as some other places, but it was a satisfying experience!

Great place....Had a great time today!!!...Super awesome place for family time, learning and something different from the big parks.

Nice small zoo with some great exhibits. Very walkable, circular trails wind through shady areas with lots of animals. The feeding times are really fun, we had never seen alligators fed before. Wow!

Had a good time yesterday at the zoo, really hot, but there is a lot of shade as you walk around. What great things to do for kids and all ages.

I thought the price was a little high for what they offered, compared to other Zoo's that I have been to in the past.

I would like to see more animal shows come to this zoo.

Wonderful experience; Asian New Year lantern show just ended so we missed that, but a beautiful day and pretty big overall

So much fun! Guides were awesome and the zip lines were fantastic! My only issue would be I wish we could skip courses but that s nothing!
We had a blast! Looking forward to coming back

Staff clearly cares for the animals, they've got decent sized enclosures. Unfortunately for us, we thought it was rather small for the cost. Even with a toddler running around at his leisure, we ran out of stuff to do in about 3 hours.

We love bringing our young daughter here, we were able to upgrade our single day ticket to a year pass. The splash pad was a ton of fun for her! She ran around with the other kids (and me close behind) for almost 30 min. Every time we come it seems like they are making improvements. Petting zoo is better after 11 when you can feed.

The zoo is just looking more and more run down. There is no indication of a theme or design when they put in new exhibits. You look off the trail in some places and you can see discarded cages or exhibits just laying there like trash. They keeping adding these usless food carts all around the zoo and they are almost never open. But even if they were open, who goes to the zoo to eat pizza out of a cart? Spend the extra time and drive to Tampa or Jacksonville and you will be rewarded with a much better zoo experiance.

Awesome zoo. Staff are amazing and very helpful and knowledgeable. Kristen was the best it's my son's birthday and she was awesome and answered questions about his favorite animal the Fossa. She is the caretaker for the Fossa and was genuinely nice and very informed. She made the experience great. Thank you very much.

He lacks so many animals that children ask about them like the elephant, lion among other that are supposed to be

30 minute wait to get into the zoo. See pic of line waiting. Rotting floor boards. Routes that end in dead ends. Unkempt throughout.

Is a very familiar place. It's a small zoo, perfect for kids, you can feed the giraffes and the kids zoo is very special. This zoo have a lot of different activities specially for parents and kids relationship. Spend the night at the zoo, parties, classes... It's amazing to create an strong relationship with the nature and the animals.

Good for kids of all ages. It's got a play area at the entrance of the park for the older kids and the regular zoo for everyone.

Majority of exhibits were empty ! Train was down no feed for the farm animals, construction going on . More of a walking excursion, animals didn t look very happy either, small jaguar enclosure

Very nice, they have a splash pad for the kiddos. Serene and educational!

What a great adventure at The Central Florida Zoo and the Zoom Air Adventure Zipline Park! The staff is very helpful and friendly, the park is well maintained with plenty to see, and there are lots of hands on educational opportunities for all.

Nice Zoo to take younger kids for the morning. Enjoyed it so much.

A really nice zoo, small in size but well organized and clean.

This place is the best! After working with them on a social event for downtown Sanford, all I can say is wow! Danny went above and beyond! Being kind goes a long way in this world! The zip lines are so fun also, really great way to spend a Saturday!!!!

They close way too early and the splash pad closes at 4! really not worth the price of admission/traveling to come here. Came to see the bears and the exhibit closes at 1 pm. May as well just make it a morning only zoo.

It was okay...I would go early In the morning next time. I was there around lunch time and the animals seemed hot so they were sleeping in the shade...but on the other hand it was very nice and well kept!

This Zoo does have a very nice range of animals to discover. Defiantly though this park Shines in the entertainment for our younger crowd. With playgrounds scattered and even a waterpark this Zoo is sure to Wow you and your family. And if your hungry be sure to stop in at the incorporated Sonny's Restaurant built in! Lastly the giraffe feeding is truly beautiful and very worth.

Such a great time there with the family from Michigan a must see in area.

Best place for a relaxing date. You can also feed the giraffes it was really fun!

Not too much to see without paying extra for other things.

Family Friendly. Good place the spend an afternoon.

Small zoo with a lot of heart. This is a good visit for a morning walk, a picnic or a little train ride.

Excellent Chinese Lantern Festival!! Highly recommend it!

Super cute zoo ! Very kid friendly and we love that all the animals are rescued. We especially loved the giraffe and the bear siblings.

We had a blast at the zoo about 6 months ago. We loved watching the rhinos run!

The whole family went and had a great time. If you're looking for something incredibly affordable to do for a few hours, you can't go wrong with the Central Florida Zoo.

Very relaxing place. Have a great verity of animals. Went close to holloween.

This zoo was the biggest waste of money, if i could have put 0 stars i would have. I don't see how anyone would rate this zoo a 5 star unless they came just for the pathetic zip line. The animals look so depressed and they don't interact at all, they just hide. i watch the leopard pace back and forth begging for food which is sad as can be. everything was "under contrustcion". After about 5 minutes of entering i was already regretting the 60$ me and my family just spent. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GIVE THOSE ANIMALS A BETTER HABITAT.

The animal displays are great. The atmosphere is great for the animals. Kids love the splash pad. One problems is the restroom is literally out side of the restaurant. The toilets were over flowing and dirty. The smell was horrendous. I cannot imagine why anyone would put a bathroom so close to the dining area. Pew!!

He has neither Leon nor elegant. They have few animals and in a very very small place. I did not think anything bn. If you have small children if they have a very good area to get wet.

My Husband and i went on a first time tryout and we where pleasantly surprised the teachers where very nice and knowledgable and helpful despite of many of them being younger .
The course eases you into trickier obstacles and longer zip lines . I dropped my hat while on a zip line into a pond which they retrieved for me at the end even though they didn't have too

Nice place to goto. Check out the Giraffes and Rhinos. Great place to take the kids.

Annual pass holder. The staff is accommodating and wants you to learn. A lot of shade and splash pad for kids to cool off. Plus small playground area to play. They also offer a few small attractions.

Enjoyable evening strolling through the sleeping zoo, admiring the creative and beautiful lanterns. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

This Zoo is decent but the price isn't as good as you get at other zoos like the one in Jacksonville. It's a decent sized zoo that'll take you about 1-2 hours to walk through. The animals are fairly active and have good habitats.

We love it. We have a pass and my e year old loves seeing the animals. I like the wide paths because he can walk ahead a bit without worrying he will run into other guests. The playground in the zoo is great for when they get board looking at sleeping animals. Fall is definitely better than summer , not only for guests, but the animals are more alert and active.

Such a small zoo... I prefer other zoos since they're all about the same price... Can get through this zoo in like 3 hours. I usually try to make a full day of it when it's a zoo day too

It is very beautiful, and relaxing for a family day.

If you buy a annual pass and have young kids this is a great place to go. Parking is free however tickets are almost $20 per adult if you don't have a pass. They have a small train, splash pad, and sand box for the kids. The animal selection is small compared to most zoos I have visited but my kids are young enough they don't know or care.

The central Florida zoo is a great place to visit whether you've got a pack of kids or not. Beautifully educational exhibits with exotic animals from all over the world. They take care of many rescued animals that can no longer survive by themselves in the wild. They've also got a small splash park for the kids and a Zipline course if you like. Helpful staff willing to answer all your questions. It's clear that these people care a great deal about every animal in the park. Even the creepy snakes.

The zoo is under construction now and even though it's small it was hard to negotiate because of that but once it's done it will be a great place to bring your kids. I love the splash pad at the end of the zoo, it's the perfect ending.

Way over priced for how tiny it is. Most of the vending machines don't work, only one of the two consession stands is open. Waste of money.

Great to spend a day with the kiddos, check weather before as there's almost no indoor there but the reptile's place.

Great for small or young child. Lots of non animal activities

Great place! Animals are treated very well and is a fun place to take the whole family. Especially love the giraffe feedings and ziplining.

I love thos place for kids. It is interactive, not overwhelming or too crowded... it's also great for bday parties. And we got to see the night exhibition of Chinese lamps which was gorgeous and the kids loved.

Good place for family! But still doesn't have to much animals

This was a nice place but there were alot of things closed wasnt worth the money

Perfert day for the zoo. The Sanford zoo is always fun and friendly. The staff are knowledgeable and helpful with a smile. Very kid friendly.