Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens Reviews

We didn't go to the zoo. Used their ariel walkway and zip line. Excellent!

Neat zoo, still cleaning up from the hurricane so some closed exhibits but worth the visit

So glad they are back open, kids love to go and the weather is perfect!

Me and my son had a great time. Though his part was the playground.

Nice little zoo, very kid friendly. Quiet and relaxing. Lots of plants and flowers

Nice zoo with the friendliest staff I've ever encountered. Large and clean enclosures was nice to see. Thought it was unfortunate many of the exhibits were not open when the park first opened. Finally let the big cats out around 11am. Never did see the rhino.

We generally like taking the kids to this zoo, but there are a few things to be aware of. Food service is painfully slow, and u can only feed the animals until the allocated food is gone. So, show up early and eat lunch ahead of the crowd.

A great little zoo. We spent a few hours walking around and just enjoying the scenery and the animals. The atmosphere was great and the staff were very friendly.

Animals not active,over rateded,been there 10 years ago not nearly as good

I gave this five stars, because it was a good enough size that I could see lots of animals, but could also walk the whole zoo in one day. I had never seen otters in a zoo before, so I was pleasently surprised to see some here, especially since they are one of my favorite animals. I enjoyed seeing a large variety of animals, ranging from butterflies, to cheetahs, to black bears.

Small zoo but such a good afternoons visit, knowledgeable and helpful staff . Well worth the trip xx

Always a great experience. Every staff member I have come across have been more than willing to stop and discuss information about the animals. Everyone seems to love their job, and that reflects well.

As a pass holder it s annoying that everytime I come here the petting zoo food is out in an hour from them opening, the dippin dots are always sold out, the train is broken, the soda machine is broken..the line for food is 30 mins long. If you are going to accommodate so many people, you need to update your stuff.

I found the staff a little unfriendly and stand offish during my visit. The pricing was little high. It was cheaper to buy a year pass than get tickets for the whole family for the day but I really liked seeing the animals and exhibits.

Great zoo! Clean and the animals are a beautiful site.

The new bear exhibit is great! Very informative and it s wonderful how clearly you can see the bears. The whole zoo is great - kids love it. It s our second year being annual pass holders!

Always a great time. Bring a change of clothes for after the water fun!

Great place to spend time with the family. We'll be back there soon.

Very good!! Clean, well fed animals but ... one of the areas closed.

The zoo has come a long way since I was there, but better than before. Glad to see a makover. The kids field trip was awesome, they really enjoyed themselves for those whose first time going. I love to see the gariffes, cheetah and my favorite the otters, very beautiful animals. A family fun trip to do if you've never been to the Sanford zoo.

Love this Zoo. I have had a year pass for several years in a row. There are always friendly zoo helpers around to tell you about the animals and almost every time you get a close encounter with a different animal. It s all shaded and stroller friendly. The petting area is great. You get to feed lamas goats sheep and some kind of an ox. Most animals seem very happy here. The playgrounds are fun and not crowded.

Nice and organized, Thank you guys!
We had lots of fun.

Not that many things to see or do. The animal shows are only on weekends. Lots of cloth exhibits.

It was nice. I wish that there were more animals to see. We got there early. Our son enjoyed it.

Really nice place. Train ride short so it should included in zoo price.

So much fun! My son loves the otters and it's perfect for a family outing, even in the heat!

We arrived at noon only to find out they will be closing at 1pm for a event what a waste of time!

I loved it .. the animals are in good condition and there is a nice atmosphere for them. If you take the sunrail and present your card you have a discount on the ticket. When you arrive at the station you can also take the bus from the zoo that takes you to the zoo and. it's free ehhh...will go back

The kids always love spending the day here my son loves the otters and we all enjoy all of the different plants and animals.

It is ok, but during Florida hot suffers animals remain in hiding. At least the splash pad for the kids is fun. Dont bother with the train, it just goes around parking lot

A very nice smaller zoo with lots of space. The animals seem to be well taken care of. The botanical garden was not very impressive. The price was affordable. I would recommend it to people of all ages.

Small but nice if you get the after 3pm prices. You can see everything in about an hour.

Take bug spray for the mosquitos and water to drink.

Seen many exhibits where the animals appeared to be suffering from heat exhaustion. No water, no way for them to stay cool. Many exhibits are closed also. The crocodile near the rear of the zoo appears to be dead as moss and growth has started taking over his body. This is not a zoo but a concentration camp for animals. Seriously considering calling PETA OR other animal service because this is just wrong.

This zoo is perfect to walk around in about 2 or 3 hours. They have a splash pad which is perfect for kids. It is a small zoo so no gorillas or elephants but they have plenty to look at! We have a membership because it's so close and go once every other month.

Did not care for this zoo at all. Have been to many zoos across the country and this was the worst. Animals are in cages too small for them. They don't even appear to try to emulate their natural habitats. It was actually heartbreaking to watch as the animals paced and tried desperately to get out. It is also over-priced due to the sparse, unimaginative exhibits. They also need more eating options -- only a bbq place. Will not return.

Very nice zoo. A little hard to navigate for older adults; would like a paper map. The zoo was enjoyable for adults, and all the children around seemed to have a great time. Lots of extra money things to do, reasonably priced. Snack bar and not too far for rest rooms.

Nice zoo but small compared to others zoos. A little pricey for what they offer, all in all we completed the whole Zoo in about 2 hrs.

My Grandson had a blast. Easy walking and nice size for 69 year old Grandma. Cooled off with the snakes Enjoyed sitting and relaxing by the water fun

Great for the little ones to walk around and enjoy the zoo. Bring water clothing as there is a splash pad. The place is

Great zoo and knowledgeable staff. They take great care of their animals.

They did a great job during this time. They made sure to constantly sanitize and made sure everyone had on a mask. All of the tables were spaced apart. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Have Season passes my family loves coming here on the weekends. And they are adding new additions to the park all the time. We love our local zoo. So much fun.

It's in good shape, animals look healthy and in good shape. Price was fair, this place is ok.

Nice but it is necessary that some animals are in pairs

So fun they have remodeled and there's lots of great exhibits and zip lines and other extra activities to do. Definitely check out the Central Florida Zoo.

Had a wonderful time at this Zoo. All of the animal exhibits are setup so that can you are close to the animals and can really see them without feeling like you're too far away/can't see them at all.

The only downside was that a few of the animal enclosures looked far too small because of this, and I felt a bit sad for a few of them, largely the black panther whose living space Is far too small and almost cruel. Some animals seemed to have lots of space and seemed happy, while others not nearly enough.

They also offer giraffe feeding and a rhino encounter. The rhino encounter filled up so I was unable to get a spot, but the giraffe feeding is unlimited and well worth the $5. You get 3 stalks of lettuce per $5, and can feed the giraffe 3 times, once per piece! Great photo opportunity and a chance to be literally 1 inch away from a giraffe. Beautiful animals.

We went on a Saturday and while the park was busy, it was not crowded and you didn't feel overwhelmed. It's a nice small zoo that's cleverly run so that you get to see all the animals and even interact with some. Be sure to catch the snake talk/demonstration, it was worth seeing!

Nice zoo. Shady and comfortable for walking and pushing a stroller.

It was nice and they were very involved with their animals. Whenever you see them working with the animals their so passionate and then it's very educational

The zoo has been around for a while, a special place for Seminole county. It is not the best zoo out there however, it is perfectly sized for the day trip and is always improving.
I bring my family and children from the preschool. This is a great venue to bring a group.
The paths are easily navigated without too many options to turn this way and that. No they may not have every exciting creature out there, and that has not interfered with a great time. The splash pad is amazing and they now have a camel. Old Maude is no longer with us. My first elephant that ever seen.
To the people that have driven from far away and complain...Call first, make sure it is everything you imagined. It is not the National Zoo, rather a slice of Natural Florida.

we went here for a friends kids birthday party. The people doing the stuff for the birthday party were nice and friendly. The zoo itself was quite depressing though as all of the animals were in very small enclosures. The giraffe enclosure had no grass at all in and just a couple of poles with and then it was also right next to the cheetah pen so the poor cheetahs were just prowling up and down the cage starring at it. it really was terrible.

Beautiful zoo built to show off the beauty of Florida nature. On the small side of a lot of other zoos, but worth the money.

Okay place for old people to go to when they want to take there grand kids. At the same times take your kids to something they will enjoy. If you want them to go somewhere educational, then go somewhere where there's hands on activities for them.

Thos place was not very fun went there for field trip and most of the animals where sleeping or you just couldent see them and its not very big

So first time with my 5 year old and her school . Had a great time for couple of hrs so the zoo is clean and organized but very small and can t sound more than 3 hrs here . Cheap but fun for the whole family .

I arrived about a half hour after it opened and 1/3 of the animals were not even out as they were still cleaning cages and feeding the animals and 1/3 of the zoo is under construction.
I paid just under $20 for that! That's ridiculous!
The zip lining course looked interesting (extra cost ??) and there is a little water park area and petting zoo.

Cute little zoo. Perfect to complete in an afternoon.

No large animals. Besides a few black bears who are small and really do not look that impressed with their habitat. Good butterfly collection, reptile collection and splash pad. But surprisingly very few animals. Consider Brevard Zoo as it is not too much farther and it has a brilliant play area, splash oad and much more. Or even Tampa zoo. Both are much better.

It is a smaller zoo which the kids loved. We were not exhausted getting from one exhibit to another. The habitats and enclosures are beautifully maintained and offer wonderful views of the animals.

Nice small town zoo with lots of things for kids to ro.

A family friendly place with exhibits that allow you to see wild animals up close, enjoy zip lines, and ride a miniature train. The entry fee is reasonable, too.

Not many animals to see. Unfortunately for us the few that were there were mostly sleeping. Train and carousel were both down for maintenance too. Food kiosk was unbelievably slow to prepare six hot dogs and three fries.

It's small, and I'm not going to lie about that to make it seem better than it is, but it's still worth 4 stars in my opinion.

You can explore everything on the property in about an hour and a half to two hours depending on your interests, if you grab lunch there, or stick arround to attend a caretaker talk, or decide to do the zipline courses.

It's not huge, but supporting them now means that they can expand their exhibits and build new enclosures with different animals to bring in more people who spend more money on it.... (that's a good thing).