Memphis Zoo Review

Excellent, family-friendly experience. I would not expect all events/facilities to be open, as COVID-19 is still affecting the zoo; however, the experience is still 100% worth it!

The Zoo is always great. Very clean and lots of animals to see. The penguins are our favorites.

Great zoo. One of the best I've been to. High marks for how the zoo is setup in one big circle so you are able to see everything without having to zig zag. Lots of animals to see. Reasonably priced.

This Zoo has been proven to be one top Zoological Parks in the Country! It was a great experience for My Family and Me! My advice is to get here early! It gets crowded quickly!

Honestly an amazing zoo. Animals well taken care of and such a clean zoo. Hand sanitizer readily avaliable and workers take distancing caution

Love love love!!!! Very easy to navigate, very clean, you could tell the animals were very well kept and cared for. Very beautiful place and easy viewing for all the animals they offer . When there were no animals in the exhibit they had a sign to let everyone know ! 5/5 and very reasonable priced . Will be back for sure

We've always enjoyed going to the Memphis zoo, my family and friends have gone for many years. This was my son's first trip. He may have slept through half of it, but I think he had a great time.

Great zoo. Perfect for a fun family outing. The animals seem well cared for and not depressed indicating good enrichment on the part of the zookeepers. Definitely willing to visit again if I have the chance.

Great day at the Memphis Zoo! Not crowded and at least half of the animals were active.

Great but I saw a bird in the bird place eating a rat and it was in half Edit: ok might be a toy no wait no it wasn't

There should be more than one misting fan. It's too hot out for there not to be ANY kind of cooling station. I understand that with covid certain measures are being taken. That's great. It just seems like there should be alternatives in place- especially now.

Great place, always a good time here. All of their animals look well taken care of and their shows are always fun and informative! There restaurants inside have pretty good food and at a reasonable price. The monkeys, penguins and aquarium is my family's favorite things to look at! Spend your money here folks and help this place grow!!

This is a great Memphis attraction, and from my novice eye, the animals seem mostly content. The hippo exhibit is incredible. The zoo also features a playground, wading pool, and restaurant. Since the parking conflict with the Greensward has, to my knowledge, been satisfactorily resolved, I feel much better about supporting the zoo. I m rating it four out of five stars because sometimes it is overwhelmingly stinky, particularly near cat country.

The Memphis Zoo is a great place to visit. We typically get an annual family membership and visit often. Some weekends we'll go on both Saturday and Sunday! The kids love to pet the sting rays at Sting Ray Bay and so enjoy riding the rides. Its a great time!

Memphis Zoo was amazing, we came from a city with an award winning zoo, but after the first loop of ~5 animals I felt the words escape my mouth "Even if that was the entire zoo, it would be worth the money," but it wasn't! We did visit near Thanksgiving, so we believe the crowds were smaller than usual and likely the animals were more lively as the temperature was in the 60s. It did rain on us but we were already nearly finished seeing it in it's entirety, in fact the rain caused us to sit in on the sea lion training. That is the only "show" we saw and with only that knowledge I would recommend being extremely prompt to it as they did start on time and it lasted 5-10 minutes, so don't run up 15 minutes after the show time expecting to catch some of it.

Very beautiful, very worth the value. The highlights for me were the nocturnal animals and the hippos. This again may have been due to the rainy weather, but I appreciated being at eye level with the animals. The entire panda area is also amazing and likely what the zoo is best known for.

Always a good time. Me and the family really loved the dinosaur exhibit.

Beautiful zoo. You can bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the animals. The Lego animals were AWESOME!!

I love this zoo. I'm a member and my 18 month old and I go often, especially during covid. My only tip for soon be visitors... Avoid the Cathouse Cafe. It's the main food building directly in the center of the park. Customer service in that building particularly is very poor. I could go on, but trust me and just avoid it. Instead, head toward the penguins and buy from Ray's Grille. This is even the employees favorite food spot. ;)

Loved it but I was confused why the animals were walking in circles and pacing back and forth.

Great zoo, but hate to pay for all the rides... e.g. the carousel should have been free.

So far the best zoo I have been. The animals look happy and healthy.

The animals was very lazy and its looks kinda deserted. I wouldn't pay another penny to go there!

Great place to spend the day. Great for kids and families. Make sure to feed the stingrays if they re in season!

We had a blast. Friendly staff. Lots of decorations. Very very kid friendly things.

The zoo was great. We had only half a day to spend but we covered the whole zoo in about 3 to 4 hours. Went around 2:45pm and came out at 6:30 pm. If you can spend a whole day then you can participate in the zoo activites. The zoo also has pool stream for kids to have fun.

Great family outing and worth the money! Family had a blast. Make sure to bring money for drinks and snacks with the water fountains closed due to COVID.

Great updates and layout since I last visited 10 years ago. Great exhibits and improvements to get closer and view the animals.

The best part of the Zoo is the way it has been constructed. The regional segregation is something which makes this very special & cherry on the cake is Pandas here at China theme. A must visit in Memphis.

I'm sure there are probably better zoos in the country, but this is by far the best zoo I have ever been to.

I would give it five stars but I was there for the Christmas zoo lights which weren't great. They only had a very select few animals out which I understand it being at night but the lights should have been better suited for that.

We loved our trip to this zoo. The first thing that immediately stands out before you even enter the zoo is how impressive the design and theming is with a gorgeous Egyptian themed entrance welcoming you to the zoo. The staff at the ticket windows were helpful and friendly which is always a great start. As for the zoo itself there are definitely "older" and "newer" sections of the zoo. The older section which includes the Tropical Bird House, Once Upon A Farm, Penguin Rock, Aquarium, Round Barn and Pelican Pool give a good nostalgic zoo feel but feel like they do not fit with the remainder and the zoo that is so impressive. The aquarium although smaller and older had a very impressive collection of species. The Cat Country, Primate Canyon and African Veldt were older exhibits that were well designed and still worked well with an impressive variety of animals. The Dragon's Lair exhibit is very impressive with 3 adult Komodo Dragons. I do wish they could improve the theming of that building to better fit a "Dragon's Lair", but the size and shape of their animals more than made up for it. The Herpetarium featured a huge variety of reptiles and amphibians including some of the most active and colorful animals I've ever seen. We really enjoyed the theming of the Animals of the Night exhibit with the great lighting to show off these unusual animals and loved the variety of animals, however there was such an overwhelming smell of urine in the building that you could barely enjoy it. The China, Zambezi Hippo Camp, Northwest Passage and Teton Trek exhibits were some of the finest I've ever seen in a zoo not just from the design and theming, but also for the variety of species and the all encompassing views you get of the enclosures from all different angles. The Cat House Cafe was a great place to eat and it was awesome to see the gibbons come right up to the glass beside your table as you ate. The food is a bit pricey, but still affordable compared to other zoos we've been to. We will definitely return to this zoo in the future and highly recommend it to others. They have a wide variety of animals, amazing geographically themed exhibits, most importantly (except for the one Panda on exhibit that looked sickly) all the animals looked amazingly healthy and active.

The Zoo is always amazing. There were a lot of animals out sunning themselves with the cooler temperatures. The night life exhibit was very active as well and there was a keeper there giving all kinds of interesting stories about the animals
There's never enough time to see everything so we go a lot and have a membership which pays for itself within a few visits.

Tons of closed exibits. We did manage to enjoy the few on display.

Great zoo! $18 for an adult daily pass felt like a good value for all the animals they have! Walked through every exhibit in about 2 hours. The only downside was some animals were put away due to the cold weather

I didn't know anything about this zoo before we came and it's definitely one of the best, if not the best I've ever been to. The exhibits are amazing. They provide a lot of room for the animals, they all seem to have plenty of enrichment items, the staff all seems great, and the scenery in general here is just great. The animal variety here is amazing, and I had no idea that they had Pandas and was amazed by the panda exhibit. Everything here was fantastic.

I loved eating those hairy humans. Delicious.

-Human

Love the Lego exhibit that they have every year. The place looks a lot greater. They get better every year. Keep up the awesome work zoo crew.

Nice facilities. Friendly people. Overall great experience.

The zoo itself was great. Wonderful exhibits and great experience. The aquarium was disappointing though.

Loved our visit, from the adorable pandas to feeding the giraffes, the fantastic cheetahs to the bathing elephants , the best zoo I've ever visited

I love going too zoo l really like they had a there only other place I seen them where at was in China zoo

I love taking my kids to the zoo. They love seeing the animals, they love going to park area. There are plenty of place to sit, if you get tired. We always have an enjoyable experience. I definitely recommend checking the zoo out!

I had the best time ever love it all the animals met really nice people The staff there is great

Lights in the zoo was really cool. I enjoyed my time at the zoo. It was all lit up. They even had fake snow. I'd recommend going to check it out n see how it is.

Great zoo, we really enjoyed it. Fantastic place for people of all ages. Very accommodating and staff is great.

This was the best zoo experience that I have ever had so far! Huge zoo and super well maintained. We visited in the winter and still saw almost every animal. The set up makes it easy to view the animals and learn about them!! I d love to come back in the summer. Awesome job Memphis!

This place is awesome. Great for family and kids. They have a nice cafe with interactive animals that you can see. Lots of animals to see rhinos, lions, tigers, giraffes, elephants. Me and my wife had a great time. I would recommend to anyone. One of the best zoo's in the US.

Pretty nice facility. We usually make our yearly visit right before it gets to hot outside. The animals appear to be well taken care of from what I can tell. Nothing like roaming free, but in good care. I think they still run a deal on Tuesdays. If you have a Shelby county I D, admission is free from 3pm to close. Even more reason to visit if you live in the city. You must pay for parking tho.

Literally couldnt get through the entire zoo. We took our almost 1 year old to see the animals and he past out half way through (about 4 hours in). They require masks, and only allow so many people in their shops and snack areas at a time in order to follow social distancing. They only accept cards thrpughout the zoo, no cash.

Loved. Hadn't been since my nephew was a little one & he's 16 yrs old now. I took my 2 year old & we enjoyed ourselves!

Had no idea one of top zoos arround.. allot freaky animals out even early spring..3 dol park.. half off aza..18 for 2. felt safe.. signage could be better in park. Maps get confusing.. about 2hr to do most. Worth it.. slow relaxing no need to rush. Beer helps on cold day.. pens could be bigger. Some going in circles..

Best. Zoo. Ever.
The Memphis zoo is, and always will be, my favorite zoo.

We loved the zoo and my daughter (who is 6) especially loved the robotic dinosaur trail exhibit. We wore masks the whole time and while most other people there didn t wear masks we were still able to avoid touching most surfaces and brought hand sanitizer just in case. Also, the zoo reduced its capacity to help limit crowd sizes and painted lots of convient paw print markers every 6 feet apart to help visitors maintain their distance. Overall it was a very good experience.

Had a good time today. All the customer service teams were nice.. the walk out of the zoo does not have many exhibits. So the walk seems like we were going out the wrong way. Maybe add entrances to the items in the middle of the trail on both sides

Great zoo, lots of fun animals and lots of space even when crowded. Lion greeted us with a few growls and roars this morning which was really cool!

Zoo was amazing but there some exhibit's that as no animal in them

It's a nice place. Wear walking shoes and bring a drink with you.

Great zoo, loved the panda and wolf exhibit. Visited while on vacation.

Been to lots of zoo's before. This one is gigantic! Well maintained and lots of things to see. Bought a membership if that tells you anything about how good this zoo is!

One of my favorite zoos in the country.Absolutely fabulous and family friendly.Beautiful zoo with lots to see.

Awesome place to roam around with family and friends.

It seemed like the animals had more manners than some of the cashiers at the cat cafe but other than that it was a good day.

Grew up going here and they have done so much to give their animals amazing habitats.

The zoo was awesome but the employees were so rude absolutely no personality at all but other than that I would go back

Had a blast at Zoo Boo. This is a Memphis tradition that never disappoints

Was ok, seems to always have alot of animals 'unavail' and also didn't feel like the cafe/food sites even cared were apathetic towards customers - leaning back in chair , several showed no interest in me as a customer. Not ever botherin to smile.
Feel sorry for the elephants

I always love going to the Memphis Zoo this is probably my fifth or sixth time to go I love taking my children they really enjoyed the outing but you can never cover the entire Memphis Zoo in one day it's hard to even do it in two days. If I live closer I would probably get a season pass then we could go and work on one section at a time because it's most recent time we probably only got to see 20% of the Z we went to the panda exhibit and the cats and some of the birds and then the African exhibit.

This might not be as highly rated as San Diego or others but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I loved Le Le and YaYa (the pandas). Starting from the reptiles, the cat country, African safari it was an fulfilling and an amazing experience.

There's a hidden $3 per person charge for the sting rays, but you can touch and feed them. It made the trip more than worth it. The budgy exhibit was also a lot of fun. This was a great zoo trip.

Great zoo as always! We live in Little Rock and would rather drive the 2.5hrs to this zoo than ours that's 20mins away! Our kids love this zoo.

It was a lot bigger than I thought. But we had a blast. Will definitely be going back. Next time we are going to split it up between 2 days.

What a waste, traveled far for nothing, worst zoo I've ever visited

It was okay but not the best zoo I've been too. The best part was the lion at the entrance at the zoo. That might of been the downfall too. Starting with the climax then working your way backwards.

We had so much fun!
Highly recommended this place!

I think that this is one of my most favorite Zoo. I think that there is so much more though that over time they will fix/add to the Zoo to make it way more awesome. I found that one of my favorite exhibits was the one of the Gorrillas and as well of the Grizzly Bears. I find them so fascinating to study and see them not behind some form of barriers that prevent from seeing them in full view. I love how open the Zoo is, most of the time you will not find bars or glass obstructing your view of said animals. They also take great care of their animals. I have seen many places that they don't care to properly provide for the animals, but want to make sure the customers like the rides in the Zoo. I will definitely come back here and recommend this Zoo to anyone that I meet.

Went there again and you know what??! There is so many more animals that are out now that it has started to warm up. Everyone will love it. The flowers are in bloom and the backdrop for your pictures are amazing since the grass and things are becoming luscious green. Definitely advice people to go and check out the Lego exhibits as well. Mind-blowingly awsome for how much time these people have put forth, for it to bring people happy thoughts as they see what another human has accomplished.

Great place to take your family. Zoo lights 2019 was so beautiful.

I am from Missouri and used to going to the free STL zoo, but this was totally worth the money. I have never seen so many animals out of hiding, there was an amazing variety, there was great shade over the walkways, it was clean, and best of all we saw everything we wanted to see in about 3 hours because the layout was great.

Nice zoo and fairly affordable for families. The sea lion show was great and a lot of fun. Concessions are pretty pricey, but they do allow outside food and coolers so it would be wise to take advantage of that.

We love this place. Second time here and we hope to have a chance to finish the zoo on our third visit. Most of the exhibits are good and well suited for the animals. Some we wish were bigger or better shaped. The animals look well cared for.

Memphis Zoo was okay! Majority of the animals was tired, not a lot of the stores was open, and a few animals was not visible. I think it was to much money for not being able to see all the animals. But it may be better if the weather was sunny.. Not sure!

The animals was interesting. I didn't think I would see the animals in real life .

As an animal lover, I have always been fascinated with the zoo. I have been going to this particular zoo since I can remember seeing that I grew up in the area. I miss the old days simply because the animals seemed more lively and less catatonic or tranquilized. The beauty of it made up for it though. The pandas and some of the monkeys and the giraffes are worth the trip.

Loved it. We are from New Orleans, LA and are Audubon Zoo members; therefore, visiting this zoo was a good idea, that didn't disappoint. The exhibits and aquarium were really remarkable. It is a must see, but allow about a half of day to fully enjoy it.

Every thing was great for the most. Wish the hyenas, tiger, and leopard would have been out today.

Beautiful and we'll kept zoo. Lots of animals to see, and the zoo has a great layout