Minnesota Zoo Reviews

I pet sharks... best zoo ever because of that, and I'm not a zoo person.

Great place to take the kids. We have the membership and come here often.

Great for family and friends to enjoy their favorite animals. Lots of informational guides along the way and rain or shine, there is always something to do. Good food and gift shop as well!

Good rating because its a large space, not enough food stands and animals though. Typical zoo, I guess

Went with my wife and my son. It's large enough to spend all day in, or if you have young kids, maybe two. I have been several times but not for a while until recently. Only got through half of the zoo on the last visit. My son had us in the bird exhibit for an hour and a half. The wild bird show was great. It's very clean and all the animals seemed in good health. The staff was helpful and one even shared the story with us how they got their komodo dragons while we were looking at them. I always enjoyed my visits here but find extra enjoyment since bringing my kid. A great way to spend a day especially with the family.

They are doing a good job trying to keep us and the animals safe! Glad we went.

Great for indoor or outdoor days. The aquarium area and the tropical building are perfect areas to let the kiddos run during cold winter days. While, the huge outdoor, and indoor if needed, areas will wear out the busiest kids. Everything is very clean. During the summer there is a fountain area for the kids to play (bring a towel or pay the price). The animals all seem well taken care of and they thought-out what animals they could actually bring to Minnesota. If you plan to go more than once, get a membership!

Such a great place to spend the day with family. The animals and grounds are very well cared for. The splash pad was a big hit for my son after a long warm day with lots of walking.

A little sad that some enclosures are small, but at least they're safe

One of the better zoos that I've ever been to in this country they have metal me. Amazing variety of animals but they have habitats that are extremely elaborate and sometimes covered quite a bit of Real Estate it's a wonderful place but it is quite large and you need to be able to walk quite a ways to see everything there is. They also have dinosaur mock-ups that are animated that are delightful especially for children also good photo opportunities

Thoroughly enjoyed the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at the MN zoo tonight!

Great exhibits, lots of visual interest and the ability to get closer to the animals. They also had animals I hadn't seen before. Much of the access to the exhibits was indoors, which is nice considering the weather!

Great place to keep the kids busy and learning at the same time while having fun...

We recently visited the zoo and were pretty disappointed. I brought my month old in a stroller and my friend brought her daughter and her friend. We were pretty excited to check it out. The exhibits were great even being as limited as they were it was still a good time to see the animals and walk around. The one way only was ok, understandably with Covid precautions. However the staff treated us like dirt. Like we were the virus itself. It was a busy day, lots of families which was nice to see. However I felt as if I was a complete inconvenience. The halls were busy as well as the bathrooms. We had stayed for about four hours and my daughter needed a diaper change and a feeding. We finally walked by a bathroom following the paths along. It was a busy bathroom with a line so I didn t want to bring the entire car seat and stroller along and take up room in the already packed bathroom. My friend offered to take it with to the next exhibit and I d meet back up with them to be quick and not take up to much space. While grabbing my diaper bag and unbuckling my daughter From her car seat a young female employee quickly shouted at me that I was taking up to much space. (Well, it s a stroller and we were in the line for the bathroom which was out the door) I attempted to explain I m in line for the bathroom and will be just changing a diaper and the stroller will be gone. She shouted at me multiple times that I m in the way and need to get out of line so other people can go by. Needless to say she was making a scene and embarrassed me, making me feel bad for taking care of my child. So obviously this is NOT a family place. I was not able to change her and we felt so uncomfortable we left. I feel our money was wasted and there is absolutely no reason to return. I ve never felt more embarrassed. As a new mom that really was a punch in the gut.

Lots of animals and exhibits
Parking is$7 for car, which I was not expecting to pay. The monorail is no longer running and there are no elephants.

Great zoo with a good amount of space. Nice large exhibits, lots of children's play areas.

Wonderful Zoo in MN. Enclosures are well kept and spacious with a staff that is attentive to animal and guest needs alike. I've never been disappointed. Adult nights regularly and a great place to bring my camera for a good trip!

Nice zoo but the cost is ridiculous, especially given you have to pay to park as well. When I went the aquarium was empty of animals which was incredibly disappointing. Save your money and go to Como Zoo for free.

Nice zoo that s just a bit messy and also it s a bit hard to know where you do big!!! I gave it a 4 instead of 5 star because prices are high for concessions.

The staff were very helpful. We liked the facilities and how animals were in natural environments.

Great family spot! We love the zoo and use pur membership all of the time. My kids love the park and the splash pad in the summer, and in the winter its a great space for them to burn off some energy.

It's got a large variety of animals and the people are incredibly friendly. Just remember to bring a coat if you're going outside!

You can tell they really care for their animals. Staff is friendly. Splash pad outside near concessions is so nice for hot days! We love the goats!

I went here for the pumpkin carvings. Wished it was longer. Love it.

so expensive... no new exciting animals. I'd rather go to como zoo.

It was great I dont know why the trollys werent working there when I went but they use to have a giraffe and there wasnt one my nephew from Alaska wanted to see one.

Closed early and site wasn't updated, drove for nothing

Always a family favorite. When all else fails we know that we can spend the day with the animals and the kids will have a blast. Lunch is always a bit spendy for what it is, but it is to be expected. Of all the zoos we have gone to, this is one of the best. We buy a membership every year and it has not gotten old yet. And it has been 6 years in a row and we always get our money worth out of it. There are not too many places that you can bring 4 kids and have them entertained for an in entire day.

Drive thru zoo experience was fun. It was exactly 30minutes. Happy to support the zoo. Animals were alert and lots of baby animals around.

Always something new to learn and exciting to see at the Minnesota Zoo

Fun for the whole family. A good variety of animals in large, lovely enclosures. The bears are always fun and we never miss the farm.

Best zoo I have been to in along time. So many animals to look at and the grandchildren loved it thank you brad for getting us in .

We love to go to this zoo when we visit MN. Always a great experiance and our grand daughter just loved it. Her first time here with us. There was amazement for her around each corner.

Really big and huge for the animals the zoo has. Not much to see the entrance is $18 not much animals to see.. But pretty good, I've never felt that the animal's are suffering for nothing there what is pretty good.

The jack o lantern extravaganza is, in a word, amazing.

I love bringing my family to the zoo. Always a great experience.

Crazy exspensive the food court was in a horrible place and didnt make it smell appetizing at all

One of my favorite zoos. I look forward to every visit! Great staff and volunteers

Good time. Family friendly. And they have a Red Panda!

I already enjoy visiting the zoo, and they have a good diversity of animals. The enclosures are kept clean and my family has an easy time walking around.

If you go with a group, verify where you will park. There are two different sides that they direct people to and it can be frustrating if you end up on opposite sides. The last two times we've gone, we've been directed to different sides despite arriving within 10 minutes if each other. The second time we decided to turn around and drive to the other side.

The pricing is a bit expensive, especially compared to the Como zoo. While the ticket seems somewhat reasonable as a special treat for the animal experiences, the additional fee for parking seems excessive given the amount of land and parking they have in Apple Valley.

Way overpriced, I was not impressed for how much this zoo costs ($18/person).

My family are members to the Zoo if you like to visit a few times a year a membership is worth it. There are interactive parts of exhibits and educational shows and volunteers though out the zoo.
Durring the winter months there are plenty of indoor exhibits to walk through and there are less visitors so it's easy to take your time.

The animals are taken care of and the staff is often watching animals to insure that they have what they need. The exhibits are big and give the larg animals room to rome.

The people working there were really nice and knew a lot about the animals there where standing next to

Decently priced ok staff animals are still in cages but they have a bit more room than most zoo's

Much better than the last time I was there I really got a chance to see the animals great improvements.

Great way to spend the day. Kids aged 6 and 10 had a great day.

Family fun, indoors and out, bring a picnic in a backpack and save. Their food is not great and it is spendy.

The zoo was filled with lots of friendly staff and the exhibits were incredible for the animals they didnt not spare any spending in those exhibits. The animals looked so happy and relaxed in their exhibits despite all the people and children looking at them!!!

Dolphin area! Camps for kids! Has a high school attached too. Big place, good for society.

Awesome experience! Haven't been here since I was a kid, but it was still fun as an adult. Plenty to see. Refreshment areas are frequently placed throughout the zoo. It was an incredibly hot day, but there are quite a few drinking fountains spread out to keep you hydrated.

Friendly and courteous staff, exhibits well kept. Good choices of food and family atmosphere.

My family loves the zoo. In the winter the tropical trail is a nice break from the cold. Great interactive shows and learning opportunities.

Went to adult night and it was a blast. Super nice staff and very clean even after a full day of kids.

A great place to take the kids but make sure to put on your walking shoes because there is a few miles of attractions. It took about 4 hours to see almost everything at a moderate speed

Always good, bird show was good. Nearly got clipped by the snowy owl, they fly very low.

They have so many activities it's a great place to spend the day.

It was cool, but a lot smaller than I expected with a lot of walking between exhibits. That being said, I do appreciate that they give the animals plenty of room. My favorite was the Tropical exhibit.

It was awesome! There is a lot of signage and there are guides to help direct you through the different areas. Everyone was very helpful and it was clear where to go. There was easy stroller access. There were no inside food vendors due to the pandemic, but there were some outside food stands. A lot of the animals were out and about. The fish displays were particularly impressive. The red panda gets my vote for the cutest animal there and the otters are a close second.

Zoo visits during winter! Had a great trip to the Minnesota zoo. It was about 30 degrees outside this April 1st and the zoo provided a great sheltered environment to explore. I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old. There was plenty for them to do in this kid friendly environment. The zoo also featured some exhibits that were outdoors so make sure to dress accordingly. There was plenty to occupy our family for 3 hours.

The Minnesota zoo is a great place to kill some time with the family. If your a local resident I'd suggest becoming a member it pays for its self within 2-3 visits. Plus it gives you half off admission to other zoos across the nation which is actually pretty awesome if you're out visiting family for the holidays and there's a spare day that needs to be filled with something fun to do.

Had a fantastic time at the Jack o Lantern spectacular!! Truly amazing talent!

Enjoyable for the whole family. We purchased the family pass.

Wasn't there long but all the animals where sleeping when I was there but a good place to take the family to see some animals