The Kansas City Zoo Review

It's a lot of walking but worth every step as you get to see some amazing and well cared for animals. This is our third time visiting!

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Really enjoyed our time here. We love the free day entry for residents withing a certain jurisdiction. Saw the penguin march. It was a really hot day. The reason for a 4 star versus 5 is because it's a family place and when you have kids and you want to take a break from walking, you let them play on the playground which was really nice. The problem is it was scorching because there was no shade barrier or tarp over the playground and the slides were too hot for my LO to slide without burning her legs. I just thought when small parks can have them why not a zoo? I hope in the very near future this can be fixed. As much as I like walking around looking at the animals, my LO loves to play with others on the playground which I enjoy watching as well even more. If your going to provide a playground which is very smart and innovative, why not some sun protection so that it can actually be used. It was frustrating seeing all the kids who stood on the side because the equipment was too hot to play on. Other than that, very clean park and we had a blast!

Love the zoo and making memories with my girls we have gotten season passes for 2 years now my daughters favorite attraction is the penguins

This is the first Zoo I had ever visited. I moved to KCMO from Northern Michigan in 2008. I visited the Kansas City Zoo spring of 2009. Absolutely love the zoo. I feel bad for the animals, away from their natural habitat, but they probably know no different.
I love the diversity of animals. I love the diversity of cultures in Kansas City all around.

Fun zoo with lots of animals and whole day of walking.

Love the KC Zoo! Lots of interesting animals to see and activities to do!!

Even with the things going on this was a great visit.

My husband and I enjoyed the zoo. The unlimited ride band was awesome. I think we enjoyed the train and ski lift the most. The penguin, polar bear and sea lion exhibits were awesome. Have visited the sting ray exhibit before. Always think I'm going to get stung. Well come out and enjoy a day at the kc zoo. You wont be able to see the entire zoo in one day. Make it a weekend.

It just keeps getting better and better every year!!

Decent enclosers, friendly staff, nice place only real issue was the distance between exhibits should offer trolley rides for free to get through from one side of the park to the other.

Free Jackson Cty Residents Day (Closed at 4pm). Excellent weather and cannot believe how active ALL the animals were! The Orangutans operated water spricket & moved furniture (barrels) to access edible art on windows, Tigers paced & stood together, Red Kangaroos met us on trail, 1 of the birds in Australia grabbed my finger in it's beak Dingos, Camels, Emu all out & present, snakes were interactive, & Lioness' pounced & grabbed each other's tails. Chimpanzees hid till everyone left (except the 2 of us) then they charged windows riding piggy back. Rhino paced & The Skyfari froze us. We even saw a long black necked "Deere" & Big "Cats" (Tram joke - Thxs Karen). Will definitely try to get in 1 more visit before 2020

The zoo is always a great place. Join friends of the zoo. Worth the price. That way you can go to one place one day, then come back another and explore a different part the next. There is a lot to see and do.

Almost five stars it was a little small actually very small animals seamed sad to be there

Very well organized! Staff was amazing and my daughter loved seeing all the animals. We had a 10am reserved time and the entrance had plenty of 6ft social distancing signs and arrows on the ground. Sanitizing stations everywhere and appropriately high contact areas shut down or closed during Covid. I would love to visit again next time we are in KC!

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff, some of the younger staff could stand to focus less on their friends and more on the patrons but they were in the minority.

Great Zoo to visit and kids of all ages will have loads of fun. I would recommend spending the extra $8 for the ride pass if it's a hot day as they cover most of the zoo.

The food is actually pretty fantastic for a zoo, worth taking a bit extra and eating there if you like BBQ.

Amazing Zoo. Employees very helpful. Great exhibits. Will go again.

This is a fun and easy place to take my 1 year old! The staff is friendly and it's easy to see the animals. It is pretty spread out, and it would be a little difficult to see everything in one day (maybe not for adults only but especially with a very little one). This makes the membership very nice to have. We got our value out of the membership price within 4 visits.

Glad the price of entry was so low because i wasnt thrilled with the experience.

The kids had a blast! Can't wait for everything to be opened up.

Hi there, I was able to visit the Kansas City Zoo in October of 2018 with my mom and my daughter (who is in the second grade in elementary school). My daughter really enjoyed going to the Zoo... She really liked to pet the sting-rays in Kansas City.

All of us needed to wash each of our forearms before we were able to touch any of the sting-rays at the Kansas City Zoo. She also really enjoyed going to see their birds (located by the entrance of the Zoo).

We also were able to see their jellyfish and other birds that are separated from the birds located by the entrance of the Zoo.

I didn't take any photos of the Kansas City Zoo when we went to the Zoo, but I'm really glad that we were able to see the birds, sting-rays and other birds that were separated from the birds located by the entrance... If you're able to go to the Kansas City Zoo when your in Kansas City, please do take some time to visit the Kansas City Zoo in (well that answer is pretty obvious to me now and to you right now...)

Great way to spend time with your family and learning new things about animals.

Clean, animals had amazing enclosures. Just ALOT of walking to get from exhibit to exhibit. More than any other zoo I've been too. If you're physically fit, it's great. If you're not, or have alot of tired kids, be prepared. It did make the visit less desirable because of the exhaustion and cranky kids.

Red panda is my favorite, he is so cute. We also really enjoyed spending time in the manta ray bay. My nephew liked feeding the sheep, goats and camels.

Overhyped and Overrated Detroit Zoo Much Better by a longshot

Lots of walking if you dont take the tram. Was really cool touching the stingrays

This zoo is truly wonderful! One of the most beautiful surroundings for a zoo. The animals have really nice habitats. There are also so many great play areas scattered throughout the zoo. Highly recommend you go!

Great place, great staff and knowledgeable professionals. There are plenty of things to keep younger kids entertained i.e. carousel and playground. Also, lots of stuff for older kids. Oh, for adult, too.

Me, my wife, my 4 son's, and my cousin and his wife all went and paid WAY TOO MUCH MONEY for very little attractions and very few animals... Definitely Not worth the pay and definitely do not intend on going back

I love this zoo! Be prepared for a lot of walking because it's massive. They have a little bit of everything, and an area where goats cross a bridge over you and you can pet them. We will definitely be back.

FOTZ members, so I utilize the zoo regularly. Always clean. Excited and friendly staff. Bruce, the greeter is very kind and remembers my children. It is very spread out, which I love, but some may find difficult. There are trams and trains that can take you to different parts though.

Amazing Zoo! It's a green zoo, the price of admission is so reasonable and you need an entire day to visit it!

I haven't been here since I was a kid. Coming back 30-something years later to share this place with MY children was priceless! I relocated back here from LA and there is no place like home!! The animals have so much more space to roam (compared to the LA Zoo) I highly recommend spending extra for the tram and zip line tours (train, tram, and zip line $10 a person). It's better on back and feet; otherwise it is ALOT of walking. Its also nice that during this crazy time we can be out with the animals and our families... Just don't forget your masks!

The staff is wonderful. Everywhere in the Zoo they were courteous and friendly. Food and snacks were decently priced. Not a lot of shade and a lot of walking. Could use more signs or bigger signs. Not sure but its easy to get lost. In all we had a good day.

While visiting Kansas City, we went to the Zoo. One of the better zoos that I have visited. Many attractions for the kids. My favorite was the overhead tram. How Cool!! I would definitely visit again.

The Kansas City Zoo holds so many wonderful memories for me. They are constantly raising their game. It's a perfect place for anyone to enjoy.

Great, clean, green, wide-open, and friendly staff. Highly recommended!

Me and my family. Love going and watching the animal running around in the mornings

I love going to the zoo! Just wish they had more of the animals out when I went. My favorite animals to see is the penguins.

It was good. We showed up and they had their annual Halloween event, Boo at the Zoo, going on. It was pretty crowded but they seemed to handle it well. The downside is the price of food and beverages. Could understand if the zoo was free, but admission is sizeable. 3.75 for a bottle of water, and all the water fountains were turned off. After the price for a family to get in, that seems very steep.

Too much to do in a day! Animals seem happy and healthy.

Great time, and a great girl scout event! Thanks for all of the educational tables and crafty things teaching us about bees, pollinators and why we need them!

Huge zoo, we visited in the afternoon and didn't have enough time to see it all. Definitely an all day outing, purchase the tram ride to the other side! The penguin exhibit was our favorite.

Favorite place to visit in KC! They are constantly expanding and improving. They just opened a sting-ray exhibit that allows you to feed the fish ! Very cool If you love penguins definitely vist the KC zoo!

Clean and well marked for covid protections. Fences and railings are not friendly for children in strollers.

Spent a great day at the Kansas City Zoo. We're members of the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, so we got 50% off of the admission here. We got the tickets and rode all the rides, so that was fun. The boat wasn't running, so we missed out on that. The food wasn't terribly overpriced like I thought it would be, but it wasn't inexpensive either. Easy to spend an entire day here and not see anything twice. Definitely worth the trip.

This place was sooo big. I think the skytram is worth it, nice time to take a break and sit after all the walking. I feel that the exhibits were well done and the still grays and penguins were the best to interact with.

Kansas City has a treasure and it s called the Kansas City zoo, my family and I extremely enjoyed our day vacation at the wonderful zoo

Very fun but Covid-19 limited some of the attractions

Admission, food, drinks and giftshop all very overpriced. Walking around was cool. Clean zoo and friendly staff.

Very clean and quiet during the holiday season, friendly staff, and well fed animals. Really cool place to visit.

Good variety of animals without being too big to see everything in one day. Sea lion show is pretty cool, but my favorite is the tigers.

Haven't been to the zoo in a few years. I brought my 3 year old on a random nice Wednesday while the big kids were at school and was able to secure a great parking spot right outside of the entrance! For the hour and a half we were there, we were able to see and do so much within short walking distance! We did not venture too deep, we mainly walked the area of the train. I was really happy to see new and updated areas so that we didn't feel like we were walking too much between exhibits. There were plenty if picnic tables under trees for us to enjoy our lunch. The zoo was very tidy. We had a great time!

Mother's day at the zoo was fantastic! Mom's got in free and God got free drinks. Even with some raid it was great. What an awesome way for moms to be celebrated and have a day with the family.

KC Zoo is great for kids and families with Lots of the usual favorite animals and some rotating exhibits. It has Aviaries you can walk through and get very close to birds. You can pet the sting rays. There are petting zoos and feeding areas. Lots of construction right now and exhibits are very spread out compared to other area zoos. You will get your steps in easily here at this zoo.

If you like going to the zoo, I would recommenced coming here. I live in springfield, MO and this is the best zoo within 3 hours. I plan days with my friends and family to come back because it is always such a pleasant experience.

Love this zoo. We get the free admission postcard several times a year so that's extra incentive to go. Platinum ride pass is a time and weary foot saver. The skyway is not for those who don't like heights. Very enjoyable way to spend 5 hours.

Walked 6 miles according to my app and we didn't even go to Africa. Very interactive employees!

The nicest zoo I have been to. Takes an entire day to see everything the KC Zoo has to offer. So plan accordingly.

Especially enjoyed the Red Pandas, Cats, and Stingrays. The African Wild Dogs and Penguins we're pretty cool too.

One of the best zoo! Penguins exhibit is simply the best. Kangaroos aren't enclosed.. u can see them up close.

Amazing zoo. Lots of uear round exhibits and around this time little traffic. Saw every exhibit in about 4 hrs and had loads of fun

Love going to this Zoo!! 4 hrs is not enough time. They close at 4pm.

We were gifted a premium family membership this Christmas and it is the best gift we got. The park is always clean even when it is packed. The staff are friendly and helpful. The animal exhibits are always clean and appear to be well cared for. While the food and drink is a bit overpriced it is delicious and the membership gives 20% off food and souvenirs. Our membership also allows unlimited rides on the train, tram, skyway, and carousel but we haven't had a chance to ride them yet.

A lot of animals were not there. Should have given a discount as at best 1/3 animals on display

Such a nice zoo! We loved visiting while we were in KC.

With covid now you got to book the tickets online. You can get tickets for the same or the day after. However, almost all indoor building are closed. You can see everything within 3 hours.

Still I had a lot of fun!

Always fun! There are so many things to do, there is something for every age to enjoy. My kids are always asking to go back.

My grand daughter comes alive when we visit the Zoo. She loves it so much. She is excited by each and every exhibit. Her happiness makes a weekly visit wonderful.

The KC Zoo is relatively unknown outside of Kansas City but that doesn't stop them from being an outstanding facility. The zoo is set up into continents thus making it easy to find the animals you're most interested in seeing. The staff, volunteer and paid alike, are friendly and knowledgeable. The addition of the stingray touch tank is absolutely awesome. I don't want to give it all away, but children and adults will have a great time.

If you're a resident of Jacaon or Clay counties, you get a pretty great discount (be ready to show a driver's license to verify residency).

Have not been there in many years it is so much better with boats tram ski lift and Mary go round. And far more animals.

We are lucky to have a great zoo in KC! Here's what I love:

- Parking is FREE!
- They have several membership options, including discounts if you live in Clay or Jackson county.
- Huge property...approximately 202 acres so wear comfortable shoes.
- While they do allow smoking in designated areas, I've never seen anyone disrespect this rule and actually rarely see people smoking.
- You are allowed to bring your own food & drink (as well as small coolers)! They do have lots of food options within the park for a decent price if you're in a pinch. However, bottled water is $3.75...you're better off buying the reusable zoo cup for $10! (Also, there are no food prices on their website so I attached a couple menu pictures)
- There is a Beastro (see what they did there?) when you first walk in with a coffee bar by The Roasterie...get the Zany Zebra!
- If you have a membership to the zoo you get a 10-20% discount (depending on your membership level) at concessions & gift shops
- All memberships include discounts to 150+ partner zoos and aquariums

If you are a resident in Jackson or Clay, you can get in for discount. The sea lion show is always a crowd favorite. Lots of animals and very wide spread. Always a good time.

Not too crowded. Will require a lot of walking and time to see everything.

Can't get enough...several years as zoo members. New exhibits and keeper talks very informative too. Enjoy our friendly, loyal ticket attendant!

I want to correct a previous answer to what is smallest animal there....frogs and toads IS correct! Naked mole rats were smallest at Chicago's zoo...sorry! Maybe we can get some too!!!!!

Only been once this season and felt safe most places and that people were not getting too close. Not everything open but still was plenty to see. Online reservation and check in was quick and easy.
Wish people would check the zoos website and their mask policy before complaining or writing a negative review. It only says mask have to be worn inside or when distancing not possible. It DOES NOT say mask have to be worn outside. Should people, yes, but it is just recommended, not required by their policy. When visited a majority of people were not wearing masks outside but didn't let it ruin our experience, just tried best to not get too close to anyone. Don't complain about it or that staff not enforcing it because there is nothing to enforce. If you are that worried about catching something you shouldn't be out in a possibly crowded place in the first place.
Would have no problem or issue going back again.

We were there for 4 hours and we only saw about 3rd! It was great! We are going to be member!

Definitely a fun zoo, be prepared to do a lot of walking, especially if you want to go see the Africa exhibits.

Hadn't been to this zoo in 30 years. A lot has changed.... for the better. Enjoyed my visit.

A lovely place to visit. Can get a little busy on nice spring days. The annual membership is worth the price especially for Jackson and Clay County residents.

I love our zoo in Kansas City. Workers are friendly, it's clean, and there's a nice amount of exhibits without it feeling too large.

Still 5 star. Went during the winter and during covid-19.. they are taking good precautions and treating for the weather well too.

Very big zoo, but not as big as the Atlanta zoo. But it has great aspects to the community such as great animals, good food, and fun transport such as by train or by bus. The only problem I have with this zoo is that the restaurants are filled with smoke. The smoke from the kitchen spreads out everywhere around the building, surrounding people with very harsh breathing conditions, which makes them eat outside. But overall, this zoo is a very good way to get outdoors and see and feed amazing loving animals.

I m an animal volunteer with the Zoo. Awesome place for families.

The bird show was amazing. The facilities are clean and accommodating to single fathers. The staff was helpful. The animals seemed well taken care of. I can't wait to go back.

We always love our experience at the KC zoo, and new addition is beautiful! You have to try out the Sky ride and the train ride it's worth buying the braclet. If you don't mind walking it's easy walking 10 miles or more seeing everything in one day you will love the scenery

The zoo is a great place for our whole family. Bring your walking shoes!

Great family zoo! I suggest to wear comfortable walking shoes as it is very large and lots of walking. If you want to cut the walking in half they do have tram, train, boat and skyway rides you can take to see most of the animals.

The socially distanced zoo is about 10X better than a zoo normally. Parking is great, the times entrance means no lines,there aren't a whole bunch of screaming children everywhere, people are more polite and let you see the exhibits rather than pushing you along. The animals seem less stressed. I would pay double the rate to keep it socially distanced.

Went to the zoo today and only stayed for an hour. Their limited capacity was at capacity and no one was social distancing or wearing masks. Every area was very crowded and again no one was distancing people were regularly getting in other people s space and ignoring the signs all over to stay six feet away. We love the zoo and all the animals and staff but honestly the people are now the problem.

Love the KC Zoo! Continual improvements keep my family coming back every year.

They've got new babies all over the zoo! I only got an hour and a half and wished I'd went earlier in the day. It was hot out and some animals were inside keeping cool but the kangaroos were all over the place! It was absolutely awesome!