The Oregon Zoo Reviews

I understand the construction for updating and improving the zoo. But while about half or close to the zoo is out for construction i dont understand full price tickets. And other people there had the same complaint. I do look forward to seeing the zoo when the construction is done. A year or so from now.

My 1 year old loved it! So many different animals and so much to learn!

Many of the exhibits are closed for construction. If information about closed exhibits is listed on the zoo website it's not easy to find. The cost is the same considering patrons see so little. We won't be going back for many years.

Unfortunately, I DIDN'T see too much for the money I paid .... except the GIRAFFES !!!
However, I think it's because of the chosen time (15.30) that the animals were probably tired of visitors ...
My expectations were much higher !!!
I don't think I'll be back!

Today's visit was a little missing. So many of enclosures are closed. Missing rhinos, hippos, sun bears, polar bears, chimps. giraffe's enclosure was very small. Lots of construction stuff in walkways. Kinda sad. May be a few years before we go back.

Their snow cones taste amazing, and the turtles and otters were probably the custest thing EVER.

Very,very nice zoo,with beautifull natural surrounding,must see place

Great time with the family at the zoo today, amazing time at an amazing place

The Oregon Zoo has been great for our son. He loves going there to see the animals and also is a good place for him to move around and be active in. And with all of the additional areas within the zoo opening up in 2020, this will be an even better place for us to visit as a family.

The food was very bad, I suggest that when you come... come with a pleased stomach and stay within an hour

very nice clean the animals look like the have been taking good care so I had a very wonderful time there

Wonderful experience!!! The exhibits were beautiful. Numerous areas are under construction so many animals were not available to view. Also, the Grill is only open on weekends, so we went without lunch. Parking is no longer free for handicapped, elderly and/or veterans. That was a disappointment. $2 per hour to park, plus $18 to get in, and all the little extras, add a up!!!

It was very clean but like most zoo's the animal's didn't have near enough space. Especially the eagles.

Lovely, well kept zoo with great educational opportunities! Zoo lights in the winter is always a highlight!

Will have to come back when all the construction is done and see if it improves. The walkability is not the best. You get put on a path walkway where everyone is going the same direction and it is faily cramped and crowded. This makes seeing the animals a little difficult. It does start to open up towards the center. But not much. I think the layout was better years before when there weren't so many "forced paths." I will say that I always appreciate the fact that most zoos are making animal enclosures better for the animals. The narrow paths I assume have something to do with that I just can't tell how.

I drove all the way from los Angeles. To come to this zoo.. And when I get the receptionist to get my ticket. this lady who works there is so rude her name was val..I guess she's from the Russia or German. she was speaking her language with some other people and treating them nice.. She get to me..just ignored me and didn't help me at all.. Some other lady had to help me.. people don't need to be going through this. At all

Great way to spend the afternoon (especially if you have kids)

Is good need to hurry on new attractions. More interactive would be nice.

Lots of exhibits were in construction or animals weren't available. Train ride is not worth it, super short. Of the animals we saw they were active and fun to watch. And they only have one food vendor open for the whole park, the line around lunch time was very long

The zoo is a great place to spend time with kids however the sight of seeing a mighty animal in an enclosure sinks the soul. That said this zoo makes the animal enclosure a bit more naturalist. Couldn t see or sight the lions and the over was fast asleep, but hey that s their choice!

I had not been to a zoo in decades when I took my grandson here on a trip to visit him in Portland. What an incredibly beautiful place to spend the day. Go, walk, have fun, and enjoy the gorgeous surroundings with beautiful animals. You can bring your own food with you if you wish to save money.

Had a great time. Got there early, found parking and paid for parking from the app. Staff were friendly

Greatest most awesome Zoo my family and I have visited. Thank you

Really nice enclosures with lots of places to see the animals while still letting the animals have privacy options! First time seeing a lion so close. Definitely my favorite zoo I've been to.

Great zoo that is in the process of becoming even better.

The zoo is great but the parking is very very messed up.

Early morning Saturday Aug 13th, I took my three children 4, 2, and 1years old to the zoo. My sister was having some complications with her breast cancer surgery and was at the Dr that day so I also took her 3 kids ages 12, 8, and 5 years old. My wife was unavailable for personal reasons and so I decided to take all six kids to the zoo by myself. After I parked, I went to the meter and paid for a 2.5 hour stay ending 12:31pm. Unfortunately, somehow we stayed later than expected and when I got back to my car at exactly 12:48pm and realized I was cited for expiration at 12:44pm.

As a season pass/annual member to the zoo, I always pay the parking meter. Every single time before this instance I have purchased too much time usually in the form of an all-day fee (extra $1.40). The way the parking fees are setup, each person has to pay regardless of how much has been paid to that parking spot. For example, if I had spent $1.40 more, my stay would have been good for the entire day. Someone could have taken my spot at 12:50pm and paid for a full day, left two or three hours later, and a third person could pay for another full day for the exact same parking space.

I think it is unjust to collect multiple monies for the same spot and in this case I was using my past experience at the zoo which I have never been able to sustain my three kids past noon by my own. Somehow, adding my nieces and nephew for a total of 6 kids messed up my calculation of time and I was late.

Even though I was late, I don t think my 15 minutes late has wronged the city of any monies for the parking space. I paid for a few hours and my spot was immediately filled as I left my parking spot. It s likely that my parking spot received at least one or two other all day fees paid. The zoo was busy and the parking lot was full and I was late but everyone still gets their money and I have to pay more?

It is just so expensive! Fun for every once in awhile but hard to swallow the cost.

Best experience so far at the zoo. Been several times and this was great! Perfect weather. Animals were out and people were not too pushy!

The zoo was quite nice, not too many people there so I wasn't too worried about crowding.

What a great zoo. My toddler had a blast seeing all of the different animals and I enjoyed the educational components. Really excited to see what the zoo creates with their renovations and new exhibits set to open next year. Until then, we'll keep coming back to check out all the animals and enjoy our day at the zoo!

If I liked it, the problem when I went there were not certain animals that we were interested in seeing because they had changed them.

Always love visiting the zoo! The Halloween event is fun and can't wait for the Christmas lights!!

This zoo is big. I'm not a fan of zoo's but this one is pretty cool.

The Oregon zoo is a terrific spot for tourists and locals alike - be sure to check out the nee taxpayer-approved and funded Elephant grounds!

I feel like this zoo is more about making money than caring for the animals. Don't get me wrong, the animals seem well cared for, but you have to wonder when you see all of the renovations that revolve around bringing in more income. Most notably the ampitheater, and on top of that how the cost rises every year. I just hope that the animals there really are not capable of being released into the environment.

A lot of construction going on at the time of my visit. Has potential to earn more stars once construction is completed.

It is a nice zoo, yet I cannot help but weep for the situation the animals are in. The animals, held down by their chains, unable to escape the oppression they face. I like to go to the farm section and pretend the animals are acting out Orwell's animal farm, and they are soon to take over. eh. I'm weird.

Great place. Clean. Organized. Very professional staff.

Loved it. My ex-wife loved it. My daughter loved it.

The giraffe building was super cool as their heads are on the level of one of the paths, so you are looking at them as if you are a giraffe.

This place was awesome! The exhibits were well kept and the animals were very active. Also the scenery is beautiful!

I love our zoo here in NW Portland s forested hills. That being sad, this year was NOT THE YEAR TO BUY A ZOO PASS. We went on a Saturday, and the parking lot was full by noon. We had to park in overflow and take a school bus to and from the zoo. We were saddened to see that the polar bear exhibit was under renovation, the primate area was also under renovation, the hippopotamus area was under renovation, and bathrooms near the stage were closed/replaces with a couple stinky port-a potty s. Aside from all the closed exhibits, we also feel that the Zoo Pass does not provide much savings. The short zoo train ride should be Included, along with the carousel, instead of a super small $.50 cent discount. I think we are going to try and cancel our pass and try again in a few years.

Just a great place to spend the day. Top notch zoo.

I'll always support our local zoo. This year the Zoo lights weren't as good as the used to be.

Its beautiful, I went to the zoo lights and I loved it.

Such an amazing place! It s so big! Right now they have some construction due to the new stuff coming soon but it wasn t bad at all. My favorite is the elephants! They may not be in the wild but they have so much space to roam around very clean and the staff is great. We live in Seattle and since my daughter was born we go every march now the drive is well worth it!!

Seems to always be under construction and doesn't offer that many animals to see. The bathrooms were clean and the grassy area is a great place for lunch with kids so they can play.

Pros:
The animals looked well cared for.

I used to like going to the zoo more but over the last few years I feel they have not done the best of jobs. I am really happy they are doing the new construction for the elephants and polar bears. My favorite thing to do after being at the zoo is to stop by the gift shop and get some fudge. Only this time it came in a plastic container and just doesn't taste as good. I am disappointed.

Although the zoo is slowly improving, many animals need bigger and more natural habitats.

Always are great time until this last visit. A lot of the animals were not there due to expansion of the enclosures

Amazing zoo! Beautiful and clean grounds, well thought out exhibitions, updated and well maintained habitats for animals...definitely exceed my expectations for a zoo. They paid a lot of attention to details and it showed throughout the visit. We are already planning our next visit because we had such a great experience. Well done Oregon zoo!

This zoo is way bigger than I expected and most of the animals were out and about during our visit. Will definitely be back here.

Clean, positive atmosphere. You can't complain about seeing the beautiful creatures of this world.

took my kids here. their favorite was seeing the birds. Most animals were asleep but we still had fun regardless.

It was amazing and fun, the employees were very helpful and amazing and super fun

Very awesome zoo with many exhibits and events. The sea otters were my favorite

Fun even in the rain...excited for the new primate forest. Always love hanging out with the elephants

We were there for Zoo Lights! Very fun! The bats are really active, and I heard a lion roar!

The new Elephant exhibit is great! Great for kids and adults!

Much of the African exhibit was closed. It's the best part of the zoo. Hoping it's open by Spring.

For a small local zoo it is good but this is no SanDiego or Henry Dorley (Omaha) competitor.

Me and the lids love the zoo.we go several times a year

Great place to bring kids, even on a hot day. Lots of relatively affordsble snack options plus you can bring your own food in.

Great place to go, of you haven't been I highly recommend.

Beautiful cute animals I really liked.
and how to get to the White House

This is always a cool spot I like to take people that have never been. Before going there, I always heard it was hidden, but about 2 years ago I decided to try to Google maps it and what do you know...Google maps will take you right to it if you type in "old la zoo, Griffith park"! It's kind of eerie but there's always people there so it's not spooky.I've even seen people taking professional photos in the cages I guess it's artsy.
Either way, it's a cool place to walk around and explore on a chill afternoon.

The Oregon Zoo is easily the most visually stunning zoo I've seen. I visited from out of town with my family. I wish we'd had more time to explore. It's definitely worth your time.

The Zoo was great. The bad news came when I went to my car in their lot n there was a citation for 44 dollars. Apparently somewhere between my last visit years ago it became a pay to park lot. But yet there was no signs anywhere saying it was a pay to park lot.no toll booths. No meters.so not sure anyone is to know you have to pay to park there. N I payed almost 40 dollars for 2 adults to go in. You would think the parking would be included.i was only there 3 hrs.loved my visit but I probably won't be back.

A little cold. But always worth the adventure.
There is construction on new polar. Bear, private and rhino enclosures. But don't let that deter you. It's still worth it

Fun place to take kids for a day. Lots of different habitats, and more on the way...

Absolutely one of the best experiences I have had at a zoo! My family and I went since we were staying in Portland for the weekend and we loved it so much!! You can tell that the animals are happy, and they have lots of room! We thought that the animals might be hiding since it was so hot out, but the animals were all so lively (except one of the 4 bears!).

Update - After this the Zoo replied to me directly and got into contact. They shipped a replacement free of charge. Was pretty happy with the response from the Zoo in the end. Thanks Oregon Zoo. I'll up the rating from 2 to 4 stars.
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Had a good time but bad taste left in mouth when we got back to Australia and my daughter had lost her Otter toy we purchased from the zoom store. Since we got home have contacted the zoo via email, their online shop and phone to see if they could help a little girl who lost her Otter.... Still waiting for a response and it's been 3 weeks. Pretty disappointed with the zoo not bothering to respond.... Won't be back

The zoolights are cool but I feel like they re directed more at families. I was looking for a lot of lights to wow me but the only place that really interested me was the tunnel of lights and apparently it was everyone else s favorite too.