The Phoenix Zoo Reviews

Had a great day, my granddaughter loves the splash pads
It was really early so most of the animals were not out

A neat Zoo. If I ever attend the zoo lights again, however, it'll have to run me about $5 a ticket. Simply not worth the current price.

Don't miss zoo lights during the holidays. Great family experience.

The zoo is friendly for all ages. Our favorite part is feeding the giraffes.

Zoo lights just keep getting better each year. I miss the Lego display from a few years ago.

This is my second visit to the zoo in 6 years and not much has changed. If you love animals it s a blast. The park is clean and staff isn t rude. Bathrooms are a disgrace with used toilet paper on the floors though. They charge extra for the things like sting rays. The crowds didn t make it worse so when it s nice just go.

Great big zoo with lots to see. My only complaint is you do a lot of walking without much to look at. But it s a great place for kids and the entire family

I love the Phoenix Zoo! Always more fun when its a bit cooler out! Paying for the membership is definitely worth it!

The weather was nice all animals were out and about! My nieces and nephew had a great time!

Speaking as an ex volunteer:
I've been with the zoo 3 yrs. First year I lived in AZ and was there weekly. Last 2 years I have been traveling and the zoo and I had an agreement that I could continue to pay my dues, volunteer when in town, and still have a membership. I received my member card the past 2 years no problem although there was an obvious attitude shift with Wayne and a few other office workers when word got out that I was a traveling art (nude) model. I paid no mind to it because I worked in Horticulture where they valued my work ethic and I could avoid the 'snubbing.'
I sent an email 2 months ago after there was a problem with my signing in for a shift. I had paid my dues and visited as a member. I was told it'd be updated and allowed entrance that day without issue.
Today I tried to take my family and was told because I haven't met my volunteer hours, I was no longer an active volunteer despite having paid my dues for this year and the agreement in place the past 2 years. Wayne's solution was to get a refund of my dues. Clearly, I am no longer welcome.
Shameful.

Love that there is always something new to look at!

Not to much to do. Yes the animals need big living spaces but it's hard to see the animals. They are to far away. Wild life is much better

Lots of animals but pretty sad. Don't pay for the dinosaur thing. Trust me.

It's a fun zoo. Be prepared for lots of walking but most of the animals were very visible. I felt like you got closer to the actual animal than many other zoos I've been too. My 4 year old dino lover, LOVED the Dino's in the desert exhibit but that only runs until the summer of 2018.

Many of the animals that WERE present were out to be seen ! But...several attractions were down and/or had featured animals removed ... Tour guide VERY knowledgeable, staff all friendly...easily an overall thumbs up!!

One of the better zoos I've been to...the exhibits definitely let's you get really close to the animals. My favorite part was the orangutan exhibit...they were right by the windows eating so you can see how big their hands and feet really are. Simply awesome!

Exhibits and animal homes seem to be well maintained. While walking around I saw several enclosures being cleaned. Some of the animals seem sedated, but this could be because of time of day. We went from 9am to 1pm. Someone in the wart pig enclosure overheard our group asking questions to one another and they actually piped in while cleaning and gave us detailed information about the wart pigs. He was very nice and knowledgeable, he even knew the wart pigs' names and personalities. That is very impressive to me because it means they actually spend time with the animals there.

One of the things that I would complain about is the Bug Exhibit - it costs $5 dollars per person if you are not a member and $4 dollars per person if you are a member of the Phoenix Zoo. I was under the impression that it would be something like an indoor bug exhibit, but instead it's large mechanical bugs with education on each one. They have sounds playing in the background. It is outdoor and it's probably about a 15 minute circular walk. Might be great for kids during cool weather, but lame for adults and during hot days, don't even think about it. There are not very many shady areas and the ground is sandy. Would make for a very hot, miserable, boring walk.

Pricing for food at the restaurants within the Phoenix Zoo are actually reasonable. We got Mega Nachos, large fries and a coke for about 19 bucks. I was expecting more than that for the amount of food we got. My husband and I were both full and had leftovers.

Overall good place. I do think they are doing some good things for these animals. Would love to see more of the staff getting more involved with talking to people and educating and hearing cool stories about the animals there.

Zoo lights was really nice. They went all out this year.

It is 20$ per person on a week night. We use to come when it was 10$ per person. Nothing has changed in 5 years. If you have been before I would not come again at this price. The only plus was that the fiesta bowl bands were playing when we came

went on a field trip with school...kids love it,,to hot for the animals in Phoenix..sad

This zoo is just amazing my lil boy enjoyed it so much just like I did we too. We pay about $70 for 2 adults and one child plus $10 for the train ride and a movie but we had so much fun it was worth the money and it's 100% that you'll have amazing time with your family

I love the zoo
I could live here

We had a great day here! They've got lots of interactive things for the kids!

We have the years pass and it's honestly worth it. They have two water areas where kids can get fresh on a hot day.

Cruise the Zoo is amazing. For folks looking to stay cool while seeing the animals, or disabled folks who can't walk long distances, this is perfect. You won't see every single critter, but the crew at the zoo makes it fun and engaging.

One of the nicest zoos I've been to! Animal enclosures are wide open so that the animals have room to roam. Animals all look relaxed and healthy.

Everything is great but the 4-D theatre has some effects that are in the chair. It stabs you as an "effect". It hurts and hurt all my children. Everyone left crying.

Zoo Lights is awesome. The Stingrays was my favorite part.

It was fun for the whole family. It was our first time. Would go back next year.

I just took pictures of the mountains I didn't go to the zoo

Great little zoo and really family friendly. Only $26.00 and worth it. They really try hard to earn your patronage.

Clean and well kept . Great variety of animal species.

Love zoo Lights. Better every year. Price is a little steep. $20 a person for a thirty minute walk through lights.

Went to Halloween at the zoo and it was fun, beautiful and entertaining. Had a great time.

Large enclosures and lots of animals. You can easily stay from open to close with all there is to do. The only downside was the heat which made the animals less active (June).

I love the Phoenix Zoo and have been coming to it for over 30 years. It's been amazing to see it change and grow but to still have the same nostalgic magic that I felt when I was a kid. I now take my own daughter to the Zoo and she loves looking at all the animals

Went to see zoo lights. Really pretty! Enjoyed it!

Very calm and pleasant. Animals looked happy and free!

Half the price of the wildlife zoo and just as good.

On days with good weather we love coming here! Every time we visit it feels like the first time.

Huge Zoo! A lot of fun for kids including water park, pedal boating, petting zoo and walk through monkey area. Very clean and alot of food options.

It was awesome!! We were there for 4 hours and didn't even see anything. The baby orangutan was the best. He loved making the kids laugh.

Really not worth the price of admission. Too little animals, most not visible. Too much construction going on.

Fabulous zoo. Great place for families. Loved feeding the giraffes.

Went for zoo lights.. It was fun and had great light displays

Lot's of lights (zoolights) light shows are often.

I've only been here once. I was here for nephew's birthday. I admit I was less than enthusiastic about the venue.

However, I was wrong. They bought some sort of package that included an appropriate program - that was organized just right plus cake!

It went over tremendously well. With everyone. Even me.

Great place to spend the day. Love monkey village!

Went for the zoo lights at Christmas and it was amazing, I'm glad I didn't go to see the animals first, would have to pay again to get back in.

The best Zoo in USA for year round access and holiday lights! Our family has been members since our first born and will never stop supporting this amazing team of humans and animals!

If you are local, get an annual pass. It pays off especially with kids.

We went for Zoolights and for the cost, it was really underwhelming.

Love this zoo. I take my kids there every year to celebrate my youngest birthday. We spend the whole day. The prices for the activities is reasonable.

It's fun being there and the petting zoo may smell bad but still, it's lots of fun. 3 weeks ago, my school had a field trip there.

The zoo is always fun. Whether it s during the summer or even for Zoo lights, it s always a nice adventure away from everything.

Giant zoo! We explored for about 2.5hrs and barely got through half of it! Lots of upcoming enclosures under construction it looked like.

I really love this zoo during the holidays. They really go all out with the lights and its amazing. There is also a large variety of animals here. I feel you're just farther away from the animals than other zoos. I have been to many zoos across the country and this one just seems very distant. But the atmosphere is great/

Lots of nice events always going on. Many animals, easy to spend the whole day here. I just wish they had more shade, fans, misters, etc. It's hard with kids to stay and see the whole zoo in the summer.

If you are visiting the area you must go and if you live here it is an amazing weekend activity.

Off season visit; better weather than in summer but a lot of amenities closed. All in all a Great Zoo with plenty of kid friendly experiences!

We had family visiting from in town and needed to rent a stroller at the zoo. The first stroller we rented had a broken seat belt so but okay shade. They immediately gave us a new stroller the next one we got had a broken canopy for the shade. We asked for a different one and they said they were all broken even though the previous one we had wasnt broken. For the price we paid for admission and the rental stroller it was a little disappointing.

Splash pads throughout. Great space for most animals. I love the monkey island.

The Phoenix Zoo is a decent zoo. It's not phenomenal like San Diego (6 hours away). It's not terrible like most of the one's in Texas. It's a decent zoo that does a decent job of implementing some of the really cool and unique offerings of the Sonoran Desert. In fact, I'd say that's what they have to do well given they're the only zoo IN the Sonoran Desert--which is a unique ecosystem on earth. The heat obviously impacts the availability of the animals given that few animals in any given zoo come from climates as brutal as Phoenix's. One other important thing to note is that the zoo feels just a tad overpriced. Sure, animals are very expensive to keep well. So if you're paying as a part charity for ensuring the viability of the zoo and the proper care for wild animals, that's one thing. However, from a pure value standpoint the price could stand to be a little lower.

Being a member is great. Being able to enter before the crowds is totally worth it.

Went to the Phoenix Zoo for a Awards Banquet for the Arizona Council on Economic Education located in the Stone House. They had staff on hand to help direct. Very organized. I honestly have never seen anything run so smoothly. Lunch was served and was delicious. A great variety of food and kept warm. Room was spacious tables aligned perfectly and sound system was good. They have a stage and screen with projector. And then we got to walk the Zoo. Thanks for the great service.
#ACEEAwards #PHOENIXZOO

Way overpriced for what you get to see comparing to other zoos I ve been at..

About $80 bucks for 2 adults and 2 kids in the winter months, just to see that many animals are sick. We you don't get to see much other than reptiles, they should really reduce their prices quite a bit.

Still has several activities postponed until later in the future.

It's a great zoo with nice enclosures for the animals. They do a lot of conservation work and it's always a fun way to spend the day.