The Phoenix Zoo Review

It was last night for Zoolights & a special rate for Seniors. My 2 friends I went & totally enjoyed the Beauty of the night.

So much more than just a zoo! Educational area's, water / splash parks for the kids, good food and not over priced. Very clean well kept zoo. I was highly impressed with this zoo and the friendly knowledgeable staff! It will certainly take several more visits to see it all.

Zoolights was amazing and beautiful.! Funn for the kids for sure but would be cool if they had Santa or at least elf's lol but they had reindeer :) beautiful family event <3

It's a good zoo, but an even better park. Beautiful views everywhere you look, and tons of little trails to walk. The leopard was caged up for a vet visit when we were there, and he was NOT having it. He was growling, roaring, and generally making a scene. It was hilarious listening to him.

Nice visit, lots of hands on. The children lived the petting zoo.

Super long walk and animals were all sleeping . They only have one animal in each exhibit. They all seemed very old. I think they should have at least two. They need company so they aren t lonely plus I think it would make it more exciting!

Not as famous or big as the San Diego zoo but wonderful as a place for families with young kids especially when trying to beat the heat in the summer.

Had a great day there! Had lunch and the food was really good as well.

Best if you have a membership, so you can get in an hour early.. Family plus plan is awesome for a family of 7 like mine.. I recommend anyone with a child, to spend some quality time at the Phoenix Zoo... etc...

Zoologhts was nice. Most of the lights are in front section of zoo. There was a beautiful display & short light/music show around Lake.

It's great when it's not hot out. Unfortunately there are no penguins

Definitely get my money's worth with the Zoo Membership.

Great variety of animals. Plenty of playgrounds and splash pads to keep the kids entertained. Great family outing destination

Wonderful visit at the Phoenix Zoo. The animals were so active and I ended up seeing a few different ones. I'll be back

We went to ZooLights and really enjoyed it. Beautiful trees all lit up.

This is our first visit to the Phoenix zoo. Came in around 11:30am on a Thursday most of the exhibits we're empty, they just have a sign they'll have a new exhibit soon. There was lots of construction on the other half of the zoo. No water mistifiers anywhere even on a really hot day, the whole time we walked the whole park they only had two stands that were open and one of them didn't offer soda fountains so there's no point of getting the suvenier cup from the beginning cos it's hard to get your money's worth or even when you just needed more soda.

Several splash pads for cooling off between exhibits. Going very early in the morning is best.

It's always nice to see the animals out and about. Going when the weather is nice means seeing more animals since they are more active.

For the price one would think we would get to ride the Rhinos. Instead, not even half the animals listed were out for viewing. "Well, we are remodeling." Could you have signs so that we could decide for ourselves? Nope, just give them your $$ and "Good Luck."

Best place to have a great day with your family. They keep updating and improving the zoo all the time. There is snacks and food all around and gift shops too. There is petting zoos, splash areas, play areas, inside play areas and of course the wonderful animals all over the very large place. I would recommend to get a membership because after going two times (easily done), there is still things to do there. Bring sunscreen, water and good shoes.

Great place to visit while with my family. Even with the hot sun, there is plenty of shade. My daughter loved feeding the giraffes and playing in the splash area.

This is a really great zoo... but it gets a 3 star because of cost. 100 bucks for a 5 person family is a lot.

Although some of the animals are sleeping, the ones that are awake are worth coming here with the kids.

We love this zoo, I love walking in and being greeted by giraffes in that pretty large enclosure.

Really enjoyed the day! Took the train ride around the zoo, it gives you an opportunity to see lots then walked around an revisited many of the animals to get close up pics. The 4D theater was fun!

Amazing! Tons of fun. It's a bit expensive for food and drinks, but that's expected I suppose. Some places do have more affordable prices. Definitely will go back. I saw things I didn't see I time I went. The employees I had contact with were helpful and pleasant. Especially the lady tending to the garden. She explained some things they were doing, let me eat a couple things and have me some advice about growing some of the veggies in my own garden.
I recommend that everyone go at least once!!

The lights are much better this year. We haven't gone in a couple of years because zoo lights was very dated and a lot of the lights didn't work very well. They've stepped up their game.

When it's not hot outside, this is a great place to go in Phoenix. Central location but it's in the middle of desert and mountain preserve so it's a great setting. Plenty of free parking. Entrance fee is very reasonable. There is a tram that you can ride around the zoo if you don't want to walk. Starbucks coffee served inside and plenty of places to eat. Splash pad for the kids. Covers lots of ground with many animals, but they can be hidden away on some of the hot and sunny days by later in the morning.

Beautiful zoo, many exhibits and of a good variety. I took off a star because it felt like we were constantly being nickle and dimed. Pretty much everything worth doing costs extra. We opted to upgrade our tickets to get the tour and the movie extra, which for our first time was definitely a good value- if only for the tour. We had never been there before so getting a tour of all the exhibits allowed us to get a brief summary of what we could see at the zoo, which is big enough to be a two day adventure to newbies. We were only there for one day, so we only got to seeing about half the zoo. The 4d movie, however, was only about 20 minutes and felt like a waste of time. The effects were kind of cool, but the show was too short to have any sort of meaningful story line. Perhaps children would find it more enjoyable. Speaking of children, the zoo seemed very focused on providing an educational experience for kids. It also had several playgrounds and an endangered animals carousal (which I personally found a bit morbid- humans riding on the back of animals we have pushed to the brink of extinction) but the kids seemed to enjoy it. They don't pass out maps anymore, so be sure to get a photo of a map on your phone when you see one. In addition, all of the employees were very happy and helpful. All in all, a beautiful, if bit expensive zoo.

Limited animals and too much construction. If you live in the area take a weekend trip and go to the San Diego zoo. It a real zoo.

Visited this zoo today for the first time and I was very impressed. I live in the DFW area and the Fort Worth Zoo is among the best in the nation. The Dallas Zoo is very up and coming with their new exhibits, so I had high expectations. I brought my 3 year old and he had a blast. We just happen to come on a day where the animals were all walking around. The baboons were cleaning each other which was great video. The staff was exceptional. We bought the "WILD" package which allows you to ride the train, carousel, and pet the stingrays for no additional charge (worth it). When you buy this package you get a bracelet. My son took the bracelet off and threw it in the trash without my knowing. The staff at the zoo understood this situation and let us ride the train with no issues and no extra fees. They easily could have charged me the 3 or 4 bucks for him to ride.

The exhibits are huge which is great for the animals and the presentation of the zoo was fantastic. The food was good also.

We went during the week and the place felt a bit run down. The zoo wasn't horrible but for the cost it seemed to be lacking something. Had the price been more reasonable the value would have been better. The maps were excellent and the kids loved them.

Great experience! Really fun, very large. You're lucky if you can see it all before your legs get tired. Crushed pennies here for anyone like me who cares about that stuff! When I went, there was only one lion, which kind of made me sad because they're social animals. Can we get the lion some family?

A great place to bring the kids. Or time and relax just to watch the animals.

Love, love, love!!!! The season pass is totally worth it.

We have an annual pass for our family and we used it for the first time yesterday. I dont think we should have to pay close to 200 dollars for a annual pass THEN additional to go all the little exhibits such as the big bugs and sting ray bay. I will be reconsidering renewing our pass this year.

A lot of improvements of late but still hard to see many animals because of the heat. It's gotten much expensive too

Absolutely awesome Zoo. Way larger than I thought it would be and lots of activities to do. One of the few places I have been to I felt like i needed another day.

A lot of animals missing from exhibits, but a fun visit overall! Really appreciate the misters and fans around the zoo to help cool down.

It seemed I spent the day walking around looking at vacant cages or extremely lethargic animals

This is a very nice zoo.I really did have a great time I enjoyed seeing all of the animals but the down fall about it is when it's a really hot day you will not be able to see all the animals come out and it's by there choice lol other than that very good experience.

A fun walking experience around the zoo at night with lights, fantastic animal lanterns, and music. A great Xmas time for families.

A complete place in everything ... Do not regret visiting it I'm planning another trip already

They should have a discounted price after 2:30 since they put half the animals to bed and right at 5 you get kick out no matter what part of the so you're at ... Tried to take my family for a good time and was disappointed next time I will go out of my way to go to another zoo

Zoo was fun. A little disappointed they charged for everything after entry to the xoo.

I came here for Zoo Lights so this review is not a full representation of the zoo. Sadly the animals were not out at night and large sections of the zoo were closed off. The lights were very beautiful and every 30 minutes or so they had a light show around the lake. The show wasn't very engaging but was fairly entertaining to see the mix of music and light. It takes approximately one hour to walk around the zoo looking at all of the pretty lights. This is a good way to burn some time after dinner. I believe SRP customers get a free pass to come here from Monday to Wednesday. The weekend and fridays are a bit more expensive.

an amazing experience visitng this place, the kids and me ofc had so much fun.

Our kiddos love the Phoenix Zoo. It's been a few years since we last visited. They have improved and added so much. We went to see the Dino Land and it was great! We also bought the tickets on Groupon and it included the Dino ticket or else you pay an additional fee.

Went on a class field trip for my kindergartner. Most animals were sick, which was sad. Try explaining that to a group of 5 year olds. It was a nice, clean zoo. Hopefully next time we go, the animals arent sick and put away in quarantine.

It's expensive! The main reason I wanted to go was to see the rays but once you get in you have to pay extra for all the fun stuff. It was $5 extra to see the rays and sea life and it was also extra money to ride the carted tour or see the movie or anything basically.
But if you really have absolutely nothing to and have some extra cash it is still fun. But go on a cool day because nearly everything is outside.

I spent all day here and did the 4-D, Safari Cruser and the Stingray petting. I had a blast here.

Fun time for the family and babies! There are two splash pads that little kids can play in. Lots of fun animals to see. A petting zoo the kids can touch goats and brush them. The food is actually pretty good and a decent amount for the price you pay. I usually go there with my two little children once a week. A membership is well worth the cost and it's a tax write-off! If you live in AZ.

Very fun and cool place. Animals looked well taken care of and I enjoyed my time!

Nicely presented, clean zoo with many interesting animals. Loved the 7 year old kid who stood there announcing he couldn't see any giraffes .... there were two right in front of him, not sure how it was possible to miss them!

I think this zoo stacks up with the best in the country. Very nice splash pad. Lots of fun things to do for all ages.

You have to pay for everything: train ride, see rays, touch animals, carrousel...

They turned us away with a service animal and kids. So just know they don't expected ur seevices animals. When it clearly states u can bring them.....