The Phoenix Zoo Review

Love looking at all the lights. The polar slide was a great addition this year

Love the Phoenix Zoo. We've been passholders for years and will continue to do so in the future. Great layout, great staff. Lots of history buried in this land.

Fun beautiful zoo. They even incorporated the natural landscape

I can't specifically comment on the zoo because we were there for the ZooLights event in the evening, so most of the animals had already turned in for the night. However, the light displays were very nice :)

Phoenix zoo is great. If you are visiting in the summer, bring your swimsuit for the splashpads and cool off before hitting the African trail. Don't miss the Orangutans (the exhibit has ac).

Wonderful place to take the kids! We love the Zoo and I'm really pleased with how well taken care of it is.

I always have high expectations when visiting. But something always makes it a horrible experience. Overcrowded during a special event such as dinosaur exhibit or thrashed family bathrooms Whit not toilet paper and iron all over the floors and toilet seat. Inability to see exhibits due to over crowding or sick /quarantine animals. Disappointed, as always. Ridiculous to have animals in a scorching location too. I'm sure if everything else went smoothly, it would be 120 with half dead animals or they would be hiding.

Every time I go there is a new exhibit. Clean place, animals are taken care of, and now that they have packages you can experience different attractions at the zoo.

A beautiful place to enjoy green scenery and wildlife. Worth it to just get the zoo membership and come for walks in the cool mornings too

Beautiful experience for some outdoor family fun! A bit pricey once through the gate, but definitely a must see!

Zoo Festival of Lights was absolutely amazing!!!! Haven't been there in the daytime yet to see the animals. We can't wait to go.

I love being able to have a cold beer while looking at exibits

Try to get your tickets on groupon and don't go in the summer.

We love the Phoenix Zoo. The yearly pass is quite a value, pays for itself in 2-3 visits and the zoo is diverse and close enough for us to really utilize it as a typical activity with the kids.

Not impressed with this zoo at all as it is way overpriced and then they charge you for EVERYTHING once you are inside. Want to touch stingrays, feed the giraffes, ride a camel or a tram or see a 4D movie or ride the carousel? $$ for all of it. I ve been to many venues where at least the carousel or touching things in tide pools are free, but not here. The camel ride is $6 and lasts less than two minutes. With 7 children with me I wasn t willing to drop $42 for them to ride a camel.
You also walk and walk and don t see all that many animals. If you have a good pair of binoculars you might actually see some of the animals.
Take my advice and drive down to Tucson where the zoo is far less expensive and the animals closer together where you can actually see them! Tucson s elephant exhibit alone is light years above anything the Phoenix zoo offers. You re also much closer to the animals so when you look inside their habitats you can actually see them.
I would give this zoo zero stars except for the fact that the employees are super friendly and they have a stroller and wheelchair rental. That s not enough incentive, however, for me to ever return.

As a long time contributing membership holder; I obviously enjoy the Phoenix Zoo.

I encourage everyone to consider membership in support of the zoo. Carefully consider the type of membership you need. Some perks include complimentary train rides for a predetermined amount of members in your party and discounts here and there.

Don't forget that a great portion of the membership contribution is tax deductible.

So far, Wednesday is the least busy in the early hours.

Remember, please place your trash in appropriate containers and NEVER leave it lying around.

The Phoenix Zoo was really a let down, thought it would be so much better! It was $25 dollars a person and there wasn t many animals. Map was confusing, most the animals wasn t even out in their exhibits. The only way you could see the giraffes is if you went to the feeding area and it was $6 a person. I was going to pay to feed the giraffe and my boyfriend come up there and take a place of me but they said he would have to pay to get up there even though he was not feeding. Just a simple bottle of water was $3.50. On the plus side there wasn t a lot of people and had great picnic areas!

I finally made it to see zoo lights. It was fun to get out and see all the lights. They had hot chocolate and a light show over the water set to music. I was hoping to see a few nocturnal animals but most of the exhibits were off limits for the evening, otherwise it would've been a 5 star review.

There are so many animals, & is a fairly large zoo. I have always enjoyed going here casually, as well as for Zoo Lights.

Everything is clean, tidy and nice once they meet you so expect that you are going up too much ok but you do not have much money for the inside of it An ordinary zoo garden tek The only place I am open to the money I give to America

Howl-O-Ween - Is a complete blast. But be prepared to entertain yourself and your children if you go. The zoo should know better - don't wait to direct people. Get out in front of people and ensure that they go to where the lines are, don't tell them from the front of the line to go all the way back. Because the lines are super long. Over a half hour to get in, and we had already purchased tickets! But once we were in, it was fun. At times a little bit too much like sardines but still fun

Fun & Nice Experience. Most Animals Were Either Asleep or Hidden Frm View.

The Zoo Lights were beautiful!!!! Went with friend for NYE took lots of photos and ended the night with hot chocolate and whip cream!

WAY over priced for what they have there, completely disappointed & so where my kids! Was the worst zoo I've ever been too & will never go back all it is, is birds & snakes & tons of walking with absolutely no animals to even see!!!!!

Zebras are reactionary, Antelopes are missionary, pigeons plot in secrecy and hamsters turn on frequently, what a gas.

A lot of exhibits were closed and several animals were not there.

Worth the price of admission and more. They also have a lot of really engaging kids programs. Breakfast with the animals is a great program for the little ones at a great price, and lets you get up close to a select animal each month. There is a lot to do here for all ages.

One of the nicer zoos out there, it's worth to purchase a membership if you're local, gives you unlimited visits for a year for the price of two day tickets.

Well kept, clean zoo. Animals all seemed healthy and in good habitats.

Layout is a nice big loop. Easy to see the animals. Food and drink prices are stupidly high. Bring your own in.

Love the zoo.
Prices are high, but still worth it for smiles the animals bring to the kiddos faces.
$3.75 for a 20oz coke & $9+ for a wrap is ridiculous.

The most beautiful zoo I ever been to, There are not many animals, some of them are really hard to see.

This Zoo is actually a great place to hang out and get some walking done. But you can only go there half of the year here in Arizona because it is just simply too hot.

We went for the zoo lights. The zoo was illuminated with a bunch of lights everywhere. The trees were lit. There were motion lights. Some of the extra charge items were free like the sting Ray petting and 4d movie. It was a nice time. However outside of a bunch of lights, not else much to do.

Zoo lights was awesome this year love the lantern animals! Great night with the family!

Cool new attractions on the jungle side the desert side needs some new stuff though

Great zoo, with many activities for kids of all adges.

Alot of animals were out..the other zoo is better in my opinion

Great little zoo. Clean and well maintained. I like how they mix the natural landscape into the zoo layout

Always a fun place to visit. Been coming here since I was a kid. Go in the cooler times of the year!

Overall it is a fun zoo. Some species only have one of them.

Had a great day..zoo is looking really nice and clean. Lots of good food and drink choices.

I love the Phoenix Zoo but I absolutely hate their paper straws that disintegrate into your Icee. Pro tip: Bring your own metal straw.

Super expensive. I hope the animals have great lives.

Zoo Camp program for kids used to be a family favorite. I enrolled 3 of my own for a week of summer camp at the Phoenix Zoo and the first day my youngest was denied water from his group counselor prior to being sent home throwing up from heat exhaustion. My other two children came home complaining that half of the counselors are mean and condescending. Do NOT prepay for the week, the will not honor their partial refund policy after the camp starts even if they make your son sick from leaving them in the 100 plus degree heat with NO WATER. Very disappointed in the disorganization and bad attitudes this year camp has.

Not the best zoo in the valley, be but still a really cool place to bring the kids.

I really love this zoo. Use your AAA membership for a discount and also student ID for discounts. Bring your own food if you can. The food stands are very spendy and always very busy. Stick with a cheap pretzel or something like that. But you can easily spend all day here and not see the same thing twice. Really awesome.

I love this zoo. Friendly and helpful staff. Great animal. I have only 1 issue though. They do not have healthy food for kids. No fresh fruit plates or apple sauce type items. I guess you can bring your own in, so that is a plus.

Excellent zoo with lots of animals you won't see anywhere else. You have to try feeding the giraffes and definitely don't miss the Arizona animals. Bobcat and cougars are gorgeous. Most animals here are rescued, from what I can tell. Go in the afternoon to avoid hordes of kids, or as early as you can in the morning during hot months.

Love this zoo! Everytime I go, there is something new. The staff are always friendly and helpful. I love bringing my baby I'm the mornings for walks! The membership is worth it if you live close and it comes with two free zoolight tickets. Such a great place to visit!

The price of the tickets are not bad and the service are fine. I do enjoyed myself at the park. However, it looks like some details the zoos still need to pay attention to.

Not a bad zoo, lots of shaded areas, good variety of animals, well laid out, and tickets weren't too bad. We spent about a half day here and felt like we experienced everything.

Always have a great time here and the improvements they've made are wonderful.

Great place, highly recommended any in the Phoenix area go visit.

this is the worst zoo I have ever been to. The majority of the animals are depressed and have appalling living conditions - it reminds me of a bad nursing home where the residents just sit around all day wishing they were anywhere but here ... if you don't want to put grandma someplace where she would rather die in her sleep than endure another day of extremely sub-par living then you really don't want to come here

My daughter and I really enjoyed the time at the zoo

I love the zoo but actually, on this date, I was waiting for the bus outside of the zoo.

I really wish Fernando the Sloth was part of the public outreach campaign. That in and of itself would have gotten another star from me

We bought the zoo membership today. It pays off if you plan on going more than 3 times, if I remember correctly. The staff and volunteers there are so friendly and helpful. During Covid times they are cleaning constantly, requiring masks when others are near, and spacing people out when there are lines. We had the best time at the Phoenix Zoo!

Large variety of animals and easy walking trails. Very well focused on conservation efforts.

Had a absolute blast at zoo lights the other night!

Loved zoo lights this year it's so great. Really fun family fun holiday night out

Love going to the zoo, Monday's are especially great because it was not to busy at all.

It is a small zoo, you can see all of it in about 5 hours. The 'Value Tickets' are a fair deal. The 4D show was great, but the train ride tour was meaningless - they take you down the path that you can walk yourself.