Cleveland Zoo Review

I always try to visit the Cleveland Zoo at least once a year. It's about an hour drive from my home, and always worth the drive. We made a point of taking our kids for Mother's day this year, and we didn't realize until we arrived that mothers and grandmothers got in for free that day! While it was a nice surprise, it was a bit too crowded for me, and we had a hard time enjoying ourselves. The elephants and hippos are gone this year, and won't be back until 2011, since they're building the new elephant enclosures. I was a bit disappointed by this, but I really should have checked out their website beforehand to see what was going on. We still managed to have a good time. The seals and sealions and the tortoises were always my favorites, and the tortoises weren't outside yet, so I didn't get to see them. We didn't manage to see the Rainforest this time around,because we had our kids in a wagon, and weren't sure how crowded it would be inside, and how hard it would be to navigate with said wagon. So we skipped the Rainforest (boo!) and just stayed in the zoo. The only negative things I would have to say about the zoo was the fact that the more popular animal enclosures have such little spots to stand and watch, so it's crowded and you almost have to wait in line to see the animals, while the less popular animals have a TON of standing room. Myself and my 2 year old were crowded out while watching the gorillas by not kids, but a group of very rude adults.

Also, the teenagers that worked the stands around the zoo were very rude. Alot of them were texting on their cellphones while we were buying things, and acted as though WE were in the wrong when we interupted them to pay for things. That might be something the faculty would want to work on in the future. However, that won't stop me from visiting again next year!