Visiting the Dallas Zoo

For the past three years we were members of the Dallas Zoo. We live in the DFW Metroplex and we have access to both the Dallas and Fort Worth Zoo. Many people say the Fort Worth Zoo is better, but I disagree. We have visited both zoos and I think the Dallas one is cleaner, more spacious and has their animals better taken cared of. This is just my opinion. Both zoos are pretty far away from us (about 1 hr), but for years it was worth having a membership just to visit once in the Fall, once in the Spring and once during the Summer.

The only reason why we stopped with the membership is because our children have more extra-curricular activities now and going to places like the zoo is becoming more difficult during the school year. We do visit during the summer, but we make the trip the first week after school is out because Summers in DFW are very hot and the farther away from the July/August heat the better. 

Whenever we go to the zoo in the summer, we wake up extra early (the zoo opens at 9am) and start our drive before 8am because since we usually go during the week there’s a lot of traffic on the highways. When we were members we didn’t pay for parking, but now we did. Also, the kids had a free zoo ticket from school and that saved us $12 for each one. This is another reason why I thought the membership wasn’t worth it anymore.

The zoo is divided into two main parts which are separated by a tunnel. We usually begin on the other side of the tunnel, where the Africa animals are. This are has a monorail, an attraction that I love and has been closed for a while now. It’s not open but the last time we went it was closed for a few hours and by the time it opened we were gone.

On the other side of the tunnel there’s a bridge that takes you to the other area. This area is divided into three parts, as far as I can tell. On one side you have your bugs, birds (which include a show that is available two or three days a week) and reptiles. On the back animals from Asia / Australia, and then there’s the children’s museum. There are restaurants on both sides of the tunnel in case you get hungry.

We like to end our day in the children’s zoo. It is pretty new and pretty awesome. It has a river that runs in a circle in the middle of the area. Around it, there are benches and SHADE and a few buildings with A/C where kids can do things from watch objects others have found, read books and see moles. There’s also a petting zoo. I usually take my backpack with towels and lunches. The kids wear their swimsuits from home and use them to get wet in the river. After, they dry off, have lunch and then we are ready to leave. It’s also a great time for me to rest a little while in the shade before starting the long drive back.

I really recommend the Dallas Zoo, just try to avoid really hot days.

cheers!