Los Angeles Zoo
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- Single strollers: $7/day
- Double strollers: $11/day
31 Reviews for Los Angeles Zoo
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00 families found this helpful
"The LA Zoo "
The LA Zoo is greatly priced and makes a fun day trip. It is often overly crowed on the weekends, but I would say still worth the visit. They have a nice variety of animals and a few different places for the little ones to run around. For locals, a family membership is a great deal! We range from a 1 year old to a teenager and we can all enjoy it!
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'11, '12
0 families found this helpful
"A fun day, but not AMAZING!"
We went to L.A. Zoo as a family with the grandparents and two grand-babies (ages 5 months and 1 1/2 years). We had a great time spending time with the family, and exploring with the kids. And, like all kiddos, our little ones enjoyed the park. However, it is not the greatest zoo ever. There was a lot of construction going on during our visit as the park got ready for the opening of the Elephant exhibit. The zoo is nestled into a hill in Griffith Park, so be prepared to huff and puff the strollers up and down the hill. The highlights for our family were definitely the giraffes (they get pretty close to you), the gorillas, and the seals. The zoo is a nice pretty place. There is also a play area that is nice for older kids (5-10 year olds probably), and picnic areas. There are places to eat inside the park and shops for souvenirs as well.
Parking can be difficult during any of the zoo's event days. There is only one way in and out, and it took us 1/2 hour to get out the day we went. We went for Boo in the Zoo (the park's Halloween celebration).
0 families found this helpful
"HUGE ZOO!"
This zoo is so big oh my goodness I can't believe how big this place is. This is by far the best zoo I have ever been too. I wish I didn't live on the other side of the united states because I would be here everyday of the summer with the kids. They have everything, and I mean everything.
0 families found this helpful
"With San Diego around the corner, not as much bang for your buck"
Any zoo will be loved by children, this place is no different. It's a little hard for me to justify coming here when I'm down south with San Diego Zoo just a few hours away (I hear the pandas calling me now). But if you're in LA and need a zoo, this will do. Shy away during the blaring heat of summer, the animals will be out of sight (and you'll be miserable).
0 families found this helpful
"A wonderful day!"
A great trip for families with kids or couples - moneys, flamingos, elephants, lions, and many more. Fun to walk around the wooded paths and enjoy the scenery, and you can come with a lunch to enjoy on the picnic tables or buy food there. I did this zoo many times with my young kids and with friends and I have always enjoyed it.
0 families found this helpful
"A fun place"
This is a great place to bring the kids and let them see all the animal, birds, reptiles, rodents and insects. This activity can take up the whole day with great rest areas to eat a lunch that you can bring in to save money or enjoy the food that they have. There is a lot of walking up hill so beware you will get a workout.
0 families found this helpful
"My trip"
I love visiting this zoo, its amazing. They opened the new elephant theme and it's unbelievable. You would never get this experience anywhere else. In addition to the elephants they have a petting area in which you and your kids are able to get up close and personal with some animals.
0 families found this helpful
"small can be good"
We have had a membership to the LA zoo for a couple of years now. We probably don’t take advantage of it nearly enough. But we always have a good time when we go. I usually bring our youngest 2 (ages 4 and 7). They both enjoy our visits. You might want to plan walking route. Even though the zoo isn’t that big they usually complain about too much walking. We also discovered their children’s shows. The kids get to take part in the performances and both of them get a kick out of it. That is one of the good things about it being a small zoo…it is not often over crowded and the children can take their time and have some one on one time when the docents and the zookeepers come out.
0 families found this helpful
"great for small kids"
Our family recently bought an annual pass to the zoo, good for 2 adults and as many children (up to age 12) are in your family. Our son (2+ yrs) loves, loves, loves it! It's a lot of walking, good for exercise, and my hubby and I like the fact that our son is getting educational value along with the entertainment. There's nothing you can read about in books to describe the sheer force behind a tiger's hungry roar! We've already gotten our money's worth from our pass, and it's only been 2 months. Well worth the time and money. Not a huge zoo but enough for a few hours' entertainment.
0 families found this helpful
"Its been awhile"
I took my kids here a couple of years ago. They really enjoyed all the different animals. There was a lot to see and a lot to do. Of course each kid had their favorite animal to see. We saw the gorilla and that was a mess, the alpha male was throwing his Dung at the crowd and yes even hitting some of them. So, if you go to the Gorillia exhibit beware of the dung! The price is good and we will go again soon.
0 families found this helpful
"great for kids"
L.A. Zoo has a good number of exhibits which can be viewed in just a couple hours or half a day. It's not that big and doesn't take all day which is great for small kids who would tire out after just a few hours. It has a small petting Zoo but it is not always open on weekdays. It's currently going though some construction with its elephant and reptile exhibits. The zoo membership is a great deal for couples and families! Never seen it so crowded where it was uncomfortable. Always a neat experience for my husband and I and our little kiddo.
0 families found this helpful
"too much walking, not enough animals"
I always feel when I go here that I walk and walk and walk to which my 6 year old always complains she is ' tooooo tired" only to view animals that are hiding or asleep. I am excited to see the new elephant expansion they just got finished building, however I prefer the layout of the San Diego zoo compared to the Los Angeles one.
0 families found this helpful
"good times sore feet"
The zoo itself is pretty cool. A lot of different features and a wide variety of animals. The only thing that I found troubling was the terrain the zoo was laid out on. It's on the side of big hill, so get your hiking shoes out, cuz there's a lot of up and down walking. I think they had a tram or something that takes you up the hill, but we didn't use it.
0 families found this helpful
"Good Basic Zoo"
This is a good zoo to take the kids to see all the general animals that need to be seen. I've gone here with two field trips, and we always have a good time. There's a small kids area, but not much to it really. There's a playground in the back which is a great stopping point to take a break and rest while the kids play before walking back.
2 families found this helpful
"We love this zoo!!"
I really love this zoo! I took my daughter for the first time when she was 11 months and she loved looking at all the animals. We bought a year pass, which is super cheap, and I take her once a month. She is now 19 months and still loves going. It Is so worth it. Every time we go I discover another section we hadn't seen before. There is a lot of walking but that is to be expected at a zoo. A stroller is a must for little ones. There is a big playground where you can rest and let the kids play. The grounds are very clean and there are lots of places to eat.
I love animals and It's nice to have a place to take my daughter to teach her about them. Very recommended.
Also parking is free and there is tons of it!!
I am writing to update our visit. This year in addition to our regular once a month visits, we went to Boo at the Zoo! I highly recommend coming over there Halloween weekend. It was well worth the crowds. The children where dressed up and got to do some safe trick or treating. My daughter had a blast.
2 families found this helpful
"Second best Zoo I have seen! (Tough to beat SD)"
This trip to the zoo was great. I was able to do this one alone with my daughter. The layout was very easy to nabigate and the animals were actually available. Sure, they didn't look like they had a lot space but as a viewer it made it easy. Most of my picture are my Daughter infront of an exhibit in her stroller alone...since I was alone...but they animal was in evry shot :) I highly recommend the children't portion, thye have a very fun Merekat exhibit. My kid is too little right now but the othe rolder kids there that day were having a blast!
1 family found this helpful
"Don't miss the bird show"
I live in LA so a membership is worth it as my 3 year old son wants to go almost every other week. The zoo is big that you will have to walk far to see the animals. They have a train ride inside (for a fee) and a good bird show!. Food and drinks are expensive so it's good to eat somewhere else first before visiting. I bet that there are far better zoos in California but this one is not bad either.
0 families found this helpful
"Hangin' with Monkeys"
Had a great time at the Zoo with the kids ages 10 & 1.5 yrs.(summer 2007) It was under some construction for the apres I think at the tme but still had a great time & a super workout pushing a stroller & being pregnant... hope to go back soon. its been a while!!
1 family found this helpful
"Los Angeles Zoo"
While nothing compares to the San Diego Zoo, I was very impressed with this zoo. We went in December, in the rain, and still had a fantastic time!
The LA Zoo is a great size- not too big and not too small. It can easily be done in a 1/2 or full day. The maps were easy to understand, and the terrain was not too bad pushing the stroller.
The price is fantastic ($13 for adults, free for 2 and under!). Makes it affordable for us to make a quick daytrip, and not feel like we have to stay all day to get our money's worth.
Like everywhere, the food was overpriced. We decided t grab lunch outside the Zoo for this reason.
The elephant exhibit is under construction, so that was a bummer. There was a lot of loud construction noise at times.
The gorilla exhibit was very good, its amazing to see the size of some of these animals. Since we went around Christmas time, there were reindeer and a miniature ice skating rink for kids.
Very nice, I will definitely go back in the future.
1 family found this helpful
"Not a bad zoo but not our favorite"
I guess we're zoo snobs, but I didn't care much for this zoo.
The layout has visitors climbing uphill throughout the park: up the stairs, up to the right to the animal hospital/nursery and farm, up to the left to the gorrillas, up straight forward. There was a LOT of uphill hiking!
Also, and some people may like this but I did not, many of the animals were displayed in what I could best describe as like an airport terminal layout (you know those maps that show the arm of the terminal jutting off of the airport, with the gates dotting along the outside?) A monkey display, for instance, would be off the path in its own little arm, you loop around looking at monkeys, and you are put back out on the path.
There was a lot of backtracking.
There were a few exhibits we really liked, such as the enclosure where the kangaroos are kept, and the great glass wall to watch the chimpanzees (was it the chimps? some larger apes).
The LA Zoo is undergoing its multi-million dollar renovation of its elephant habitat. It's a BIG construction site (that yes, you will detour around) and those the PETA types will tell you that it is insufficient to house an elephant, I think any elephant born and bred for zoo life would be very happy in there.
I'm not sure we'll take B there again until she's maybe elementary school-aged. I don't think that the layout or distance between paths/displays is very good for toddlers' whose attention spans are that of gnats.
Also, there really isn't any open space for the kids to run around (as compared to the Santa Barbara zoo, which has nice open lawns to lay out a towel and rest a moment, let the kiddos run.)
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