Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens

Reviews 5

RE

rebecca

ich fange mal lieber mit dem positiven Teil an, im vorderen Bereich des Zoos ist ein Kinderkarussell und ein toller Hochseilgarten und 1, 2 andere tolle Dinge. Der Rest war leider ziemlich entäuschend. die Tiere haben in den meisten Gehegen nicht sehr viel Platz, der wurde für andere Dinge verschwendet wie z.B. ein rießiger Abstand zwischen Gehege und Besucher (der oft sogar so groß war wie das Gehege selbst oder größer), viele Spielmöglichkeiten für kleine Kids (was ja toll ist, aber so viel in einem Zoo??? wo es eig. um Tiere geht und die Kids was lernen und sehen sollen) zwischen den Wegen viel verschwendeter Platz,... Einige der Gehege waren leider überhaupt nicht besetzt oder die Tiere waren im hinteren Bereich abgegrenzt. Den Seeadlern und Aras wurden die Schwungfedern gestutzt damit sie aus dem offenen Gehege nicht wegfliegen konnten und die Geparden direkt neben ihrem Mittagessen ( Warzenschwein) zu platzieren ist glaube ich auch nicht so gut. Getränke und Essen sind im Zoo nicht erlaubt. Zumindest nicht von außerhalb. Drinnen darf man es gerne kaufen. Wenn die Stände dann mal besetzt sind. Von Botanischem Garten kann man hier leider nicht sprechen. Zoo & Kinderspielplatz wäre als Benennung wohl eher angebracht. Wer also Beschäftigung für seine Kids braucht und nebenbei ein paar Tiere sehen möchte und keine großen Ansprüche hat, ist dort denke ich gut aufgehoben abef sollte vielleicht besser in der Saison gehen. Fast 20$ pro erwachsene Person ist etwas übertrieben für außerhalb der Saison und diesen Zoo. Grüße Rebecca GOOD LUCK

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JO

Jon Buchwald

This is a small but attractive zoo. Its easily walkable in just an hour or so. Exhibits are nice and well maintained. There is a mini train and a carousel at the entrance. Theres also a nice picnic area right outside the zoo itself, perfect for bringing lunch. Since the zoo itself wont allow outside food, the picnic area is ideal for grabbing a cooler from the car and saving a few bucks. There is also an over head obstacle course with zip lines located on the outside, it looks fairly large and fun but I didnt get to try it out on my visit. Inside the zoo there are a good variety of exhibits for its size. Giraffes, rhinos and the variety of big cats are the stand outs here. No Zebras, only a couple of small monkeys and no elephants creates some disappointment. There is also a lizard and snake house and, being Florida, loads of gators. There are lots of opportunities for interaction. A petting zoo will loaded with farm animals will provide you with food to feed the animals for$1.50, the giraffe exhibit nearby provides a chance to get close and feed a giraffe for $5. A little pricey but especially worth it for young kids. I do have to mention the size of many enclosures was very small for the animals housed. This is particularly true of all the big cats. They have very little room to move and its quite frankly a little sad. The other big negative is the price of food and drink. For a zoo as small as this one the prices were ridiculous. Expect to spend around $12-$15 per person if you eat a meal here. Finally the zoo features a fantastic splash pad. Its a great way for the kids to cool off after exploring and they love it. Its bright and fun with ample shaded seating for parents. Overall very impressive for a small zoo and worth the price of admission. If youre local its worth a visit for a great family outing. For tourists, while its a bit further then most attractions its also a lot more affordable. Dont expect it to compare to a big city zoo, but your kids will probably still love it.

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WI

Will Parsons

The grounds are nice, its a small zoo, but attractive to walk through. My issue was the price vs. the size. At large metropolitan zoos weve rarely paid over $20 for 3 people. Only had 2 people when we went to Sanford, even with a discount paid over $30, was slightly surprised, but figured it must be awesome so gave it a shot. Walked through in just under an hour. Slightly more than half the enclosures had animals. Thought maybe it was due to the sun being directly overhead, so waited awhile till it wasnt brutally hot, walked through again, no change. Maybe something else was going on that we werent aware of, but the kid was slightly frustrated. If your child is over 3, skip the train. My 6 yo was so excited to ride around & see animals, like every other zoo he has ever been to (4 states so far, before sanford), unfortunately there are no animals to view from the train, just a parking lot & cardboard animals. I tried to play a game when we spotted the animals, but his disappointment was real. Cant win them all. Note- the splash park is awesome. Definitely need to bring a change of clothes for the kids if coming during the summer months!

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HO

Howard Moore

My sister and I took our granddaughters to the zoo this past Saturday and were very disappointed in having to pay such a high price to get in to find out you had no regular zoo animals to see . No lions , tigers , chimps or elephants. And then to have to pay to ride the train and the merry go round which we didnt do because of the price . We were both born and raised here in Sanford and we can remember the old zoo . And to us that was a zoo. They did have all the animals I mentioned . We also couldnt let our granddaughters play on the playground because the equipment was moldy . It is so sad that when you are raised in a town and want to share the same experience with your granddaughters and turns out to be a bad experience it is very Heart breaking . And as far as the snacks I think you need to get cups with straws built in for the little ones to be able to drink out of . I will not recommend this zoo to anyone . Sincerely Terrie Moore A Unhappy Grandmother

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GI

Gina Wilson

Brought my grandchildren here on a very hot sunny day, and rented a stroller which was in very poor condition and repair, the sun shade was broken and there was mold and mildew all over the cloth part of the stroller. didnt realize the sun shade didnt work until a few hours later when I actually needed to use it. Left the zoo early because it was too hot for the grandchildren and spoke to the manager there who was unwilling to return my $8 rental fee and offered little to no concern for the situation even though I told her we had to cut the day short. She offered to give us a different stroller, but by this time the children were so hot and aggravated and so was I, so we declined. you would think that before they actually issue a stroller to a paying customer, that they would check to make sure it was in proper working order and clean. Unfortunately this was not the case . I will not go back due to poor customer service, not to mention there werent many animals outside of their enclosures within the fence, Im sure due to the scorching heat of the day.... not a fun day at all.

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