The Buffalo Zoo

300 Parkside Ave, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA

Address:	300 Parkside Ave, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
Phone:	+1 716-837-3900
Site:	buffalozoo.org
Rating:	4.2
Working:	10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM 10AM–4PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

Julie S.

Yesterday on Saturday, July 6th, 2013 we took our two children to the Buffalo zoo. What a huge disappointment. I was almost embarrassed for your facility and having to make excuses to our 3 year old why the sea lion’s water was so filthy that you could only see a dark shadow from the below water observation windows. We constantly see the local commercials for Buffalo Exterminating yet saw cockroaches on the steps of the rainforest building as you go up to see the birds in the tree tops and then again in the family restroom next to the farm animals barn. The food at the Beastro was scary to say the least and almost afraid to feed it to our children. The hot dogs looked like they were fried about six hours ago, shriveled up and cold. One order of fries was ice cold, the other two order overcooked to the point they shattered when you bent them. The grilled cheese was so soggy it could be wrung out. No ice for the soft drinks, we were told it was broken. We let our son pick out one toy in the Zootique which was a $16.00 toy train with a small track. It didn’t last 12 hours, he set it up when he got home, it made about 20 trips around its little circular track and then the plastic wheels fell off. Due to the choking hazard of it, we threw it out. Our son always looks forward to riding the train. The bell was either broken or removed, just another disappointment to the day. Rochester is only an hour drive and we will give them a try. We spent almost a $100 yesterday between admission tickets, parking, riding the train and merry-go-round, lunch and the gift shop for a few hours to entertain our kids and we won’t do it at your zoo for a long while, if ever again.

A Private User

We live a few blocks from the Buffalo Zoo and visit it year round. We also often take out of town visitors to see it and everyone marvels at the convenience of this zoo. It is a family zoo built around the theme of water. The new year round rain forest exhibit is an excellent addition to the zoo, especially in chilly weather. My children also enjoy attending zoo camp there. The just-opened farm section is esp. nice for younger children. It is very much an urban zoo, so you have animal habitats constructed in close proximity with an urban population. The zoo director has done an outstanding job of updating the habitats, emphasizing animal enrichment and quality of life as much as possible. (Compared to the Central Park Zoo in NYC, the Buffalo Zoo looks great.) In the warmer months, enjoy the carousel, the train, and the playground. The Beastro also serves very good kid friendly food. If you want an enormous zoo with natural habitats and a monorail, drive to Toronto and take a whole day or two. But if you want to spend an enjoyable afternoon with your kids, the Buffalo Zoo will not disappoint.

A Private User

I just wanted to say that a couple of these reviews are outright lies. The whole "polar bears without water" statement, for example. Each bear enclosure has a pool that they can actually swim in if they so desire. On hot days, Ive seen zookeepers giving the bears buckets of frozen treats...Ive actually got a picture of a polar bear with his head in a bucket of treats. Tigers are kept outside when available for viewing in an open air enclosure, so what windows were they scratching waiting to be fed? Granted, the zoo is not what it used to be...many of the beautiful old buildings are now closed to the public for the most part, but there are many new exhibits to pick up the slack...for its size, it is a great zoo and I fail to understand why some people feel the need to trash and even lie about it...my guess is that they are people who feel that zoos should not exist. Also, the prices are fairly reasonable...kids 2 and under=free...kids 2-14=7.00...students up to age 22=8.00 and aduldts are 10.00...so whats outrageous about that? See what I mean? Lies.

Bill Mimikos

Okay, so right off the bat, this is not a big zoo like the ones Ive spent time at with my kids in Detroit and Pittsburgh. However, it is obvious from the moment you walk in that this quaint little habitat and its animals are lovingly cared for by its staff. Despite its diminutive size, there really is a pretty decent selection of animals here. The Polar Bear exhibit is top notch, like the one in Pittsburgh and allows a front row seat for your kids to experience these powerful animals. My only complaint (and warning) would be about parking. Even with a membership, you have to pay for parking after you run out of the free passes in your membership. Thats really not that big a deal, but the parking lot is very limited. Ive driven there a few times only to find that there is no place to park. I understand that fixing this would require appropriating a part of Delaware Park, but I write this mainly to warn people that if you go during the busy times you might have to park pretty far away and hoof it to the gate!

Olivia Secco

Being from Canada, its about half an hour (minus border wait) drive. We went on a Thursday and honestly it was one of the best zoo experiences Ive had in my whole life. The layout is nice (not a whole lot of walking and the exhibits are laid out closely). We had some great interactions and photos with the Gorillas, Siberian Tiger, and Rainforest display. It was pretty inexpensive compared to other outings, and also the entire park and bathrooms were extremely well kept. Extremely impressed! Only things that really should change is getting a few more animals like a Snow Owl or Kangaroos, changing the elephant exhibit (though we did read they are building a better environment/house for them opening in a few weeks), and adding in some more two of every animals. We saw only one tiger, one leopard, one sea lion, its more fair to the animals to be able to socialize with their own kinds. Other than that, great place and would definitely recommend to families looking for a reasonably priced outing!

Maria Heist

The kids had a wonderful time and were able to see many of the animals. However customer service is very poor. I had a coupon for free childrens admission with paid adult. I have two children who each got this coupons from a birthday party at the zoo. I showed the coupons at the window and paid my adult admission and was told to turn them in at the gate. We proceeded to the gate and I was told that I needed the kids tickets shown on my receipt and was instructed to go back to admissions. At admissions I was then told I would have to pay for one of the childrens admission. No where on my coupon did it say that more than one could not be used in one visit or combined with my paid adult admission. The manager came out to speaks with me and I am very disappointed in his customer service and attitude towards me after being told by two other employees I could use both coupons he made me pay for another admission. Staff needs to be on the same page with these things.

Michael Lee

This Zoo is simply fantastic. First time in Buffalo, and I truly enjoyed it. While it was winter, and a big snowfall had just hit, lots of animals were available outside to see, and there were also various indoor sections for people to see. The area is very nice to walk, and while a lot of the playgrounds were shut down, I would imagine if it was summer, it would be much more popular and kid-friendly. Regardless, your family will enjoy coming here, without a doubt. The parking lot is massive, and the souvenir shop is big with variety of choices. I also believe they accept both US and Canadian currencies (do not quote me on that!). One thing I wouldnt really recommend is the food there which were mediocre. My favourite part was seeing the tiger, and the baby chimpanzees which were SUPER adorable! A really nice place to enjoy as a person, couple, or family!