Columbus Zoo

crazy horse said:

How is the zoo portion of the park? How would you compare it to the detroit or toledo zoos?

Detroit<Toledo<Columbus

I always thought the Christmas lights display at the Toledo Zoo was phenomonal until I saw the one at Columbus Zoo last winter. Totally blows Toledo's event away.

Frankly, I was quite surprised when I figured out that there was a world-class zoo in freakin' TOLEDO!!!!

I though the Toledo zoo was very nice, and the exhibits were fun, respally the polar bear one.

I'm certainly not knocking the Toledo Zoo. Considering how much of a dump the rest of the city is (I've lived here almost 25 years, so I can say that) the zoo really is a crown jewel.

Another great Ohio Zoo is the one in Cincy. It is on a small footprint, but they pack a lot into it.

At least now zoos are going to more natural habitats. Seeing gorillas play in their native concrete habitats playing with empty beer kegs always seemed pretty stupid to me.

There's a small nature center here in NH called the Squam Lake Science center. It does have animals on display, but they try very hard to keep it as natural for them as possible.

I've been to the Columbuz Zoo two times in my life. The first time was probably atleast 10 years ago, maybe a couple more, and it was a bad experience. The second I went was this year back in July.

The zoo was very nice, had a very nice variety of animals (sadly no hippos though). It was well kept and maintained.

I still believe the Toledo Zoo is better than Columbus though. And I believe Columbus is ranked much higher because 1) Jack Hanna's name, 2)the amusement park, and 3) the waterpark. Now the amusement and water park has nothing to do with the zoo or it's operations, but it definitely influenced the ratings and got the zoo it's #1 rating.

I was also really excited to ride the Sea Dragon until I noticed it was SBNO.

So how many ride does this park have that are SBNO? Has this park kept the Six Flags mentality that keeping rides closed saves operating costs?

I would like to visit, because it's only about three hours from me, but if half the rides are closed, and the price is too high, I just might put in in my "who cares" list, which has included SFKK for a very long time.

Completely agree; the market niche they have, though, is that a lot of parents/families buy season passes to the zoo, which gets them in to the park as well. If we would not have moved from Columbus this year (we have a 2 year old), we would have become members of the zoo. But, for a non-pass holder, I agree that the waterpark is way overpriced. Then again, you are supporting a good cause (the zoo/animals), and not just feeding a corporation, so it's a unique endeavor.

^
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by a bunch of rides being SBNO; last time I checked there was not anything SBNO. Then again, if you are making a trip for the rides, you will be disappointed; it is 100% aimed at the 0-12 age market.

While I don't know the full story, My understanding is that the Sea Dragon/Jet was down waiting on some parts. When the parts arrived the ride was opened as soon as possible.

Since this is a Zoo first I am betting that their ride maintenance department is not as deep as a straight amusement park.

I suspect that the ride maintenance department at the Columbus Zoo is made up of the same people who maintained Wyandot Lake. I know the General Manager from Wyandot Lake is now managing the ride section and waterpark...

When I was there, the Sea Dragon was the only ride that was SBNO.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.