ZOO! Our Latest Trip and My Five Tips to Make the Zoo a Great Experience

Each year for Daniel's birthday in May, we renew our yearly family zoo pass.  The price seems a bit much all at one time but, after doing the math, it pays for itself in about two trips.  Our children love the zoo.  It's probably their most requested "thing to do" so that family pass comes in handy.  But, look, with two kids with autism, crowded, busy, public places are kind of. .  . well, a nightmare.  It can be sensory overload times a thousand on a sunny Saturday at the zoo.

But, you all, I've discovered a secret.  This is how we make trips to the zoo manageable and fun for everyone.  Here is is: we plan our trips for the last two hours of the day.  You will not find us lining up at the gate when the zoo opens.  Instead, we'll be there for the last two hours before it closes.

"But, that's only two hours of zoo time.  You can't see everything in two hours."  I know and that's okay.  We see what we can see in two hours and then we save the rest for another day. Before we even get there, we ask each of the kids what they'd like to see that day and we make sure we get to those exhibits.  We also get zoo maps for the older two and let them "navigate our course."  This is fun for them, great for me (my sense of direction is broken and my map skills are questionable.  You do not want to be lost in the forest with me.  We will die), and, although the kids don't know this, it's educational too. Two hours is also the perfect amount of time.  When we got to the zoo, they kids were excited and ready to explore, but around the two hour mark, they start to look like this:

Two hours seems to be about everyone's (parents included) threshold for zoo fun.

But wait, there's more (yup, I totally sound like an infomercial). The last two hours of the day are the best two hours of the day.  Seriously.  First, living in the Houston area in July means temperatures in the 90's and humidity of 150% (you think that's not possible but come here in July and you'll see I'm not making that up).  In the evening, things start to cool down a bit or at least become slightly less inferno-like. Parking is also much more readily available in the late afternoon. This also means the zoo itself is noticeably less crowded.  There aren't hordes of people to contend with and that immediately makes the trip smoother for us. Less crowds and noise means more fun for our family!

Now, 5 p.m. might be close to dinner time for most of us.  Make sure to bring snacks and water, lots of water.  Our zoo recently installed water bottle fill up stations, which makes refills a snap. As for snacks, pack things that are individually wrapped and easy to eat while walking.  It never fails that five minutes after we've arrived (anywhere, it seems), someone is hungry.  Throw a granola bar at them and proceed to the bears.

Speaking of bears and lions and cougars and giraffes, you'll get to see all of these at the zoo.  Even better, guess what happens at the end of the day?  Feeding time!  But also, the nocturnal animals that always seem to be sleeping when you're at the zoo?  They're awake!  The animals showed up in a big way this trip.

In just two hours, we saw bears play-fighting:

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Cougars stalking our children:

A giraffe that would have licked Daniel if there wasn't that pesky glass:

An ostrich giving my husband the stink eye:

And we took mildly inappropriate pictures of the kids pretending to touch animals' bottoms.(We are that family).

We only had one escaping child (not anywhere close to the gorillas) but he only made it as far as the carousel (which we got to ride for free because it was late in the day, there wasn't a line, and the attendants were awesome).  By an hour or less until closing, all the food establishments are closed and the zookeepers have completed all their talks.  But the lack of crowds far outweighs those things for us.  I can see it in our chldren too.  They are calmer. They have more time to see the animals they'd like to see. They are enjoying themselves more.  Gideon, in particular, seemed to have a wonderful time.  He was fascinated with the animals and engaged and mindful of what was going on around him.

Gideon, checking out some ducks and turtles

Going on outings, for our family, can be very challenging so it's important for us to find ways to make it easier.  We go on these excursions knowing there will be mishaps.  We go, as parents, knowing that it will probably not be fun for us at all.  But we go because these experiences are important to the kids.  Why not try to make them as fun and enjoyable as possible?  Just making a few simple changes to our schedule or remembering to pack an extra snack can make all the difference for us.

Here's what I've found to be my top five tips for the zoo:

1. If you can swing it, get a year family zoo pass.  If you plan on going to the zoo at least twice in a year, it's paid for itself.  We try to go at least once a month.  Your zoo pass also gets you discounts on food and at stores in the zoo.  Plus, many zoos participate in a nationwide reciprocity program.  My zoo pass also allows me entrance into over 150 other zoos for free or at half price.  How cool is that!?
2. Take your trip to the zoo the last two hours of the day.  Check your zoo hours and also makes sure to check the cut off time for allowing visitors in.  (For our zoo, it's an hour before closing). I promise there's better parking and less crowds.  We find a noticeably less busy zoo on any day of the week but Monday thru Thursday seem to be even less crowded.
3. Take snacks and water.  Hydrated kids with full bellies are way happier and more fun. Not many food establishments/snack shacks/etc will be open that late in the day so make sure you're covered.
4. Give your kiddo a map of the zoo and have them plan out your course. Maps seem to be something my oldest son with autism is drawn to so this helps to keep him involved and interested. Plus, if you can sneak some good skills practice in there, all the better.
5. Have each child choose the one animal they need to see and make sure you get to see them that day. Then relax and enjoy yourself.  Don't kill yourself trying to see everything at once. Your trip will be rushed and less fun for everyone.

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