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65 reviews for Central Park Zoo
GREAT zoo. When my friends and thier kids are in town this is where we always go. WE can spend hours there and kids always enjoy it. Seal show and polar bear are always great place to chill out especially in summer time. Very convinient to visit, take green line subway.
The only downside is the food court - they only serve crap, and upper east side price for that crap. If NYC wants to promote healthy diet for kids, then why NYC park system offer such crap to kids? Since then we have been trying bring own food / buy something outside and bring them in.
I visited the Central Park Zoo recently with the sole intent of seeing the Allison Maher Stern Snow Leopard exhibit. I'd been fantasizing about it since August when I read an article about these endangered cats accompanied by a charming photo of what appeared to be two young snow leopards engaged in lively play on a rock.
This experience turned out to be much like the one I had with Sea Monkeys as a child. Once at the exhibit, I found that the snow leopard(s) did not closely resemble their photos...they looked old and tired and more grey than snowy white. And the one I saw was clearly not in the mood to dance for grandma. But Sue Chin (a WCS architect) has replicated the native habitat of the animals admirably so it wasn't quite the pivotal, soul-destroying event that the sea monkey debacle was.
In general, I think this is a sweet little zoo. I was under a bit of a time constraint so I wasn't able to see everything but the sea lions were precious. It's also interesting to note that I'm not the only reviewer who picked up on the melancholia of the polar bear. In one photo I took he appears morose...in the other,merely pensive. Maybe it's all projection.
Admission is reasonable and zoo staff were helpful and friendly.
The point of the Central Park Zoo isn't to compete with the granddaddy of animal experiences at the Bronx Zoo, but rather to provide an awesomely compact stopover for your visit to the park. It doesn't have every animal you'd hope for, but it has enough of the essentials to satisfy even the grumpiest person in your group.
And it has monkeys. Which should be enough for anyone.
A small zoo - conveniently located right in Central Park.
Great for families with young children.
Really fun!
Central Park Zoo
This review is written on 07/01/ 2009
It was a beautiful summer day to visit the zoo. It's been so long since I visited here last. How I remember this zoo was dark, unorganized and felt sorry for the animals but this trip was different. I actually enjoyed it. It maybe because it was a day after visiting the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. That day was too hot and not really have a place to cool off even in the air conditioned rooms. The room we visited near the entrance and exit was a super fun and cooled us off completely and we were able to end Coney Island trip happily.
The Central Park Zoo entrance was posted, in their website, to enter from 64th St and fifth but you could enter from corner of Central Park South (59th St) and Fifth Avenue. It's much unique and nicer experience to enter this way.
Going through deep green and cleaner air with less noise, we found really cute entrance. It gave me a smile and ease my stress somehow. Although it was during a week, there were many kids (especially I saw family with many strollers and elderly) and it was nice to see many kids in the city. Adult is only for $10 and comes with many shows (check the time for the shows). When we entered, there was a huge water tank in the middle of the square surrounded by the buildings. The Sea lion show was just starting. It was nice to see the show without too many people sitting around and could see it pretty closer comparing to the New York Aquarium sea lion show but the NYA show itself however was up beat, young and cheerful. It was much better.
Back to the Central Park Zoo, I saw a butt of polar bears and the snow leopard that came right next to me and gave me a pose for the picture was awesome (see the images). It was funny that he wasn't around for while and from no where, he showed up. He walked straight to me and sat right next to the glass wall where I was sitting. Many kids came next to the leopard and took pictures. They all looked like an angle.
The black and white lemur looked right into the camera. He looked tired of dealing with people. In the tropical forest building, there was this dark color bird that has a beautiful lace like feather on her head and posed for the picture for me. I found most of the animals are so used to entertain visitors that they seemed to know what we want. They were very New Yorker. Amazing!
The Leaping Frog Cafe had out door seating, in front and back where the zoo is. Indoor seating area with air conditioned room was nice to refresh and cool off. They were well stocked of decent drinks and foods. For cafeteria, the price is right. I didn't eat so I can not review their foods.
Don't believe the hype about an entrance on 59th and 5th. There's an entrance to the park on 59th and 5th, but then you just walk five blocks north in the park to the entrance, which is still at 64th. Other than that, I thought that the zoo was pretty awesome. It's very small, but they have polar bears, snow leopards, boatloads of penguins, and a couple of types of what I would call "monkeys," although I think that they're actually other types of monkey-like creatures. What more could you want? Do you really go to the zoo to see the lesser creatures? On second thought, I guess a lion could have been cool. They do have red pandas, though, and I didn't even know that those existed before I went to the Central Park Zoo. FYI: I'm not a seven year-old kid. I'm a 30 year-old. I'm just a little buzzed on bourbon. The only thing that I would recommend is that they find some way to indicate which two penguins are the gay penguins that the book was written about. There's like a hundred penguins, and there aren't exactly two with faux-hawks, wearing pea coats and multicolor scarves. I still marked the picture of the two penguins below as "Very helpful" though.
Tiny but very well done.
Exhibits are well maintained and reflect excellent aesthetic planning, especially the rain forest, snow leopard, sea lion, and polar bear exhibits.
Allows very very close-up views to these remarkable creatures.
The rain forest exhibit provides guests opportunities to walk alongside very exotic looking birds including crowned pigeons.
Clever and appropriate placement of miscellaneous & over inspiring quotes related to the exhibits adds a very charming touch.
Unfortunately didn't spot any of the Red Pandas :(. But will make it a point to visit again just to see them.
Service was terrible at the ticket counter, but whatever.
Great for little kids but I was pretty disappointed. This zoo used to be a decent value at $8 last year but it's now $10 and is almost not worth it. Unless you want to weave your way around a parade of strollers and toddlers bumping into you I would advice against going on the weekends. The zoo is actually quite small (almost small enough to wonder how small it would have to be not to be considered a zoo). You can leisurely see the entire place in about an hour.
They do have a pretty nice Penguin exhibit. It's not the cleanest and it smells a little but I don't remember being as close to as many Penguins before which was cool. Really the only other animals worth seeing would be the Polar Bear, the Snow Leopards (they have 2), the Red Pandas (also 2), and the Lemurs. They do have a few other small animals and some small exhibits with snakes and such but that's pretty much it. The exhibits are pretty small which makes seeing the animal relatively close a good possibility but you've got to second guess how good of a life they must have in such a confined space.
If you have the urge to hand feed a sheep in the petting zoo or want to check out one of the animals they have here and don't mind spending the money but do mind taking a subway ride up to the Bronx Zoo then this is a cool little place in Manhattan but just don't hype it up too much and it won't be too bad.
I was surprised by how small it was... but that said, it really had a lot to offer! The rainforest building was really something else with free-roaming birds that could fly around you, which I wasn't expecting. They had a great "polar circle" with a polar bear and a number of penguins and puffins. I'd heard about the polar bear and it's really pretty cool to see it in person in a park setting but then also realize you're in the midst of a giant city with skyscrapers at the same time!
If you can, try and see a sea lion feeding - the show they put on is very amusing and the animals seem very happy, which is always great to see :)
No, it's not a world-class zoo, but it's not trying to be. It is a solid urban zoo that makes the most of its limited acreage. It is well-laid out, with a clear progression through each of the animal displays, and there is plenty of variety. For only $10, it's actually one of the more affordable attractions in this city and it's a great way to spend a couple of hours in the park.
Highlights:
- the plethora of colorful birds in the rainforest enclosure. There are so many of brightly colored, bizarre-looking birds, it is literally teeming with them. I also spotted the flying foxes hanging upside down on the ceiling as well as some well-camouflaged tortoises.
- the lemurs. Primates are always great to watch.
- watching the tufted puffins during feeding time
- polar bears. huge and deadly yet so cute at the same time
Lowlights:
- one of the offshoot rooms in the rainforest exhibit had an unbelievably thick, offensive odor. I wanted to see the snakes and anteaters and marmosets, but I couldn't continue to inhale whatever was in that space. Not sure if it was animal or human, but it was overpoweringly bad.
- no snow leopard sightings :(
You can buy tix with a credit card.
I love this zoo. It reminds me of madagascar but without the zebras, hippos, lions and giraffes.. wait. they might have lions.. can't remember.
So I guess it doesn't remind me of madagascar. Anyways, they have a really cool polar bear exhibit. All the animals were very active and the over all size of the zoo is very small which means you can double back and take a look at the animals you like more.
When I went it was mid February and it was freezing cold out. There were about 5 other people in the zoo which equaled zero lines for the bathrooms, for admittance and for the gift store. Also the rain forest habitat was perfect for warming us up!!!
Nice zoo.. very touristy which is perfect for me!
Allow me to weigh in on this one, more from a tourist's viewpoint than anything else. Let's start with the kids' zoo. This is a great way to introduce the little ones to real animals. For those of us who were once kids and had cows, pigs, chickens and turtles around all the time, it may not have been such a big deal, but for inner city children it's different and exciting. The animals and their displays are kid-friendly, with many of the residents up close in habitats approximating (as close as possible in NYC) their natural habitats. The exhibit areas aren't so big or sophisticated as to bore or turn off the kids.
Moreover, for local youngsters and those from out of town it also features some animals from exotic locations. Whether a kid or an adult one cannot help to marvel at the the polar bears, penguins, monkeys etc. My knocks against the place are few...I thought some of the exhibit areas looked a bit cramped for certain animals and the setup didn't facilitate easy viewing. Overall, though, it was a lot of fun and the kids with whom I went had a great time.
Not a large city zoo, so you don't need to stay there all day to see everything. I think we were there 2 hours. $10 to get in seemed reasonable, being in Manhattan. Had to wait in line for about 15 minutes to get in.
Once in there, we saw the seals, the Chinese red panda was really interesting (never seen one of those), a snow monkey, a lot of nice swans, the penguins and puffers exhibit, etc. I had no idea what a puffer was until I came here, it's some sort of arctic bird. The penguin exhibit was fun. It is smaller than the one I've seen at SeaWorld in Orlando, but there seemed to be more penguins and it was so fun to see them jump off the ice into the water and then come swimming really fast by you. The tropical area was interesting, it had snakes, lemurs, bats, lots of tropical birds, etc.
They seemed to have a lot of activities for kids there, which was cool. I can't remember what else I saw but it was nice to be in the middle of Manhattan (Central Park) and walk right up to a zoo without having to drive anywhere.
One thing I really like about this zoo is that it's not too big. It's manageable. So, you don't feel rushed to see everything. Plus, since it's in Central Park, there's plenty to do and see when you're done at the zoo. The Snow Monkeys are my favorite. I could watch them for hours. How freaking cute is the Red Panda?! It looks like a chubby little fox. Aw!!! Minus one star because the Polar Bear depressed me. He looks so sad in his tank. Maybe I'm just projecting . . .
I am in love with this zoo.. It is so great for kids.
The park itself is not huge.. not even that big.. and that is why it is great for kids (short attention, not too much walking around... you're in, you see fun stuff, you're out).
The little penguins are always a huge hit. polar bear is great. sea lions. The petting zoo part of it surprised me the first time because I didn't expect it - smelly but again the kids thought it was COOL.
Admission is not too expensive but everything else is. I could imagine weekends in the spring being crazy crowded, I've never hit it on a unbearable day. If it happens to be crowded - again... you are in, you see what you want and head out the play in the rest of the park!!
Believe it or not I never even knew this place existed, I know sad :[ (My BF actually told me about it and took me here) I was amazed to be honest, WOW'd actually. The place is small but I didn't care! The penguins, OMG you guys must visit the penguins, that was my favorite :)
*Btw, this was 3 years ago and the penguins are all I remember, that's how awesome they are.
Why is this zoo getting such good reviews? Yes, there are animals visible, but the lay-out makes things crowded, and there is little in the way of education about the animals. Plus, the exhibits are small. This is one step up from looking at dogs in wire crates.
The rainforest area is stifling, and most of the indoor parts of the zoo smell bad. The bats are nearly impossible to see without disturbing them (some people had resorted to using camera flashes or cell phones to see the bats).
I found the aviary/bird enclosure to be the most enjoyable experience at the zoo. There were plenty of birds visible, and they seemed to have a fairly realistic and true-to-life habitat.
The Central Park Zoo could take a few lessons from The San Diego Zoo and Sea World. Both are located in busy parts of San Diego, but they are much more spacious for both the visitors and the animals. I mean, there's the ENTIRE park there, and they had to cram this attraction into that tiny space? I love New York, but come to San Diego if you want to see a real zoo.
I'm going to be a biased, bitter writer in this review. Just a disclaimer.
In short, the Central Park Zoo, as a zoo, doesn't cut it. Sorry. I'd rather haul my lazy ass up to the Bronx and see everything laid out in a more appealing manner and with more variety. CPZ's exhibits are cramped, dingy, and more akin to dungeons. I agree that since it's not so vast as the Bronx Zoo, it would be a good introductory zoo trip for the little ones. However, the animals I saw were really... anti-climactic. They all just seemed really depressed. Seriously.
However, the Central Park Zoo, as a social gathering, is quite nice, as long as you don't mind the stinky odors.
In concept, a zoo in the middle of Central Park sounds awesome. It's a great way to see things without the huge crowds and traveling to another borough. You could stop by here, visit, finish, and do something else in the city. However, if you want to see a thorough, comprehensive, and a near-replica of the natural habitats with wide open spaces and an exhaustive list of animals from all over the world that look happier, this is not the place.
This place is tiny, but if you are tiny, then it is monumental.
Just try watching two little girls doing an impromptu dance to the Delacorte clock music with painted chinese parasols without nearly vomiting from adorableness.
This zoo is absolutely perfect for younger kids (and me) with their (my) short attention spans. You also cannot beat the accessibility and location. My best friend was brining her 2 year-old up for a day in the city and this was the perfect spot. Her daughter loved it, but so did we! I am a big fan of the penguins and the monkeys. Very entertaining.
In summary, the Central Park Zoo is small, inexpensive and quick/easy to get through. You can really get through the whole thing in about an hour. With that being said, they really do have decent animals! It's a cool feeling to realize you are in the absolute middle of Manhattan, hanging out with wildlife.
Penguins and puffins? Check.
Ginormous polar bears? Check.
Exotic squawky birds? Check.
Crazy-faced monkeys? Check.
For these animals (and many more), I love the Central Park Zoo. I remember coming here - long ago - as a mere lass, and was thrilled to bits when my boyfriend surprised me with an outing here this past weekend. The charm and attraction is just as strong for adults as it is for children. And oh, the children, they come in hordes. So, I guess this is not a good place to go to if you don't like being around kids. But everyone is so HAPPY checking out these exotic specimens, and watching little kids ooo and aaaah and giggle just adds to the appeal (for me, at least).
The zoo is on the smaller scale, but there is still a lot to see. Start at the sea lion tank and watch those chubby creatures shamelessly sun themselves out on the rocks. Head through the penguin and puffin exhibit (yeah, you'll get used to the fishy smell) to see those adorable birds strut around the ice, nose dive into the water, and torpedo around. Meander over to the polar bears (a highlight indeed) where you will observe those MASSIVE beasts play around in the water with those big fluffy paws.
The best part is the rain forest (partly because, yes, it is HOT and HUMID and glorious inside, much appreciated on a chilly March afternoon). And yes, they simulate the rain :) We saw a bird nearly take out a woman as it swooped right over her head...I wonder how many people have been victims of that or little birdy "presents" dropped from above. The birds are just gorgeous. There are smaller exhibits for a few variety of tamarind monkeys and lemurs, etc.
Keep your ticket stub for entrance to the children's zoo (nearby) which I believe is more like a farm zoo/petting zoo.
Negative star for only accepting cash and NOT having an ATM! $10 admission seems a bit steep for this small of a zoo but...that's New York. There are senior and child (but not student) prices. Also, on the website it currently says it is open daily until 5:30 pm --- those are the SUMMER HOURS. Currently (I think until April, so not much longer) the zoo closes at 4:30.
Fantastic place for a casual and entertaining date.
Small zoo but worth it for seeing the exotic birds and wildlife. Don't mistake this for the children's zoo further uptown. You can walk thru it fairly quickly, and it does have a cafeteria with only below average fast food. Nice place to go during the warmer weather with a date, and
to enjoy Central Park.
Absolutely amazing. I hate it when you go to a zoo and you feel like you need binoculars for all of the exhibits. Everything seems so close you can almost touch it. Magical, magical, magical!
I love this Zoo!
It is compact but with a big variety of flora and fauna and playfield for children!
You do not need to walk so far as it is in Prospect Zoo and design of each area is nice.
I was very surprised to discover this cosy place in center of mega city New York!
Bravo Central Park Zoo!
I don't know about you but usually my attention span for zoos is very short. "Oh, what a cute animal!" can only last for so long before it gets tiresome. This is why I love the Central Park Zoo.
But please do not go here hoping to relive Madagascar (you know, the movie)...there are not super exotic animals at the CPZ. I love the penguin area and the polar bears the best. In college my friend shot a film project at the Central Park Zoo and we had a grand old time running around the zoo and filming the animals.
It's quick, it's small, it's easy, it's inexpensive and there are still adorable animals to fawn over.
Did you know there is actually a zoo in Manhattan (and no, I'm not talking about the DMV offices)? A zoo in Central Park, no less? I didn't, even after living here for 15 years and frequently visiting different parts of the park. Well, that all changed when I took my 5-year-old niece here while she was visiting. Victorian Gardens was way overpriced (we decided to head to Coney Island later that day instead), so we kept on walking and -- oilà! A zoo hidden right in the park.
There is a surprising variety of wildlife here, for such a small zoo. Penguins, snakes, lizards, pandas, parrots and geese. Our favorites were the sea lions, who frolic in a pool at the center of the zoo, and the polar bears, one of whom was busy doing that naughty thing that one does not want to have to explain to a 5-year-old. There's even a children's petting zoo, with sheep, goats, and an alpaca.
Prices are pretty reasonable (adults under $10).
This little zoo can't hold a candle to the world-famous zoo up in the Bronx, but it's still a fine place to entertain little kids for a couple of hours in the city.
This zoo is super cute. It isn't very large though so they do not have a lot of animals or exhibits but the idea of a zoo in central park is just too cute. A must see in NYC especially if you have young children. CASH ONLY you can buy tickets online though.
My Daughter loves this zoo...it is small ...For the little ones it is big enough to be entertaining. There were a variety of animals - polar bear, penguins, seal, etc. and rabbits, goats, pigs, etc. in the children's zoo.....I like that this zoo is not too much walking it leaves you with energy to do other activities in the day...(lunch, CP, etc.) ....Kids under 3 get in for free! , Eating area, decent bathrooms (important to find in NY), and close to all!
Okay, zoos are inherently sad and all that blah blah - but the intimacy of a zoo like this one makes the experience a lot more sweet.
Got to love the penguins - they are such a silly nature experiment. Seriously some of the most ungraceful animals ever...
The polar bears seem sad and bored, but man are they freaking huge. Amazing to be only separated by glass from something that could eat your entire torso in one bite. Gulp.
There's loads of other exhibits, including some sort of tiger or panther or something coming soon...
But the absolute best part of the zoo? The lion monkeys/tamarins. They are kind of hidden away in the sweatfest that is the amazon section, up a flight of stairs in the back. They are the most unbelievably cute animals I've ever seen in my life. If they weren't so incredibly endangered, I would consider staging a monkey heist. I dare anyone to visit those little guys and not say "Aw." I DOUBLE dare you. (ooo)
Overall, a visit that can be banged out in just an hour or two, but a nice change from the usual city grind.
Tiny zoo with small selection of animals. The red panda is adorable, and I like the rainforest area where the birds are freely flying around (although... beware of the birds perched right above your head for obvious reasons). Maybe it's because this zoo is smaller than others I've been to, but it does seem to have more, uh, odors in the exhibits than other zoos.
I really do enjoy the Central Park Zoo, and for its size, I suppose it has enough variety of animals and activities. There are, however, many better zoos - especially the Bronx Zoo and others. Like Elisabeth A. said, "Small, but nice...a little pricey for the size." - I agree completely. Since its the same price for the Bronx Zoo which is significantly larger (though I haven't been in a while, might be different now). At the CPZ, I really enjoy the feeding of the sea lions and penguins, and many of the animals are out and about in their areas, unlike many zoos where they often hide in concealed housing.
One benefit of this zoo is that you can see most of if in a timely fashion, quick enough to explore other parts of the UES or UWS in the same day.
This place is pretty cool, a mini-zoo right in the middle of the city. I think the polar bears are the big attraction. The animals don't do any Broadway shows like they do in Madagascar but my 16 month old daughter loved the bears and the monkeys none the less. The Puffins and penguins display was also a big hit. We didn't make it over to the children's zoo so I can't speak for that. It's definitely worth the $10 admission, also to update previous reviews I was able to pay for admission with my debit card. Children under 3 get in for free. You can see the entire zoo in just a few hours so it's easy to squeeze this in if you are already visiting the park.
I didn't even know this zoo existed until my husband and I stumbled upon it during a walk through the park. I loved the polar bear! We don't have those in Texas. :)
Got no weekend plans for the kids? Take the kids to the Central Park Zoo. The zoo is small but you won't get tired walking around like the Bronx Zoo but please note that you won't have a lot of animals to look at.
I enjoy the feeding of the seals. The seals are so cute! And the massive Polar Bears swimming in their pools which you can view through glass.
A beautiful day like today should be spent outdoors... so J and I went to the Zoo at Central Park.
It was smaller than I expected, but the perfect size for a toddler. Not too overwhelming...(well, it was overwhelmingly crowded, even though we were there just as it opened). The rain forest part is nicely done and we both really enjoyed that. But I actually shed a few tears when I saw the polar bear. Given his size, his "tank" was tiny. Really, it was so depressing. The penguins cheered me up for a second (they're so funny) and then I got depressed again.
It is a great little zoo, but please let the Polar bear go. And maybe some of the penguins too... there are at least a hundred in that little tank.
Some useful info:
Zoo opens at 10am
Adult: $ 8
Kids b/w 3-12: $ 3
Kids under 3: free
Penguins' Feeding Times:
10:30 and 2:30
Seals' Feeding Times
11:30, 2:00, 4:00
(you can actualy see the show without even entering the zoo, but it's not a great view).
You can also enjoy the Delacorte Clock which "dances" on the hour without entering the zoo.
The Tisch Children's Zoo, which is a petting zoo, has a separate entrance although you can use your pass to go there... but you can't get back into the main zoo again. I'm writing a separate review for that (FYI, it's fabulous!).
I have been here with my niece and nephew a few times and each time they have walked away happy :)
One star has to come off for what seems like an unnatural setting for some of the animals.
But the clock is interesting. The setting is grand for most part, being as it is in Central Park. And the facilities are well maintained.
A fun place to take kids to when you do not have an entire day at your disposal to make the trip to the Bronx Zoo.
What a great treasure to have a Zoo in Central Park. Its small and should take about an hourish to get through. I think thats what makes it so great.
My favorite is the polar bear. Man, I love polar bears.
A great place to spend an hour or two. When you think of it - its amazing that there is a POLAR BEAR in MANHATTAN! The monkeys were a blast - they must have known we were all watching cause they put on one hell of a show! We were cracking up!
We enjoyed the Central Park Zoo and its sister zoo the Tisch Children's Zoo, both of which are 10 minutes walk from our UES hotel. We came just in time for the 4 p.m. sealion feeding which was fun.
The zoo is small and manageable enough to fit into a couple of hours (we crammed everything in an hour). The polar bears are HUGE (though I felt sorry for them because it was hot today). We also liked the tropical and penguin/parafin exhibits as well.
The best part is that the $8 admission lets you in to the nearby Tisch Children's Zoo, which has space for toddlers and kids to play in. They also have a pseudo petting zoo with farm animals. Go near the end of the day when there aren't that many people there, and when it's also much cooler.
Overall, these two zoos were fun for our family. It should be on the to visit list for tourists and New Yorkers alike with children. Very reasonable admission prices too!
As a baby, my son used to wait for the "bonging clock" and ignore the live animals.
I;ve gone there since babyhood myself: renovated since then, of course. Guess I take it for granted. Used to smell much worse.
