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Santa Ana Zoo
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
37 reviews for Santa Ana Zoo
Don't go into it thinking that it's a zoo. That sounds ridiculous, but it's true. You'll be disappointed if you have visions of bears, tigers, zebras or anything of the like. What you'll see is this: about a million monkeys, a bald eagle, ostriches (or something like that), farm animals, and a really cool rainforest walk-through exhibit where the birds come right up to you. Oh yeah, and a barn area with lots of farm animals.
My 2 year old didn't need a stroller and walked through the whole thing himself.
$3/person for the train ride, which was fun enough for him. They also have a carousel, but I cheaped out and didn't have him ride it.
Bottom line: The place is super clean, looks very updated, and is worth the price of admission ($8 for adults, not sure on the kids price since my son is still free).
I think a kid any older than maybe 7 or 8 might be bored here fairly quickly, though. I'd come back again if in the area.
Need to get out of the house while the hubby watches football and your team isn't even on today?
This is the perfect zoo for you!
It's also great for:
= elementary school aged children
= those interested in standard farm animals with a few exotics.
= taking a day to visit the animals, have a picnic lunch, and be home in time for dinner.
= checking out the monkeys that look like Slash from GNR
It is very small, just like everyone else says. Although I do recall coming here on a few occasions with my childhood BFF's for our 10th birthday and having fun. As did my nieces when I took them here at the ages of 5 and 7. Hence - the idea that it's size is perfect for school age children.
They have an exhibit where you can also walk and interact with some of the animals in a perfect for the critters habitat/ecospace.
There is a small jungle gym area inside the park next to the snack shack.
The snack shack offers standard "diner" fare = Burgers, Chicken Sandwiches, Tacos. All of it made to order, so it does take a little while - but at least you know it's fresh. I've come here on a weekday to try it for lunch. You can of course bring food here as well.
Free parking - and they also have a back lot. It is gravel, so don't come in that section if you just had your car washed.
They have a cute little gift shop with various eclectic items. Some of which I was very tempted to purchase for our almost 2 year old....or me. But opted for the Farm Animal and Wild Animal set as well - both with tax for $12 - that's a dollar an animal! There is a decent selection of educational items for a wide range of ages as well.
Our other childhood best friend's memorial plaque is here. You can make contributions to the zoo in memory of loved ones. Prices vary depending on what you would like and where you want a plaque placed.
CALL AHEAD FOR DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE.
General Admission for Adults is $8
Free for Children under 3
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Um... I feel bad for reviewing this zoo. I love going to zoos and I expect to see animals in a zoo. They charge $7 for entry here and I'm not sure if they deserve it. All I see were cats & dogs. Ok fine, some monkeys... actually lots of monkeys. That's how they fill up the zoo. Oh yeah, they have horses & goats... so farm animals. Yay. The place is really tiny and the biggest part of the zoo was the playground area for the kids. What does that say about the zoo when the non-zoo area is bigger than any part of the zoo?
My only good thought: they're building stuff to make this zoo bigger. They better not be charging more for entry though.
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Just added my pics I found on my camera, nothing special but hey, my comments help them out.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/26/2009
Wow, talk about a disappointment. I was just happening to pass by & I figured I may not have brought… Read more »
All the animals are sick and depressed :( It's kinda like a hospital without doctors or nurses to cure the sick. except it cost money to go in.
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I have a little monkey.
Well, he's really a little boy, but he acts like a monkey. And he loves them, too.
So when I heard that the Santa Ana Zoo has at least 50 monkeys at all times, I knew I had to take my little monkey to meet other little monkeys for the first time. Turns out he was much more interested in the jungle gym. But that's a little monkey for you.
The Santa Ana Zoo is nothing like the San Diego or LA Zoo. Heck, it doesn't even compare to the San Francisco Zoo (which ain't saying much). However, if you're a parent or babysitter and need to take the kids someplace fun, yet cheap, than I highly recommend this place.
There are definitely lots of monkeys, but there are a variety of other typical zoo animals, a large aviary, and a petting zoo. Some of the animals are not around during the week, such as the elephants, so you might have to brave the crowds on the weekends if you want to see more. Yeah, I don't know where they keep elephants during the week either. Are they being rented out to Michael Jackson or something? Who knows.
Anyways, like I mentioned earlier, this place is cheap. Weekdays after 2pm, it's $3.50 for adults and $2.00 for kids 3 and up. Cheap, right?!? You can also buy an annual pass for $35 and go anytime...free! A family card is $55 a year. This is such a great deal if you live close by and plan on coming by often. There are a lot of fun activites for the kids, such as a playground, train, and petting zoo, so I can see why families would want an annual pass. It's basically a great park for kids of all ages.
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This is a very small zoo, so be warned. The largest animal is a very sad looking elephant that allows tourists to ride him in a very small circle. But there are plenty of monkeys (the donor that created the zoo stipulated that there must always be at least 50 monkeys in the zoo at all times), and small children love a zoo that doesn't overwhelm them.
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:( The lil animals had phone books and perfume samples from magazines and empty soda cans in their cages, the zoo keepers said that they were there to stimulate the animals.... Which didn't seem to be the case.
The areas in which the animals lived were by far the smallest living areas I have seen.....
It made us sad, I hope our zoo admission bought them some food.
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so i decided to take the kids to the zoo, not bad for a quick get away.not a huge variety of animals,but not bad for a small zoo,their is train rides,petting zoo,carosel,and a place to have your birthday party.
the food their really sucked, i payed 10 dollars and 14 cents for a louzy nacho supreme,n a large moutain dew. the drinks come with no lids or straws,the meat in the nacho supreme tasted old,sour cream a bit hot and chips were stail. not a bad place to go to get out of the house for a few hours, just don't poison your self by eating their.
They may not have lions, tigers or bears but the Santa Ana Zoo does have a lot of monkeys. Its a small zoo but if you live in Orange County, it is worth checking out. The zoo has a few spaces you can rent to have a party or something and my sister had my niece's 2nd birthday here. It was really fun and all the kids who came to the party had a good old time running around and looking at the animals.
Admission to the zoo is cheap and is a nice place to spend a few hours in the afternoon. There is a train that goes around the park and kids can ride an elephant.
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For my Animal Handling and Restraint class, we took a field trip to Santa Ana Zoo. We had a special lecture and zoo tour from one of the zookeepers. It was very informative and fun. Santa Ana Zoo is small, but they specialized in primates. Lots of monkeys. Since monkey is my favorite animal, I really like this little zoo.
The zookeeper gave us a 1 hour lecture about various animals in the zoo. She also brought couple lived one for us to play with.
For the zoo tour, I saw a monkey swinging around... kinda in a "look at me look at me" showing off way. Another little monkey was eating onion. The zookeeper told us monkeys love onion. They would even rub onion on each other because they love the smell. Quite a few lemurs were given to the zoo from a research lab. They all had cancer, and it was man-made tumors. The lab used them to do research on drugs for cancer. It was kinda sad. The zookeeper said that they can live for another 3-4 years. They like to stay in pairs and groom each other.
There are about 50 primates along with many other animals in the zoo. If you live around Orange County area, really should please pay the zoo a visit.
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It's impressive what they do with the small amount of space, but there are so many things that are more than slightly disturbing:
They bring an elephant in on the weekends for rides, they literally drive an elephant in a truck to the zoo, then they make it walk around in circles all day with kids on its back, it even has a pose for pictures. It was possibly the most depressing situation I have ever seen an elephant in first hand.
Some of the primates, and there are lots of primates, have their food hidden in cardboard boxes and other stuff that looks like trash, it is supposed to keep them stimulated. I don't know how stimulating it is to "look for" your food in a cardboard box every day, but I do know that most primates are high activity social creatures, so they need a lot more than cardboard to forget about their small, boring, often lonely cages.
There is a sizable playground section, the entire zoo was definitely designed for children. Adults could breeze through it in a few hours easily, even if you are consumed by empathy. Would I go back? Probably not. Would I suggest it to people with families? Yes. But please don't ride the elephant.
This zoo is exactly what it is supposed to be. It's a smallish city zoo with animals primarily from the New World. It's a great zoo for young children. True, it doesn't have "big ticket" animals, but it does have a nice aviary, plenty of fun monkeys, and just enough else to make it interesting for adults. You can see the entire zoo in an hour or so, which is actually nice. Some complained about the $8 entry fee, but that's less than a movie and supports animal conservation, so I don't worry about that.
Have you ever been to a zoo where you are encouraged to peek into the monkey cages and then, at lunchtime, the cafeteria serves you flame-grilled monkeyburgers? That's the kind of perversely confident "we're at the top of the food chain" outlook that the Santa ana Zoo l Insectarium exercises once a year at their annual insect tasting. I figured that, since I've kissed lipstick made of crushed-up cocshineal bugs (like it or not, most lipsticks are made from them), over the years I've been priming myself for a dish of honey-roasted crickets or caterpillar ceviche. But how do I pull off a wine pairing without looking like an unrefined slob?
Fortunately, the insectarium spared me such dinner-table anxiety, because they canceled this year's tasting. I had to settle for a box of dried, barbecue-flavored mealworms from the gift shop. Such a setback was like expecting roast suckling pig and ending up with a bag of fried pork rinds, although the literature inside the box promised that its contents occupied a loftier place on the gastronomic totem pole: "Mealworms are the stars of our insect tastings and can be prepared in lots of different ways. They are generally used to replace nuts, raisins or chocolate chips in many recipes."
Before I threw them into cookie batter, I felt I should sample a few straight from the box. They were weightless and resembled Cheetos that forgot to puff up. So wispy were the mealworms that I needed three or four in my mouth at a time to actually feel like I was chewing on something, and that's when I met with a fiery saltiness followed by a surprisingly luxurious finish of tobacco. Perhaps an up-and-coming competitor to Nicorette?
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This small city zoo. That being said....I LOVE it!! The only really BIG animal they have is a elephant (not sure if he lives there, but he gives rides). They have lots of monkeys and not much else. That said the monkeys are great and some are sooooo tiny! My son enjoys this zoo....as do I!
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its a cute lil zoo-- if youre too lazy to drive to los angeles or venture out to san diego. definitely not able to spend a day here, there isnt much to do-- but they do have a cute lil train and lots of playground structures to entertain your little kiddies.
admission is cheap and its not too hard to find :] however, i do feel for these animals in here-- i mean, they have this llama there in a fenced in area right next to the freeway. no wonder he was cranky, i would be too when all i hear is traffic all day. poor guy :[
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This isn't the biggest or most interesting zoo but it defiantly worth a visit. It isn't flashy but there are some interesting animals. I saw exotic birds, lemurs, emus, and monkeys. I was hoping to see lions, hippos, tigers, zebras, etc. But, this zoo doesn't see to have the room or funding for those types of animals. It's a nice place to spend 2 to 4 hours though. There is a little walking involved but not much.
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It's a summer weekday between 2 and 4 p.m. You have $3. What do you do? Go to the Santa Ana Zoo!
Nothing bad could be said about this zoo since admission is so cheap. Granted, some of the animals are M.I.A. but if you enjoy monkeys, this place is worth the $3.
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Goats, train ride, elephant, monkeys, snack. In that order. Every time.
This is a fantastic zoo for a pleasant family outing, especially for younger kids with shorter attention spans. Admission is only $6 for adults, $3 for kids, and tots under three are free. You can easily tour the entire zoo in an hour or two and make it home in time for lunch or naptime.
Keep in mind that this is no San Diego Zoo. Far from it. The exhibits are well-maintained, but small and you'll wonder if you took a wrong turn while passing by some dilapidated buildings before finally arriving at the zoo parking lot.
Bring snacks or pack a lunch if you plan to spend more than an hour or two at the zoo, as food offerings are limited and the line at the only snack bar can get quite long. There are a number of picnic tables throughout the zoo that are a perfect spot to take a snack break.
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This place sucks, but I give it 5 stars for the nostalgic memories of my childhood. This was the first and only place I got to ride an Elephant.
A familia and all got a nice treat one weekend. WE'RE GOING TO THE ZOO!!! "What the hell is a Zoo,"I asked. "A place where they keep animals." "Keep them, 'till when?" "Well, forever," my mom explained with a scratch of the head.
"Look, that monkey sucks his thumb just like you, Madai." My younger sister didn't stop sucking her thumb until she started kindergarden, and now she won't let her baby suck her thumb...selfish bitch.
The memories... *sigh*
I recently came here, and this dump sucks monkey balls. The elephant died and the monkeys are so depressed they won't even touch themselves. A sad site. AND what the hell is a zoo doing in Santa Ana, anyway???
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Came here with my fam and some friends. When you first get here the zoo look pretty decent. It wasn't ghetto at all. It had a nice surrounding with friendly folks. The price wasn't as bad i guess. It was only 5 bucks for adults and children 3 and up and self parking with no charge. Lets see where to begin. The zoo didn't had much animals beside monkeys and when i say that i mean there was ONLY monkeys there. Small ones, medium size one, and some really tiny ones...lol all kinds! Well actually there was one eagle and a few lamas there too. oh yea almost forgot the farm animals which you can only see if you get on the train ride which we did. The train ride was 3 buck for children over 3 and 2 and under is free with a paid adult. They have a little playground where the kids can play in and a lil food court thingy. Overall the place was ok my kids had fun. One thing i like was that it had alot of trees which meant lots of shades cause it was hot the day i went! My opinion they should have called it the monkey zoo, supposely they were suppose to have one elephant there but there wasn't any. Its a nice park wouldn't call it a zoo. You would have better luck seeing more animals at the LA zoo or San Diego zoo.
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Not really a zoo fan but I love this zoo! Perfect for the little ones under 8 it has a lot of play and hands on activities like a petting zoo, train, carousel and playground. Really yummy mexican food for lunch- great tacos. I really enjoyed their extensive collection of tiny monkeys. One had a tiny baby on her back. Small and safe feeling and intimate environment. Members (family $55 for 12 months) get into LA Zoo for half off.
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As others have said, you can't really come here and expect a world class zoo with lions and tigers and bears, but for $6 who the hell are you to complain? The hamburger you got on the way over here probably cost more than that!
I just went here this past weekend (march 31st, 2008 or something like that) and they had a SIX DAY OLD CAPUCHIN MONKEY! clinging on to it's mother for dear life! So if you go sometime soon, you'll get to see the tiny tiny capuchin as well. Just tell your kids to shut up around it, it needs its peace and quiet!
And they have huge pigs! Each pig weighed 530 pounds. Biggest pigs I've ever seen! And as others have said, they're required to keep 50 monkeys here at all times, and who doesn't love monkeys? I can watch monkeys for hours. They're the funniest animals to me by far.
Only 4 stars because it's a zoo. As David K. said, "those animals looked bored and miserable", well guess what, David - they ARE bored and miserable. I think zoos are kinda shitty in theory but so much fun in practice. And hey, it's $6. Man I'd love to be a zookeeper someday.
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I have to give this place 5 stars. For what it is, it's a GREAT little zoo. It's perfect for little kids. They don't have a lot of animals, but they have a great collection of all different types of monkeys. The man who donated the land in the 1950's had one condition: there must be at least 50 monkeys at all times.. it seems like they're still keeping with that promise!
I went with my summer camp group today and we had a great time. Admission is cheap.. our kids got in for $3 each group rate. I think regular adult admission is $6. There's LOTS of shade and nice vegetation that keeps everything cool. They have a small wild cat, a porcupine, 2 horse/llama looking things, a huge eagle nest (sadly, their eagle passed away in May, it was 25 years old!), some small marsupial looking animals, parrots, a gorgeous bird "rainforest" that is so peaceful and lush, and a complete farm with bunnies, ducks, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, and owls.
There's also a nice gift shop, surprisingly clean restrooms, a good snack bar that has Mexican food and burgers, a large playground, and train rides. There's also a huge lawn out front and they will let you take your lunch outside and then come back in when you're done.
The staff was really nice and friendly. It wasn't busy at all. I would defintely bring my kids here if I had some :) Don't go expecting a bunch of different kinds of animals a la LA/SD zoo. Go here to look at some funny monkeys, have lunch, let the kids play, and do it all for cheap and close to home.
PS.. you might want to keep the kids away from the horses because both were male and they both got um.. visibly excited. Freakiest thing I've ever seen :(
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If you think goats are not really zoo-appropriate animals or if you're uncomfortable around preschoolers or 'special needs' kids, DO NOT COME TO THE SANTA ANA ZOO. You won't enjoy it. This is NOT your San Diego Zoo or National Zoo experience.
Having said that, I love this place! More than 10 years ago, when I was working as a pediatrics home health nurse, I came here with two of my wheelchair-bound kids, and we had a great time. The staff members were, and still are, patient and friendly and helpful.
We have a membership, so David P takes Ella here in the mornings -- and as the working mama, I'm always jealous that I miss out on these adventures. Although, David P told me he and Ella once had the rare opportunity to be right in front of the sloth habitat just in time for the animal's weekly crap.
This zoo is only 12 acres, so it's the perfect size for toddlers and preschoolers to explore without getting worn out. It really is like visiting someone's big backyard, but with animals. We love the train and the farm.
And here's the best thing about SAZOO: MONKEYS!! The land donation for the zoo site came with a stipulation that the city keep at least 50 monkeys at all times. http://www.santaanazoo...
If you've read any of my family's reviews, you'll know we're all monkey-crazy.
Plus, I really enjoy the hilarious blue and yellow macaw on Monkey Row who's learned to scream like all his monkey buddies.
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I went here once in '04 and not again since. Such a sad and depressing, empty place, smack next to the smoggy, noisy 5 freeway.
Survival of the fittest. I'd rather see animals living free in the demanding wild than miserably confined, or in photographs in wildlife books from the library. :(
Take the kids and the feeble to the park for a walk instead.
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Being from Columbus, Ohio originally (the home of Jack Hanna), I can't say this was my favorite zoo. Plus, I've been to the Bronx Zoo and the Central Park Zoo (which are both pretty cool zoos). So, I wouldn't call this a world class zoo, by any means.
However, if you love monkeys (and I do), this is the zoo for you. And if you are visiting with friends under the age of 5, this is a great place for those with short attention spans. We moved from cage to cage like lightening, but got to experience monkeys, cows, horses, a wild boar, llamas, etc.
I was glad the elephant wasn't there. I saw the round path it had worn where anyone could ride it. It just made me depressed.
This was a great., short afternoon excursion. I recommend a visit to the Old Town Tustin Rutabegorz directly afterwards. Ask for crayons.
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This is a little zoo...a nice place to spend an afternoon. I come here all the time with my boyfriend. We have a lot of fun just walking around. They have like a conservation corner where they have a little presentation that highlights some of the animals they have at the zoo. It's pretty cool. Our really enjoy the farm area at the zoo. If you have a zoo membership, they have special membership appreciation days. It's fun! During the summer they have like summer night concerts. And around the holidays, they decorate the zoo and have a zoo holiday night thing several nights in December.
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A crow, a lizard and a chimpanzee. Oh, and the elephant that all of Orange County had ridden on at least once.
HARDLY a zoo.
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I had expected more from Santa Ana Zoo but was disappointed to find that the exhibits were pretty limited. There were signs displayed saying they were in the middle of renovations so maybe in a few months things will be different, however, for today, it was pretty dismal.
First of all there were only a selection of smaller primates, birds, reptiles and some farm animals. The one cool thing was that you can go on an elephant ride, but then it costs $5 on top of your entrance fee. The entrance fee of $6/adult and $3/child isn't much and with our Waikiki Aquarium membership we got a 50% discount. I wasn't complaining about the entrance fee, I felt we got a good deal. This was precisely why I didn't hesitate when lil guy wanted to ride on the elephant.
After walking around the zoo (and it took less than an hour) there was a train ride, and once again, there was a charge of $3/person. Compared to Happy Hollow in San Jose, this place had more animals but charged for every single ride. Happy Hollow didn't charge for rides. However, if it's a zoo environment you're looking for, then there just isn't enough displays to give it credibility.
Still, I'm hoping that after the renovations, things will be different, but for now, they kinda suck.
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this place is cute. something to do/go to when you're bored for the day. of course, for the price, what can you expect? for all others who were complaining, you get what you pay for. go to san diego.
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Depressing, monkey ridden zoo.
Well, that's how it might be for first time visitors, but this is a tradition for me.
My grandparents (And aunt) lived in Santa Ana, and when my birthday would come up and i would be with my grandma and aunt, we'd go to the Santa Ana zoo.
Last year was the one of the few years I haven't gone too...but obviously, this is a place for nostalgia.
Alas, the elephant is gone, but probably for the better ,yet he/she will be missed.
I love the miniature rain forest , and I remember being amazed by the bright flamingos, several birds and the scheduled "rains".
Emus and ostriches are cool birds, and I remember are placed with the llamas and horses, yet in a lonely part of the zoo.
Fruit bats amused me, but the best part are the monkeys!
Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys. Capuchins, the really loud howler monkeys...this is where i learned about monkeys.
There's also some macaws, and this sad section of a mock cut up rainforest.
Boas are also some residents here, and I think there might be a reptile house with some insects, I can't remember.
Another beautiful place is the lake with a bridge and a waterfowl where some swans make it their home.
For a child around 8 years old, the Santa Ana Zoo is defenately a magical place.
Besides, the small size of it is perfect for toddlers.
When you're done, head outside to eat sandwiches! There's this great Italian restaurant/deli where you can buy some sandwiches.
Those animals looked bored and miserable. I understand its a place for kids. Not a problem. Its just such a sad place. The pacing back and forth of the wild animals. Large birds in cages all day long. Even inmates at Pelican Bay have exercise time. It makes money so what can anyone do?
Sure, it's not the LA or San Diego Zoo, but this a great educational outing for kids and adults alike. We went here on a field trip when I was a kid, and I worked here after college in the Friends of the Santa Ana Zoo gift store for a few months. There were moms who bought memberships and brought their kids here in the summer or after school every day. Talk about cheap entertainment!
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No crowds, dirt-cheap admission, clean grounds, a playground, and a collection of 150 animals or so (including the 50 mandatory monkeys). No, it's not the San Diego Zoo, but it's a great value for running the kids around.
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nice afternoon outing with small children. playgrounds, picnic areas, bring your own or buy food there. small zoo, sometimes a learning activity with animals. train ride. elephant rides in fall. a good time for families or parties for children.
i don't know why they call it a zoo. it's not. drive the extra miles to go to at least the LA zoo. come on! if i could give negative stars, i would.
