San Diego Zoo

With a price of $40/person (last time I was there) this was a huge rip off. Somehow their promotion department has created an image of the zoo being a great place to see animals in close to 'natural habitats'. No way! The facilities for both the animals and visitors are sub par and the venue seems to be designed around selling food and souvenirs. I dislike the concept of zoos to begin with and this place should be closed.

This is the biggest zoo I have ever seen. We were walking for more than 7 hours and we got to see every animal in there. There is nothing that called my attention much, probably the big cat trial was the best part of the Zoo. We walked it later afternoon so we saw the Panther, the Mountain Lion and some other big felines when they were waking up.

Other than that, probably the reptiles and the big Galapagos were ok.

The facility is huge and well maintained.

Parking wasn't difficult once we found our there is a big extra parking lot on the side of the zoo main entrance.

San Diego Zoo has got to be the greatest gathering of various types of animals around and by far the best zoo I've ever seen. I've been to many zoo's from coast to coast and many parts around the world. The San Diego Zoo has so many things going for it that many people that gave it a bad rating don't know about. All I have to say to those that didn't have a good experience is do your research next time and search for what you want to do and what you want to see and experience and by god it will be there for you. Being one of the worlds finest zoo's you are going to have large crowds, so all the concessions is to accommodate the large crowds. Many people don't realize just how expensive it is in San Diego and that it cost alot of money to feed and house the animals, as well as the grounds at the Zoo, plus taking care of employees. So most of the high cost of concessions is to help off set the moneys it take to run and take care of this world famous zoo. There are many ways to get discounts for the San Diego Zoo all you need to do is a little RESEARCH and the information is out there. I've been going to the San Diego Zoo for over 20 years now and still to this day am amazed to see so many new and exciting things each and every time. It take more than one visit to see all of the San Diego Zoo. So come back and see something different.

To all that are thinking of coming to San Diego and seeing the Zoo please do your self a favor and research what you want to see and do at the zoo and you wont be dissapointed but remember on the weekends you will have very large crowds so plan for that or durring the summer months the zoo is open late "9pm" so come later and see something different that you wouldn't see durring the day light hours.

I was disappointed with the San Diego Zoo. Although they have terrific marketing, the zoo itself is nowhere near the best in the United States, or even the best in California.

To begin with, admission to the zoo is overpriced. Entry for two adults costs over $60. That's a lot of money for entry to a zoo. We paid it, and were expecting a lot.

For the most part, the animal exhibits are large and reasonably well designed. The apes are given large enclosures with huge glass walls and you can really see them run around, which is a treat. The giant panda exhibit is nice but not as good as the one at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

There are a lot of hills in the zoo and the flow for people visiting is not well designed. A lot of times you find yourself walking up and down along the same hill, past the same enclosures you've already seen. It would be nice if more of the canyon paths connected so that you could walk through the zoo without walking past the same stuff.

The children's zoo is really bad. It's cramped, dark, and in disrepair.

There is a lot of land to cover and for that reason they have diesel tour buses that will take you around the large animal exhibits if you want. We didn't want this and it detracted from the experience to have noisy, smelly diesel tour buses disgorging overweight adults while trying to stroll along next to the elephants.

In the San Diego Zoo, there are an overabundance of snack bars and cafes. Every time you turn around there was a different place selling bad, overpriced food to people. A lot of times it felt like we were in a giant snack bar that happened to have animals. I can see why they don't want to allow people to bring their own food inside the zoo, but it reinforces my negative impression of the place.

I doubt I'll be returning to this zoo.

It's definitely the most awesome zoo I've been to!

The San Diego Zoo is the best in the world. The animals, terrain and and lay out of the zoo are wonderful. The zoo's conservation efforts are world renowned. For those who love zoos and all that they have to offer, this zoo should be on your "To Do"list!

More hype than what I saw. I would love to go behind the exhibits that were "closed" but couldn't. What I was able to see put it on parr with a good zoo but certainly not the great zoo that I was expecting. The things that they were doing in the closed area maybe is what makes San Diego great and is something my children will appreciate it. I put it at OK.

Being a native San Diegan myself, I do admit to being biased about this zoo. It's awesome and it's a great way to be educated on conservation and wildlife. Like one poster said, it is the king of all zoos.

among the most rotten places on earth

I was expecting the ultimate zoo experience so I was a bit disappointed. It is above average as far as zoos go but I wouldn't say its the best in the country.

Not nearly as nice as the Cincinnati Zoo.

I was really looking forward to this but I was disappointed. It was great to see the Pandas but most of the other exhibits had very few animals in them and it was not like they were all nocturnal. If you are going to this zoo be well rested because like most of San Diego it sits in gulleys. I also got a great discount with my AAA card. Get the package with the bus access, you are going to need it.

The World Famous San Diego Zoo is truly the King of Zoos. Every species of animal you would ever care to see is featured there. Their gorilla exhibit is superlative. And though you get rushed through the panda exhibit, where else would you even get to see a panda. Other personal favorites are the hippos and the children's zoo area. However, there is just a bit too much zoo for a family of 4 to handle. You will be exhausted (it's hilly) if you try to do the entire zoo in a day. There is also an overabundance of bird and reptile exhibits that, while many species are majestic, you start to say, see one snake you seen them all. The zoo has gotten much more commercialized than my last visit there in 1997. It seems they have replaced beasts with bistros. In the final analysis, something to the magnitude of the Philadelphia Zoo is more palatable.

The zoo provides a stour that really gives you an overview of this extrodinary collection of animals including manythat are rarely seen elsewere. The habitats look natural and the parks vegitation adds to an evnironment of extrodinary beauty. Michael Grossman, Berkeley, CA

Highly overated. There are far too many birds at this zoo, and that panda bear sucks ass, she'd make a better lunch for the guests.

Expensive and pretty overrated; with all the hype I genuinely expected more. This zoo certainly has a good - if somewhat deceptive - PR machine going for it, with numerous shows relating to it on the Discovery Channel especially. However, it seems to be always crowded, you cannot get very close to most of the animals and it's petting zoo is small and pathetically inadequate. The pandas are cute and all but are they really worth waiting in line 45 minutes just to see? If you have kids in particular, I reccomend a smaller, more traditional, less glitzy-style zoo - you'll save yourself a ton of money and likely have a better, more hassle-free experience.