Assiniboine Park Zoo — Attraction in Winnipeg

My Honest Review of Assiniboine Zoo

When it comes to the beauty of a zoo, I can confidently say that Assiniboine Zoo is absolutely stunning. I love how spacious the landmass is, it’s an open, airy environment where every animal seems to have their own palace. The layout is beautiful, and I truly appreciate how the animals are given so much room to roam. This was my second visit, and I genuinely enjoyed just walking around, exploring the different sections of the zoo. I love the experience of strolling through the ranches and visiting various parts of the zoo, it feels like a peaceful adventure.

One special thing about Assiniboine Zoo is that they also have an exhibition section that changes from time to time. The first time I visited, there was an exhibition for something else — I can’t quite remember, maybe it was butterflies. But this second visit featured a dinosaur exhibition, and it was amazing! The dinosaurs looked so realistic. The kids absolutely loved it, and even we adults were so impressed. They were huge, they moved, and they made sounds. It was honestly very, very nice, and added an exciting twist to the overall experience.

However, when it comes to the actual zoo experience, which is getting to see the animals, I must say I was just a little bit disappointed, and this is simply my fair observation. Despite the good weather and perfect timing on my second visit, I found that many of the notable animals were either not visible or difficult to spot. Sometimes they’re sleeping, and because their enclosures are so large, they may be resting far from view. So you might find yourself walking through the zoo and not being able to see many animals up close.

The space is great for the animals’ well-being, but it makes it hard for visitors to have that close-up zoo experience. Imagine going in with the hope of seeing ten animals, but only getting to see four or five, that can be a bit of a letdown.

Also, compared to a zoo like the Calgary Zoo, Assiniboine doesn’t have as many animals. And even the ones they do have aren’t always easy to spot. That said, I’m still very happy that both times I visited, I was able to see the polar bear, which was a highlight! The second time, I didn’t really get to see the tiger clearly because he was sleeping and quite far away.

So, my advice is, if you're planning to visit Assiniboine Zoo solely to see the animals, go with an open mind, there’s a chance you might not get to see all of them. But if you’re going for the ambience and the overall experience, you’ll still enjoy yourself. There’s a peaceful, refreshing vibe to the entire space that’s worth appreciating, beyond just the animals.

All in all, it’s not a bad zoo. I still had a great time during my second visit, and I wouldn’t mind going again, especially if I have...

The only reason for the missing star is the entrance fee. As a kid, the zoo was a standard summer Sunday excursion for my family, and I used to take my kids there too. Since they started charging for admission it has become a special occasion outing and I think I've been maybe 3 times. My son and his wife love going, and have season passes, and visit it all through the year. We joined them on a nice couple of hours walk, about 2 miles, slowly rambling through the zoo, stopping in the bird house, monkey house etc and having lunch in the Tundra grill.

The display areas are very nice, much bigger and more humane than 50 years ago. The animals are impressive, and there are lots of helpful, knowledgeable volunteers, even in the -15 weather we visited during.

The Tundra Cafe is a burger style eating place, with lots of support for families. Aunt Sally's Farm is a thing remembered only by us oldies, but the play area here is still fun, and a lot less scary for the animals.

An additional feature of the grill is the view. You are looking out at the polar bear area and we got quite the floor show, the bears came right up to the windows and looked in at us, and then proceeded to goof around right in front of us.

I had the big burger meal, but there are smaller meals as well as vegetarian options. I just missed the park breakfast meal due to getting there just after 11:00 but it looks like a good deal. Food was very good, hot fresh and generous servings. A bit more than a McD's but the floor show seemed worth it.

We explored the aquarium exhibit, watching the seals power round the tank, and were fortunate enough to be given another show by the polar bear who jumped in and swam around and over us.

I would like to go back, but the admission fee is pretty high for a pensioner, I'll probably wait till early summer to see the changes and maybe a few more animals.

20241024 Was invited to an event at the Polar Bear house. It is a very nice facility, we had a talk and a show in the small auditorium, which functions very like an old planetarium, and of course there is the observation tunnels for the bears and the seals.. I was also on the fringe of Boo at the Zoo which seems like a lot of fun. Again, I haven't attended since my kids outgrew it, but I think it looked like a...

I have been to this zoo probably every year for about 21 years, and always enjoyed it. This most recent time I was very excited to see one of the wolves walking around, as they have always been sleeping every other time. We also saw the red panda eating right by the glass which was super cool, he is usually sleeping as well. Sadly the polar bears weren't very active, we just saw one sleeping by the glass, but that's okay! Not like they can control the animals. But it is always a big highlight when you get lucky enough to be in the glass tunnel when the polar bears are playing. It has happened to me a couple of times. Even though they weren't in the water this time there was a pretty big bottleneck in the glass tunnel and a big crowd in the seal area. I know it would be inconvenient but maybe to avoid this they could give a timed entry ticket to go into the journey to Churchill building? We didn't bother going into the big bug attraction, the idea of it was disgusting to us but might be cool to a kid who's into bugs. We loved seeing a sloth in the other attraction. (In the blue building) My daughter loved Aunt Sally's farm, she was so excited to see them feeding the goats and llamas while we were there. We were sad that the horses were in a paddock so far away and they weren't doing wagon rides, which I found odd since it was father's day. (Maybe they aren't doing them at all this year?) There were also a fair amount of food vendors that were closed but we did get some shaved ice which was good. I know that the ice cream place was open as well. Overall we had a great time at the zoo, and my daughter loved it! One thing I would like to see them add are more outdoor play areas, we liked the whale skeleton. I know they used to have one by the camels that I loved when I was a kid but it's no longer there. They do have the polar playground in the restaurant but I find that's geared towards older kids (like 5+). I would love to see a more toddler friendly area! Also maybe they do have one and I missed it but it would be awesome if they would have a nursing room for us mamas...