Birmingham Zoo — Attraction in Birmingham

I remember reading reviews of this place online before I went. I don't know what the issue is with many of these reviewers, but my husband and I just took our two kids there the other day, and it was a very lovely experience! Claims of the zoo being "run down" and having "hardly any animals" are completely unfounded. There are only a few exhibits not currently inhabited but most all of them are, and they have new attractions coming very soon. The only exhibit even of note that was missing an animal was the cougar exhibit. They still had a lion, some elephants, giraffes, zebras, etc. Anyway, some people who have been there several times may be bored I suppose if they go there all the time, since they said the place hasn't changed since they were a kid, but in my opinion the place is very well maintained, the animals look well fed and cared for, for being in captivity, and are cared for by veterinarians. There are even signs on the exhibit windows informing visitors if an animal is currently under a veterinarians care. And yes, the gift shops and restaurants are pretty expensive, but a zoo is basically an animal theme park so this should be expected. Be prepared to spend a lot of money because it is indeed a zoo after all. But even if you don't have a lot of money, you can get discounted tickets with proof of eligibility (Such as a military ID or an EBT card and/or your drivers license), you can leave the zoo and eat lunch somewhere else for cheaper (or even pack a lunch into a cooler and come eat it in your car which is what several people have told me they've done before), and you don't habe to buy souvenirs or use paid-for attractions like the diamond express train or the adventure tower. Your visit to the zoo will still be an amazing experience especially for those who are coming there for the first time, even withiut all the bells and whistles.

If you are like me and were wondering what exactly the fine line is between you cant bring any food inside or can you, the answer is, if you have a child with special needs, if you have medical needs, or you have young children who can't or wont eat the food available at the zoo - or are an infant still needing breastmilk or formula - you are absolutely allowed to bring it. They do not check your bags, and even when staff have seen us with snacks for our toddler and milk for our baby and sippy cups, they never said anything. In fact they didnt comment on my husband and I using our own refillable water bottles and they do have a water fountain by the restrooms that was a water bottle refilling station type of drinking fountain. From what I have been told, for the most part, they 1), want you to be respectful and mindful of the fact that they are a zoo and need to pay the bills and feed their animals and so alsp need you to help them out by buying meals and souvenirs from the zoo (admission alone likely wont pay for all of that), and 2), it is a liability issue for the park if they let you bring your own food (don't officially state somewhere its not allowed) because other guests may have allergies or they could even get in trouble if you choke on your own food while at their park, and 3), they will likely get lower insurance rates for their zoo if they have stated officially that guests are not allowed to bring outside food or drinks. Sadly, this rule also stems from the fact that if not told, people will really try and bring food to feed the zoo animals which is absolutely inappropriate and prohibited. As stated on their website, these animals are not able to eat just any kind of food, and giving them food not appropriate for their diet can make them very sick and mess up their digestive health. So please.....don't be that person....just don't do it! That is zoo etiquette 101. If you do want to feed a zoo animal, however, they do have a few feeding experiences with animals such as the giraffes that are available for purchase at the zoo.

Lastly, this zoo has a nursing room, family bathrooms, a sensory room, and even "headphone zones"...

We visited the zoo on a Wednesday morning during our summer vacation. We arrived one hour after opening. The lot was probably half full. No waiting at any of the ticket booths out front. They no longer have paper maps, which is great for the environment but not practical for those that don't want to kill thier cell phone battery using GPS to easily navigate the digital map they offer.

Tickets were pricey...$14+tax for kids under 12. $19 plus tax for adults. We had a discount on one adult ticket as the person buying the tickets had a military I.D. Usually places give a military discount across the entire purchase, but they only gave it on his particular ticket.

Once inside, my children's excitement (and mine) quickly began to wane. One exhibit after another and no animals. We immediately went to see the elephants and there were only zookeepers there cleaning. Went on to the rhino cage and there was none there (exhibit being built). We went to the trail for local animals and no bears, despite a bear icon being shown on the map. Went through the primate exhibit and at least 3 of the animals were not there. Went into the reptile exhibit and the main attraction, the Komodo Dragon, was not there. There were no tigers, hyenas, hippos, chimpanzees or many of the other big animals you would expect to see in African/Asian habitat areas of a zoo.

We stayed for a little over 2 hours and after circling back a couple times, we were finally able to see the elephants right before we left at least.

We bought the kids drinks to beat the summer heat, a 20 ounce soda and a Powerade. These two drinks were just over $9. I assume these high prices for tickets, beverages, etc are to help with the high cost of maintaining so many big animals, however the high cost to the customer should also mean more effort should be put into providing a good experience. For example, couldn't the zookeepers have cleaned the habitat BEFORE the zoo opened? Elephants, lions, tigers, etc are the main attractions...they should be available to view by opening time as a rule considering the high prices. No one wants to visit a zoo, pay high prices, walk around in the heat, only to leave without seeing the animals they came for.

I would not...

KEEP YOUR MONEY OR PICK ANOTHER ATTRACTION TO GO TO!!! We had planned this trip for over a month. My grand-littles were so excited to go see ALL THE ANIMALS at the zoo. So Saturday morning our group of 10 ppl ranging in age from 4yo to 69yo traveled 2 hours one way paid $10.95 to $19.95 per ticket to get in and another $40 plus for the little 8 min train ride (that ended up being the highlight of the day) walked almost 4 miles LOOKING FOR ANIMALS.... I thought we were going to the ZOO where animals live... not on a SCAVENGER HUNT for animals that should have been there!!!... Seriously the habitats closed for renovations outnumbered the ones that had animals in them 3 or 4 to 1 and 75% of the occupied habitats were birds. The splash pad was a complete joke... it was 2 small areas side by side that had jets that shot water from the ground straight up and about half of them didn't spray. There was no kiddies water slide or cute little frogs or gators shooting water or water dumping from little buckets like every splash pad I know of has. Also there was no employee working the splash pad area so when another guest got upset and she was voicing it because she got splashed by a child with water from the splash pad that she was standing with her feet in... Well It just so happened to be MY little 4 yo grandchild that had apparently accidentally splashed her while playing with his cousin and brother. Who would think standing with your feet in a WATER SPLASH PAD + KIDS + HOT SUMMER DAY could/would = GETTING WET!!!! 🤷However since there was no employee in the area to handle the woman and her issue I went I talked to my grandson ( and again he is 4) about not splashing and he told the lady he was sorry immediately on his own without being made to do so. Lastly, I have to mention that the bathrooms were super dirty and not ever stocked when we arrived at 10ish am. SUPER DISAPPOINTED!!!! Having my family all together for the day was amazing but owners/ upper management/ the big sponsors/ boards/ or anyone else that make controlling decisions at the Birmingham Zoo should be EMBARRASSED of the way that zoo is being run...