Cleveland Metroparks Zoo — Attraction in Cleveland

Went to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and had the WORST & MOST UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE EVER!!! We (my friend, her 10 year old son, and myself) were at the giraffe enclosure. It was about 4:30 pm, and the zoo closed at 5:00, so it was not very busy on the giraffe deck. There were 3 staff members visible to us, and one I did not see; I don’t know where she was at. I bought the lettuce from one lady who said NOTHING except the cost of the lettuce being cheaper because I am a Zoo member. Well, I paid the lady got the receipt and walked over to the other side of the deck where the two staff members had the buckets holding the leaves of lettuce. I handed her my receipt. The lady started to hand me lettuce and mention hand sanitizing to me. I had told her everyone had just used it but that the little boy in the LeBron James jersey would be the one doing most of the feeding. Mind you I only had four pieces of lettuce. She asked where he was at. I pointed him out where he was standing near his mother, which is the exact same spot that we stopped in when we walked down the ramp to the giraffe deck and stopped. Now comes the problem… nobody, and I do mean, nobody said anything to us regarding where we were standing or what to do or not to do. And I mean, nobody! Nobody said anything to me and nobody said anything to my friend. I walked back to where I pointed to where we were standing, and we started to feed the giraffes. Just like I always do when I go there, I fed the giraffe the lettuce and patted his nose. Apparently you were not supposed to do that, however, I did not know that. When she SCREAMED at me, I must have apologized at least 25+ times! I would never do anything to any animal to hurt it!!! Its also not anything that I haven’t done every single time that I have been at the zoo and nobody has said anything to me! Until tonight. The video attached is just the very beginning where voices were not raised yet and it has just happened. You CLEARLY hear me say, please do not smack me. BUT THE LIARS ARE SAYING SHE DIDNT DO IT?!?! Really!? Because this girl came out out of nowhere, ran across the deck, started screaming at me, and I do mean screaming! In front of me, and all of the other guests! My hands were raised as I was backing away from her, and she literally smacked me. You hear me say please don’t smack me! Listening back, I can’t believe how calm I was! I was trying to remember that I had a 10-year-old child with me. Because my hand instantly came back cocked and I almost clocked her! This girl would not stop screaming! I must’ve said 1 million times to her “OK, OK I heard you!” She just kept coming at me. Two other staff members stepped in and I apologized again to the other staff member telling her that I am sorry, I’ve done it all the time. I did not know it was an issue and I would never do it again, but the girl had no right putting her freaking hands on me, & to scream at me the entire time. I then started yelling back! I did not swear at that point I was just telling her she is not going to touch me and she wasn’t gonna talk to me like that. I could not believe what had just happened! Nobody said anything to us about where we were standing, and I found out later from another staff member, that there is supposed to be a staff member standing at the bottom of the ramp where we walked down to the deck, telling people what to do and where to go. But all of the staff member was huddled over on the one side so they could all talk to each other. Well, as I left the park, I requested to speak with management. By the third management person, I spoke to, with a smirk on her face, said she’s aware of what happened that she was called as soon as it happened and that she has witness statements from the four staff members that were present that the girl never touched me. Really? You think they’re not gonna say that? THEIR STAFF MEMBER PUT HER HANDS ON ME FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON! And what’s being done? NOTHING! Pathetic and SO unprofessional! I have ZERO reason to make this up! (Tara M....

Went on a Wednesday, in July. The park is beautifully kept and enjoyable to walkthrough. There were plenty of places for rest stops and available clean restrooms. Love the different restroom themes throughout the zoo. There wasn't a whole lot of food options for me particularly, but was happy to find some fresh fruit at one of the food vendors. Many of the small concession stands were closed. But there were a few open and a food court with fast food options on the lower level. I actually don't believe in zoos, especially for animals that need a lot more space to live in, however, all of the animals looked well and taken care of. Saw elephants, giraffes, bears, wolves, flamingos, kangaroos and goats. I've visited this zoo multiple times and the Australian area and house became one of my favorite areas, and the Australian house there has usually been open for the public. This day it was not. On Wedsday. I think this was later in the afternoon. The doors were locked and had a sign on them that alerted to limited access. Was not clear on whether it was closed temporarily or permanently. I also don't remember any signs of the house being closed at the ticket window, at entrance to the park, on any of the zoo's maps, or at the gates upon entering the area of the house. Looking into the window I saw people inside. While on the house's porch, who I assumed was an employee, was entering into the house and so I mentioned that it used to be open to the public and she answered to me that it used to be, but now was used for employees. 😳 I asked on maps for the zoo if it was still open to the public as well as on the internet and the answer was yes. So, what is it? Is the Australian house closed or is it open to the public/visitors to the park? The Australian area itself was available and was enjoyed. Stayed awhile and enjoyed the area, the porch, the train ride, and seeing the kangaroos and goats. Visited the Wolf Lodge as well and glad to see that that's still there and open. And the lanterns for the Asian Lantern Festival throughout the park were...

I have been going to the Cleveland metroparks zoo since I was an infant. My parents live just 3 minutes away so we used to go all the time. My wife had season passes for several years as we ended up buying a home only 6 minutes from the zoo several years ago. We have since moved a bit further away but still have tried to visit at a few times since.

My most recent trip was for a vendor sponsored event. One of our vendors was hosting an event about e-waste and e-recycling and was hosting the event at the stillwater event building. It was my first time visiting and being inside the facility. It is quite modern with lots of small amenity touches that make it a great meeting space.

The event started out in the lion parking lot with a special tram that we all loaded up on and then it wisked us all the way to the entrance of stillwater. The vehicle had a cooling system that helped keep the temperature comfortable as we waited and then traveled.

The only distraction for me personally was they have the eagle zip line ride that can be easily seen from inside the venue and I must admit it grabbed my attention a few times as the two cars zipped up and then back. Absolutely not a negative but felt the need to mention it as I noticed I was not the only one that was occasionally looking outside to watch them.

Upon conclusion of the panel discussion, we were loaded up on a tram and taken to the primate and aquatics building and went to the new gorilla habitat in the back. A zoo director ( I believe) gave us some very fascinating insight into the impact mining operations for minerals used in electronics has lead to habitat loss for gorillas and how they partner with our vendor to help with restoration efforts in these regions.

Was a great day out at the zoo and the experience was wonderful start to finish.

I always recommend this zoo and its amazing how you can take something so special for granted until you experience other facilities in other states to see how...