We have been zoo members for the last several months now, and here is my honest review:

The good: There are so many wonderful exhibits and chances to interact with the animals. The zoo is larger than we first anticipated and you are able to see so many different animals in each area. The guinea pigs were such a fun surprise! As was the fact that they all have names that their caretaker has memorized. So cute.

Coming from Ohio as former Columbus Zoo members, we were pleasantly surprised at how well cared for the animals here seem, as most zoos can’t seem to compare. My toddler particularly loves the farm areas, and enjoys petting the goats, feeding the chickens, and watching the koi fish swim in the pond.

It has beautiful Mountain views, decent restaurants, and the Shrine of the Sun is a fun little drive and side trip.

You can bring your own food and drinks inside, and they have lots of places to sit and rest.

The bad: Its on the mountain, so it can be difficult to walk. The Shrine of the Sun has weird hours that don’t always follow what’s posted.

The timed entry for members is ridiculous. There have been several times that there weren't any member tickets available until after 11:30, but they have non-member tickets available 2 or three hours earlier. As someone with a toddler who likes to visit in the morning before it gets too hot and is his name time, who can also can be unpredictable in his attitude or habits, this is super inconvenient as I can’t always plan far in advance.

Also, even though I have an account and have to sign in to “buy” the tickets, it has me put my name, phone number, email, and full address every time…which is kind of annoying and feels totally unnecessary since I have to log in to my account with all that info right there.

Staff can be hit or miss. Some have been so friendly and informative, while others have been condescending or kind of rude. The ones “managing” the parking lot seem to have little to no idea how traffic flow works. It almost feels like their directions cause more of a traffic issue than if they just left it alone. Idk, they’re doing their best, I’m sure.

Dog days at the zoo just feels like a horrible idea. I know they must make a ton of cash off the people that feel the need to take their dogs everywhere, but after that elephant died at another zoo because of stress from an interaction with a barking dog, it seems like an unnecessary risk to the animals who live there.

Overall, we enjoy our membership but probably won’t renew again. It’s a fun zoo to visit, but as others have mentioned as well, seems to have some management issues.