Fort Worth Zoo — Attraction in Fort Worth

This is my Honest Review and A Word of Caution for Parents with Young Children

I’ve been visiting the Fort Worth Zoo since I was a child, and bringing my own kids here has been a special experience. That’s why writing this review is difficult. I’m not here to bash the zoo, but to offer a sincere warning to fellow parents with little ones.

My Concern:

Over the last two months, I’ve taken my two children (a 2 year old and a 4 month old) to the zoo three times. Each time, my 2 year old has gotten sick within hours of our visit, and this last trip, both of my kids came down with congestion and runny noses. What’s frustrating is that we took every precaution wiping hands, cleaning after each attraction, avoiding overly crowded areas but it didn’t seem to help.

I can’t say for sure what’s causing it, but I suspect it may be something in the air or the cleanliness of high touched surfaces like the exhibit glass, which often looks smudged. While I do think the zoo tries to maintain cleanliness, it may not be enough especially for very young children with developing immune systems.

We are not alone either. I’ve overheard and spoken to other parents who have had similar experiences kids getting sick shortly after a zoo visit. That’s raised some red flags for me.

Because of this, although we have a membership, we’ve decided to take a break from visiting for now at least until we feel it’s safe to return. I truly hope the zoo can take further steps to sanitize more effectively, especially in high traffic, kid friendly areas. If this issue improves, I would happily update my review.

Now the Positive:

The Fort Worth Zoo is an amazing place. It’s constantly improving, adding new exhibits, and offering fun experiences for families. The staff have always been friendly, helpful, and welcoming, never a bad encounter.

One great perk for members is early admission at 9 AM, which helps beat some of the crowds. While it can get a bit packed in popular areas, there are usually multiple angles to view animals, which makes navigating easier even when it’s busy.

There’s truly a lot to see and do, and under normal circumstances, I’d say the membership is absolutely worth it.

This review is written with love and concern not to bash. I hope it encourages the zoo to double down on sanitation efforts and helps other parents stay cautious. Hand-washing and sanitizing after each exhibit is a must.

This place could easily be a 5 star experience, and I hope it will...

I heard from many that the Fort Worth Zoo was better than the Dallas Zoo - I disagree.

The positives were the health of the Animals. They all seemed happy and looked after. Many of the attractions were right up against the barrier/windows, such as the Tiger. Often you have to scour the habitat looking for the sleeping animal hiding in the corner. Which suggests to me that the animals are not overwhelmed and are relaxed. The Rhinos were particularly spectacular.

The zoo is very well equipped for children (strollers) and other accessibility demands.

The range of Animals was decent; although we did personally find that there was a lot of Birds. I'm a big bird fan, but if you're less inclined to see birds there was a stretch from the Asian Predators to the Texas Wilds that was roughly a 10-minute one way walk consisting of just Birds and empty attractions with a single dippin dots vendor in the middle. The Raven was shockingly large though and very cool to see in person.

The negatives. The Zoo Layout is very lopsided. 80% of what you want to see is all to the East but if you make the mistake of heading West towards the Texas Wild without knowing it (because the map is virtual but I want to use my phone to take pictures), you'll spend a good 20 minutes additional walking for very few attractions.

The big negative was the lack of amenities. It's a Saturday in Summer, in the middle of Texas. I believe the high that day was 114 degrees in some regions and none of the Ice Cream vendors were open until noon. It's Texas. It's Summer. It's the weekend. Open the ice cream vendors sooner in the day; The most common phrase I heard was "it's not open yet". We arrived at 9am precisely to beat the heat but it's Texas, it was not long lived.

We went to the Crocodile Cafe. There was a beautiful Crocodile and water attraction against the windows to provide an almost under-water experience. But we couldn't sit there, because the "cafe" was filled with employees taking up the prime tables, leaving customers to sit by the condiments and trash bins. My wife paid something like $4 for a Soda (and refills cost almost an additional $2 extra per), there was no syrup in the drink. When my wife informed the cashier she stared at my Wife as if she was lying, until about 30 seconds later, trying it herself.

The last gripe is the Splash Pad. $6 per person, so $20 for me and my wife to take our child to cool off - Was...

I don't have one single complaint! Our family of 5 (aged 9-60) had the most marvelous time We've ever had! We've been to many zoos over the past several years. San Antonio, the Ohio Columbus zoo, and many, many more. Never before have we seen such a lovely park!

All, and I do mean all, of the animals were out to visit. The enclosures were spacious and well-kempt. The animals seemed to have many activities, good nutrition, and room to roam. Viewing points are well placed and glass kept clean for photos. Most viewing areas enable you get very close to the animals. Small children will enjoy it as well, as they can access all of view points! Even the reptile house had a step so smaller children could easily see into the taller tanks.

The park itself was sparkling clean. From pathways to bathrooms to restaurants. I didn't see one rogue cup or shred of a wrapper. The ambiance was wonderfully beautiful! Many species of plants line the pathways. There are numerous benches to take a rest. If you're handicap or older, the entire zoo is your playground! Absolutely every single exhibit is handicap accessible! Wheelchairs and electric chairs can be used everywhere. Shade is easy to come by. Light music in the "civilized" areas, such as the Texas Wild area and gift shops, can be heard. The indoor enclosures were air-conditioned. The staff were incredibly friendly, personable and prevalent. They answered every question we had with detail.

The food was scrumptious and cheap for such an establishment! Our hungry family of 5 ate a massive meal in the Texas Wild area, of pizza and barbecue. Drinks, meals and desserts came to $70. The gift shops were also very reasonable! We spent about $50 for 2 larger toys and a couple key chains. And let's not forget the actual admission and parking cost! $86 for 5 to enter! To put these prices into perspective, another option for our family was the Dallas aquarium. Which was going to be $200 JUST TO ENTER. It took us 6 hours to see everything but if you're handicapped or just want to take your time like us, we HIGHLY recommend making a day of it! Go for the full 7 hours that the park is open!

I could go on and on. The park is hands down the most wonderful zoo that our family has had the pleasure of visiting!

10/10! Highly recommend! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WE...