Detroit Zoo — Attraction in Royal Oak

A Day at the Detroit Zoo – Family-Friendly, Fun, and Full of Wildlife!

We recently spent a full day at the Detroit Zoo, and overall, it was a fun and memorable experience—especially for families with young kids or animal lovers. The zoo is spread out over a large, well-maintained space, which gives the animals plenty of room and creates a nice walking environment for visitors. Here’s a breakdown of our visit:

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🦁 Animal Highlights – A Great Mix of Wildlife • The African animals stole the show. We got to see lions, zebras, and giraffes up close, and they were easily some of the most exciting parts of our day. The lion enclosure is expansive, and watching them relax under the trees or patrol the area felt surreal. • Zebras and giraffes are part of the African Grasslands exhibit, and the open layout makes you feel like you’re on a mini safari. The giraffes especially were a favorite—they came close to the edge, which was exciting for the kids. • The tiger exhibit was impressive too. These majestic cats were active during our visit, pacing their habitat and occasionally stopping to stare right at the glass—mesmerizing! • The Butterfly House was a surprisingly beautiful and peaceful stop. It’s a lush, tropical space where butterflies freely flutter around you. Kids loved it, and it’s a great place to take photos. • Don’t miss the aviary either—walking through the bird habitat where colorful birds fly around you is like stepping into a nature documentary.

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🐍 Reptile Section – A Bit Underwhelming

Compared to the lively energy of the other exhibits, the Reptile Conservation Center felt a little dull. The lighting is low, and while they have snakes, turtles, and lizards, the setup didn’t really capture our interest. It’s worth a quick walk-through, but not a highlight of the zoo.

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🍕 Food and Dining Options – Decent and Convenient

Getting food inside the zoo is okay. It’s what you’d expect from most zoo cafes—some snacks, drinks, and typical fast food. However, Gather Garden stood out with some fresher options and a more relaxed setting for families wanting to sit and take a break.

A great pro tip: Buddy’s Pizza, located just outside the zoo, is a fantastic post-zoo meal stop. If you purchase zoo tickets online, you can get $4 off per ticket at Buddy’s, which is a great way to end the day on a delicious note. Their Detroit-style pizza is always a hit.

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🎟️ Other Notes • Parking was straightforward and close to the entrance. • The zoo is stroller-friendly and has shaded areas and misting fans, which helped a lot during the warmer parts of the day. • There are also small splash pad areas for kids near the playground, so pack a change of clothes or a towel if you plan to let them play.

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⭐ Final Verdict

The Detroit Zoo is definitely worth the trip—especially for families or anyone looking for a day of outdoor fun and wildlife encounters. The lion, giraffe, zebra, and butterfly exhibits are the stars here, while the reptile section could use a bit more excitement. Food is decent, with good outside options like Buddy’s Pizza. If you plan your visit right, you’ll have a full and...

Absolutely love this Zoo. If not even only for the nature walk, the atmosphere, being around so many people that care about animals is great. The volunteers are always present and friendly. The new Red Panda suspension bridge even adults can go on makes ya smile (does have stairs to enter & exit). The new penguin experience is incredible, you need to do it (accessible, and elevator available, but strollers DO stay outside for this and the butterfly, bird houses). Strollers ARE allowed in the kangaroo habitat, the giraffe house, rhino house, river otter house, reptile and frog houses, the barn animal house, and the polar bear and sea lion exhibit. I cannot stress enough how worth it the membership is for the Zoo, not only you can get yourself and a friend in (plus one membership, other levels offer grandparents, families, or singles), you have parking included, and get half off some participating Zoos (Toledo Zoo no longer included, due to their awesome aquarium) but you get half off The Great Lakes Crossing Sea Life Aquarium, and includes half off the Binder Zoo and others for a YEAR! I love the Detroit Zoo year round. I was lucky enough to bring a friend in a wheelchair to the Zoo, it was very accessible, and the bridge from the Frog House to the Reptile house was very smooth open in the spring, or warmer temps. This Zoo is very spread out, leave at least a few hours to take it all in. This Zoo is open every day except Christmas and New Year's Day. Open 10-4, and til 5 between Memorial and Labor Day, or later for special events, which tickets for these typically sell out fast. Oh, totally forgot they have a baby giraffe and a baby chimp, leave time for awes! Buddy's pizza in the Zoo is now open only on the weekends thru Feb 2019, and closed during the week, $4 a slice, but filling. There are several bathrooms through the park, and is very clean, these workers work hard behind the scenes. Go early for Zoo talks and feeding times. And when the Dinosaurs are in season that's a fun attraction. New construction for the Tiger area is underway, I am excited to see more. Even going a bunch I still see new things around the zoo, new signs etc. I would love to get married at the Zoo. And shoutout to Jan, love running into her at the different gift shops over the years, always nice to see a smiling face to say hello to. Please visit, I have never had a bad time. I wake up, and first thought I have is do I want to go to the Zoo today. Awesome experience. Like a...

Although we did enjoy the few animals that were visible, most were sleeping. Entry fees are extremely expensive with no discounts available for persons with disabilities, seniors, kids or ANYTHING. The only discount available was when you buy tickets in advance (prior to day of visit). Parking also costs $. We paid $159 for a family membership for 2 adults and 4 children as it was almost the same price as paying for one entrance for two adults and two children.

Although they have wheelchairs, strollers and mobility scooters available to rent, they were also expensive with zero discounts available. We paid $30 each to rent the mobility scooters. They were ALLOWED in all exhibits, but there were not built to accommodate. Most buildings DID NOT have an assist option to open the doors and we had to rely on the kids to open (2 exhibits employees opened doors for us, but the rest they just ignored our needs and stood by watching as we struggled immensely to enter and exit). The doors opened outward often, making it even more difficult to open and enter the buildings. Although most had double doors, only one was able to be used, and it left approximately an inch on each side of the rented equipment making it extremely difficult to go through doorways without hitting the frame. Very tight turns and obstructions were present in each and every exhibit. We eventually gave up going inside the exhibits and would just wait outside as the kids went in alone.

For the very expensive pricing, we were extremely disappointed at the lack of accomodations for both physical disabilities and my nephew with autism.

The handicapped parking was actually FARTHER from the entrance than the non-handicapped spaces; so we used the regular parking. It was quite a walk from the front entrance. Employees who rented the scooters did not know how to operate them, and gave us incorrect instructions and instead we had to figure out how to use them on our own and showed the employees how they worked.

I would expect a public place like a Zoo, which is of high interest to children with autism, to be more accommodating and less expensive for children with disabilities to enjoy. As well as persons with physical limitations. Hopefully they have plans to update their facility to meet the needs of their visitors more adequately up to date with ADA standards.

This was not a pleasant experience...