We love the ZOO!

We love the zoo!  I take the girls to the zoo during the week, but we go about every other weekend with daddy.  We have been to three zoos: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Toledo.  By far, our all time favorite is Toledo!

We went to the Cleveland zoo all the time with our season pass.  Every time we went, none of the animals were ever active.  Only one monkey exhibit was active and would come up to the window to see the girls.  No matter what time we went, all the animals were lazy or sleeping.  Also, you have to walk to get to exhibits, far walks up and down hills.  Not fun with a stroller, but a great workout!

Pittsburgh- We have only been there twice.  From what I remember it was small, but we haven't been back since the shark tank was built.  I won't elaborate on this anymore, since I don't remember.

Toledo Zoo- where to begin?  Well we just got our season pass for this zoo.  It is awesome, I could go every day to this zoo!  We have been there twice already (We would be there more if I had a car. Don't ever buy a Ford Edge!)  Both times that we have gone, every single animal was active.  The monkeys have been awesome to watch, they love showing off!  They also have a splash zone and if the monkey sees you on it, he has a button in his pen, and presses it to get you wet!  The gorillas were neat, they sit right up on the glass and stare at you, they also like to show you all the crazy positions they can sit in.  The elephants were very hyper, the baby elephant was running all over the place, running full force into the tire swing.  On Sundays, you can also watch the elephants get a suds bath.  They have demonstrations every 1-2 hours with different animals too!  Not only are the animals active, but you can get up close and personal with them.  At the Cleveland zoo, you can't really see the zebras and giraffes, seals, or polar bears.  I always have to pull the girls out of the stroller.  The Toledo zoo you can get very close to the zebras and giraffes, (they also have a train ride where the animals come close to the train).  They designed the sea otters and polar bears for strollers to get up close and see them.  You also don't have to walk up and down crazy, large hills!  Some other neat things:

*They have a nature discovery center- where there are playgrounds, sandbox, a water stream kids can walk in and build dams and rock walls, and a petting zoo.
*An aquarium in the zoo, the girls love this, they are obsessed with fish!
*The safari train, and two carousels

The only con for the Toledo zoo is:

*It feels like an amusement park.  There are souvenir stations and concession stands everywhere you turn.  The girls are not phased by this yet, but when walking through the zoo, I could see it being a potential problem as I saw other mothers and fathers having a hard time with older children.  Same with the playgrounds, My opinion is, I am there to see animals, not to sit at a playground.  But I can see some people liking it just to take a break.

I did not take any pictures.  I wanted to enjoy it with the girls and be involved in everything they were discovering!  Now that we have been there twice, the next time we go I will take pictures and post!