Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
Kids Free November is a city sponsored event in partnership with local family friendly businesses. As the name suggest, children are able to visit these attractions for free with a paid adult. This has been such cool way for us to see different family friendly sites in Jacksonville. As we learn our new city, we’re trying to explore without breaking the bank. So far this month we visited the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, The Museum of Science and History or “MOSH” as the locals call it, and Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary.
In this article I’m going to give you a quick run down of the zoo; to read more about our other field trips just click on the links above.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has an obscure entrance, close to railroad tracks and an industrial size mountain of sand, I wasn’t sure what to expect of our day at the zoo. However, the sweet elderly security guard who greeted us in the parking lot, definitely put me at ease, as he welcomed us and genuinely wished us a pleasant visit.
Our favorite things
The zoo was so big we couldn’t see it all in the 4 hours we were there.
Part of the zoo sits on the Trout River. There were amazing views from the dock and seating area towards the back of the zoo.
The enclosure for the Jaguars reminded me of “Legends of the Hidden Temple”…anybody else remember that show from the 90s?
The giraffes!!! Whatever you do, you MUST see the giraffes. We didn’t pay to feed the giraffes, but we were still able to be incredibly close to them. Have you ever stood eye to eye with a giraffe? I never did until now and can I tell you I was spellbound. These creatures were so regal! I think I love giraffes now.
The Manatee Hospital was cool, in that we were able to see 2 manatees up close. I could see the rest of the tanks and the workings of the hospital from where I stood, but I didn’t know what I was looking at. My kids were pretty pumped about seeing manatees, they were like “What is that?!?!?!?” I’m not sure they even knew what a manatee was until we went to this zoo.
Our NOT so favorite things
The price – the online price for 1 adult was $30.95, there is not a discount for Jacksonville or Duval County residents.
The admission price does not include the extras such as train, carousel, IMAX. These have an additional cost even for those who have paid for a Zoo membership. If I’ve paid for a membership, I like for it to be all inclusive or at least give me the option to up-charge which would include extra experiences.
Overall, yes we plan to go back, we’ll probably buy a membership because for our family of 5 to go to the zoo it would cost about $110 and the membership for the year is $200. You do the math!
