I am thinking of taking my daughter to the zoo. Do they let you bring in your own snacks or do they have food Nazi's at the gates confiscating everything?
We go often and ALWAYS pack a picnic lunch. We have never been stopped or questioned about it. BTW...if you can go on a Wednesday, admission is half off.
Just as the others said it is "Discouraged" but not "Prohibited". We took a small cooler over Spring Break and had no problems.
I'm not sure if things have changed or not at the Ft.Worth Zoo, but we used to have season passes and would bring a cooler almost every time. Since I took the kids 2 or 3 times per week, I definitely couldn't afford nor would I want to buy them a lot of fried junk food, etc. There are picnic tables. I'm not sure about other zoos, but this particular one didn't have any limitations other than prohibiting glass and alcohol.
We love to go to the zoo and bring a cooler and leave it in our car. This way, we leave the zoo for a bit, have lunch in the car or by it on the grass and it's a great way for the kiddos to take a break. If it's hot out, we get in the car and sit in the air conditioning for a bit. When we go back to the zoo, they are refreshed and excited all over again.
We always bring our own lunch with us to the Dallas zoo. They have picnic tables and plenty of other outdoor tables that you can use. I see other families doing the same so it's no big deal.
I've seen people bring in picnics, so unless it's changed in the past year, you can bring in food!
I was under the impression, after reading the site online, that we weren't supposed to bring in coolers and stuff but we went over spring break and saw a bunch of people doing it and noone stopping them. I had 2 empty 32oz gatorade bottles, so I froze some juice in one, and for the other bottle I froze water just enough to make it slushy (so it'd stayed cold and we drank it as it melted), with little plastic cups. Also brought in a ziploc bag with some animal crackers and another with sliced apples for a snack. We packed a nice, full picnic lunch and a picnic blanket, and left that in the car in a small ice chest. We went in when it opened at 10, had our snack in the zoo, and by the time we were hungry for lunch (1) that was PLENTY of time to be walking around, lol. We rode the train back to the gate, drove to a place that looked good near the zoo, and spread the blanket out in the shade and ate our lunch and lounged around. The kids were exhausted, didn't even play football during the picnic! We just took the opportunity to lay down and eat our food and chat about the animals we'd seen, and they all slept the whole way home. I think it took a little planning and preparation, but with kids and a diaper bag and dealing with the other people at the zoo, I think it's MUCH easier to remember that the less you bring in, the less you have to carry or keep track of.
They say they "discourage coolers", but as long as you don't have glass or alcohol they won't bother you. We went over spring break and took our snack, juice and lunch, but I forgot my water. Make sure your own water/drinks as they are super expensive!
All 3 local zoos (Dallas, FW, Frank Buck) allow you to bring in a picnic (don't know which one you were referring to). Most, if not all, have a "No Glass/No Alcohol" rule. We've taken things in backpacks and rolling coolers.
You can take food into the Ft Worth Zoo (it is the better of the two). THey sell food as well, but it is expensive for what you get. We always pack snacks, water, and lunch when we go! Have fun you will both enjoy it!!
