Which Zoo Is Better

The WEst Palm Beach Zoo.

Hi,
We took our son to the Palm Beach zoo, and he loved it. They have a rainforest theme there. So there's alot of shade which is nice for a young one. They also have a fountain that shoots out of the ground that the kids can play in, and a merry-go-round. We took our niece to metro zoo a few years ago, and it was really hot. They have an African theme, so there's hardly any shade at all. But they do have a playground and merry-go-round. I think palm beach is much better, but that's just me. Good luck choosing, and have fun!

We lived in Miami for years and frequented Metro Zoo, and I believe it is awesome! However, I've never been to the Palm Beach Zoo. Also, now you can feed the Giraffes!!!
My close friend runs a very reputable summer camp / after school care and she just took her camp there yesterday. And was telling me that it was SoOo Great! She said that in the past they had taken their groups to Drehr Park Zoo. And it was awful.
I don't even know if the Drehr park zoo and the palm beach zoo are the different. But she said that they only had common animals and most of the animals were able to hide from view - So the kids couldn't see most of the animals.

Both zoos are great; both zoos are different. I lean a *little* towards Palm Beach for a one year old, but only because it's closer, and if he decided he didn't like it, putting the nix on the trip and coming home wouldn't be much of a bother.

The Palm Beach Zoo is much smaller. It's fun and intimate. On a hot day it has a wonderful water feature/fountain that's great for little ones (perfect for a one year old) so bring a swimmy diaper. There's much more shade than at Metro, too. Go early, so that the animals are out and about. Finish with the water feature and you'll be done in time for a quick bite and a nap. (Although there aren't as many animals as the Metro, the ones that they do have are great. They are one of the foremost zoos in America for Jaguar breeding and seem to have litters pretty regularly and currently have one of the very few white crocs (not albino- white with blue eyes) in the world on loan.)

The Metro Zoo has many more animals than Palm Beach Zoo, so your little one will get to see camels, elephants, gorillas etc. There's a playground with different areas for different aged kids. The also should have a water play area by now (it was being built last time we were there and looked close to completion). They have pedal cars which seem a bit expensive, but are worth every penny. We have a one year old (almost two) and a four year old and they love them, and without them it's pretty hard to see everything. (That said, we haven't gotten them the last two times we've gone. You don't *have* to see everything every time you go.

I don't know how close you are to either zoo, but it's definitely worth your while to get a membership to whichever you think you'll be visiting more. Not only does the membership pay for itself after just a few visits, but both zoos are members of the ZSF, so you get free or discounted admission at zoos and aquariums all over the world (including the zoo you don't get a membership to). We're members at Palm Beach and used to get into Metrozoo for free. They "temporarily" dropped the benefit to half-off after the hurricanes and I'm not sure if it's back to free yet, but we just came back from a trip to San Francisco and got into both the Zoo and the Aquarium of the Bay for Free.

Either Zoo is great though and our boys love both the "Big Zoo" and "Our Zoo" a lot.

-Scott (Husband to S.)

I don't know about right now, but I hear Diego from Nick Jr. is headed to the Metro Zoo in the near future.

Metro Zoo is HUGE! I think that's the only difference.

We took my son to the Palm Beach zoo when he broke his leg and was in a wheelchair and he loved it.

If you don't mind aLOT of walking (and chasing your son around if he's anything like mine!) then do the Metro Zoo - they have some special events going on in the summer, so check out their website.

A.
Fort Lauderdale