MELBOURNE ZOO very dissapointing

[jenni200011]

Hi all just wanting some opinions in regards to visisting the melbourne zoo..I went for a visit  yeasterday after not being for a great number of years..It seems to be a total money grab now..We arrived late ( our fault) around 2 pm as i thought zoo twilights had began..Zoo twilights is ran by the zoo in summer and lets you remain a bit longer than normal hours..Any way paid full entry along with lots of others even though only 3 hours remained ( again my decision)Asked about twilights and found once they start in a few weeks you eneter from 5.30 only..If you choose to come earlier in the day and wish to stay longer they kick you out at 5 and you must pay re entry cost all over again to attend the twilight session( approx 4 hours)..Very let down with that as the zoo is far from cheap..Lots of people walked around bumping past eachother..food and drink prices were sky high ( as most event prices are)..Some enclosures were inproved but many animals looked extremely bored..Lots of very silly comments were made by  many people including one woman who could not believe the elephant had decided to toilet in the water..She actually felt it was a dirty thing on the elephants part ( wonder how she expects one to toilet train an elephant.)...Felt the whole zoo had lost the original atmosphere it used to have..Just my opinion but wondered what others think

[cherry*135]

I think a bottle of water was $3 or $4 at Taronga Zoo. On a hot day you would need at least 2 bottles each. For 4 people x 2 bottles @ $3 ea that is $24. They may have had taps where you can refill your own bottle, can't remember, so places do. We just took our own.

[**meep**]

---

@imastawka wrote:

See post #16. ^^^^^^

I'm gunna staple it to my forehead!

---

Ouch!!!

(good to know you can bring your own food)

[debra9275 · Accepted solution]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the zoo Jenni. We love it but being in crowds can be annoying after awhile.we've only been during the day and have always taken a picnic lunch and some rugs to lay out on a quiet spot on the lawns somewhere.

I've never been to a twilight session, but they sound great. They're only on for a short time over the summer months, the idea behind it is being able to see the animals being fed Then sitting back on your rug with your picnic and listening to some good music.

What did you think of the butterfly enclosure? The kids love it when an exotic butterfly lands on their shoulder.
The food they sell there is not that nice from memory, the usual chips and expensive junk food. The entrance fees are expensive for families as most things are these days.

I was very saddened by the accidental death of the baby elephant recently.

[punch*drunk]

---

@imastawka wrote:

See post #16. ^^^^^^

I'm gunna staple it to my forehead!

---

I saw it, I was just mentioning again in case others didnt 🙂

[twinkles**stars]

Been 3 years since we all went as a family, we enjoyed it. Took a picnic lunch which we carried in the basket of the pram. Found a lovely shaded grassed area to sit on. I do think it's rather expensive though so not something to do on a regular basis.

[jenni200011]

Yes we saw the lovely butterflys.Had a few nice  animal encounters i will admit..Highlights were patting a few cute small stingrays that came up out of the water for brief moments on some rocks they were amazing..Also two cute baboons begged us for long grass stems by reaching out to us and were quite characters..we have been to twilight a few years back also ..Its all about relaxing on rugs and listening to band music..Can you believe the day we went my husband became ill  after the bbq thier...Just unlucky so we had to leave early..we went  yesterday sort of with a split second idea to go and were not prepared with our food and drinks like we should have been 

[jenni200011]

yes we should have taken food..Not enough planning we just sort of decided to go..We were originally going to the melbourne aqaurium instead but it was mid afternoon and i thought the zoo had longer hours in sumer ..We ummed and aahed at the entrance deciding if it was worth a few hours and then went in...

[cherry*135]

If you get there early and make a day of it (with own picnic lunch) it is probably quite good value, compared to the cost of  taking a family to the movies for 2 hours.

The zoo have a lot of expenses to cover.. feeding all the animals to start with, staff etc.

[green.fields]

We went about 6 years ago and it was nice. Going at 2 without taking supplies was not a good idea really.

[daydream**believer]

All food at all Zoos are a rip off.

We always take our own lunch and drinks.

Perhaps you should of checked the webiste regarding twilight times before turning up at 2pm