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| - first visit in two decades, this was the place to go to as a kid!
the zoo has definitely seen better days, i was a little shocked to find that the zoo has been around since 1974, and unfortunately its starting to show its age, having not been here in two decades, it seemed like they had less animals to show case, and some of the cages, containers, and or living spaces were very dilapidated at best, it was very disappointing to see that more money seemed to be invested in the "tundra air ride"(fancy zip line 12 bucks a ride) or the gorilla rope climb(fancy four story climbing gym, complete with all levels of difficulty between points of point A to point B 8 bucks a person, whether kids or adults*). to further the point, it seemed that the main attraction was the pandas from china, which are living here for five years, then five years in calgery at another zoo, then back home, that section and display, is literally how the whole zoo should look, very bright, very clean. having said this, to see all these "new, fun, and exciting" attractions, and then to see that the polar bear cage and area had signs of rust, between where the metal\window fixture on the water side, and numerous water tanks actually having metal piping supplying/recycling the same water over and over showing rust? it was a bit depressing, one of the main shut off valves for the otter tank was flanged and the bolts were completely red from rust. another really sore spot for contingencies sake, was the group was very happy to go see the Canadian domain, full of animals that are normally not seen, the point of bringing this up being that there was at least 3 "plastic alcohol" bottles someone threw inside the actual living space of the racoon, now i know racoons get a bad rep, but don't take it out on the one who is in solitary confinement, and sadly no one was around to discuss this issue with to remedy the situation.
it made me sick to my stomach to see animals going through these living conditions. most of the animals will just appear to be hanging out, not doing much, or at the very least eating from time to time.
a definate sore spot, or two with the zoo is that before the "zoomobile" they used to have a monorail, which was a beautiful thing, pieces of this can be seen still in the canadian domain, including the old weston "station" which has been converted into a bathroom/rest area of sorts. i understand why they didn't tear the remaining pieces left, kind of an interesting piece to talk about. speaking of the zoomobile, a little bit interesting that this vehicle operates "behind the scenes" promises an exclusive view for some animals that cannot normally be seen from just walking all of the trails, the unlimited day pass on this vehicle is a cool 8 bucks a day, which seems like a steal! except for the fact that if you walk...you miss out on the stuff from the ride, and if you ride...you miss out on the stuff you see from walking.
i don't understand why alcohol is served here...just my two cents...i shook my head
the staff at this place is a huge redeeming factor, everyone seems really happy with working with animals and dealing with people on a public basis, i think other then security, we didn't find an upset staff member
i would advise a couple of things if at all possible, Try and be there for the opening, we got there just before 11 and just finished the last section at 6:40. secondly bring your own food, you will save a small fortune, thirdly try and bring something on wheels to cart around all of your food, bring something that is durable, we brought something and both wheels were destroyed, by the end of the night. fourthly make sure you bring everything you might want for a whole day, comfy shoes, spare batteries for cameras, umbrellas, raincoats, etc. fifthly, avoid the canadian domain, most of the domains have a little bit of a hill section, or a unpaved road, this hill is very steep, and our party had to stop twice on the way back up, including one of our members having an asthma attack. #6, there is alot of kids that come here, and for good reason, they want to see animals, if your not a fan of kids, make sure to be prepared for some screaming, crying, and fit throwing. #7 if your a smoker, there is DSA's or designated smoking areas, as the zoo doesn't want people to be smoking on normal pathways, our party only managed to find two people out side of these DSA's smoking, and they were quickly targeted by other people to stop.lastly, if you are a resident, or are working in toronto, get yourself a library card, and pick up a map pass, which is good for one time admission up to two adults and two kids, you will still have to pay for parking, but admission is the killer. don't waste your time with the city pass ticket, go for the library map pass instead.
bring comfy shoes, bring food, bring music, bring friends...enjoy seeing what we normally don't see on this side of the world.
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