OKC Zoo

[d-usa]

There is one cut in front of the entrance:



But there is nothing down the road from there, so your options are either to try to jump the curb (which is often doable, depending on what you are pushing/pulling) or walking down through traffic until you get to the center.







But other than that particular complaint I am very happy with the parking lot. It feels much bigger already and is easier to navigate than the old layout.

The other important thing is that the Mold-a-Matic also takes credit cards.

[jn1780]

Seems like an oversight that will hopefully be addressed before project completion.

[d-usa]

Another trip to the Zoo today.

Looks like they should have the new entrance area finished up soon, and they have a new giant OKC ZOO flag flying at the entrance by 63rd street.

[Brett]

The zoo announced their new price hike today. Too rich for my blood.

[Ginkasa]

A quick glance at some other zoos shows that the current ticket price is almost criminally low. $8.00 right now versus $14 being the lowest I found in a (admittedly quick) search online among other zoos. One went over $20. The new price for an adult ($11) would still be the lowest for an adult among the zoos I found in my search. Not that its not a bummer to see prices increase, but some perspective is needed as well.

[Pete]

The OKC Zoo also receives dedicated sales tax revenue, which is likely much different from other zoos which require more in admission fees to fund their operations.

You could argue that since people in and around OKC already pay millions for the zoo every year whether they attend or not, that admission should be kept very minimal.

[foodiefan]

. . .a yearly Family Membership is $70 (two adults and up to 5 children ages 3 - 18); Mathis Bros just finished their special offer of a Family Membership for $49. Even if you missed the MB special, it would be hard to beat $70 for unlimited visits for a year. . .and I'm betting most zoo goers are repeat visitors.

[jerrywall]

^^ When my kids were young we were zoo friends members every year. You can't beat it. We'd take nieces and nephews and friend's kids.

[FighttheGoodFight]

^^ When my kids were young we were zoo friends members every year. You can't beat it. We'd take nieces and nephews and friend's kids.

It is just me and my wife and we have a family membership. My mother likes to go and I like to take my little nephew. It is a great value and if you go a few times a year it is worth it. Also a good gift for friends who have little ones. The zoo is great walk.

I am kind of a zoo fanatic. Whenever I travel I check the local zoo out. St. Louis and Chicago have some nice public zoos in the middle of parks that are really organic and very nice. My favorite so far is San Diego. It really is magical. I will say OKC's zoo is really nice. They have very nice walkable paths and the new exhibits they add really are phenomenal.

[jn1780]

11 dollars is pretty cheap for the occasional zoo guest. Some people spend that much for just one movie each month. For the frequent visitor, the zoo friends membership is a very good deal.

A lot of different tourist attractions have a significantly higher one admission price and a frequent visitor pass because they know only the locals can take advantage of multi-day passes.

[Ginkasa]

The OKC Zoo also receives dedicated sales tax revenue, which is likely much different from other zoos which require more in admission fees to fund their operations.

You could argue that since people in and around OKC already pay millions for the zoo every year whether they attend or not, that admission should be kept very minimal.

Absolutely. My point was that I feel the membership is still pretty minimal.

[Dustin]

I think I paid close to 25 bucks a person at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. So yeah, we have it pretty good here.

[d-usa]

The Zoofriends Family membership is also going up to $90. Which is still a pretty good deal in my opinion.

I also try to remind people that unlike some of the other zoos, OKC offers free parking and they don't have a problem with you bringing in a cooler for drinks and food. I went to the Dallas Zoo a few years ago, and the cost to get in the door was $50 for two adults and 1 toddler and parking for one car, compared to $30 for OKC. Fort Worth would be $43, Tulsa is $28, $40.50 for Kansas City by the time you include parking. So it's pretty competitive in the region I think, and it's nicer (in my opinion) than the Tulsa and Dallas zoos.

We always get the Zoofriends Family membership, and it's nice to be able to bring our own food and drinks, spend an entire day at the zoo, and basically spend $0 after the third visit. It's a value in the city that's hard to beat.

The OKC Zoo also receives dedicated sales tax revenue, which is likely much different from other zoos which require more in admission fees to fund their operations.

You could argue that since people in and around OKC already pay millions for the zoo every year whether they attend or not, that admission should be kept very minimal.

They do have a number of free entry days as well, and I do think that the price increase still gives it a good value.

One thing I noticed while taking a quick look at prices is that the Kansas City Zoo is partially funded by taxes in a district, and residents of that district get discounted pricing. So a family of 2 adults and 3 children would pay $63.5 (more if one of the kids was 12 or older), but if they lived in the district they would pay $32. I wouldn't be opposed to doing something similar here, with people who live in Oklahoma City keeping the old prices and visitors who are outside the city limits paying the new price.

[Pete]

^

The problem is that the OKC Zoo subsidy is through sales tax, which means lots of people outside the city limits contribute as well.

[d-usa]

True, but residency would be the easiest way to determine location to see if you are affected. Of course I live in OKC, but my address says Edmond, so would I need to bring my OKC water bill or trust that the cashier knows the city limits?

It's all theoretical of course, I don't think such a plan is on the works. Right now people living in, and paying sales tax in, OKC are subsidizing the zoo for visitors who don't live here. People who drive here to visit the zoo spend money (and taxes) in our city which we end up benefiting from. So maybe it all balances out in the end.

[Richard at Remax]

We bought a zoo membership at Christmas for $65. Already paid for itself. $11 is a steal like most have said compared to other cities.

[d-usa]

One of the biggest benefits of Zoofriends for me is that it makes me feel much better about short visits.

I have a 3 year old with a short attention span, and doing the whole zoo can be too much for her, especially in the summer. Going for "free" makes me feel better about leaving without seeing the whole zoo, because I'm not trying to get my money's worth from a daily admission.

So now we usually end up splitting the zoo in a north and south half, and either visit the aquarium/children's zoo/island life combo, or the Oklahoma trails/apes/elephants/big cats combo. And sometimes she just likes to visit the playground there.

[LakeEffect]

Nm

[BBatesokc]

One of the biggest benefits of Zoofriends for me is that it makes me feel much better about short visits.

...

The same logic I used when we bought ours. The wife works 4-day work weeks (12-hour days), so she gets one day off during the week. We usually go see a movie, go to OKC Riversports or the Zoo on those days. I like that we can just pop into the zoo and see the few exhibits we really like and then leave - all in about an hour.

Plus, the grand baby is less than a year old, so an hour or so is all she has patience for.

We opted for the family plus pass. I think it was $80 at Mathis Brothers. Gets you three adults and 5 kids. Plus, you get a $30 zoo gift card (making the membership really just $50 - same price as the discounted regular membership).

[Urbanized]

The admission at the zoo is ridiculously low. Check out even the Sedgwick County Zoo (Wichita) which doesn't compare in any way. Fort Worth, Dallas, Denver...these zoos are significantly higher than even the new prices for OKC. These changes are a sign of good stewardship.

Regarding the zoo tax, it does not support operations. It is specifically dedicated to capital improvements. Without this tax we would not have the Elephant exhibit, the Cat Forest, the new veterinary hospital or many other improvements and the zoo would be a very poor facility by comparison. Instead we have one of the best zoos in the country.

But as you add new facilities you must maintain them and pay for personnel to serve the crowds that will inevitably come. This is the role of admissions.

By the way, like many attractions, the people who visit the zoo come largely from outside of the city limits, the metro, and many from out of state. This is a case of people from elsewhere helping to pay for our quality of life. Most local residents who regularly visit the zoo are members of Zoofriends, which is (still) probably the best family entertainment value in OKC, and represents a MASSIVE discount from the typical admission price, if only used a few times per year.

[Pete]

^

All good points and raising the admission probably makes sense. I just think that there are lots of people with families where these hikes matter to them and the zoo is almost like a public service, like parks.

But of course when you take capital improvements from sales tax that does free up other revenues.

In the end, it all comes in and goes out of the zoo coffers.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
Not sure if anything has been formalized on this but I know the zoo is dedicated to not denying admission to low-income families and children. In conjunction with this increase they were taking a hard look at expanding educational and other programs that provide admission for those who can't afford it.

They just want to make sure that their entire admission structure isn't built around those who can't pay, to the point of starving upkeep and guest services. This puts them a little closer to the regional average, but still way below. It's overdue.

[Pete]

Good, I hope that is all true.

I love the fact that even low income families can spend a day there for not much money and would hate anyone to be priced out. If you are parents and take a few small kids, that is no small amount of money.

Above all else, the zoo should be a resource for everyone in the area, and that's a big part of dedicating tax dollars to them.


And I certainly remember my family packing up lunches and spending many long days out there at a time where we couldn't afford to go out very much. As in, we ate out only a few times in an entire year. But we went to the zoo a lot and I know it was because it was super affordable at the time. And of course, awesome.

[Pete]

I don't want to go off on a too much of a rant here but...

I make it a habit to visit lots of the OKC public parks. I specifically seek out the different ones, especially the smaller ones embedded in neighborhoods and somewhat off the beaten path.

And what you come to understand very quickly is that the huge amount of patrons at the parks are low-income families. The people who don't have a $5K swing set in their backyard, as most have little or no yard to start with.

One of the results of our culture of extreme excess is that middle class and above rarely use truly public facilities. They don't have to. They have home theaters and huge yards and neighborhood pools in gated communities.

And so, as a culture we are more isolated than ever before, and especially when it comes to parks and things that are free or nearly free, most people who vote don't care much because they don't use them any way. Same with public transportation, of course.


So, on my frequent trips to these parks, I take my dogs and a big trash bag and I pick up trash as I walk around. And not necessarily because the parks are poorly maintained (even though their budgets keep getting cut) but because after a busy weekend in windy Oklahoma, there is trash all over the place.

And a big part of this is wanting to interact with people of all socio demographic backgrounds and wanting to have nice places for everyone to congregate, even if you can't afford the things that most of us take for granted.


So, I am sensitive about this zoo issue. As time passes, it seems everything gets polarized and so nice that groups are easily split into those who can afford nice places to go and those who can't. And I'd hate to see that happen here.

/rant

[d-usa]

We went to the first Safari Soirée at the Zoo tonight, it was my birthday present from the wife. It's a new conservation fundraiser they were doing this year, and I hope it manages to become an annual thing.

The Zoo was open from 7pm-11pm for a 21+ event, and your ticket included admission, food and drinks (with many alcoholic options available), a DJ in one area, a cover band in another, and a string orchestra in a third, many areas where zoo staff had some of the smaller animals that usually make the rounds at birthday parties for us to touch and learn more about. Most of the animals were out and about, and it was fun to explore the zoo by flashlight after it got dark. It was $75 a person, with the option to buy behind-the-scenes tickets with the Elephants, Gorillas, Rhinos, and Bears (I think that was it), Your entrance also included the giraffe feeding, stingray visit, and sea lion show. And you could ride the tram from exhibit to exhibit, or drinking station to drinking station, if you so desired.

It was definitely a bit expensive (especially if you went for the behind-the-scenes experiences which we didn't), but it was a fund raiser after all. It was nice to experience the zoo without any kids, being able to spend a lot of time talking to keepers and staff about the different animals and conservation programs they are involved it, and just have a zoo that wasn't packed at all.

I don't know if they had enough people show up to make it worth the effort, but the behind-the-scenes experiences were sold out and they ran out of food and some of the pre-mixed specialty drinks in some areas. I think it's a great event for the zoo and for OKC, and I hope it becomes an annual thing.

Also: The parking lot is finished!