List and Rank The North American Zoos You Have Visited!

I guess it is time to post my list, however short it is...

1. Disney's Animal Kingdom
2. Minnesota Zoo
3. Philadelphia Zoo
4. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
5. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
6. Lincoln Park Zoo
7. Lake Superior Zoo
8. Como Park Zoo

I have been to the San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian National Zoo, but it has been a very long time since I visited those places, so I did not include them on the list.

 

My List:
1. Bronx Zoo (2004, 2011, several times in 2014)
2. San Diego Safari Park (2006)
3. Colmbus Zoo (2008, 2014)
4. North Carolina Zoo (2004, 2006, 2010, 2015)
5. San Diego Zoo (2006, 2009)
6. Dublin Zoo (2016)
7. Zoo Miami (2008)
8. Disney's Animal Kingdom (1998-2015)
9. Detroit Zoo (2010)
10. Dallas Zoo (2015)
11. Busch Gardens (1998-2013)
12. Brookfield Zoo (2015)
13. Jacksonville Zoo (1998-2015)
14. Toronto Zoo (2007)
15. National Zoo (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2015)
16. Memphis Zoo (2009)
17. Lowry Park Zoo (1999-2009)
18. Cincinnati Zoo (2008, 2013)
19. Fort Worth Zoo (2015)
20. Nashville Zoo (2009)
21. Zoo Atlanta (2001, 2009)
22. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (2007)
23. Philadelphia Zoo (2001, 2005)
24. Brevard Zoo (1998-2013)
25. London Zoo (2015)
26. Pittsburgh Zoo (2007)
27. Lincoln Park Zoo (2007)
28. Maryland Zoo (2011)
29. Los Angeles Zoo (2006)
30. Central Park Zoo (2014)
31. Granby Zoo (2008)
32. Knoxville Zoo (2013)
33. Riverbanks Zoo (2010)
34. Central Florida Zoo (1995-2015)
35. Franklin Park Zoo (2004)
36. Zoo America (2005)

 

1. San Diego Zoo (March 2010)
2. Bronx Zoo (March 2015)
3. San Diego Safari Park (March 2010)
4. Memphis Zoo (March 2015)
5. Disney's Animal Kingdom (December 2008)
6. Smithsonian National Zoo (March 2013)
7. Oregon Zoo (August 2015)
8. Phoenix Zoo (March 2016)
9. Dallas Zoo (Sometime in 2009 ,March 2014)
10. Busch Gardens Tampa (March 2012)
11. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (July 2014)
12. Denver Zoo (July 2014)
13. Lowry Park Zoo (March 2012)
14. Houston Zoo (Multiple Times)
15. Fort Worth Zoo (Sometime in 2009, March 2014)
16. Reid Park Zoo (March 2010)
17. San Antonio Zoo (5 times from 2002-2007, 2008-2016 Regularly, about once a month or so)
18. West Palm Beach (2008 or 2009)
19. Central Park Zoo (March 2015)
20. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (Multiple Times)
21. Moody Gardens (Once in 2009 maybe, wouldn't really consider it a zoo)
I will be going to Florida in late July, and will be visiting the Miami Zoo, Lowry Park Zoo, Busch Gardens Tampa, Lion Country Safari, and West Palm Beach Zoo, and a possible visit to Houston in early July

 

1.San Diego Zoo (2009)
2.Oregon Zoo (2014)
3.Woodland Park Zoo (2016)
4.San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park (2009
5.Disney's Animal Kingdom (2015)
6.Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium (2015)
7.Northwest Terk (2016)
8.Wildlife Safari (2014)
9.Crococun (Zoo in Cancun 2014)

Aquariums
1.Oregon Coast Aquarium (2013)
2.Seattle Aquarium (2015)
3.Interactive Aquarium (2016)
4.Portland Aquarium (Visited in 2013 closed now)

 

1. Brookfield Zoo (2015)
2. International Crane Foundation (2015, 2016)
3. Milwaukee County Zoo (Local zoo)
4. Lincoln Park Zoo (2016)
5. Henry Vilas Zoo (2015, 2016)
6. Racine Zoo (2015)

I have to say, I enjoyed my visits to every single one of these establishments.

 

1. San Diego Zoo (2014)
2. North Carolina Zoo (2016)
3. San Diego Zoo's Safari Park (2014)
4. Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (2016)
5. Disney's Animal Kingdom (~2009)
6. Busch Gardens Tampa (2016)
7. Phoenix Zoo (2014)
8. Lowry Park Zoo (2016)
9. Living Desert (2014)
10. Reid Park Zoo (2014)
11. Zoo Atlanta (2009)
12. St. Augustine Alligator Farm (~2010)
13. Central Florida Zoo (~2011)
14. Wild Adventures (~2011)

1. Georgia Aquarium (2009)
2. SeaWorld Orlando (2015)
3. Florida Aquarium (2012)

 

New additions in bold.

 

A new list with a new change of opinions and a couple of new zoos. This list is based off of my enjoyment of the institutions. These are just the traditional zoos I've been to.

1. St. Louis Zoo
2. Brookfield Zoo
3. Columbus Zoo
4. San Diego Zoo
5. Cincinnati Zoo
6. Indianapolis Zoo
7. Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
8. Milwaukee County Zoo
9. Lincoln Park Zoo
10. Louisville Zoo
11. Cleveland Zoo

And here's how I would rate them by their true quality based on their habitats, collection, and size.

1. Columbus Zoo
2. San Diego Zoo
3. St. Louis Zoo
4. Cincinnati Zoo
5. Brookfield Zoo
6. Indianapolis Zoo
7. Lincoln Park Zoo
8. Cleveland Zoo
9. Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
10. Milwaukee County Zoo
11. Louisville Zoo

 

1. Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
2. St.Louis Zoo
3. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
4. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
5. Denver Zoo
6. Hogle Zoo
7. Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo
8. Smithsonian National Zoo
9. Calgary Zoo
10. San Francisco Zoo
11. Queens Zoo

Just the top 11. I've gone to a few more plus some aquariums but these are the best.

 

My rank, based on my enjoyment. I don't include Columbus Zoo because its been 50+ years since I was there, when Colo was a toddler.

Traditional Zoos
1. Memphis Zoo
2. St. Louis Zoo
3. Nashville Zoo
4. Audubon Zoo (New Orleans)
5. Oklahoma City Zoo
6. Tulsa Zoo
7. Alexandria Zoo (Louisiana)
8. Little Rock Zoo
9. Baton Rouge Zoo
10. Jackson Zoo (Mississippi)

Aquariums
1. Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans)
2. Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga)

Other
Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium (New Orleans)
(Don't really know how to classify this. Part living insectarium, part entomology museum, part butterfly garden. I found it very interesting and enjoyable.)

 

After visiting a few more and giving it more thought here are my re-rankings

1. Bronx Zoo- 2014

2. Columbus Zoo- 2016

3. San Diego Safari Park- 2006

4. San Diego Zoo- 2009

5. North Carolina Zoo- 2015

6. Dallas Zoo- 2015

7. Dublin Zoo- 2016

8. Zoo Miami- 2008

9. Detroit Zoo- 2010

10. Disney’s Animal Kingdom-2015

11. Houston Zoo- 2016

12. Jacksonville Zoo- 2015

13. National Zoo- 2015

14. Brookfield Zoo-2015

15. Toledo Zoo- 2016

16. Busch Gardens- 2013

17. Toronto Zoo- 2007

18. Lowry Park Zoo-2009

19. Fort Worth Zoo- 2015

20. Cincinnati Zoo- 2013

21. Zoo Atlanta- 2009

22. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo- 2007

23. Memphis Zoo- 2009

24. Nashville Zoo- 2009

25. Pittsburgh Zoo- 2007

26. Lincoln Park Zoo- 2016

27. London Zoo- 2015

28. Maryland Zoo- 2011

29. Philadelphia Zoo- 2005 (This was before Big Cat Falls and when the terrible pachyderm house was still around,)

30. Brevard Zoo- 2016

31. Knoxville Zoo- 2013

32. Milwaukee County Zoo- 2016

33. Zoo de Granby- 2008

34. Los Angeles Zoo- 2006 (This was back when the elephant exhibit was awful.)

35. Riverbanks Zoo- 2010

36. Central Park Zoo- 2014

37. Franklin Park Zoo- 2004

38. Central Florida Zoo- 2015

39. Queens Zoo- 2014

40. Prospect Park Zoo- 2014

41. Lion Country Safari- 2004

42. Biodome de Montreal- 2008

43. Ardastra Gardens and Zoo- 2003

44. Zoo America- 2005

45. Natural Bridge Zoo- 2011 (An atrocity of epic proportions)

I'm visiting quite a few big guns in the next couple of months so I will include those in an updated ranking when the time comes.

 

I will be taking a trip to Seattle in early-mid March and will be visiting the Woodland Park Zoo, does anyone have any other suggestions for animal related things to do?

 

Seattle has an aquarium. You could go there.

Seattle Aquarium

Here's the zoochat gallery.

Seattle Aquarium - Photo Galleries | ZooChat

 

In addition to the above, Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma is an easy jaunt, and Vancouver is always a possibility (aquarium and zoo). If you don't drive, both can be reached by bus.

In case you find yourself in Seattle later in the year, I've done an orca cruise from Bellingham as a day-trip before. A bit overcrowded, but sightings are reliable. There's also Rainier and Olympic National Parks, which have nicely complementary species.

 

Here is my list (closed facilities marked with a *), last visit in ():

1. Bronx Zoo (2007)
2. Dallas Zoo (2015)
3. Woodland Park Zoo (2016)
4. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (2005)
5. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (2016)
6. Oklahoma City Zoo (1999)
7. Memphis Zoo (1996)
8. Fort Worth Zoo (2015)
9. Catskill Game Farm* (2003)
10. Benson's Wild Animal Park* (1982)
11. San Antonio Zoo (2015)
12. Portland Zoo (2016)
13. Honolulu Zoo (2014)
14. National Zoo (1988)
15. Roger William's Park Zoo (2003)
16. Natural Bridge Wildlife Park (2015)
17. Nashville Zoo (2013)
18. Atlanta Zoo (1999)
19. Alaska Zoo (2016)
20. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (2016)
21. Southwick's Zoo (2003)
22. Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo (2007)
23. Sequoia Park Zoo (2016)
24. Wildlife Safari (2016)
25. Virginia Zoo (2006)
26. Stone Zoo (2007)
27. Baton Rouge Zoo (1996)
28. Knoxville Zoo (1997)
29. Stone Zoo (2007)
30. Point Defiance Zoo (2016)
31. Abilene Zoo (1999)
32. Grand Prairie Wildlife Safari* (1986)
33. Wildlife World Zoo (1997)
34. Franklin Park Zoo (2004)
35. Buttonwood Park Zoo (1980)
36. ZooAmerica (1984)
37. The Zoo at Forest Park (2004)
38. Houlton Game Farm* (1977)
39. York's Wild Kingdom (1992)
40. Paws-n-Claws Animal Park (2005)
41. Bear Mountain Trailside Zoo (1991)
42. New London Zoo* (1978)
43. King's Dominion Safari* (1983)
44. Great Adventure Safari (1987)
45. Mohegan Park Zoo* (1978)

Aquariums:
1. Mystic Aquarium (2008)
2. Waikiki Aquarium (2014)
3. New England Aquarium (1992)
4. Alaska Sealife Center (2016)
5. Sea World San Antonio (1988)

Probably a near an equal number of Zoos visited in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Two more Aquariums in Japan.

 

My list is smaller than most, but I will be adding Omaha and Busch Gardens, Tampa on my list later this year!

1. San Diego Zoo (2010, 2015, later this year)
2. Brookfield Zoo (Local)
3. San Diego Safari Park (2010, later this year)
4. Lincoln Park Zoo (Local)
5. Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo (2014, 2015, later this year)
6. Milwaukee County Zoo (Local)
7. Henry Vilas Zoo (2015)
8. Palm Beach Zoo (2015)
9. Lion Country Safari (2015)

If were counting aquariums then I would put Shedd around the 5-6 spots.

 

My list. I am not prepared to rate them but they are in approximate order of visit:

Woodlands Park Zoo (1998)
San Diego Zoo (1998 & 2015)
San Diego Wild Animal Park (1998)
Seaworld San Diego (1998)
Los Angeles Zoo (2013)
Sonora-Arizona Desert Museum (2014) (most inspirational)
Living Desert Zoo (2014)
CALM (2014)
Fresno Zoo (2014)
Happy Hollow Zoo (2014)
Curioddisy (2014)
California Academy of Science (2014)
Monterey Bay Aquarium (2014)
Santa Barbara Zoo (2014)
Shedd Aquarium (2016)
Milwaukee County Zoo (2016)
New York Aquarium (2016)
Central Park Zoo (2016)

 

Update:

1. San Diego (2015, but visiting next month)
2. Henry Doorly (2009)
3. Bronx (2014)
4. SD Safari Park (2015, visiting next month)

5. North Carolina (2017)
6. Woodland Park (2016)
7. National (2016)
8. Disney's Animal Kingdom (2017)
9. Miami (2016)
10. Columbus (2009)
11. Toronto (2017)

12. Kansas City (2009)
13. Philadelphia (2015)
14. LA (2013, visiting next month)
15. Denver (2015)
16. The Living Desert (2015)
17. Phoenix (2007)
18. Hogle (2016)

19. Audubon (2014)
20. Maryland (2017)
21. Virginia (2015)
22. Oakland (2012)
23. Lincoln Park (2009)

24. Central Park (2012)
25. World Wildlife (2006)
26. Pittsburgh (2014)
27. Hershey (2014)
28. Prospect Park (2014)

29. Out of Africa (2007)

30. Santa Ana (2013)
31. Salisbury (2015)
32. Orange County (2013)
33. Brandywine (2015)

 

Mweb08, I like how you have quality-clustered your list.

 

1. Bronx Zoo
2. St. Louis Zoo
3. Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
4. Cincinnati Zoo
5. Brookfield Zoo
6. Philadelphia Zoo
7. Lincoln Park Zoo
8. Indianapolis Zoo
9. Nashville Zoo
10. Lowry Park Zoo
11. Naples Zoo