A Mission

For Christmas, Honey gave me and Bobby the wonderful gift of a membership to the Dallas Zoo. We had already visited twice and had a wonderful time. With Bobby turning 3, our admission would increase (you don't have to pay for children under 3), and since we had such a wonderful time prior, I knew we would be visiting often.

So, about this mission...

Let me start by saying I owe all of these enjoyable visits to my friend, Patrice! She visited the Dallas Zoo last year and told me we should all go together soon. To which I replied, "Hold the phone! The Dallas Zoo? I heard it sucks." And I know that about 85% of y'all are all thinking the same thing. Because, honestly, it did suck. For a long time. And then a 300 pound gorilla escaped and injured 4 people before police officers shot him on before began terrorizing vehicles on I-35. Tragic. Plus the whole Jeni the elephant debate. The place has gotten a terrible wrap. And why should anyone drive to Dallas when there is a top 5 zoo in the nation in Fort Worth?

Those are all of the things that I hear when I talk to people about visiting the Dallas Zoo. But it is just not true anymore. The place is pretty amazing. In fact, I will even go so far as to say it is arguably better than the Fort Worth Zoo. Blasphemy, as a former Tarrant County resident, I know. So I have made it my mission to try my best to change people's view of the Dallas Zoo. You don't have to like it more than Fort Worth, but at least pay these animals a visit once. Thankfully, I am not a blogger with a huge audience because the last thing I would want to do is turn my zoo into "the"place to go. Which leads me to the reasons of why I love the Dallas Zoo more than the FW Zoo.

1. It is not crowded! Or it is designed to not feel crowded. Either way, it is not overrun with school children on field trips. You know that feeling you get when you enter the FWZ parking lot and see 80 school busses? Yeah, you don't feel that way in Dallas.

2. The staff are ridiculously kind and helpful. Now, I have never had a bad encounter with an employee at the FWZ (that I can think of), but at the DZ, you are almost like, "Really? You are that nice?" The last time I was there, I was standing by a path with my map out looking for the crocodiles when a golf cart of three guys in suits drove by (obviously 'office' people) and one guy asked if I needed any help and gave me directions to the crocodiles. It made my day.

3. I don't feel sorry for the animals at the DZ. This is entirely subjective, I know, but after a visit to the FWZ in 2010, I didn't want to visit a zoo again I felt so badly for the animals. The white tiger that is constantly pacing back & forth while children scream at him from the other side of the plexi-glass...the jaguar that has less room to roam than your own dog. But I do not feel that way at the DZ. 

4. You can feed the giraffes. Period. And as if that needs anything added to it...camel rides. Boom. I just blew your mind.

5. The Lacerte Family Children's Zoo inside the DZ has pony rides, a petting zoo & a nature exchange. It also has a large play area including a water feature perfect for summer. Now, if you are planning to visit and will allow your child in the water, bring water shoes! That is one thing that makes me cringe every visit...children slipping on the wet pavement!

Now, just to make sure I don't drive the FWZ cheerleaders completely crazy, I will point out some of the things that FWZ does well: the train is a great attraction (especially when you have a little boy), they have rhinos (DZ doesn't have any), and the FWZ herpetarium is much better than Dallas' (although the DZ is working on their's, so that could change soon)! 

So have I convinced you, yet? I would love to hear about your visit!