Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo: Timeline

snowleopard

snowleopard

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Who could have imagined that tiny Riverside Park Zoo, which opened in 1894, would eventually have a new name and become one of the world's great zoos? There were some notable exhibits that opened in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, but the huge rainforest building known as the Lied Jungle was what truly kickstarted the zoo's progress in the modern era. The annual attendance immediately doubled and that began a 30-year odyssey of a staggering number of big-budget exhibits. Pre-Covid, the zoo was packing in two million visitors per year, in a city that has less than half that number of citizens! The zoo is now internationally known and a destination for people all around the world.

Timeline of major new projects under Lee G. Simmons since 1992:

1992 - $25 million - Lied Jungle + Treetops Restaurant + Education Center

1995 - $16 million - Kingdoms of the Seas Aquarium

1996 - $2.4 million - Center for Conservation and Research

1997 - IMAX Theater

1998 - $1.8 million – Garden of the Senses + Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari (a satellite zoo 30 minutes away)

1999 - Carousel

2000 - North Entrance, gift shop and plaza

2002 - $31.5 million - Desert Dome (+ Kingdoms of the Night)

2003 - Kingdoms of the Night

2004 - $14.5 million - Gorilla Valley

2005 - $8.5 million - Orangutan Forest

2006 - $6 million - Expansion to the Center for Conservation and Research

2008 - Butterfly & Insect Pavilion

2009 - Skyfari (aerial ride)

2010 - $10.5 million - Expedition Madagascar


Timeline of major new projects under Dennis Pate:

2009-2018 - $10.5 million spent on infrastructure improvements such as pathways, signs, service roads, utilities, etc.

2012 - $11 million – Scott Aquarium renovation and Conference Center addition

2016 - $73 million – African Grasslands (28 acres of zoo exhibits)

2016 - $14 million – Alaskan Waterpark

2017 - $27.5 million – Children's Adventure Trails (5-acre part of the zoo that includes an Amphitheater and a new Education Center)

2018 - $22 million - Asian Highlands: Phase One

2019 - Asian Highlands: Phase Two

2019 - $7 million - Glacier Bay Landing

2020 - $27.5 million - Owen Sea Lion Shores

2021 - $15 million - Stingray Beach ($6 million) + Simmons Aviary revamp ($2 million) + Gorilla Valley revamp ($7 million)

Director Dennis Pate has announced in numerous interviews that 2021 marks the end of the zoo's Master Plan. The progress has been nothing short of astonishing. Just in the past 5 years, there has been a transformation of at least 45 acres and now the zoo promotes two-day passes on its website and at the entrance ticketing booths (a 2nd consecutive day is 50% off) because it can be difficult for families to see everything in a single day. Omaha certainly has its flaws like every other zoo, but other than San Diego, is there a single zoo in North America that is even in the same ballpark?

Now, what will the zoo do next? Will there be either Polar Bears or Grizzlies across from the Alaskan Waterpark? Will there be additions to the already huge African Grasslands area? The next Master Plan will be hotly anticipated by all zoo nerds. :)
 
I'm just two weeks out from my first ever visit to Omaha and I haven't been this excited about a new zoo, well, ever really. Plus, I don't think I could have picked a better time to visit. For the past several years at least one part of the zoo has been a construction zone, and I'll be visiting just days after the renovated Gorilla Valley is complete, meaning I'll get to see the zoo in its full glory with the master plan executed in its entirety. Even with this plan done, Dennis Pate has already discussed future plans for an Alaskan zone with grizzly bears, polar bears, Canadian lynx and sea otters, a replacement for the old cat complex, and a renovation of the Desert Dome pavilion. I'm glad the zoo is taking a few years off, as really nothing at this point is in immediate need of replacement. For a zoo of Omaha's size and stature, that is a rather remarkable feat.

Excellent job putting together a timeline for the zoos rapid fire progress, It only brings more anticipation to my visit.
 
birdsandbats said:
Is the Wild Kingdom Pavillion being renovated? If not, does anyone know why it's closed?
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It isn't being renovated to my knowledge. I believe it has to do with Covid yet as the entry/exit is essentially in the same spot. Also the inside consists of small glass terrariums and lots of hands of experiences. But the zoo has been very quiet on why this hasn't opened so who knows. From their point of view, it isn't as popular as any of the big buildings that people would be majorly upset at missing, so they don't feel the need to re-open it yet as they probably aren't getting any pressure to open it. I can try and find out if I talk to any keepers next time I go.

**Edit: I feel this is also the reason the trails in the Lied Jungle remain closed. The way to enter/exit this portion of the jungle is via one access point if the elevator is used or the narrow indoor staircase. Yes, there is an outdoor stair access point to this, but I don't see many people use this to exit the building. This is different than Kingdoms of the Night's elevator because you don't use this to exit the exhibit. I do not think the jungle is closed due to the confined area or proximity to primates. I feel you are closer to the primates along the top than from the floor. There are plenty of more confined places at the zoo than the jungle trails.
 
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MGolka said:
It isn't being renovated to my knowledge. I believe it has to do with Covid yet as the entry/exit is essentially in the same spot. Also the inside consists of small glass terrariums and lots of hands of experiences. But the zoo has been very quiet on why this hasn't opened so who knows. From their point of view, it isn't as popular as any of the big buildings that people would be majorly upset at missing, so they don't feel the need to re-open it yet as they probably aren't getting any pressure to open it. I can try and find out if I talk to any keepers next time I go.

**Edit: I feel this is also the reason the trails in the Lied Jungle remain closed. The way to enter/exit this portion of the jungle is via one access point if the elevator is used or the narrow indoor staircase. Yes, there is an outdoor stair access point to this, but I don't see many people use this to exit the building. This is different than Kingdoms of the Night's elevator because you don't use this to exit the exhibit. I do not think the jungle is closed due to the confined area or proximity to primates. I feel you are closer to the primates along the top than from the floor. There are plenty of more confined places at the zoo than the jungle trails.
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I definitely saw construction going on on the lower floor of Lied Jungle. It seems silly to me that any exhibit would remain closed for Covid, yet the extremely congested paths of the Desert Dome are allowed to remain open.
 
I could be misremembering but isn't there a side door that leads out of the Wild Kingdom Pavilion on a different side of the building? I feel like a one-way system wouldn't be too difficult to create in that building.

~Thylo
 
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