Kansas City-Henry Doorly-St Louis Road Trip Review

[groundskeeper24]

On Tuesday, my son and I embarked on a roadtrip to check out 3 major midwestern zoos. I had been to St Louis before, but the other 2 were new territory for me. Here are some major points and minor observations from these visits:

Our original intent was to leave Kentucky and see St Louis on the way to Kansas City, where we'd overnight. This got thrown out the window due to major flooding on I-64 that set us back about 3 hours on our trip. We decided to scrap St Louis on day 1 and see if we wanted to hit it on the way home.

After the initial hiccup, we got some rest and went to the Kansas City Zoo on Wednesday. I'm not sure I've fully formed my opinion on this park just yet. Here's what I liked:

The elephant exhibit was massive. It had nine residents and went on seemingly forever, finally terminating in a large yard with a holding building. The high point of the visit was seeing them release about 5 of the females into the main yard. They were very enthusiastic and vocal, as opposed to the usual stationary elephant behavior I'm used to in zoos. They ran around for a good 5 minutes or so before settling down.

The African section of the zoo was also quite large and fairly comprehensive in terms of species representation. You'd be hard pressed to find a more complete collection of African animals in any American zoo. The layout of the area was also quite interesting. They had options for viewing the area on both a sky ride and a boat. My favorite parts of this area were the hoofed stock yard and the secretary birds, which were the species I most wanted to see on this visit. The chimp exhibit may have been one of the best I've seen.

I am admittedly not an aquarium guy. Outside of the major ones such as Shedd and Monterrey, the all kind of seem the same. That said, the new-ish aquarium in KC was fairly impressive for a zoo aquarium.

What I didn't love:

This might have been the least impressive reptile collection I've ever seen. They have a building with about 11 or so snakes in terrariums, then a few more tortoises spread out throughout the park. The alligator exhibit wasn't awful, and the dwarf croc exhibit in the African area was decent. It's definitely not a destination for reptile fans such as myself.

The hippo exhibit was not a highlight. Not fun to look at and not overly spacious in terms of land or water area. With all of the space throughout the complex, it's kind of strange that such a large animal has such a lackluster space.

Additionally, the part of the zoo outside of the African complex was kind of underwhelming. The Asian forest area was a highlight, but outside of that it was a forgettable set of exhibits. I generally enjoyed this zoo, but if you're shirt on time you would be better served going straight to the African section and skipping the remainder, save for perhaps the aquarium.

 

[groundskeeper24]

On Thursday, we visited Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo.

I'd heard a lot about the excellence of this park, but didn't really quite understand just how high quality this place really was. Honestly, I don't have anything but compliments for this zoo.

I'm a sucker for indoor jungle buildings, for better or for worse. I've seen Jungle World and Tropic World, in addition to several lesser indoor jungles. I think Lied Jungle beat them all on layout alone. Tropic World is a daily linear path, and Jungle World, while terrific, still keeps zoo goers on a clearly determined path. Lied winds and turns in ways that keep the visitor unsure of exactly where they are in. relation to where they've been. You can definitely see where the main structural supports are when you pay close enough attention, but if you don't it's fairly dense with foliage and overwhelming. I loved it based on the plantings alone. The massive aroids spread around the building we're a joy to see at every turn.

I never saw Lied in it's prime, but the species list is still sufficiently impressive. If there's a knock on the exhibit, it's the smallish holdings for the hippos and tapir. My main highlight animal-wise was the giant arapaima int he waters surrounding one of the primate islands. I would also have loved to have seen the spot-necked otter, but it was a no-show. Even with diminished species, this building was everything I'd expected and read about.

The African grasslands were another major highlight. The spacious exhibits for the megafauna were great. I was particularly impressed with the giraffe/impala exhibit and the winding trail around it. The terraced views of it from the lower path were incredible. My species highlight here were the sable antelope. Zoos fall on some fairly token antelope representation in big complexes like this all too often, so a prime species like this is a gem to me. IMO they demonstrate that antelope can be far from boring if you get the right kind. I also really enjoyed the mixed-species kopje area and the outdoor white-throat monitor exhibit.

Other highlights here were the Asian Highlands and the Desert Dome/Kingdoms of the Night building. The mixed species exhibit with one-horned rhino and Pere-David's deer was my personal favorite in the Asian complex.

Desert Dome is another complex that has to be seen to be believed. I assumed it would be a cut and dried walkway, but the winding path makes the dome area seem to go on forever. The swap area in the night complex is probably the best of it's kind.

I could really go on forever about this zoo. It might be the best I've ever seen. The reptile collection as spread out and stellar. Most importantly, it proved a point to me about zoos in general: First class exhibitry makes people forget about what species you may or may not have. Omaha has no nile hippos, no chimps, only one bear species, few canids, and no real North American section. Even so, I felt like I'd seen a complete and absolutely superb zoo. I didn't leave wishing I'd seen something that they didn't have. I just appreciated it's greatness.

I get that not may zoos can follow an act like HDZ, but the overall point is valid IMO. Exhibitry goes a long way.

 

[DavidBrown]

I'm enjoying your reviews. Thank you for posting them.

Re: Omaha Zoo's lack of North American animals, their native species section is at their drive-through/walk-through "safari park" campus where they have bison, elk, wolves, black bears, etc.

I think Lied Jungle and the Desert Dome are better exhibit complexes now than when they first opened. They were full of obscenely small and barren exhibits for many species that are no longer present. They have renovated those problem areas from what it sounds like from people who have toured the zoo over the last decade. What was good about the complexes remains, and what was problematic has been fixed.

Kansas City Zoo's Africa complex is quite comprehensive. I remember being impressed with how their elephant exhibit was built for the animals to be able to move relatively long distances through it. Watching their chimp troop emerge from their real forest and climb into the trees was an amazing experience.

 

[USZOOfan42]

I'm a sucker for indoor jungle buildings, for better or for worse. I've seen Jungle World and Tropic World, in addition to several lesser indoor jungles. I think Lied Jungle beat them all on layout alone. Tropic World is a daily linear path, and Jungle World, while terrific, still keeps zoo goers on a clearly determined path. Lied winds and turns in ways that keep the visitor unsure of exactly where they are in. relation to where they've been. You can definitely see where the main structural supports are when you pay close enough attention, but if you don't it's fairly dense with foliage and overwhelming. I loved it based on the plantings alone. The massive aroids spread around the building we're a joy to see at every turn.

I never saw Lied in it's prime, but the species list is still sufficiently impressive. If there's a knock on the exhibit, it's the smallish holdings for the hippos and tapir. My main highlight animal-wise was the giant arapaima int he waters surrounding one of the primate islands. I would also have loved to have seen the spot-necked otter, but it was a no-show. Even with diminished species, this building was everything I'd expected and read about.

I wish I saw that exhibit, when I visited it was closed but looked amazing.

 

[groundskeeper24]

I'm enjoying your reviews. Thank you for posting them.

Re: Omaha Zoo's lack of North American animals, their native species section is at their drive-through/walk-through "safari park" campus where they have bison, elk, wolves, black bears, etc.

I think Lied Jungle and the Desert Dome are better exhibit complexes now than when they first opened. They were full of obscenely small and barren exhibits for many species that are no longer present. They have renovated those problem areas from what it sounds like from people who have toured the zoo over the last decade. What was good about the complexes remains, and what was problematic has been fixed.

Kansas City Zoo's Africa complex is quite comprehensive. I remember being impressed with how their elephant exhibit was built for the animals to be able to move relatively long distances through it. Watching their chimp troop emerge from their real forest and climb into the trees was an amazing experience.

I can't speak from experience, because I've only seen it recently, but I think what you say about Lied makes sense. I saw Tropic World back in the 90's when it was flush with animals and activity. I also saw it a couple of years ago as a relatively barren and rocky gymnasium-ish behemoth of a structure. Lied makes up for diminished species with enhanced immersion, IMO. They could make it into a reptile house/aviary/aquarium and it would still be amazing IMO. The design and views are wonderful.

I feel the same about the dome. It's packed with interesting herps. I was quite happy to see the perenties on display, along with Bell's lace monitors. Several crocodilians to see as well (in the Swamp).

I saw the ad for the safari park at the exit. I'm not overly concerned with native species, but I did briefly consider taking the drive out to see it.

 

[JVM]

These are all zoos very high on my agenda right now so really appreciate having some new and additional insight especially in relation to each other. Hope you guys make/made Saint Louis!

 

[snowleopard]

The African section of the zoo was also quite large and fairly comprehensive in terms of species representation. You'd be hard pressed to find a more complete collection of African animals in any American zoo.

Additionally, the part of the zoo outside of the African complex was kind of underwhelming.

This summarizes what almost everyone has to say about Kansas City Zoo. The African zone is world-class and a phenomenal complex with a wide range of species, while the rest of the zoo simply cannot compete. It's good in spots, not not at the same level as Africa.

I'd heard a lot about the excellence of this park, but didn't really quite understand just how high quality this place really was. Honestly, I don't have anything but compliments for this zoo.

I could really go on forever about this zoo. It might be the best I've ever seen. Even so, I felt like I'd seen a complete and absolutely superb zoo. I didn't leave wishing I'd seen something that they didn't have. I just appreciated it's greatness.

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 30 years. It's been extraordinary to witness and without a doubt this is either the #1 or #2 zoo in North America these days. It's a zoo that can afford to spend tens of millions of dollars re-imagining already pretty decent exhibits (Gorillas, Orangutans, Simmons Aviary) on top of all the new stuff.

 

[groundskeeper24]

Despite going off schedule on the first day of the trip, we still managed to visit the St Louis Zoo. It was a quicker visit that included the major exhibit complexes. We weren't looking for an all-day experience here. I had already visited the park about 24 or so years ago, so I had an idea of what we should see and what we could skip if needed.

We arrived at the south entrance. Parking was a bit frustrating. We passed up a spot at near the park entrance, which was a big mistake. We ended up getting a pay spot across the interstate and still ended up walking a good distance to the south entrance. A positive aspect of this issue was getting to check out the very cool reptile sculptures at the hillside park along the freeway. My 47 year-old legs still managed to walk the entirety of the giant snake on the way to the bridge. I as impressed by this performance, yet my 11 year-old son just seemed a bit embarrassed, lol.

Our first stop was the Reptile House. This is the first zoo on the trip that had a dedicated reptile building, although that's a bit of a wash considering the scattered collection at Omaha which was better than the one in St Louis IMO.

The outdoor exhibits for tortoises and Chinese alligators were good. The yard was large enough to force visitors to search for the gators. Plenty of vegetation as well.

My highlight in this exhibit was the gigantic yellow foot tortoise, which is a bit of a legendary creature in the herpetocultural community. It's considered to be an undisputed example of the size that animals that truly have lineage in the Amazon Basin can attain. it did not disappoint. It's not common to see these animals reach sulcata-like sizes in private or even zoo hands. Many sellers advertise "basins" at a significant uncharge, but no one can really verify the final size outcome in time to dispute the lineage until decades pass..... Good luck with that

I really loved the classic interior of this building. I must have been a real sight to see in it's heyday and remains so now. The swamp area in the central pit, much like Lied Jungle, would interest me even as a simple turtle/koi pond. Animal highlights here were Boelen's pythons and Lesser Sundas pythons. The only real bummer was the construction, but that should bring good things in the near future.

I was anxious to see the primate area. The building was fairly empty in terms of animals, but much like the reptile house, the interior is still worth checking out. The outdoor yards were a mixed bag for me. I loved the enrichment opportunities for the animals, but at the end of the day it's tough to look at screen/mesh/steel enclosures after the greatness of Omaha. The animals, FWIW, were quite active and used much of the enrichment provided, the langurs in particular. It's an absolute contrast of function over form, and it serves the intended purpose.

Red Rocks was extensive and slightly dated. The cat yard were all sufficiently large, yet rather standard grottoes, Highlights here for me were the Amur leopards, which were very visible and near performative in from of the large crowd at the central rise area of the cat complex. I enjoy seeing regular old-leopards mores that clouded and snow, so I'm never complaining about that. The jaguar was also active and visible in it's huge enclosure. It was the first time we saw one on this trip.

Hoofed-stock yard were large and adequate. Species on hand were babirusa, banteng, giraffes, okapis and kangaroos. The antelope collection as strong as you're likely to find in a modern collection. Kudu, Soimmering's gazelle, nile lechwe, addra gazelle, and Speke's gazelle were all present and accounted for. The Somali wild ass were another strong point. I can't imagine that many parks are still displaying this species. I also got to see the Chinese goral, which was nice as I could not spot them at Omaha. The transcapian urial rounded out a solid set of classic hoofed stock exhibits.

We breezed though the Cypress Swamp, which impressed me mores than my son. I was unable to find any alleged box turtle residents. I'll take it though, as I also managed not to get defecated on by any birds. We didn't go into the ape complex building and the yards were empty save for a lone chimpanzee. It was fine with us to miss considering the outstanding ape exhibits we'd seen in KC and Omaha. We missed the bird house, to my dismay, but time was short and we were staring down a 5 hour drive home afterwards. The bear complex was a bit of a letdown. They were absolutely improved since my visit a quarter century ago, but at the end of the day it's tough to build a super-engaging bear exit with limited space, IMO. Here's where I normally rant about my home zoo of Cincinnati not needing to use the old Bear Line for a lackluster black bear exhibit, but I'll leave it be for now.

The last exhibits we saw were River's Edge, arguably the best part of the park. it's declined in some ways since I saw it in it's early incarnation, mainly in terms of residents. There was some South American representation, but not much. The anteater was still around and chacoan peccaries were a treat. I like seeing interesting suits and seeing these along with the species Omaha kept (do not quite recall) was nice. The hippo exhibit was packed with visitors. It reminded me of a perhaps slightly larger version of Cincinnati's with similarly sparse land area. Zoos love marketing hippos and their babies. I wonder when they will actually start providing them with enclosures worthy of such a large and popular species. I can't be upset with St Louis here, as this is not exactly a new exhibit.

Finally, I appreciate that the zoo had a really solid hyena exhibit. It might be the best I've seen, which says little as I haven't seen a ton of hyena setups. The animals were lazing around on the hot day, but still quite visible on top of the hill. These are my favorites and one of the main reasons I still wanted to pay St Louis a visit. They are just about the only major species missing from KC's amazing African exhibit. I was also grateful to see a sun bear in the Asian section, as they seem to be dwindling in US collections. The elephants had a fine exhibit, but it was most definitely the least of the 3 I saw this week.

In summation, St Louis is an excellent zoo with a large collection and a great deal of zoo history if you appreciate those things. 2 points that can't be helped: It's very crowded, as you'd expect from any free zoo of that scale. Like literally people bumping into you and hard-stopping in front of you every few seconds. Bring an ample supply of patience if you visit on a sweltering summer day. Also, this zoo wants to sell you booze. Everywhere. I like beer as much as the next guy, but I was a bit astounded by the number of beer and liquor kiosks spread about the park. I suppose it's an excellent money maker. Perhaps it also helps guests such as myself that are anxious around crowds relax a bit, Idk. I wasn't about to find out with the drive ahead. I saw some interesting juice drinks that sounded refreshing at one stand which turned out to be alcoholic,thus off limits for me that afternoon.

Finally, one less than great observation in general on this trip: zoo gift shops are basically terrible. There are practically no books for sale detailing the history of these parks or the people that helped them develop their reputations. I was hoping for some cool Marlon Perkins bios or tributes. Perhaps even a history of Henry Doorly would have been interesting. Nothing. It's all trinkets and books for kids. I suppose it saved me some money, but it's still a disappointment. Also, zoo signage is a dumbed-down as it gets these days. Descriptions are lackluster. St Louis just has wooden stained signs with species names. I greatly miss the days of excellent renderings and brief paragraphs telling guests of animals. Oh well, I suppose your phone is now your exhibit signage.

 

[groundskeeper24]

These are all zoos very high on my agenda right now so really appreciate having some new and additional insight especially in relation to each other. Hope you guys make/made Saint Louis!

They're all well worth it. Interesting point about the locals in KC: we visited a reptile-fish shop in Liberty, a northern suburb, The manager was a fish and reptile hobbyist and had interests similar to my own in zoos. He said he never even visits KC, as the drive to Omaha isn't long and the zoo is just that far superior to KC.

 

[MGolka]

Finally, one less than great observation in general on this trip: zoo gift shops are basically terrible. There are practically no books for sale detailing the history of these parks or the people that helped them develop their reputations. I was hoping for some cool Marlon Perkins bios or tributes. Perhaps even a history of Henry Doorly would have been interesting. Nothing. It's all trinkets and books for kids. I suppose it saved me some money, but it's still a disappointment.

Interesting. Omaha usually has both of their history books available in the gift shop. They must have been out of stock on your visit. Here are both that are usually there:

Omaha Zoo Guide Book

Doc: Zoo Memories and Animal Stories

 

[JVM]

Finally, one less than great observation in general on this trip: zoo gift shops are basically terrible. There are practically no books for sale detailing the history of these parks or the people that helped them develop their reputations. I was hoping for some cool Marlon Perkins bios or tributes. Perhaps even a history of Henry Doorly would have been interesting. Nothing. It's all trinkets and books for kids. I suppose it saved me some money, but it's still a disappointment. Also, zoo signage is a dumbed-down as it gets these days. Descriptions are lackluster. St Louis just has wooden stained signs with species names. I greatly miss the days of excellent renderings and brief paragraphs telling guests of animals. Oh well, I suppose your phone is now your exhibit signage.

The wooden stained signs are limited to River's Edge as far as I've been told, unless something's changed, but I also remember the Primate House's signage is pretty bad. The use of rotating exhibits precluded a lot of the species-specific signage I prefer and it seems they remove the indoor signs during the summer and fall. The Reptile House signage is more typical for what most of the zoo is like. I know some studies suggest guests are more likely to ignore signs that are verbose which is probably a factor.

I'm not surprised about the gift shops as it seems to be happening across the industry. I've heard even the kids' books sell pretty poorly in zoos at this point and that's part of why the selection has shrank so much. I also know plastic figurines have been getting phased out or limited because zoos are more concerned about the plastic pollution.

They're all well worth it. Interesting point about the locals in KC: we visited a reptile-fish shop in Liberty, a northern suburb, The manager was a fish and reptile hobbyist and had interests similar to my own in zoos. He said he never even visits KC, as the drive to Omaha isn't long and the zoo is just that far superior to KC.

That's fascinating, especially compared to the people I've met who think a forty minuted ride to Brookfield is too long, haha. Is the drive between Kansas City and Omaha pretty smooth?

 

[groundskeeper24]

The wooden stained signs are limited to River's Edge as far as I've been told, unless something's changed, but I also remember the Primate House's signage is pretty bad. The use of rotating exhibits precluded a lot of the species-specific signage I prefer and it seems they remove the indoor signs during the summer and fall. The Reptile House signage is more typical for what most of the zoo is like. I know some studies suggest guests are more likely to ignore signs that are verbose which is probably a factor.

I'm not surprised about the gift shops as it seems to be happening across the industry. I've heard even the kids' books sell pretty poorly in zoos at this point and that's part of why the selection has shrank so much. I also know plastic figurines have been getting phased out or limited because zoos are more concerned about the plastic pollution.


That's fascinating, especially compared to the people I've met who think a forty minuted ride to Brookfield is too long, haha. Is the drive between Kansas City and Omaha pretty smooth?

It's about a 2.5 hour drive. I wouldn't say it's a particularly exciting one, but it certainly wasn't bad.

 

[groundskeeper24]

Interesting. Omaha usually has both of their history books available in the gift shop. They must have been out of stock on your visit. Here are both that are usually there:

Omaha Zoo Guide Book

Doc: Zoo Memories and Animal Stories

I must have been looking in the wrong place. I'll have to check those out.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Thoroughly enjoyed your accounts of these collections. My views are almost identical to yours in regards to Omaha and Saint Louis, both two of the greatest zoos I've ever visited and for a while Omaha was my all time favorite zoo -- after revisiting San Diego earlier this year it has since been knocked down to a respectable second place. A few additional comments:

I could really go on forever about this zoo. It might be the best I've ever seen. The reptile collection as spread out and stellar. Most importantly, it proved a point to me about zoos in general: First class exhibitry makes people forget about what species you may or may not have. Omaha has no nile hippos, no chimps, only one bear species, few canids, and no real North American section. Even so, I felt like I'd seen a complete and absolutely superb zoo. I didn't leave wishing I'd seen something that they didn't have. I just appreciated it's greatness.

Well said. There are/were tentative plans for an Alaskan exhibit in the future, but Omaha already feels a very complete zoo on all fronts even though they are missing some key ABCs like kangaroos, wolves and anteaters, in addition to the species you mention. Although it isn't my favorite zoo any longer, it probably has the highest overall quality of any major zoo of it's caliber. At least 90% of the zoo ranges from good to outstanding and in recent years they've been making a ton of quality of life upgrades that go under the radar.

2 points that can't be helped: It's very crowded, as you'd expect from any free zoo of that scale. Like literally people bumping into you and hard-stopping in front of you every few seconds. Bring an ample supply of patience if you visit on a sweltering summer day.

I can absolutely second this. I visited over a humid weekend and it was extremely congested the entire day. The narrow pathways in River's Edge were not made for the amount of crowds that exhibit attracts, neither was the penguin/puffin house with a line out the door. Things were much less overwhelming when I returned a few days later.

Also, zoo signage is a dumbed-down as it gets these days. Descriptions are lackluster. St Louis just has wooden stained signs with species names. I greatly miss the days of excellent renderings and brief paragraphs telling guests of animals. Oh well, I suppose your phone is now your exhibit signage.

I assume you're referring to the wooden signs in River's Edge. Given modern zoos are meant to be an educational experience, the minimal signage in that part of the zoo in particular is inexcusable. It's such a simple fix which makes it all the more frustrating.