AZA Membership and parking?

[jriker1]

I didn't realize but my membership at Brookfield Zoo gives me AZA privileges I guess at other reciprocal zoos.

Some questions:

1. Is there a minimum distance from my home zoo that I can't use this at?
2. how do you tell if your home zoo is 100% reciprocal. All the PDFs that have that percent are from like 2023 and Brookfield Zoo in Illinois isn't even part of it at the time.
3. If a zoo has a parking charge, is that included or do you still pay it?
4. Do you pay for tickets and then get reimbursed at locations or just pull up and show your digital membership?
5. I already apparently have a membership to a zoo that gives me AZA access, however I noticed like Cosley Zoo or farm is like $55, where some are $110, or $160, etc. They all list 100% reciprocal. In theory do you just find the cheapest zoo membership in the program and go with it?

Thanks.

JR

 

[jriker1]

Note I'm starting to think Brookfield Zoo is AZA accredited but doesn't participate in reciprocal program. If not then maybe my question 5 becomes more important.

 

[filovirus]

Here's a list of participating zoos. last updated like a month and a half ago. It details which zoos are 100% reciprocal and which are only 50% reciprocal. Brookfield does not participate.

In an ideal world I'd hope you'd get a membership to whatever your home/favorite zoo is and only take advantage where it's possible, vs gaming the system like you describe in point 5. If I needed to game the system I suppose I'd pick the cheapest in-state zoo with 100% reciprocity. But you only get to use that reciprocity at the zoos on the list.

As for point 4 it's probably gonna vary from location to location. Always call ahead to whatever the contact on the PDF is.

 

[jriker1]

Thanks for the reply. Note I won't call it gaming the system. There are no zoos anywhere around me that are part of AZA and reciprocal. Let alone 100%. Brookfield is even an hour away though my membership doesn't give me any benefits outside of there. Milwaukee is also another I like and that's a long drive. So figure since none are close picking one becomes the thing.

 

[JVM]

I am also a Brookfield Zoo member and can confirm they do not participate in the AZA reciprocal program - nor do Indianapolis, San Diego, or Bronx/WCS. I have a membership from Milwaukee County Zoo for reciprocal benefits. Here is a past thread on the subject in case anything there helps you.

1. Is there a minimum distance from my home zoo that I can't use this at?

No defined minimum distance. I think generally a good rule of thumb is within the same state. Omaha used to have issues with a separate small zoo in Nebraska and Milwaukee's is not usable at other Wisconsin facilities. I'd also expect anywhere over state lines within an hour or so.

2. how do you tell if your home zoo is 100% reciprocal. All the PDFs that have that percent are from like 2023 and Brookfield Zoo in Illinois isn't even part of it at the time.

I think the PDF is your only option for this, or contacting a facility in advance.

3. If a zoo has a parking charge, is that included or do you still pay it?

From what I've been told, this varies from zoo to zoo. I don't recall paying for parking when I used my reciprocal membership at Toledo, Detroit or Binder Park but maybe don't totally quote me on this one.

4. Do you pay for tickets and then get reimbursed at locations or just pull up and show your digital membership?

When I visited the above mentioned zoos, I used my Milwaukee membership and they gave me a reduced entrance fee. I know some locations use reimbursement but at each of those I did as stated successfully.

5. I already apparently have a membership to a zoo that gives me AZA access, however I noticed like Cosley Zoo or farm is like $55, where some are $110, or $160, etc. They all list 100% reciprocal. In theory do you just find the cheapest zoo membership in the program and go with it?

In theory, yes. I made a rule for myself to use a facility I had at least visited (though I did want to visit Peoria and planned to do a membership there, the visit kept falling through) to not be taking too much advantage but that was just me.

 

[SwampDonkey]

I have never been to a zoo that charges for parking that allows AZA reciprocal benefits to cover the parking charge, but then most zoos that I have been to don't charge for parking or didn't enforce the charge at all (Louisville, I found out afterwards when I was leaving that you were supposed to pay at the ticket booth).

As for paying for tickets, usually you just show up at the ticket booth and present your membership card for whatever the discount is and the ticket sales person just discounts the ticket based on the PDF from the AZA. Some zoos have weird protocol, ABQ Biopark Zoo had me go into the admin office and they walked me into the zoo from there....I'm not sure if they usually do that or not though. NC Zoo had to radio someone in admin to figure it out, but that was probably the person and not a zoo policy. But every zoo that is reciprocal that I have been to you have to buy the tickets at the gate, you can't buy them ahead of time.

I should add that some require residency as well. For example, San Diego has a separate reciprocity agreement with Great Plains Zoo, but you have to also have South Dakota residency to use it in San Diego, IOW, you can't become a member at Great Plains and then go to SDZ and expect reciprocity if you actually live in North Dakota or wherever.

It is also worth noting that some zoos also offer discounts for membership organizations like AAA, so even if your zoo doesn't have AZA reciprocity you may be able to get a discount in other ways.

 

[SwampDonkey]

No defined minimum distance. I think generally a good rule of thumb is within the same state.

It may depend on the size of the state? I have never had issues with other zoos in Florida. Heck, even across town at the FL Aquarium you can get a 50% discount with your ZooTampa membership (although I have memberships to both the zoo and aquarium). It seems that it varies by zoo more than any standard.

 

[JVM]

It may depend on the size of the state? I have never had issues with other zoos in Florida. Heck, even across town at the FL Aquarium you can get a 50% discount with your ZooTampa membership (although I have memberships to both the zoo and aquarium). It seems that it varies by zoo more than any standard.

I didn't mean to suggest it was totally definitive, so I maybe should have used a different phrasing than "rule of thumb". I think it's just a good starting point until one figures out more details.

 

[NSU42]

I didn't realize but my membership at Brookfield Zoo gives me AZA privileges I guess at other reciprocal zoos.

Some questions:

1. Is there a minimum distance from my home zoo that I can't use this at?
2. how do you tell if your home zoo is 100% reciprocal. All the PDFs that have that percent are from like 2023 and Brookfield Zoo in Illinois isn't even part of it at the time.
3. If a zoo has a parking charge, is that included or do you still pay it?
4. Do you pay for tickets and then get reimbursed at locations or just pull up and show your digital membership?
5. I already apparently have a membership to a zoo that gives me AZA access, however I noticed like Cosley Zoo or farm is like $55, where some are $110, or $160, etc. They all list 100% reciprocal. In theory do you just find the cheapest zoo membership in the program and go with it?

Thanks.

JR

1) The only time I have seen zoos with there own restriction on the AZA program reciprocity list was in the case of Red River Zoo in Fargo, ND and Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, ND. With them both being 100% members of the reciprocity program at the time and only being an hour apart, they naturally would not let you use one membership to get in free to the other. Of course, Chahinkapa is no longer an AZA zoo, so is not eligible for this program any longer. That being said, I would imagine other zoos have similar restrictions that may apply depending on the zoos (one that seems likely would be the small zoos in the middle of Illinois, Peoria, Miller Park, Scovill, that participate in the program and all being fairly close).

EDITING to add that some zoos also have additional, non-AZA zoos that they have made their own reciprocal agreements with. Like Red River partnered with Hemker Park Zoo (non-AZA) back when I had a membership with them.

2) It's important to note that just because your home zoo says 100% in the reciprocity column of the table, this does not mean you will get in free to all other zoos on the list. If the zoo your going to says 50%, you will still have to pay half the admission fee to get in at that zoo. For example, I have Staten Island Zoo membership that is apart of the reciprocity program and they are a 100% member, but when I went to Omaha last month I still had to pay something. This also goes the other way in that if you have a membership to a zoo that is a 50% participant in the reciprocity program and go to a zoo that says 100% in the table, you won't get in free and will pay half the regular admission fee. At least that is the way it is supposed to work, but I have had plenty of zoos give me a full discount admission when I was only to receive 50%. Likely depends on how familiar the employee is with the program instead of being dependent on the zoo.

As others have said, Brookfield does not participate in this program so your membership there won't work to get you a discount anywhere else. I have a similar issue here in NYC with the Bronx Zoo/WCS not being apart of the program and maintain a second membership to the Staten Island Zoo almost exclusively so I can get the discount. It is also nice that Staten Island offers a lifetime membership option, so I paid once a few years ago and never have to pay again.

In Illinois, Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Peoria Zoo, and Cosley Zoo in Wheaton are all 100% participants in the program, while Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Scovill Zoo in Decatur are 50% members. As previously mentioned, Milwaukee County Zoo is also 100%.

3) No. I have never had a zoo that charges parking give me a discount on it because of my membership to another zoo.

4) Most zoos require you to go to the ticket booths in order to get the AZA discount, but a few places allow you to prepurchase the discounted tickets online. If you prepurchase a discounted ticket, you typically then have to show your membership when your ticket is scanned at the entrance. Very few allow the prepurchasing option and you typically have to look around a bit to even find the discount ticket link on their website. Some zoos that I recall that allow you to prepurchase AZA Reciprocity tickets on their website are Houston and Cincinnati.

I do not know of any zoo that requires/will refund your ticket if you prepurchase online, so would not suggest doing that unless you get the discount at time of purchase.

5) I sorta did this when I was in college, but I went to a school that didn't have any zoo around anyways. (By that I mean like 3+ hours to the nearest zoo.) I also tended to just get one at a zoo I was planning to go to, so wasn't necessarily just looking for the cheapest. If you have an option on the list that is within an hour of you, I don't know why you wouldn't just choose that one because at least you'd likely go there a few times a year if you had a membership.

 

[jriker1]

Thanks for all the replies. How does the reciprocal benefit work for two people? Like I have single plus (me + 1 guest) or something membership to Chicago Botanic Garden and it seems to work for two people wherever I have gone before. They don't really look at my membership that closely just see it on my phone, ask how many people, I say 2 and they say thank you proceed!!

 

[NSU42]

Thanks for all the replies. How does the reciprocal benefit work for two people? Like I have single plus (me + 1 guest) or something membership to Chicago Botanic Garden and it seems to work for two people wherever I have gone before. They don't really look at my membership that closely just see it on my phone, ask how many people, I say 2 and they say thank you proceed!![/QUOTE

In my experience, places typically have a set number of discounted tickets they'll sell per membership. I have typically only ever had a single person membership, but a lot of places I use it and my wife or someone else is with and they give me her ticket discounted too. Based on what I've seen on websites, some zoos explicitly state how many tickets they'll sell per reciprocity membership, but not all. Not all zoos have discounted more tickets than the membership covered, but I would say it happens more often than not. Again, this could just be a lack of training on the employees part, but the fact it happens pretty often would lead me to believe it may just be a set policy by each individual zoo.

I would assume that if you have 1+1 membership, other zoos will honor that under the reciprocity agreement.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks for all the replies. How does the reciprocal benefit work for two people? Like I have single plus (me + 1 guest) or something membership to Chicago Botanic Garden and it seems to work for two people wherever I have gone before. They don't really look at my membership that closely just see it on my phone, ask how many people, I say 2 and they say thank you proceed!!

I have a 2 named +1 guest membership. My wife and I are named and we use the guest for our son, it's cheaper than a family membership. Every zoo that I have been to with them have honored the three person discount.

 

[jriker1]

Took a bit but an update. So I have a Cosley membership family plan. Went to Milwaukee Zoo the other day. Guy was familiar with it and that was 100% reciprocal but had to have the person in the next booth come over and do something. That said, they did charge full price for parking. $15. The admission was free but not the parking.

So technically the $17.50 per ticket was taken off for two people though one was a senior so they would have been $16.50. Parking was $15.00 and had to pay the full amount. Don't mind the membership fees just like to do better than break even. So have $41 left of visits somewhere to break even.

Milwaukee Zoo was an hour and 45 minutes away so was a bit of a cruise.