2012 Road Trip Plans

snowleopard

snowleopard

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Premium Member
This summer my family (myself, wife & two very young kids) are planning another extensive road trip across the United States. The intention is to leave on Monday, July 2nd, and visit approximately 40 different zoos/aquariums in around 48 days. Even though I've been to over 130 different zoos/aquariums over the years almost all of the ones that I plan to visit this summer are establishments that I've never toured before. In fact, of the 40 that are on the tentative itinerary there are 35 that I've never seen. Apparently, no one else on ZooChat has either! After spending countless hours planning this trip it is disappointing to find that there are very few photos of some of these institutions in the ZooChat gallery. Any extra tidbits of information would be greatly appreciated, such as how long it takes to tour a facility, parking tips, or other stats would be welcomed by me as I continue my endless hours of planning.

Here is a list of 22 zoos/aquariums with barely any photos (and in some cases zero photos) in the ZooChat gallery:

Great Plains Zoo
Blank Park Zoo
Peoria Zoo
Potawatomi Zoo
Newport Aquarium
North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island
North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach
South Carolina Aquarium
John Ball Zoo
Potter Park Zoo
Franklin Park Zoo
Dickerson Park Zoo
Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure
Maritime Aquarium
Mystic Aquarium
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
Brevard Zoo
Naples Zoo
Florida Aquarium
Little Rock Zoo

Past Road Trip Threads:

Snowleopard's 2011 Road Trip (24 zoos/aquariums in 32 days)

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-2011-road-trip-223080/

Snowleopard's 2010 Road Trip (39 zoos/aquariums in 46 days):

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-2010-road-trip-160988/

Snowleopard's Epic Road Trip (30 zoos/aquariums in summer 2008):

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-epic-road-trip-20316/

Snowleopard's Florida Road Trip (4 zoos in winter 2008)

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-florida-road-trip-28418/

Snowleopard's Favourite American Zoos:

http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-favourite-american-zoos-203497/
 
I recently met a giraffe keeper from the Blank Park Zoo in Iowa. He said that the zoo is quite small. The giraffes are their largest animals. They also have bongo, sea lions, and big cats if I recall correctly. Looking at their website they also have an indoor wildlife exhibit with an eclectic mix of species including bats, caimans, and moon jellies. My impression from talking with him is that the zoo would not take more than a couple hours to see, but this is second hand info obviously. Apparently they have some expansion plans that include an upcoming black rhino exhibit.

Are you going to swing through the Omaha Zoo for a return visit enroute (or coming back from) Iowa? Ditto are you planning a return to the North Carolina Zoo?
 
When do you plan on hitting us up at John Ball Zoo, maybe I can see if I can volunteer that day. John Ball can take anywhere from 1-3 hours to view depending on how active the animals are.
 
North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island
North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher
North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
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is this a company, or just three aquariums that happen to all have the same name?
 
Chlidonias said:
is this a company, or just three aquariums that happen to all have the same name?
Click to expand...

North Carolina has three separate aquariums that all specialize on different ecosystems and species apparently. They are all run by the state of North Carolina. This is the only aquarium system in the U.S. like this that I am aware of.

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_Aquariums[/ame]
 
What other establishments are you visiting this summer? In Maritime Aquarium News, I heard you were also visiring Beardsley Zoo. Any plans for the Bronx Zoo too?
 
DavidBrown said:
North Carolina has three separate aquariums that all specialize on different ecosystems and species apparently. They are all run by the state of North Carolina. This is the only aquarium system in the U.S. like this that I am aware of.
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thanks for the link David. They sound like interesting aquariums, and an interesting concept too
 
@DavidBrown: as of the moment the tentative itinerary does not include a return trip to either Omaha or North Carolina. Those are two of my favourite 10 American zoos, but with very young children the focus will be on smaller, easily navigated facilities. I have 14 aquariums on the schedule and those will all take 1-3 hours to tour, and then 26 zoos that include quite a few mid-sized collections that will not take all day to see. Small kids tire easily and Omaha and North Carolina are literally all-day zoos that require a LOT of walking. Also, my lovely wife is amazingly quite willing to tour 40 animal attractions almost every summer but I do not want to push her over the brink as well!:) The plus side to scheduling many smaller American zoos on the itinerary is that almost none of them have been toured by me yet, and it is tremendously exciting to visit a zoo/aquarium for the first time. At this point I feel that I've seen practically every major American zoo and so this trip will be all about ticking off the smaller-to-medium-sized establishments.

@Chlidonias: the North Carolina aquariums are funded by the state and the link below has many interesting facts about the trio (along with Jennette's Pier). The two Carolina states (North and South) actually have 5 aquariums between them and I hope to tour all 5 on this summer's road trip. It might seem weird that there are so many aquariums packed into that part of the U.S. but there is actually 2-3 hours driving time between each location.

North Carolina Aquariums Home

@BeardsleyZooFan: I have never visited any attractions in Connecticut but this summer I have tentative plans to tour Mystic Aquarium, Maritime Aquarium and Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo.
 
Here are the attractions that I plan to visit on this ambitious trip, and the attendance for each of them. I managed to locate accurate numbers for 38 of the establishments, but 2 eluded me and so I typed out a rough estimate of the annual attendance for Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, and Downtown Aquarium in Denver, Colorado.

40 Zoos/Aquariums:

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay - 4.2 million
Denver Zoo - 2 million
New England Aquarium - 1.3 million
Indianapolis Zoo - 1.1 million
Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo - 1.1 million
Ripley’s Aquarium at Myrtle Beach - 1 million
Utah’s Hogle Zoo - 1 million
New York Aquarium - 800,000
Adventure Aquarium - 750,000
Downtown Aquarium (Denver) - 750,000
Zoo Atlanta - 750,000
Newport Aquarium - 700,000
Mystic Aquarium - 700,000
Virginia Aquarium - 650,000
Nashville Zoo - 650,000
The Florida Aquarium - 630,000
Maritime Aquarium - 500,000
South Carolina Aquarium - 450,000
Virginia Zoo - 450,000
N.C. Aquarium – Fort Fisher - 415,000
Blank Park Zoo - 400,000
Erie Zoo - 400,000
N.C. Aquarium – Pine Knoll Shores - 380,000
Brevard Zoo - 350,000
Rosamond Gifford Zoo - 350,000
Franklin Park Zoo - 350,000
Naples Zoo - 300,000
Dickerson Park Zoo - 300,000
Little Rock Zoo - 280,000
Palm Beach Zoo - 250,000
Great Plains Zoo - 250,000
John Ball Zoo - 250,000
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo - 250,000
N.C. Aquarium – Roanoke Island - 250,000
St. Augustine Alligator Farm - 250,000
Potawatomi Zoo - 200,000
Peoria Zoo - 200,000
Potter Park Zoo - 170,000
Topeka Zoo - 150,000
Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure - 130,000
 
snowleopard said:
New England Aquarium - 1.3 million
Franklin Park Zoo - 350,000
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It is interesting that Bostonians seem to like their aquarium much more than their zoo based on these attendance patterns. I look forward to your reviews of these establishments - perhaps it will illuminate why this is.
 
Will the new Elephant exhibit at Denver be open by the time you visit?
 
kiang said:
Will the new Elephant exhibit at Denver be open by the time you visit?
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@kiang: I always appreciate your comments as even from all the way across the pond in Scotland I know that you always follow my summer road trip threads.:) Toyota Elephant Passage, the 10-acre addition to Denver Zoo, opens on June 1st and the road trip is tentatively scheduled to run from July 2nd to approximately August 19th (7 weeks). Denver Zoo will probably be the 2nd last attraction visited for the entire trip.

@David: I've heard from fellow ZooChatters that the New England Aquarium is excellent and the Franklin Park Zoo is below par for such a major city.
 
snowleopard said:
Here are the attractions that I plan to visit on this ambitious trip, and the attendance for each of them. I managed to locate accurate numbers for 38 of the establishments, but 2 eluded me and so I typed out a rough estimate of the annual attendance for Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey, and Downtown Aquarium in Denver, Colorado.

40 Zoos/Aquariums:

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay - 4.2 million
Denver Zoo - 2 million
New England Aquarium - 1.3 million
Indianapolis Zoo - 1.1 million
Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo - 1.1 million
Ripley’s Aquarium at Myrtle Beach - 1 million
Utah’s Hogle Zoo - 1 million
New York Aquarium - 800,000
Adventure Aquarium - 750,000
Downtown Aquarium (Denver) - 750,000
Zoo Atlanta - 750,000
Newport Aquarium - 700,000
Mystic Aquarium - 700,000
Virginia Aquarium - 650,000
Nashville Zoo - 650,000
The Florida Aquarium - 630,000
Maritime Aquarium - 500,000
South Carolina Aquarium - 450,000
Virginia Zoo - 450,000
N.C. Aquarium – Fort Fisher - 415,000
Blank Park Zoo - 400,000
Erie Zoo - 400,000
N.C. Aquarium – Pine Knoll Shores - 380,000
Brevard Zoo - 350,000
Rosamond Gifford Zoo - 350,000
Franklin Park Zoo - 350,000
Naples Zoo - 300,000
Dickerson Park Zoo - 300,000
Little Rock Zoo - 280,000
Palm Beach Zoo - 250,000
Great Plains Zoo - 250,000
John Ball Zoo - 250,000
Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo - 250,000
N.C. Aquarium – Roanoke Island - 250,000
St. Augustine Alligator Farm - 250,000
Potawatomi Zoo - 200,000
Peoria Zoo - 200,000
Potter Park Zoo - 170,000
Topeka Zoo - 150,000
Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure - 130,000
Click to expand...

Flippin' Heck Snowleopard - you're gonna need a holiday to recover after this lot! :D
I look forward to reading your reports.
Have fun and invest in some bubbly bath soak as I think you're gonna need it before you run out of pounce! ;)
 
New England Aquarium has a prime location in Downtown Boston, right on the Harbor. It is also located near many historical places. Honestly, it's nice, but not the greatest. I have younger children, and am always in fear of them getting crushed by the amount of people that visit. The building is dark, concrete filled and has narrow visitor areas and ramps. The Harbor Seal exhibit outside is small, maybe 30' long by 10' wide, small haul out areas and not much area to swim. The new Fur Seal exhibit, which they just added California Sea Lions, as well, looks like a small swimming pool with a couple fake rocks, small shallow area and surrounded by decking that is made from concrete. Crappy exhibit for the money, if you ask me. They are also renovating the Giant Ocean Tank, removing the African, Rockhopper and Little Penguins, to place all the inhabitants of the Giant Ocean Tank in the massive pool. The Penguins will be moved offsite for 10-11 months, while the glass on the GOT is replaced, reef reconfigured, and so on. The aquarium is just walls of tanks, not much interaction besides the new Shark and Ray Touch area, the Tide Pool area, where people can touch different critters, is really small. If you are claustrophobic, don't bother. We went last weekend, and were bumped into, slammed against the walls, and my son was knocked down. Better off going in non-peak times. During the summer, it is packed. Just my .02.

Franklin Park Zoo. Nothing really pops out. The Tropical Forest is ok, not the greatest. Gorillas are the stars of this place. Most exhibits are small, and poorly done. They hardly renovate, just add new animals, maybe change some plants, that's it. The Cottontop tamarin and Pygmy Falcon exhibits are my favorite in here, as you are so close to the animals. There is outdoor/indoor spaces for Gorillas. Going in Summer, Gorillas are lazy and hide towards the back. They do have some youngsters, so, that may be fun. Outside of the TF you'll find Wild Dogs and Baird's Tapir. The Zoo for 72 acres, feels empty, maybe 25 acres are developed? Maybe more, maybe less. They have Bird's World, many bird exhibits, some large painted and red-eared turtles, outside a huge flight cage, with many species, Kea, which are awesome, Andean Condor, a duck pond, and Flamingo habitat. Besides BW, there is an australian walk-thru, Emu, Kangaroo, Wallaby, Matschies TK, in a building, various Cockatoo, Kookaburra, and Swans. I'm not sure if Lorikeet's will be back or not. Sorry, I don't know many species of the birds. There are just too many between TF, BW, and Australian Walk-Thru. There's a long, I mean long walkway of "dead pathway", with Giraffes on one side with Grants Zebra, Huge Exhibit, long, surrounded by Berms, with various viewing spots. Giraffes may be out, maybe not. There's a Giraffe Barn, no public viewing, so under 60F, no Giraffes. There's a Lion Exhibit, with one Male Lion, named Christopher, who is 18 years old. Exhibit is ok. Bengal Tigers, one white, one normal, are beside the Lion. There's misc. hoof stock in this area, Bactrian Camel and Bongo, as well as, Zebra, Aoudad, Zebra, and Ostrich in a 4.5 acre crossing area, fenced in with Game Fencing (real tacky). The last part is Barnyard and Childrens Zoo. Barnyard is cool, authentic barn with all the barn animals, including rare Poitou Donkey, small exhibits for barn mice, Barn Owls fly overhead in the barn, some rat snakes and spider exhibits. Large Chicken Coop and Hatchery, Petting Zoo and a slide in a Silo for the kids. Childrens Zoo, has Amur Leopards, Red Pandas, Coyote, various waterfowl, Prairie Dogs, Pet Place (Pets that people can own, small animals, reptiles, arachnids, that you can view). Some Owls, in CZ, N.A. Porcupine. Last is their version of a Reptile House, called The Atrium, small building, local species and some not so local, but can be kept as pets, besides Chaco Tortoise. Sorry for the rant. To me, being a local, not worth it.

A nicer Zoo is North of Boston, Stone Zoo, which is operated by the same non-profit as Franklin Park, Zoo New England. It's a smaller Zoo (26 acres), but tons of shade by the trees around the Zoo. You walk in thru the entrance into Yukon Creek, here you will see Bald Eagles, N.A. Porcupine, Gray Fox, Canadian Lynx and Reindeer, as well as Black Bear. When entering Yukon Creek, you can go left or right, going left brings you by Bald Eagle and Black Bear. Left will bring you by Lynx, Fox and Reindeer as well as Cranes, which are new this year. Going Left by Black Bear, there is the ADC( Animal Discovery Center), you can learn about small mammals, Hyacinth Macaw, various Reptiles and other Birds. Leaving ADC, you enter the SouthWest Exhibit, passing Llamas, Roadrunner/Hare exhibit in front of Coyote, there are Spectacled Owls, Cougar, various reptiles and spiders built into the wall, Cacomistle, Coati, A Bat Cave, more reptiles, and end at Jaguars. Leaving the SW exhibit, you walk to Flamingos, and Windows to the Wild, Hornbills, S.A. Monkeys, Sloths, Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine, Elephant Shrews, Tortoises, Meerkat, Huge Snakes, and Breeding Pair of Hyacinth Macaws. Leaving that area, Peregrine Falcons on your left, Colobus Monkeys on your right, N.A. Otters straight ahead, behind Otter is a White-Cheeked Gibbon exhibit, with a baby born not too long ago, Black-Handed Spider Monkeys, are across from them. There are new Crane Exhibits, not sure of species, but will be open soon. From here, there's a Barnyard with Zebu, Guinea Hog, Goats and Children's Play Area, small, intimate, fun for the kids and parents to rest. Past the Barnyard, is Yak, Markhor on an exisiting rock formation that is massive, Snow Leopards, are also found here with a huge netted exhibit, that goes from the path to the top of the rocks, some 60' tall, or so. The Markhor can walk all around the Snow Leopards, but not get close enough, but it keeps the Cats busy. Past them, are Black-Necked Cranes. This Path is a Dead End, leads you to a massive Mexican Gray Wolf exhibit, over an acre, that spans from the top of the hill, to the bottom (140'). There are multiple viewing areas either thru glass, or the fence, there is also a Cave at the top of the trail that is in the MGW exhibit. The exhibit has a waterfall and pool, which the wolves go in and out of in the warmer months, some caves, natural rocks, same as the Markhor/Snow Leopard exhibit at the top. the exhibit is heavy in foliage and shade. Not sure on how many wolves they have now. I know when they had pups, there was 11 on exhibit or in holding, but that was a year or so ago. If you can't see the wolves, go to the Cave, not in, but look up behind it, they are generally observing the sites, as they can see clear into Boston at that height, unlike the visitors. From below, to us, the visitor, it just looks like the sky with treetops, as there are tall trees on the backside of the hill. Nice Zoo, small, but intimate. They are doing a new playground, cranes, and other guest amenities. Both Zoos have no help from the State, barely anything. So, it is hard for them to raise funds. There's a new Marketing Director, who is supposed to be awesome. They had to raise funds, and some organization would double what they got, so they raised $750,000 and got $1.5 million. Something is in store for the future.

I know this is more of a review, but laying it out there for those that have not been to either of these 3 places. Snow Leopard, hope you enjoy your trip. I gave you as much info as I remember, because their websites, won't go into as much detail. Cheers.
 
Thanks for the quick reviews, gulo gulo. Stone Zoo seems pretty cool. I might check it out one of these days.
 
Gulo gulo said:
New England Aquarium has a prime location in Downtown Boston, right on the Harbor. It is also located near many historical places. Honestly, it's nice, but not the greatest.
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Thanks for the great reviews of the Boston animal attractions Gulo gulo. To my knowledge nobody has reviewed these zoos yet. Your reviews are very interesting and informative.

It sounds like the Zoo New England group is doing a good job with limited resources. I wonder if they have a master plan to build more exhibits to fill the space at the Franklin Park Zoo if they ever have the resources to build new exhibits?
 
Thanks, AnaheimZoo. It is a nicer Zoo for it's size, lots of carnivores, if you like those types of animals.

Thanks, DavidBrown. My mind was all over the place, when I wrote that. Any questions minus, exact species, I'd be more than glad to answer. I tried to talk about them exhibit by exhibit, at least the Zoos, Aquarium, no such luck, as they aren't themed. It would just be tank after tank.

ZNE, has come along way, since I volunteered and worked there. I tried to talk about them, without making them out to be something they are not. Truth is brutal, but why spend $50 or more for a family of four at FPZ, when you won't be as happy or have that overwhelming wow feeling, like when leaving Shedd or the Bronx. There have been Master Plans drawn up, a few years back by the late Charles Shaw. Recently, I believe Nevin Lash, has done some designs for the Gorilla Exhbiit at FPZ, and Black Bear at Stone. The Zoos are doing well. ZNE, keeps on trucking. All the Zoo Babies help, constantly have baby gorillas, lemurs, giraffe, zebra, jaguar, snow leopard, etc. People love babies.
 
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