Based on your photos, I have a very hard time believing this new area will open by the end of next month. After the Africa Rocks fiasco, maybe San Diego should stop giving out dates altogether.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it will make the May 26 opening date. I don't quite now why, but I think within the next month the area will suddenly look a lot more complete. We don't know how far along the rainforest section (tree kangaroos, cassowary, cockatoos) or animal ambassador section (wombat, echidna, sugar glider) are construction wise.
I agree, their track record, coupled with the photos and my own eyes, make May 26th seem unlikely. It is possible that a portion opens on May 26th, but I doubt a complete exhibit complex.
One thing that sort of bothered me was the reliance on the current foliage/trees. It appeared to me, and I'm not sure my photos show this well, that the exhibits are being built around the current forest, instead of truly creating a fresh, more authentic Australian atmosphere. Sort of felt I was in an American Forest, typical of Northern California or the Mountains, and someone was building a zoo enclosure for native species. Unlike many on this board however, I am not a zoologist, or botanist, or worried about species names over common names, or exactly matching flora to fauna, I am in too theme and immersion, so this felt off to me. Just my take and I am sure I am wrong about it, but it doesn't feel very Australian in a typical fashion. Not sure with the location that it was ever possible to stand out as it's own world, so to speak.
While I'm glad the zoo is adding a new exhibit and hopefully they'll eventually add in some more odd Australian species from the zoo, I was disappointed to find the majority of the California native species were off-exhibit for the construction.
