San Diego Zoo A walk through Africa Rocks

Otter Lord said:
Agreed, every single piece of metal in this exhibit is polished. How can say immersion is being attempted when there is glaring bright metal railing, holding doors, and support poles? The mesh tent was supposed to help with the immersion by reducing the number of poles but that concept was not carried all the way to the finer details.
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I can totally see where you are coming from. I wish the walkways were more trail like, the bridges wood, and infrastructure hidden better or themed better. I work for Disneyland in creative entertainment for 22 years, you could consider me an ex imagineer, just not rides but entertainment offerings in both US parks. I always wonder if I'm being to hard on a non profit that has exceptionally lighter pockets than my former employer. What you see in Disney Parks is the budget cut version of what was originally planned and approved. I cannot remember a production I worked on that did not suffer in the end from budget cuts and unforeseen circumstances. Regulation can ruin things as well. It's easy to have your plans for hidden door handles be cut back to standard handles for budget reasons when rain causes havoc with the build, when money has to be spent on something inforseen, when an unrelated project needs money, when safety inspectors say it's not safe or to regulation. I'm just saying that it can be out of their reasonable control. I too struggle as you have stated with simple things and details being ignored, but then my experience tells me that things I created were ruined and altered by other parties, that when viewed by the public, I had to grin and bear the criticism when I wanted to agree and share what was originally planned and approved. Just food for thought and in no went meant to be an argument against your views as I share many of them as well.
 
I've been following this thread for a while now, and I would first like to think Timmy for posting all these photos, and AD for moving it to a separate thread so this discussion could occur.

So far I am really enjoying all of Africa Rocks. I agree the penguin/shark habitat is one of the best I have ever seen, and makes Lincoln Parks new African Penguin exhibit look extremely mediocre in comparison. The underwater viewing gallery is splendid and the rocky shore is wonderfully done. The croc/turtle exhibit is also very lush and large for just a single crocodile. However, the glare looks quite nasty, but I very much like Rady Falls though. Now Madagascar has what's sparked the debate going on in the recent post's. Personally, so far in Africa Rocks, its the strongest in collection but weakest in immersive qualities and elements. However, that most certainly does not make it bad. Yes, the netting looks quite distracting and the poles scattered in the middle of the paths are also quite an eyesore (These kinds of things really bug me), but keep in mind the exhibit opened a little over a week ago. If we have a similar debate in a couple months, a year, or 5 years, things will look different, as plants will soon grow in to be much more lush, making the overall exhibits much more pretty and less artificial. The exhibits themselves are very good for the species that make theirs homes their though. The rock walls and caves don't look he most pleasing, but provide the animals will great climbing structures and heated/cool places for them to retreat to.

I have higher hopes for Acacia Woodlands and Ethiopian Highlands though. I am a little concerned about the size of the leopard habitat(s), but I expect the aviary to be fantastic, and the baboon hillside has potential to be simply jaw dropping, and could be the top attraction of this 8 acre canyon. The kopje is just as good as it always was, and I very glad they decided to keep it around along with the new areas.

So with all of this said, how do you think Africa Rocks have progressed? What are your hopes for the future areas?
 
pachyderm pro said:
I've been following this thread for a while now, and I would first like to think Timmy for posting all these photos, and AD for moving it to a separate thread so this discussion could occur.

So far I am really enjoying all of Africa Rocks. I agree the penguin/shark habitat is one of the best I have ever seen, and makes Lincoln Parks new African Penguin exhibit look extremely mediocre in comparison. The underwater viewing gallery is splendid and the rocky shore is wonderfully done. The croc/turtle exhibit is also very lush and large for just a single crocodile. However, the glare looks quite nasty, but I very much like Rady Falls though. Now Madagascar has what's sparked the debate going on in the recent post's. Personally, so far in Africa Rocks, its the strongest in collection but weakest in immersive qualities and elements. However, that most certainly does not make it bad. Yes, the netting looks quite distracting and the poles scattered in the middle of the paths are also quite an eyesore (These kinds of things really bug me), but keep in mind the exhibit opened a little over a week ago. If we have a similar debate in a couple months, a year, or 5 years, things will look different, as plants will soon grow in to be much more lush, making the overall exhibits much more pretty and less artificial. The exhibits themselves are very good for the species that make theirs homes their though. The rock walls and caves don't look he most pleasing, but provide the animals will great climbing structures and heated/cool places for them to retreat to.

I have higher hopes for Acacia Woodlands and Ethiopian Highlands though. I am a little concerned about the size of the leopard habitat(s), but I expect the aviary to be fantastic, and the baboon hillside has potential to be simply jaw dropping, and could be the top attraction of this 8 acre canyon. The kopje is just as good as it always was, and I very glad they decided to keep it around along with the new areas.

So with all of this said, how do you think Africa Rocks have progressed? What are your hopes for the future areas?
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I am pretty/ fairly optimistic about Africa Rocks. I feel that most of my issues will be resolved when the foliage grows in. I would give it a 7/10.

From what I saw near the Kopje, I feel the Ethiopian portion will be the highlight of the canyon.

Overall, I feel the area will be viewed differently in 10 years. As I was taking photos there were groups of employees in business attire walking through with contractors. I over heard a comment about a tree being needed to hide something between the two lemur exhibits. I also felt that Rady Falls looked different in someway than my first visit. I am guessing some additional foliage was added.

So I am fairly positive. I do, however, feel that the current design firm being used by the zoo is leaning towards some utilitarian/natural world hybrid style to the new zoo exhibits. It's as though they deliberately want you to feel as though you are in a modern city that has in someway been reclaimed by nature. I personally do not favor this trend toward some sort of hipster zoo. It's sort of like a chipotle a Starbucks and a zoo had a baby. The safari park does not seem to be trending this way though, which is good.
 
Obviously I just don't care about certain things as much as some do as from what I can tell, this looks really good for both the visitors and the animals.
 
To expand, I like immersion, in fact I prefer it, but it's not one of the most important factors for me in judging exhibits. And when looking at exhibits that have some level of immersion, I don't get as worked up over seeing an animal door out of the exhibit or some pedestrian railings or most other things. The bottom line to me is no matter how good the immersion exhibit is, I will never come close to forgetting I'm in a zoo. Plus, when it comes to exhibits for animals that need clear barriers, there's going to be mesh, or glass, or moats, or some other sort of obvious barrier there, which is going to hurt immersion.

I mean some are talking about Tiger Trails being a great immersion exhibit, but it's quite apparent when you're walking through there that you are at a zoo. The mesh and glass barriers are very evident, the pathways aren't really made to seem like you're truly in Southeast Asia looking for Tigers, and there's a gift shop and area with tables in the middle of the complex. So I guess I'm not sure why that's so great at immersion. It does a good job with it, but the biggest difference seems to be that the foliage of that region lends itself better to hiding stuff.

More important to me is how good is the viewing of the animals and how good is the exhibit for the inhabitants. It seems like the answer is good to the former and very good to great for the latter based on what I've seen so far.

My main complaint based on what I've seen is that besides the excellent penguin exhibit, the exhibits seem to lack varied viewing as they are apparently all mesh (or all glass for the croc exhibit). I prefer a combination of mesh, glass, and open viewing (hard to do with certain animals).
 
mweb08 said:
To expand, I like immersion, in fact I prefer it, but it's not one of the most important factors for me in judging exhibits. And when looking at exhibits that have some level of immersion, I don't get as worked up over seeing an animal door out of the exhibit or some pedestrian railings or most other things. The bottom line to me is no matter how good the immersion exhibit is, I will never come close to forgetting I'm in a zoo. Plus, when it comes to exhibits for animals that need clear barriers, there's going to be mesh, or glass, or moats, or some other sort of obvious barrier there, which is going to hurt immersion.

I mean some are talking about Tiger Trails being a great immersion exhibit, but it's quite apparent when you're walking through there that you are at a zoo. The mesh and glass barriers are very evident, the pathways aren't really made to seem like you're truly in Southeast Asia looking for Tigers, and there's a gift shop and area with tables in the middle of the complex. So I guess I'm not sure why that's so great at immersion. It does a good job with it, but the biggest difference seems to be that the foliage of that region lends itself better to hiding stuff.

More important to me is how good is the viewing of the animals and how good is the exhibit for the inhabitants. It seems like the answer is good to the former and very good to great for the latter based on what I've seen so far.

My main complaint based on what I've seen is that besides the excellent penguin exhibit, the exhibits seem to lack varied viewing as they are apparently all mesh (or all glass for the croc exhibit). I prefer a combination of mesh, glass, and open viewing (hard to do with certain animals).
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with a gradual slope needed for the whole canyon, it's hard to get varied viewing on all areas. EH looks like it should have some though.
 
mweb08 said:
I mean some are talking about Tiger Trails being a great immersion exhibit, but it's quite apparent when you're walking through there that you are at a zoo. The mesh and glass barriers are very evident, the pathways aren't really made to seem like you're truly in Southeast Asia looking for Tigers, and there's a gift shop and area with tables in the middle of the complex. So I guess I'm not sure why that's so great at immersion. It does a good job with it, but the biggest difference seems to be that the foliage of that region lends itself better to hiding stuff.
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I think the problem here is that I suppose there's a bit of a difference between personal definitions of immersion. I'll never feel like I'm not in a zoo, but some zoos add thematic touches or other things and make it feel more like you're exploring or searching for an animal, and I think that's always a bit more exciting than the presentation style of "Found the lemur. Next. Found the other lemur. Next. Found the fossa. Next." For me, Africa Rocks is definitely appearing like the latter. There's nothing to suggest "This is Africa" or "This is supposed to evoke the feeling that I'm in Africa". It's exhibit->exhibit->exhibit. There's nothing really to appreciate that I can see. Tiger Trail of course has the beautiful foliage and the almost Disney-like design, the interpretive elements, the long-house, the waterfall, and that one sort of "adventurous" path to the viewing area, which, while not challenging, is kind of fun. Africa Rocks, up to this point, just has the waterfall, which I have to give them credit for.

As I mentioned earlier, the remaining exhibits could be a game-changer. The concept art for the Ethiopian Highlands had me excited, and while I know to distrust concept art, I am still fairly excited. The Acacia Woodlands could be very nice as well. On the side, I'm curious about how everyone here feels about the Zoo's continued attempt at labeling the Kopje as a new experience.
 
Shellheart said:
On the side, I'm curious about how everyone here feels about the Zoo's continued attempt at labeling the Kopje as a new experience.
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To be fair, new additions were added, just nothing animal related. It also would have been a pain to tear down and its already such a great exhibit, so it makes much sense to keep it around.
 
pachyderm pro said:
To be fair, new additions were added, just nothing animal related. It also would have been a pain to tear down and its already such a great exhibit, so it makes much sense to keep it around.
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I agree, it seems unjustified to call it new, or part of a new exhibit. Someone previously had said the only differences were the new paths, and from the photos that seemed like it was the only change? Is there any change in species at all?
 
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