Houston vs. Dallas/Fort Worth

pachyderm pro

pachyderm pro

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I am currently in the beginning stages of planning a long weekend trip to Texas at the end of this year, with zoo visiting as the main focus. I am debating between the two biggest hotspots for zoos in the state, Houston and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Driving far distances to San Antonio, Gladys Porter, Caldwell etc. are out of the question.

If I choose the former, Houston Zoo and the Downtown Aquarium Houston would be guarantees. The zoo has risen to be one of the best zoos in the US in recent years, and the aquarium looks - besides a certain controversial white feline - relatively unspectacular but nice none the less. Are there any other zoos within an hour or so of the Houston area?

On the other hand is the latter alternative. Dallas Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo and the Dallas World Aquarium. A trio of great facilities. Dallas looks relatively simple on its older side, but the entire "Wilds of Africa" complex looks breathtaking. Fort Worth looks to be a strong zoo with a handful of key highlights such as the MOLA and the new Savannah exhibit, if weaker than Dallas and Houston. The Aquarium of course is rich with rare species and looks to be an incredibly unique experience.

I really do feel like I can't go wrong either way, but I would love to hear from those who have visited these places before I make my decision.
 
Dallas/Fort Worth.

I love Houston, I'm form there, the zoo is great and has a pretty great master plan underway (best part of the first half opens next Summer), but D/FW you get 2 good zoos and the DWA. IMO Dallas Zoo is the best facility in the state at this time.

Downtown Aquarium Houston is not worth your or anyone else's time. It's a theme restaurant from Tilman Fertita (new owner of the Houston Rockets as well as 15 other restaurants including Rainforest Cafe, Landry's, Saltgrass Steakhouse, and other bleh facilities). It has fish tanks around you as you eat that happens to have a stingray touch tank a tiger or two for reasons.
 
Also within an easy drive of Dallas is the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, well worth considering.
 
I do think the Dallas Zoo and the Forth Worth Zoo Zoo each rival the Houston Zoo on their own in terms of quality. In terms of collection, Houston has a better collection than the Dallas Zoo or Fort Worth Zoo individually. When combined, however, the collections overall of both Dallas and Fort Worth far surpass that of Houston.

Taking this into consideration with the massive and unique collection that is the Dallas World Aquarium, I firmly believe that Dallas/Fort Worth is your best bet.

It is worth mentioning that both Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston have aquariums that you did not list. Dallas has the Fair Park Aquarium which is an extension of the Dallas Zoo and, while very small, is actually very nice. Grapevine also has a chain aquarium known as Sealife, which is quite nice however I would prioritize it quite low compared to other collections in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Fort Worth has a Seaquest brand aquarium, and Houston has an aquarium owned by the same people as Seaquest called the "Houston Interactive Zoo and Aquarium" which is causing problems for the Houston Zoo given confusion of people buying memberships. Both of these have opened up very recently however I cannot recommend you go to them and I doubt I will ever visit them. There have been numerous claims of poor management and animal mistreatment from almost every location of Seaquest, and it seems there is a news article written about something they did wrong every single week. Not to mention their very hands on approach with animals like otters is sketchy at best... Also, the owners of this business, who still own it, went to prison for illegal trafficking of wildlife.

If I were you I would go with Dallas/Fort Worth and make sure to visit the Dallas Zoo, Dallas World Aquarium, and Fort Worth Zoo.
 
Thank you for all the recommendations everybody. At this point I am leaning towards Dallas/Fort Worth as I would be eager to see the Giants of the Savannah, MOLA, and all of the rare species at the Dallas World Aquarium. I likely won't have the time to go to Fossil Rim or any other institutions near that area, but I still have a great trio of zoos in the - hopefully - near future.
 
Happened upon this thread by accident, interestingly I’m also planning a long weekend to Dallas/Fort Worth at the end of the year.:D
 
Five years ago I self-published a book called Zoos of the Southwest that focused on 17 major zoos in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (plus The Living Desert in California). In the book I state the Dallas Zoo is the best zoo in the southwest and I stand by that claim. (It is not necessarily my personal favorite, but I consider it the best overall). Fort Worth is also good and has added some nice touches since my last visit. The Houston area also has Moody Gardens if you go that way, but I think we have convinced you to go to Dallas. It seems you do not have time for other visits beyond the area, but in case you do, the zoos in Waco and Tyler and Glen Rose are quite nice. If you are just sticking to Dallas Zoo and Fort Worth Zoo and Dallas World Aquarium, no need to rent a car. Stay in downtown Dallas and walk to DW Aquarium and take light rail to Dallas Zoo (it stops out front). Take the commuter train from the downtown station to the Fort Worth station and a bus from there to Fort Worth Zoo. I have done all of this myself so I know it works well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top