Summer Road Trip

mweb08

mweb08

Well-Known Member
This won't be on Snowleopard's level, but my wife and I will be taking a two and a half week road trip that will end with visiting two of our best friends and will feature quite a few zoos and two of the highest regarded aquariums in the country.

We will start in Atlanta and end in Minneapolis. Here is the zoos and aquariums we plan on visiting (asterisk for those establishments that are maybe's):

Zoo Atlanta
Georgia Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium
Chattanooga Zoo*
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies*
Zoo Knoxville*
Nashville Zoo
Memphis Zoo
Saint Louis Zoo
Kansas City Zoo
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Great Plains Zoo*
Minnesota Zoo
Como Park Zoo*

The only places I have been to on this list are the Kansas City and Henry Doorly zoos, back in 2009. I am especially excited for the Georgia and Tennessee aquariums, Saint Louis and Minnesota zoos, and a return visit to Henry Doorly, which I absolutely loved then and I know has been upgraded a lot since.

Out of the places with asterisks, which places would you guys priortize? Any places along the way that I am overlooking? Any general travel advice (recommendations for food, museums, attractions, hiking trails, breweries, etc)?
 
mweb08 said:
Any places along the way that I am overlooking?
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The Twin Cities area has two good places you did not list. Inside the Mall of America is SEA LIFE Minnesota, one of the few places on the continent you can see a Green Sawfish. There is also a small bird of prey rescue called The Raptor Center, which is very cool, and was one of the first places in the world to have the ability to rehabilitate raptors.
 
Controversial opinion - but unless you've never seen whale sharks/manta rays then Georgia Aquarium is skippable, especially since it'll cost you nigh on $100 for a couple to visit. It's big but aside from that one tank it's nothing particularly special.
 
Well I haven't seen those species and obviously there is high regard for the aquarium in general so I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the opinion though.
 
Thanks for sharing the news about your upcoming road trip and you've got some great zoos on the list. I'd place Omaha at #2 and Saint Louis at #3 in the nation and each of those zoos could take an entire day to tour. Tennessee Aquarium is a fantastic place and arguably one of the 5 best aquariums in the USA, and when I visited that establishment I added on tiny Chattanooga Zoo in the afternoon as they are less than 10 minutes apart and it can be easily done.

Your selection of zoos/aquariums looks great and I plotted out the route on a map and it seems as if you have chosen wisely. I would keep the schedule that you have already decided on and you'd only be able to add on more zoos if you added on additional days.

Of the 14 places that you have tentative plans to visit, I've been to all except for the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies and so I'll be intrigued to read your review. However, I have been to the Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
 
CGSwans said:
Controversial opinion - but unless you've never seen whale sharks/manta rays then Georgia Aquarium is skippable, especially since it'll cost you nigh on $100 for a couple to visit. It's big but aside from that one tank it's nothing particularly special.
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It is a controversial opinion because the sheer presence of the whale sharks makes the aquarium a 'must-see' and I still think that I'd place Georgia as the #3 aquatic facility out of the approximately 85 aquariums that I've visited in my lifetime. Shedd and Monterey Bay are ones that I prefer, but I'd love to go back to Georgia again as I was there in 2008....a decade ago now. As a bonus, the World of Coca-Cola is a fun diversion and it is right next door!
 
snowleopard....Out of my maybe's, are there any places that you'd strongly recommend visiting?
 
mweb08 said:
snowleopard....Out of my maybe's, are there any places that you'd strongly recommend visiting?
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It would be interesting to know your exact schedule to see if you could pair up some establishments and visit two in a day. Tennessee Aquarium and Chattanooga Zoo being only 10 minutes apart makes it easy, plus Knoxville Zoo and Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies are only an hour apart. There are loads of smaller zoos that you will be passing along your route but it all depends on whether you want to stick with the big guns or take time out to tour a few puny facilities. Also, you'll have to consider if you and your wife want to visit museums, art galleries, parks or any other attractions.

How about this itinerary?

Day #1: Zoo Atlanta + another Atlanta attraction
Day #2: Georgia Aquarium + World of Coca-Cola
Day #3: Tennessee Aquarium + Chattanooga Zoo
Day #4: Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies + Zoo Knoxville
Day #5: Nashville Zoo 9-1 + drive 2.5 hours + Tennessee Safari Park (I've never been) 3:30-5
Day #6: Memphis Zoo
Day #7: Saint Louis Zoo
Day #8: Kansas City Zoo
Day #9: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Day #10: Blank Park Zoo 9-12 + drive 3.5 hours + National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium 3:30-6
Day #11: Minnesota Zoo
Day #12: Como Park Zoo + Sea Life Minnesota (only 25 minutes apart)

On Day #10 I eliminated Great Plains Zoo because Blank Park Zoo is probably almost as good and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium is not a full aquatic facility but I was pleasantly surprised when I visited in 2014.

I've provided you with an example of a 12-day road trip but you did mention two and a half weeks and so you should have plenty of time to add on more zoos or non-zoo attractions.
 
Thanks snowleopard!

I could pair up some of those places like adding the Chattanooga Zoo to the Tennessee Aquarium for instance.

It's all about the opportunity cost here. For example, some of the best hiking trails are in those Eastern Tennessee spots so hiking could win out over the Chattanooga Zoo and/or the Knoxville area attractions. So technically we will have the time to visit all of those establisments with the asterisks, but we're looking to have a bit more balance in the trip (it's still obviously very zoo heavy).

That's why I'm curious of people's opinions on which of those establishments are more worthy of a visit. Like if we were to choose only one more Tennessee place, which one should we visit?
 
Hey y'all, my trip has commenced so I'll start updating this in some way it another over the next few weeks. I probably won't go into as much detail as Snowleopard and some others do though.

First off I have a question, which Atlanta attraction generally takes longer to visit between the zoo and the aquarium?

Secondly, there's been a change of plans, I actually visited Alabama before coming to Atlanta and will be completing a loop with my wife over the next 23 days. So additions to the trip include Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Birmingham / Montgomery. The Smokies along with the nearby cities of Gatlinburg and Knoxville have been cut though.

Lastly, as for what I've been up to so far during my nearly 100 hours in the South, well sadly for you guys, it only includes one zoo. I spent a day and a half here in Atlanta hanging out with some fellow O's fans (it's been a rough season) on a yearly trip to a city to see the team play and basically explore the city through food and drink. My solo time has mostly been exploring civil rights history (there's some outstanding museums, historic sites, and memorials), breweries, and southern bbq.

As for the zoo I visited, it was the Montgomery Zoo, which I was pleased with considering my expectations weren't that high. I think I'll post a mini-review later, and at the end of the trip I'll rank the establishments I've visited and then see how they fit in with my overall lists.
 
I'm not going to write super long reviews, and some parts of zoos won't even be mentioned, but with that disclaimer out of the way, here's my first...

Montgomery Zoo

Elite:

- I don't think any exhibit reaches this level, but the size of the savanna and plains exhibits is elite for a zoo specifically without considering animal parks like the one San Diego has.

Each of the 3 largest exhibit complexes (N. America, Africa, and Asia) features one of these large fields that includes various hoofstock and birds and has predators exhibits on the edge that can sometimes seen either in the foreground or background depending on your location. That could be the makings of elite exhibitry, but they don't put any real effort in hiding the barriers between the carnivores and herbivores.

The Very Good:

- The aforementioned large savanna and plains exhibits fall into this category since they are very large, have a good collection of species, are well planted, and do have the predator exhibits on the edges even if the immersion factor could have been stronger. The one I really want to highlight is the African savanna exhibit because that one does the best job of incorporating surrounding exhibits, although not really the lion and cheetah ones, rather those of giraffes and elephants. There are quite a few vantage points where the animals of the very large central exhibit (zebra, kudu, ostrich, crowned crane, etc) can be seen along with the giraffes and elephants and the immersion level of those 3 exhibits is pretty strong as only water separates them.

- Star Species... for a zoo that can easily be seen in 3 hours and one that doesn't get mentioned much on here, it surprises with its strong collection of A-listers. Elephants, giraffes, rhinos (Indian), pygmy hippos, lions, tigers, bears (black and sloth), chimps, siamang, cheetahs, mountain lions, lynx, jaguars, otters, and zebra.

The Average:

- Most of their carnivore exhibits fall roughly into this category. Not surprisingly the cheetahs get the most space by far while the jaguars and mountain lions get the short end of the stick.

- Elephant exhibit... it is pretty well immersed with the savanna behind it, and has tons of water, but the land area is mediocre in size.

The Noteworthy:

- They have a maned wolf and giant anteater mixed species exhibit, which is pretty cool. It's also quite large.

The Bad:

- So I said this zoo has a strong collection of star species, but I'd say the rest of their roster so to speak is rather shallow besides the hoofstock in those large fields. They don't much in the way of reptiles, amphibians, primates, or small mammals.

Overall

- This is a solid mid-tiered zoo that is easy to navigate, and has good viewing opportunities for a lot of the animals that people tend to visit zoos for.
 
Thanks for the Montgomery Zoo review and I visited this establishment in 2010. Other than upgrades to the otter and alligator exhibits, I'm not sure that much has changed since then but nevertheless I recall looking out at the sprawling paddocks and seeing an impressive variety of mammals.
 
snowleopard said:
Thanks for the Montgomery Zoo review and I visited this establishment in 2010. Other than upgrades to the otter and alligator exhibits, I'm not sure that much has changed since then but nevertheless I recall looking out at the sprawling paddocks and seeing an impressive variety of mammals.
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They also have what seemed like a new indoor touch tank for rays.
 
T
mweb08 said:
This won't be on Snowleopard's level, but my wife and I will be taking a two and a half week road trip that will end with visiting two of our best friends and will feature quite a few zoos and two of the highest regarded aquariums in the country.

We will start in Atlanta and end in Minneapolis. Here is the zoos and aquariums we plan on visiting (asterisk for those establishments that are maybe's):

Zoo Atlanta
Georgia Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium
Chattanooga Zoo*
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies*
Zoo Knoxville*
Nashville Zoo
Memphis Zoo
Saint Louis Zoo
Kansas City Zoo
Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Great Plains Zoo*
Minnesota Zoo
Como Park Zoo*

The only places I have been to on this list are the Kansas City and Henry Doorly zoos, back in 2009. I am especially excited for the Georgia and Tennessee aquariums, Saint Louis and Minnesota zoos, and a return visit to Henry Doorly, which I absolutely loved then and I know has been upgraded a lot since.

Out of the places with asterisks, which places would you guys priortize? Any places along the way that I am overlooking? Any general travel advice (recommendations for food, museums, attractions, hiking trails, breweries, etc)?
Click to expand...

Tennessee Safari Park and Bright's Zoo are must for Hoofstock.
 
Georgia Aquarium

Elite:

- Whale sharks!!!

- Manta Rays!!

- Star species: besides the two aforementioned species, the Georgia Aquarium has beluga whales, dolphins, sea otters, river otters, sea lions, a green sea turtle, penguins, and puffins.

- I know I already mentioned whale sharks and manta rays, but the entire Ocean Voyager deserves to be in this category partly due to those incredibly remarkable and rare species, but also because it's an absurdly large tank and the viewing opportunities are sensational. The tunnel and the giant window are the highlights, but there are several more intimate windows to view all the fish in the giant tank.

Very Good:

River Scout: This exhibit is their best attempt at immersion and I like that there are often tanks that are above the visitor too.

Tropical Diver: This exhibit has some impressive tanks and viewing windows. My favorites were the main coral reef tank and the jelly fish tanks

The Noteworthy:

- There are very few sharks for such a large aquarium. I know their expansion is going to address this.

The bad:

- Their exhibits for some of their larger star animals are simply too small. The 3 that I'm talking about are the belugas, dolphins, and especially the sea lions.

Overall:

- This aquarium elicits more awe than any other I've visited due to the whale sharks and manta rays and how they're exhibited. They also have several other amazing species and mostly do well to very well with their exhibitry. However, this aquarium lacks the immersion level of some of the other best aquariums, nor do they do as well with non star species, and as mentioned, have too little space for a few of their larger (and most intelligent species). So I am conflicted on this establishment, but the Ocean Voyager may elevate them above their competition.
 
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Zoo Atlanta

Elite:

- Nothing quite reaches this level imo.

Very Good:

- The Living Treehouse: This exhibit features a nice aviary, a good lemur exhibit, and my personal favorite set of enclosures at the zoo which were 2 netted exhibits for drills and wolf's guenon's. The main drill exhibit was bordering on elite and my favorite in part due to my love of the species.

- Gorilla exhibit: This area is very large, has a significant amount of gorillas, has a variety of strong viewing areas (mostly open, but glass as well), and has a lot of trees and shade as well as some rocks, logs, and climbing structures. So you may be wondering why it didn't make elite for me. The reason is there's just so much hot wire. I feel like I differ on this issue from many on here, but I'm not just able to ignore the audible sound of electricity and the fact that much or all of the foliage is off limits just because it looks nice.

- Orangutan exhibit: Similar in quality to the gorilla exhibit, but without as much hot wire and without the glass viewing as far as I could tell.

- Scaly, Slimy, Spectacular: The Amphibian and Reptile Experience: This recent exhibit complex is mostly really good. I don't think it quite measures up to the similar complexes in LA and San Diego for instance, but it is very well done.

Average:

- Most of the rest of the zoo is in this ballpark including the elephants, lions, and giant pandas. The tiger and clouded leopard exhibits are above average, but not quite very good imo.

Noteworthy:

- As far as I could tell there were literally no hoofstock at this zoo besides in the petting zoo if you want to count that.

- Zoo Atlanta features some rare species such as drills, tanuki, and bush dogs along with the star of stars in the giant panda.

The Bad:

- I don't think any exhibits are bad, but the aforementioned lack of hoofstock is, plus like the Montgomery Zoo, this zoo lack a deep roster of species. It has a lot of stars, some rarities, and plenty of reptiles and amphibians in their exhibit, but it doesn't go too deep with it's mammal and bird collection.

Overall:

- This zoo is consistently solid to very good in its exhibitry, has some star species to be sure, and offers some animals that are very hard to find otherwise, but at the same time the overall collection isn't the strongest and I would have expected more from a zoo in a major city like Atlanta that doesn't have much in the way of other major zoos nearby. As of now, Zoo Atlanta seems like a good mid-tier zoo, but I look forward to their development of their new African savanna, which should propel it up the rankings some.
 
Tennessee Aquarium

Elite:

- Basically the entire fresh water building is bordering on elite. There are a couple of immersive areas in the upper greenhouse like sections that are expertly done, but the first one isn't rich in animals besides river otters and some not so exciting local species. Otherwise there's a cool sturgeon touch tank as well as tank after tank showcasing local as well as international freshwater fish and turtles. Almost all of these tanks are larger than what I've typically seen for like species and some are significant in size.

Very good:

The oceans building is pretty close to elite as well. The main tank is large, has a good collection of species, and great viewing at various spots as you traverse through the main exhibit area. There's also a really good jelly exhibit. The first stop in this building has some well done crowd pleasing elements, but lacks cohesion. At first it seems like you're entering a great Madagascar immersion exhibit reminiscent of Baltimore's wonderful Australia exhibit, but after two lemur exhibits and an exhibit for fish, it abruptly ends and you're in a large touch tank area for rays as well as some small sharks. Then there's a butterfly garden. So yeah, that's quite the hodgepodge of exhibitry.

The average:

- The penguin exhibit is just decent due to limited space.

Overall

This aquarium on the Tennessee River is very similar to Baltimore's, which is no surprise since it was designed by the same company. The biggest difference is that it has more of a fresh water focus, which isn't quite as exciting as saltwater in terms of species, but it's nice to see nonetheless and they still have a very strong ocean section as well. The Tennessee Aquarium is not only similar in design to Baltimore, but also in quality as these two aquariums deserve to be rated similarly imo. Baltimore probably does better with immersion, but Tennessee generally offers their fish and turtles a little more space. Both are generally considered top 5 aquariums and I think that is well deserved.

Next up: Chattanooga Zoo and Memphis Zoo
 
Chattanooga Zoo

Good to very good:

- I actually think most of the zoo falls into this category. The new deserts and forests buildings are quite nice, the mountain lion exhibit would be excellent with better climbing opportunities for the cats, the Himalayan Passage has good exhibits for snow leopards, red pandas, and langurs, and there are several other good exhibits including those for chimps, jaguars, and coyotes.

The below average to bad:

- There were still some relatively small cages for some of the animals including bobcats, servals, and some birds.

- The zoo is also quite small.

Overall:

- This is a 2 or so hour zoo, but it has a pretty good and diverse collection for a smaller zoo and mostly good to very good exhibits. My wife and I were quite happy with our experience until it started pouring, which led to us waiting it out in the Cougar Express as the cougars waited it out in the privacy of their shelter.
 
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