I've been a couple times in the past few years as construction was ongoing. I've been curious to see what it would be like all tied together. I just visited the park today with my daughter, and here's a review:
On a hot day in July, the parking lot was maybe 35-40% full (roughly 60 cars). No major sign for the entrance. If you'd been driven there blindfolded and got dropped off there in the parking lot, you'd have no idea where you are until you got right up to the ticket booth. 11.99 adults, 7.99 for my daughter.
Entering, your line of sight is dominated by two things; 1) a very nice, expansive waterfall of limestone slabs and 2) a huge metal barn surrounded by chainlink fencing. There's a fairly large yard for giraffes and a nice viewing platform that conceivably is for getting up eye-level with the giraffes, but the giraffes aren't in the yard! And really, it doesn't seem like it'd be a good idea to let them out because the waterless moat seems way too shallow to hold them in. They're sequestered behind chainlink near the barn, a good 40-50 yards away. You pass a plank and mesh exhibit of Colobus monkeys and see the Indian Rhino, which has moderate space. There's an empty yard next to the rhino which I think is for black rhinos, but I see no signs. There's also an island-type exhibit for white-handed gibbons.
Movng on, we pass a large, walk-through Lorikeet aviary where you can feed the birds for a fee. Next to that area are black mesh cages up against a building that hold kookaburras. Further in the distance, you see animals such as Grevy Zebras and Sables behind chainlink, but you can't get very close to get a good look. They've completed a wood and mesh Red Panda/Clouded Leopard exhibit since my last visit with glass viewing. It seems that there is another large exhibit still under construction that will be for Snow Leopards I'm guessing.
Continuing on, there's a couple large bins for kids to pet/feed rabbits and Sulcated Tortoises and a walk-through Red Kangaroo yard. I see a camel with a saddle in the distance...rides for a fee. There's also some goats/miniature donkeys in a yard with mesh large enough for kids to reach through and pet/feed.
My daughter's favorite part: a decent little play area with one of the tallest kid's slides I think I've seen anywhere. A big hit for her. Directly across from the playground is an African Penguin exhibit. The only flow I can see in the water is a 1-inch tube spraying some water upward in the middle. The penguins are all hunkered on land under a shade structure next to a cinder block building, which is presumably winter housing.
Next is a large island with another cinderblock building in the middle. On either side of this building (east-west) are mesh cages for what appears to be Fossas and lemurs. Then on either end of the building (north-south) are island exhibits for Red-ruffed Lemurs and Ring-tailed lemurs. There's a bridge crossing over to the Ring-tails where an attendant tells me that for a fee, my daughter can feed the lemur a Craisin®. I say no thanks...I never willingly increase the chances of my child receiving a primate bite.
Walking back, we pass a large telephone pole & black mesh style cage for a pair of white tigers. As you begin to exit the park, there are several viewing windows next to a concession stand for a "nursery", where there are baby snow leopards, clouded leopards, and lemurs curled up in blankets, etc. with lots of googly-eyed kids and mothers fawning over them. My pamphlet says there's a Honey Badger somewhere, but I didn't see it.
Well, that about sums it up. Let's just say, it's waaaay overpriced, especially considering that a ton of the main exhibits they advertise still aren't really completed. It's a curious place to me...clearly, they have money. Yet they have built very plain, unimaginative and utilitarian exhibits, presumably to cut expense. It's all poles and mesh. If they had approached all of their exhibits with the same zeal they apparently had for that big limestone waterfall, then wow, it could really be a nice place. And the landscaping has definitely improved from last year, but there's tons to be desired. Imagine the lanscaping at your local bank or newly constructed shopping center...green yard of grass, a few bushes, and some very young trees. Flowers here and there in cypress mulched sections...I realize these things come with age, and you can't really just start out planting old-growth, mature trees unless you're Disney, but it's really low-average at best. Then add the corrugated metal and cinderblock buildings scattered throughout in plain sight without even an attempt to hide them. Very poor aesthetics for what appears to me to be a private park with more resources than many similary-sized, non-accredited parks. Graphics are the least amount of effort possible...1-3 sentences laminated on a piece of computer printer paper and taped to the glass.
Tanganyika sells itself as "Wildly Different" from other zoo experiences you've had. That is, you get to "experience their world" in the form of petting/feeding and walk-through exhibits. But honestly, I didn't see a greater level of petting/feeding opportunities than most other zoos I've been to, except for the lemurs (yeesh!). I have a difficult time ever seeing this place being any kind of significant competition for the Sedgwick County Zoo, but it's definitely no roadside tragedy. The people there seemed to be enjoying themselves, so maybe it does have staying power and a permanent niche.
