For me what gets under my skin the most are the people who go to the zoo and spend about an hour there, then proceed to complain with something along the lines of "No animals out or visible waaa, so much walking waaa, so boring waaa." Well would you look at that, it seems as though when you go into a zoo without a plan for the day, look at an exhibit for all of 3 seconds, and rush your way through in order to go home because you can't stand to be outside with no AC for longer than 5 minutes, the zoo as a result becomes a less than stellar experience. Unsurprisingly, this was a complaint I mostly heard from parents, who were probably dragged to the zoo by their kids who wouldn't shut up about it, only came to see the basic ABC animals and go home instead of well idk maybe spending quality time with their children at a facility that offers excellent educational opportunities perhaps

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The zoo was always an all-day experience for me, I'd go in right when it opens and leave during closing time. I cannot fathom the idea of spending so little time at the zoo, but somehow this was how every single one of my friends visited the zoo with their families in the past. I was able to take them for a day long trip during the summer and all of them had a much more positive and memorable experience. I've come to realize that this is why most people have a lackluster opinion about zoos, they just never bothered to truly appreciate it in its entirety.