Two-Day Zoos

Vision said:
On the other hand, many of the zoos people here mention needing two days (Bronx, Pairi Daiza, Beauval, Prague, Toronto) I have been able to do comfortably in one day.

A zoo that I haven't seen in this thread so far, to my surprise, is Walsrode! I've done it fairly comfortably on single days twice now, but I've heard of a few people taking two or more days for it - which I definitely understand!
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You also had me leading you around, though :p And iirc we did skip a couple of the smaller exhibits which you mopped up on your second day.

Bronx can theoretically be a one day zoo, I think, but it all depends on how fast you walk, the line for the monorail, how long you spend looking for birds in some of their larger aviaries, and your interest in herps among the other variables you listed. As @CGSwans says the zoos hours are unusually short for such a massive zoo (10-5:30 in the summer, which is 7.5 hours and not what I'd call "unreasonable" but definitely a little short) and if they were maybe 2-3 hours longer it'd arguably be a one-day zoo.

Walsrode is one I definitely spent a full day on, more or less from start to a little after closing as they don't rush anyone out. I was satisfied with one day but I can definitely see spending maybe 1.5 days there.

@CGSwans I agree that SDZ could probably be done as a long day during summer hours. I visited in January during shorter hours, arrived 2 hours late due to traffic, revisited the Owen's Aviary three times, and still managed well over half the zoo. Of course, all of these zoos are arguably one-day zoos if you're fast enough and don't miss anything your first time through. I also agree that no should really should take two days to complete, but we do love our large collections don't we.

~Thylo
 
Vision said:
A zoo that I haven't seen in this thread so far, to my surprise, is Walsrode! I've done it fairly comfortably on single days twice now, but I've heard of a few people taking two or more days for it - which I definitely understand!
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It certainly required more than a single day for us; perhaps a full day and then three extra hours on the second day, then time for revisits.

CGSwans said:
Prague would have been fine had it not been 35 degrees, which was taxing.
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As we were in the city at the same time as you - and hence also had to contend with visiting the zoo in those temperatures - I can fully empathise! We just about managed to finish the collection within a single day, however.

vogelcommando said:
I vitited Prague 2015, needed 2 days and later discovered that I had still missed one of the houses completly ( one of the Reptile-houses :( ) !
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Let me guess - the one accessed through the children's playground?
 
I haven't been there, but might Wilhelma be another two-day zoo? It's another of those very speciose zoos (Zootierliste says more than 800 species), and while it's not outrageously big like the Berlin Tierpark, it's not a tiny city zoo either (Wikipedia says 30 hectares). And it supposedly has a lot of botanical attractions beyond the animals.

This summer, I found that Cologne could easily be a 1.5-day zoo. I did manage to see everything relatively comfortably in a day, but I didn't have time for many return visits nor for standing around for ages waiting for an animal to appear (and unless I was extremely unlucky that day, one does need a lot of return visits and lingering to enjoy the reptile house - I only saw half the species at most because the rest were hiding).
 
Hvedekorn said:
I haven't been there, but might Wilhelma be another two-day zoo? It's another of those very speciose zoos (Zootierliste says more than 800 species), and while it's not outrageously big like the Berlin Tierpark, it's not a tiny city zoo either (Wikipedia says 30 hectares). And it supposedly has a lot of botanical attractions beyond the animals.
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I managed it pretty comfortably within a single day, arriving half an hour after opening, leaving an hour before closing, and with the final two hours of my visit comprising repeated re-visits to various points I wanted to see again.
 
Very few of the zoos that I've visited really need more than one day to see the entire collection, in my experience, that those that do are: New York (Bronx); San Diego, both of the Berlin collections, Prague, Plzen and Pairi Daiza.

(Of course, back in the 1960s, London Zoo's enormous collection demanded more than one day to see it thoroughly; sadly that hasn't been the situation for many years.)

However, even when two days are not actually essential, my preference is always to spend two full days in a major zoo wherever possible. If, for example, I am staying in Antwerp or Cologne or Stuttgart (or, indeed, any city that has a major zoo) I invariably spend at least two, sometimes three, days in the zoo.
 
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Personally I think Singapore Zoo worth 2 days of visit. I'm not even satisfied visiting the zoo from the hour it opened to closing.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
As @CGSwans says the zoos hours are unusually short for such a massive zoo (10-5:30 in the summer, which is 7.5 hours and not what I'd call "unreasonable" but definitely a little short) and if they were maybe 2-3 hours longer it'd arguably be a one-day zoo.
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Bronx Zoo's own website FAQs state that:
With 265 acres of wildlife habitats and attractions, it's difficult to see the entire zoo in one day.
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If they themselves are issuing a disclaimer that zoo visitors will struggle to get what they have paid for with the time available then yes, the hours are unreasonable.
 
I've seen everything at San Diego, Bronx and Brookfield in one day.
Long days-granted, but doable.
 
CGSwans said:
Bronx Zoo's own website FAQs state that:

If they themselves are issuing a disclaimer that zoo visitors will struggle to get what they have paid for with the time available then yes, the hours are unreasonable.
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I agree that they should be longer but "unreasonable" is a bit strong considering many major zoos are open only about 30 minutes longer than Bronx. Omaha is 9-5 and Chester is 10-5 during the peak season, why aren't those unreasonable? I highly doubt Bronx is the only zoo who has a disclaimer about how long it takes to visit (doesn't SDZ have one, and thus offer two-day tickets?)

~Thylo
 
Vision said:
A zoo that I haven't seen in this thread so far, to my surprise, is Walsrode! I've done it fairly comfortably on single days twice now, but I've heard of a few people taking two or more days for it - which I definitely understand!
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Good call! Definitely a place which requires at least two days, if you want to see it properly, given the size of the collection, the number of patience-requiring walk-through aviaries, the excellence of the shows (Secretary Birds dancing to the Benny Hill music!), and the very nice restaurant.
 
CGSwans said:
Personally, I don’t think a zoo *should* take more than one day to finish. I think any zoo goer, even slow ones like us, should be able to make a day of a zoo and feel confident of seeing the whole thing. That’s just a question of basic fairness to the consumer.
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I totally disagree with this! The richness of a collection that is large enough to merit more than a day is something wonderful, for me. And if that means that some visitors forego the Reptile House, others don’t have time to see the South American area, then no worries: a zoo visit is not a narrative where all parts need to be seen to make sense of any of it. My favourite non-animal museum is the British Museum, where part of the appeal is that same sense of vastness, necessitating focus on each visit. Even on a busy day, there will be quiet areas….

CGSwans said:
If they themselves are issuing a disclaimer that zoo visitors will struggle to get what they have paid for with the time available then yes, the hours are unreasonable.
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I’d agree that the hours should be longer – at most zoos – but would argue this whatever the size of the collection. For what it’s worth, the current admission price is $28.95, which seems a bargain for a day at one of the world’s great zoos.

CGSwans said:
Neither is the wrong way to do it.

.
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Of course!
 
snowleopard said:
Asia has Singapore Zoo but I think that everyone I know visits both the zoo and the Night Safari on the same day and so the main zoo obviously doesn't necessarily require two days.
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I was there last July. The Zoo closes at 18:00 and the Night Safari starts about 19:30 so there's no overlap.

I spent the day at the zoo, but left early - around 16:00 - to include the River Safari, which I rushed through. Although it closes at 19:00 many of the attractions (like the Reservoir Cruise and the Amazon River Quest) close early.

So I left the Zoo early in order to see the River Safari. I could have spent longer at the zoo, but as the day had gone on and the time was approaching to leave for the River Safari, I started to hurry past some densely vegetated exhibits - like the primates - and in some exhibits where I couldn't see the occupant I just kept walking. As it was, I missed a Penguin exhibit and I suspect a couple of other exhibits too. So I could have happily spent another half day at the zoo, then spent a relaxed half day at the River Safari, instead of racing through it before darkness fell like I did this time.

I made the mistake of doing the Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari all in the one day. 20 years ago I could have easily managed it, but this time I found it too much and I left the Night Safari at 9:00pm after only about 90 minutes, completely exhausted and with some aching muscles. Next time I'll do the Night Safari on it's own.

:p

Hix
 
Hvedekorn said:
This summer, I found that Cologne could easily be a 1.5-day zoo. I did manage to see everything relatively comfortably in a day, but I didn't have time for many return visits nor for standing around for ages waiting for an animal to appear (and unless I was extremely unlucky that day, one does need a lot of return visits and lingering to enjoy the reptile house - I only saw half the species at most because the rest were hiding).
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I completely agree here. We spent one day at Cologne Zoo, and even though we accidentally forgot about the Reptile House, the day still felt quite rushed. I really could have done with a second day there to really feel like I'd 'done' the zoo well (my second zoo day was spent at Duisburg at a much more leisurely pace).

Another zoo which I spent two days at was Paignton (This was a few years ago before the TB restrictions came in). We took the first day at a gentle pace, and enjoyed the zoo so much we went back later in the week to fill in a few gaps, and focus on different areas to the first visit. A very enjoyable two days!

To be honest, I don't like rushing, it takes the enjoyment out of a visit. But to each their own. Knowing me, the Berlins or SDZ would probably need the best part of a week each!
 
Both Zoo and Tierpark Berlin were doable for me in a single day visit the last two times I went. I think I spended about eight hours in both of them and saw everything I wanted to see (expect for some no-shows) and revisited some buildings/sections at the end of the day. The main reasons would be that I didn't stop at every enclosure and that I already knew more or less my way through the zoos because of previous visits. In a common zoo, my main targets are mammals and birds of prey, next to specific rarities of the zoo. Most other exhibits I'll casually walk by until something catches my eye, to parafrase @Vision. When I visit an aquarium or a reptile house or a butterfly garden, it's a different case and I will pay attention to every single terrarium or aquarium, but in a common zoo I generally don't "waste" much of my time with looking at fish, tortoises or tarantulas. Being there before and planning a intended walking route up front definitely helped me to get around quite efficiently in Zoo and Tierpark Berlin within a day.

Bronx was easy for me in one day, but circumstances were are major reason in this. I visited in November, so the Monorail and Children' Zoo were closed that time of the year. Next to that, Congo Forest was closed because of maintenance.

A zoo I did had problems with to have a proper visit in one day, is Safaripark Beekse Bergen. Two safari rides, a boat ride, a free flight show with birds of prey, a extensive walking safari...
 
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I did San Diego in one day although I deliberately didn't do the Tiger Trail, missed a couple of small exhibits and the Africa Rocks area was under construction. On the other hand I visited all three of the large walk through aviaries twice. I didn't feel any great desire to go back the next day, although that was feasible. Singapore Zoo was also one day, but Jurong I always feel rushed. OK so it is the birds,..

Must admit though that mostly when I visit zoos these days it is to meet somebody or see something specific, so it is rare for me to try and "do" a whole major zoo any more.
 
As @TeaLovingDave and @ThylacineAlive mentioned previously, I have done two-day zoos in the best part of a day, without feeling like I had missed out anything crucial. Berlin Zoo we could have easily completed in a day, but we left the Aquarium for a second day as we wanted an in depth look at their amazing ectotherm collection. As a result, on the first day we got revisits to the bird house, Fasanerie and (of course) the primate house as well.
The closure of the carnivore house at Zoo must be noted of course, as that may well have made us require two days.
Tierpark we were very surprised we managed in a day, and this was with me locked up in a battle with a nasty illness that struck on day five of our trip*... I would definitely like to revisit Tierpark however, just to see if the Alfred Brehm does indeed make it tick over into a two day affair (I highly suspect it does).
Plzen, despite many people telling me it is a two day zoo, was a one day zoo for us, but of course this is because their entire offshow stock (almost, still a lot of mammals and herps behind the scenes) was onshow at the time. Our excursion included a wander into and around the Dinopark (where most of their juicy bird rarities are kept) and a revisit to the Rhino House (home to a lot of their formerly offshow herps), as well as a 30-45 minute offshow tour (which was incredibly rushed as far as the rodent rooms and herp room were concerned, the main area we wandered about fairly comfortably as it was so empty...!)

In April I am visiting Pairi Daiza again as part of a larger trip with three friends (two of which are other Zoochatters) through the Low Lands (Antwerp, Best, Zie-Zoo, Beekse Bergen, Duisburg, Krefeld, Burgers', Apenheul, De Paay, Ouwehands, Dolfinarium, Artis and Blijdorp are also on the docket), so I will be interested to see if we will manage it in a day. I mentioned to @Vision in private that because they are changing so rapidly and constantly that it's basically a new zoo each time you visit! I have also noticed that, other than a few zoos where we want a specific rarity before we move on to a different collection later in the day (eg De Paay and Best), Pairi is the only place I have found myself pre-planning a route for...a testament to just how immense of a zoo it is!

Burgers' is also a two day zoo in my opinion, at least if you are an avid birder (as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, if I wanted to I would happily rock up to the Bush with a pair of binoculars and just walk around birding all day!).

Wilhelma in my opinion is not a two day zoo, although that could be because I visited around a year ago, so at a time when their flower beds were not in bloom. Even then, I'm not a massive plant nerd so I didn't spend too long in their greenhouses by the entrance...I found I had enough time to do the whole zoo AND revisit their ape house multiple times with no issues.

Cologne I just about managed in a day by the skin of my teeth, the reptile house is immense and, like Wroclaw, would easily require a couple of days if one is a keen herp-enthusiast.

Ostrava, despite what some people told me beforehand, is not a two day zoo. It is large, but very similar to Whipsnade in that it occupies a large site but has few enclosures scattered amongst the grounds. Therefore more time is spent walking TO enclosures, than actually at them.

Walsrode and Prague are also examples where I could easily see them being two day zoos, especially if you want to revisit certain areas in Walsrode to see a specific bird and once the new parrot and Australian areas open at Prague...however, once again myself and Thylo managed to do this zoo in a day without missing anything major (and without having to break rules and stay after hours........)

* = as a side note, Duisburg, Krefeld, Walsrode, Hannover, Berlin Zoo and Berlin Tierpark were done with me in top health, Leipzig Zoo, Wildpark Leipzig, our second days at both Berlins, Magdeburg, Schonebeck, Poznan Nowe, Wroclaw and Ostrava were all done with me feeling ill, and Prague, Plzen and Jihlava done with me on the road to recovery. I ended up having to skip out on Poznan Stare entirely because I couldn't manage it after a long time walking around Nowe and to and from our hotel! Anyways, there I go rambling on a tangent once again....
 
I finished San Diego in one full day during summer hours without skipping anything. That was pre-Africa Rocks and predated my strong interest in birds, though, so it may not be possible if I were to try again. I'm curious if anyone has found the Safari Park to be a one or two-day ordeal.

As for Saint Louis, it is definitely a one day but not a two day. I'm always baffled by how some people can finish it in only a few hours, but I also think that for most people one day is enough time to see everything and take your sweet time, or revisit an area or two.
 
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