US zoos closed due to COVID-19 and duration

Okapi Lover said:
One somewhat concerning trend I've observed as zoos are reopening: due to claimed restrictions with their online ticketing systems (which does seem plausible), a large portion of zoos are not currently honoring reciprocal membership discounts (for members of other AZA zoos and for AZA professional members). Do people think this will continue for the foreseeable future? I could especially see zoos who are in financial crunches due to having been closed reluctant to honor reciprocal discounts, although I think this is a bad idea in the long run. To me (and I suspect many other Zoochat members, but probably not too many people in the broader community), these reciprocal discounts make up a substantial portions of many zoo memberships' value propositions.
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Yeah, that really puts a damper on my summer, my sister and I usually go together with 7 kids between us. I hope it's only through July at most, but it's not looking very good for my wallet right now. Binder is doing reciprocal, they aren't doing timed tickets though, I've been 3 times this last week, and it's been really packed in the afternoon.
 
I went to Menominee Park Zoo today with a bunch of family members. They currently have a limit of 20 people - we were a group of 10. I feel kind of bad but there really isn't anything else I could do.
 
Sacramento Zoo is reopening June 15th.

San Diego Zoo, SDZ Safari Park, and SeaWorld SD are aiming for July 1st at the latest, potentially sooner.
 
San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park will be opening up effectively as of June 20th. I made an error, it’s reservation for the special members days prior to their official opening, which doesn’t require any reservations! Was invited to a curators membership preview for June 15th to either the zoo or safari park, chose the zoo and will let you all know what is different in person so as to what expect if you’re planning to visit from out of state or want to make a trip!

addendum: may not be able to go since I realized I work all night the night before Monday so may have to cancel reservations or drink the most caffeine I’ve ever had if I can go.
 
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pachyderm pro said:
Milwaukee County Zoo reopens on June 13th with reservations.
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Going to their online reservations page, the zoo seems to only be making a subset of capacity open to members, and tickets for members are sold out for the next month, while every day has availability to purchase tickets, which seems like a very unfortunate choice given that members are presumably the most committed supporters of the zoo.

See: https://shop.milwaukeezoo.org/#/Admission
 
pachyderm pro said:
Milwaukee County Zoo reopens on June 13th with reservations.
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With all the indoor areas closed.

I must ask that people please note when a zoo's indoor areas will be closed. This affects if I will want to visit the zoo not, and I am sure others feel this way as well.
 
birdsandbats said:
With all the indoor areas closed.

I must ask that people please note when a zoo's indoor areas will be closed. This affects if I will want to visit the zoo not, and I am sure others feel this way as well.
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Some of them do not say exactly what the reservations are. At this point I think most of us are simply happy to be able to visit zoos again, regardless whether the entire zoo is open.
 
Great Argus said:
Some of them do not say exactly what the reservations are. At this point I think most of us are simply happy to be able to visit zoos again, regardless whether the entire zoo is open.
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Maybe I'm in a bit of a different situation. Zoos are opening all around me. Some of the smaller (and closer) one have little to no restrictions. These are zoos I have visited so many times that it doesn't really matter exactly how restrictive the restrictions are. But there are some zoos that I visit every year that are 2+ hours away. If the indoor areas are closed I'm not so interested in going all that way to visit them unless the zoo is mostly outdoors (which in cold climates like Wisconsin and surrounding states is almost never true).
 
Virginia Living Museum is open with the exception of the touch tank. Sandy Bottom Nature Park is open, don't know about nature center. Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton, VA is closed.
 
The Saint Louis Zoo has reopened today June 13. The link explaining reservations and all guidelines is here (Reservations and Your Zoo Visit | Saint Louis Zoo) but I will highlight some relevant points:

- As is now usual, visits are now by reservation only; as the Saint Louis Zoo is a free zoo, the reservations are also free.
- There is no time limit once inside the zoo; you may stay the whole day if you like.
- Wearing masks is required at all times except when eating/drinking, during which guests must remain 6 feet apart from other parties.
- The Herpetarium, Bird House, and Primate House will be open, albeit 2 hours later than the rest of the zoo opens. The following exhibits will remain closed:

- The Children's Zoo
- The Insectarium
- Penguin & Puffin Coast (except Humboldt penguins outside)
- Indoor ape and ungulate viewing (outdoor habitats are open)
- The Sea Lion underwater tunnel (rest of exhibit is open)
 
SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica Orlando have re-opened despite a consistent increase in Covid-19 cases within the state of Florida. It appears to be by reservation only. Despite how badly it's going in Florida, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Gatorland, Zoo Miami, Brevard Zoo, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Key West Aquarium, Busch Gardens Tampa, Naples Zoo, Palm Beach Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo, and Florida Aquarium remain open as well.

EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Big Cat Rescue, and Miami Seaquarium remain closed. They're really the last hold-outs. I have a feeling a lot of closures will begin again soon based on the situation that occurred when the theme parks started re-opening.
 
SeaWorld San Diego's website says they are opening July 1. I have not seen any other official announcement yet on any of their social media.
 
MidwestFan said:
SeaWorld San Diego's website says they are opening July 1. I have not seen any other official announcement yet on any of their social media.
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It seems that someone may have hit the button to change the website a little early, as it has been changed back and no longer says opening July 1. I was suspect that there were no announcements on Facebook or Twitter to accompany the website announcement. Hopefully some news soon.
 
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