Going to the Zoo! Which is better -- Dallas or Ft. Worth? (rail, aquarium)

[nsumner]

One more vote here for Fort Worth Zoo... Kids always love going to the Dallas aquarium too.

Naima

[mysterymachinebl]

Originally Posted by BlosmTX

Deffinately Fort Worth!
Dallas Zoo has a great "children's zoo" area for little kids. The stream is GREAT for splashing around when it's hot outside, but the animals are seriously dissapointing.
They had a lot of deaths last year, and as far as I know they're without animals in the giraffes, elephants, lions, and gorrillas exhibits.

They do have gorillas and giraffes, but no elephants and lions. They probably won't be getting any lions or elephants before the new African savanna habitat opens.

[mysterymachinebl]

Originally Posted by mom2one

We're fairly new to the Dallas metroplex and are looking to do something fun with our two-year-old this weekend. She's a huge animal fan and we really enjoyed the zoo in our old hometown. Someone mentioned that there are some differences between the Dallas and Ft. Worth zoos. Is one better than the other? Safer? More attractions for the younger kids? Thanks for your help!

You need to visit both zoos at some point. Fort Worth's has been excellent for years. Dallas has been catching up recently, however. Dallas Roars starts in April, so you might go to the Dallas Zoo during that time.

DALLAS ROARS!

[ctrres]

Fort Worth.

[SuperSara2007]

For this coming weekend I'd recommend the Fort Worth zoo. Dallas has a lot of construction projects going on right now and a lot of animals may be off exhibit. But definitely head out to the Dallas Zoo someday soon.

As someone who works in the field but not at either of these zoos, the Dallas Zoo is far better in terms of animal care and keeper dedication and conservation issues. In terms of entertainment and display, the Fort Worth zoo is better but Dallas is catching up and someday soon will be a top tier zoo in all areas.

The Fort Worth zoo is privately owned and doesn't have to deal with all the politics involved with being a city run instituion like the Dallas Zoo does. The Dallas Zoo is making some MAJOR changes and will be an awesome zoo in the years to come. Unfortunately, these changes take a lot of time and a lot of money so it won't happen overnight.

They do have some really neat things going on though. Like somone said, Dallas Roars is coming up and that is a neat time to be out at the zoo. Their children's zoo is very nice with lots of very neat interactive activities for the little ones and the monorail is a lot of fun as well.

and just a little fyi
I don't think the Fort Worth Zoo has lemurs, but the Dallas Zoo has a VERY NICE Lemur exhibit. The Dallas Zoo also has Gorillas (2 new girls in with the older girl along with the large male Patrick), Giraffe and elephant. 2 new giraffe came in this winter and Jenny is still at the zoo. The new savanha exhibit should open in 2010 and should be very nice. The zoo did have a lot of deaths this past year which was unfortunate, but most of those animals were very old, even for zoo animals and nothing lives forever.

Have fun this weekend, I love going to the zoo!

[Pontificator]

Fort Worth! This zoo feels like a tropical getaway, and the animal displays feel intimate and natural.....

[texanne]

Fort Worth is the best in the area. But there's also a drive through animal park called Fossil Rim about 1.5 hours SW of Dallas just outside of Glen Rose. Pack up the car with the kids and a picnic and head out to Fossil Rim. And if the kids are into dinosaurs, there's a dinosaur fossil park nearby.

As for other zoos, if you're ever in St. Louis, check out their zoo. One of the top in the country!

[Jan08]

Another vote for Ft Worth! (too bad it's the zoo that's further from me - and Dallas zoo is far enough!)

[jtrichel]

if you do a little research on this, you will find that Ft. Worth Zoo is ranked as one of the top 10 zoos in the entire country.... Dallas is not even on the list... its fun to try both for variety, but as everyone has said, these zoos are not even in the same league with each other....

read first paragraph
Fort Worth Zoo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MSPMom]

I took my 2-year-old daughter to the Dallas Zoo a few weeks ago. She likes animals but seemed pretty ho hum about our visit. It's an average zoo with enough attractions to keep toddlers interested but I think older kids would find it a bit dull. Our highlights were the giraffes and the tiger. Not very many wow moments though. I haven't been to the Ft. Worth Zoo but I'm excited to check it out. The aquarium sounds great!