As we all know, going anywhere with an infant is pretty difficult. From vacations down to the grocery store, for awhile in your child’s life, any kind of outing is reminiscent of Bilbo Baggins’ great adventure. You have to prepare for pretty much anything and everything and you can bet the one thing you forgot WILL come up.
So for the most part we tend to stay at home with the tiny ones but one day the time comes where you have to get out of the house. We decided to go to the Montgomery Zoo for a “paid outing” (meaning we spent money along with time to do this and didn’t want it to be a waste) The following are the pro’s and con’s of the Montgomery Zoo as we experienced it with our 10 month old.
Pros:
Good Travel Time:
It took us roughly an hour from our home to get to the zoo. Our daughter currently still takes two naps a day so we loaded up for nap one and she got a nap on the way back. While her first nap was a tad bit shorter than it typically is, it was enough to push her through the afternoon. We didn’t have to spend too much time in the car traveling so we got to spend plenty of time at the zoo and were still home by a decent hour to unwind before bedtime.
Pricing:
One of the biggest problems with paid activities is the cost. It’s not that I have a problem paying to do things, it’s that it’s hard to justify dropping 50 dollars per person on entry only to have to leave before you can really experience the park/zoo/museum/whatever it may be. For a regular adult, the price of admission is $17.00 per person. 3 and under are free, and they offer various discounts for students/military/seniors. There are a few various experiences you can pay for like the train ride, sky lift, feeding the animals but those are completely up to you. We decided to forgo all of the “extras” because, well my kid is 10 months old. We didn’t feel like we had missed out on anything. For an older child, I’m sure it would be fun but it was nice to not be “nickled and dimed” to death.
You can BYO-?:
The zoo offers strollers for rent and they also have a cafe where you can enjoy typical park food but you are welcome to bring your own everything. We brought our own umbrella stroller although I did note the zoo strollers are very nice and I would probably use one in the future. We did eat at the cafe. The pricing on the items were decent and I was able to order a kids meal which was satisfying for me and saved a couple of dollars. We brought in baby food and of course a bottle, but I don’t have any regrets on skipping bringing our own meal. Still, if you have dietary needs or just want to spend as little as possible you can bring in your own lunch, they only ask that you eat in the pavilion and not the cafe.
The amount of time it takes to do everything:
As I said one of the reasons we don’t do a lot of activities that cost money is because it seems like a waste due to my daughters nap schedule. The zoo offers the perfect amount of things to see and do for a child that’s still on two naps. We stayed for 2 and a half hours (including lunch) and didn’t feel as if we had missed anything big. We did not go through the museum and we were there on a day/time that shows weren’t running. Still it was perfect for us. I would say you can easily spend as little as 2 hours and as many as 4 to feel like you got your money’s worth but didn’t get bored.
You don’t HAVE to go through the gift shop to leave:
Ahhhhh park people know what they are doing. It’s so convenient that the only exit just happens to run straight through the gift shop with toys lining the path, but the zoo is different. Obviously for an infant having to go through the gift shop to leave wasn’t a big deal. (full disclosure, she totally got a stuffed animal and t-shirt anyway) but for those planning on going with toddlers and up along with your infant, you can breathe easy knowing you don’t have to deal with that mess at the end of your day.
Cons:
Pretty Much everything is outdoors:
I know, duh, it’s a zoo. Still its worth noting that weather will definitely play a factor in your visit. We lucked out that it was a cloudy day which helped keep the temperatures down slightly. The zoo does have plenty of covered viewing areas so you aren’t exposed constantly and they had misters for cooling down, which seriously might have been my kids favorite part. Still it’s worth noting that you need to be weather aware. Other than a museum center and the sting ray exhibit everything else is subject to the elements.
There aren’t a ton of different animals:
Don’t get me wrong there were plenty. They have elephants, giraffes, ect, but I’d be lying if I told you there was just as much as say, the Atlanta Zoo. We noticed that birds took up a lot of the exhibits and for some reason the tigers and a few of the “big animals” weren’t out. I’m not sure if it was our timing or the heat but it was a little disappointing to miss them. (for me and my husband, our kid obviously had no clue) still I figured it was worth mentioning in case your going with older children as well. They could be slightly underwhelmed depending on what they are used to/expecting.
The shows are few and far between:
If you wanted to catch the lion training or something similar, you have to legit plan it that way. It’s not like some other places where shows take place 7 days a week, 3-4 times a day. There’s a good chance these things will run into nap time or won’t be going on when you’re there. Again, I wouldn’t say my kid missed out because she doesn’t know better, but still I think she would have enjoyed it and it’s something you’d definitely want to do if you went with older children as well.
As you can see I don’t really have a lot of Cons for the Zoo. I was extremely pleased with our trip and I walked away feeling like it was money well spent. If you’re dying to get out of the house with your infant I highly suggest it as a trip!
