Our First Trip to the Bronx Zoo

Could we have picked a hotter day? It was 102 degrees Thursday when we went to the Bronx Zoo! But we had a great time! As you know, I’m a Bronx Zoo Blogger Ambassador, so let me tell you all about our first trip! Happily, most of the roads that wind through the zoo are shaded, so although it was hot, we felt fairly comfortable walking around. A little sweaty, but not as bad as I imagined. I did get a zillion looks of pity at my 34 week pregnant belly! When I needed a break, we road the Asian Monorail through 40+ acres of wildlife (right in the middle of the Bronx!), including a red panda, tiger, and lots of interesting deer species! I enjoyed the Jungle World exhibit, an indoor rainforest with lots of birds, fish, and monkeys! Our son’s favorite part was the Bug Carousel – grasshoppers, ladybugs, bumblebees to ride were an interesting departure from the typical circus animal merry-go-round! We have so much more we need to explore on our next visit – like the Children’s Zoo, Butterfly Garden and Bird Exhibits… but with being so hot and being so pregnant, I only lasted three hours! Can’t wait to go back! There are plenty of events that happen throughout the year at the zoo, although none the day we went. This weekend (June 23-24) is the Animal Tales Extravaganza, Ferdinand the Bull event – crafts and storytime add to your zoo experience! On June 30th, Spiderman takes over the zoo – sounds like FUN! We’re planning on going to the next event, which is The Wild Forest: LEGO Safari – opens July 6 – Sep 3, and features Lego displays, crafts, Lego building, and more adventures! Our first visit to the Bronx Zoo was a great hit for our family. Made even better because we have the Family Premium membership, which at $164 pays for itself in 2 visits (for a family of 3; if you have more kids, even faster)! I recommend this membership if you plan to visit the Bronx Zoo even 2 times in a year. Not only does the membership allow you to bring all your kids plus one guest, but you get free parking ($13/car), and 10% discount at many cafes and stores in the zoo. And a free t-shirt! Plus you get access to four zoos in New York City, and the New York Aquarium with this membership.

Plus, you won’t stress every time your children ask to go to a paid attraction, because it’s all included. It was a relief to walk into any attraction/ride we wanted without worrying about spending more money. (For example, the carousel was $3 per person and we both wanted to ride it with our son, so that would’ve been $12! But with the membership – free!). Or, if you are only in the area one time, get the Total Exerience ticket. It doesn’t include free parking but it lets you into all the attractions for free, so it’s worth it. You can even save 10% when you buy tickets online.

Our blog is participating in a sponsored ambassador program from the Bronx Zoo/NY Aquarium. As a part of this program we have received paid advertising compensation, a premium family membership and merchandise for placement of digital advertisements and specific postings related to programming.