Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City

Really enjoyed our time here. We love the free day entry for residents withing a certain jurisdiction. Saw the penguin march. It was a really hot day. The reason for a 4 star versus 5 is because it's a family place and when you have kids and you want to take a break from walking, you let them play on the playground which was really nice. The problem is it was scorching because there was no shade barrier or tarp over the playground and the slides were too hot for my LO to slide without burning her legs. I just thought when small parks can have them why not a zoo? I hope in the very near future this can be fixed. As much as I like walking around looking at the animals, my LO loves to play with others on the playground which I enjoy watching as well even more. If your going to provide a playground which is very smart and innovative, why not some sun protection so that it can actually be used. It was frustrating seeing all the kids who stood on the side because the equipment was too hot to play on. Other than that, very clean park and we had a blast!

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff, some of the younger staff could stand to focus less on their friends and more on the patrons but they were in the minority. Great Zoo to visit and kids of all ages will have loads of fun. I would recommend spending the extra $8 for the ride pass if it's a hot day as they cover most of the zoo. The food is actually pretty fantastic for a zoo, worth taking a bit extra and eating there if you like BBQ.