The Lion King is my daughter’s favorite movie to watch. It has been on repeat for weeks on end now. David and decided it was time to plan a family trip to the Toledo Zoo. A visit to the zoo would be an exciting and thrilling way to let her see and interact with all the animals she loves within the movie. The next morning we woke up early to make our two hour drive to the zoo. As I strapped her into the car seat, all I could hear was her tiny voice screaming, “Roar, roar, and roar. ” Seeing how excited she was, I yelled “Roar, oar, roar” along with her.
Upon arriving at the zoo, we were greeted with smiles from employees and a beautiful arch made of monkeys, fishes, butterflies, birds and the words Toledo Zoo. Just a few steps ahead to the right was a Stone water fountain made with polar bears and seals from the Arctic. To our left was the event center, a place for planned events. A gift shop full of stuffed animals and other souvenirs. A little further up was a beautiful carousal of horses. Our first stop was Africa; here we could see giraffes, zebras, ostrich, and wildebeest.
We took a ride on the safari railway, to get closer look at these amazing animals. My daughter was in awe as she looked at the tall giraffes eating a few feet from her, zebras grazing, ostrich flapping its wings and many other animals’ running back and forth. All I could hear her say was “wow mama wow” with lots of pointing and clapping as the train slowly chugged by each animal. Next, we took a walk up a staircase path to cross bridge, where the rest of the zoo resided. Along the way up the path was a giant tortoise and small rabbits. On the way down the path were eagles and vultures.
After exiting the ramp to the right, we first saw a blue beach house with sandy shores and fake palm trees filled with gorgeous pink flamingos and storks gliding across the water. Our second stop was the Aviary building. We opened the double doors and walked into a room of glass. Be hide each set of glass were large birds of different species. After taking several turns, we came upon a set of long black chains in front off clear sliding door. We pulled aside; the chains and the door slid opened. Upon entering the room, we heard birds chirping away and flying all around us.
My daughter ran as fast as her little feet can take her trying to catch those small birds, in the end all she could do was scream “Bird, bird, and bird” while giggling. The one thing my nose could not take was the smell of wet feathers, bird feed and poop. Nevertheless, it was amazing walking through each area to the building as the birds flew around you. After leaving the aviary building we decided to sit down at one of the picnic tables under the shaded trees to have lunch. As was taking out our food, unexpectedly a peacock comes trotting and cawing out of the bushes.
Fanning its bright blue, green, and yellow feathers as the crowd gathered around to take its picture. It was truly amazing to see this beautiful creature walking around so close. Our third stop was our favorite, Tiger Terrace and Tempo Trail. Walking through the trail we first came upon a set of tigers sleeping in its cave. We walked up to the wood railing just in time to see one of the tigers walking out of their cave. The tiger then lets out a load roar and waves its paw back n forth. With in seconds my daughter was mimicking the tigers roars and ignition her hands as if they were claws too.
It was the cutest thing I had seen her do all day. Other animals along the path she also growled at were lions, cheetahs, and leopards. Further, down the trail, we walked through a small tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel was an area of what seemed like just trees and rocks. Upon a closer look beyond the rocks was a humongous rhino walking back and forth. It seemed somewhat lonely. We ended our walk on Tiger Deterrence through Tempo trail. Here we got the chance to see a mother elephant feeding her baby with bundles of hay she as able to grab with her trunk from the platform above.
Our last stop was the Kingdom of Apes. Here we were able to see monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons, and orangutans. They were climbing, jumping and swinging around trees and ropes. They were so amusing with their silly little pranks and swinging tails. The one thing regretted not being able to see was the aquarium. Unfortunately, it was still under construction. My daughter’s and fiance?s fascination with fishes is pretty crazy! I would have loved to see her reaction to seeing a room filled of water and fishes as they swim all around her.
The aquarium reopens this August, definitely will have to make another visit to the zoo once it is open. It took us a total of four hours to visit the entire zoo but it was well worth seeing all those amazing animals. We took many photos Of all the animals and statues around zoo. We will have to print out the silly and cute ones to put on our walls. Overall, loved this zoo. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take his or her loved ones or just themselves there. Even though it was, a two-hour drive from where live it is well worth the drive.
