Brookfield Zoo Mom Tips

Our experts give you things you need to know about Brookfield Zoo in our Brookfield Zoo Mom Tips!

• Parking – Brookfield offers two parking lots – a north and a south lot. The North lot is much bigger, and also has bathrooms before you cross into the park, so this is a good lot if you’re meeting people. The downside of this parking lot is that there is a LONG walk to get into the zoo.  The South Lot is smaller, and does fill up on the weekends, so they overflow you into the high school baseball field, and sometimes into surrounding lots. That’s really only on extremely busy days. We prefer this lot because you have very quick access into the zoo, although you are at the very back (by the monkey house).
  
• Bathrooms – This zoo does have a lot of bathrooms, which is nice, but some are better than others. The newest bathrooms are just north of the bison exhibit. This is west of the pachyderms and south of the giraffes, so pretty much the middle of the zoo. These also have a large family bathroom. The bathrooms near the dolphin show, directly behind the food pavilion are good as well – but they are constantly busy from the traffic provided by the lunch crowd and the dolphin show.
  

Bonus Dad TIP – the bathrooms on the very south end by the south entrance include a special “Daddy/Daughter” bathroom within the men’s restroom – it’s right when you walk in, and makes it so much easier to take your daughter into the bathroom with you.

• Strollers – Brookfield is a very large zoo in regards to surface area, meaning you’ll be walking a lot. So if you have little ones, this is a zoo where you’ll need your stroller. However, Brookfield’s houses are not stroller friendly. The swamp on the south end is only one of a few houses that allow strollers. If you bring one and want to go to the family play zoo, monkey house, penguin house, bird house, cat house, Australia house, etc. – you’ll either need a carrier, or they’ll have to walk. They have designated stroller parking areas outside of these houses.
  
  
• Eating – We always bring our food to Brookfield because the prices are a bit high (like most zoos). You can eat at several places throughout the zoo. We like the picnic tables behind the dolphin show because they are shaded and near the bathrooms. The picnic tables by the bison are usually full with geese, and are directly by the playground. There are also other picnic tables near the main lawn, kind of by the dolphins that have a second playground. But again if you want your kids to eat, it might be best to avoid these.
  
  
• Drinks – We HIGHLY recommend a zoo cup. The cup is tall and costs $15 (10% off with zoo membership). It’s way worth it if you come to the zoo multiple times.
  
  
• Playgrounds – Brookfield has 2 very large playgrounds. The playground by the bison is a bit taller and scarier than the one by the dolphins. Because of this, you might straight there and let your kids get out some energy. If you’re like us, you might avoid these to eliminate your day being ruined by a tumble.
  
  
• Splash Pad – Brookfield has a small splash pad over by the penguins. It’s not the greatest – small, on concrete – but on hot days, it’s worth it to let the kids cool off.
  
  
• Membership – Brookfield is a bit more expensive than most zoos, so the membership is worth it if you plan on going even twice. However, within the membership there are levels. Since we go all the time, we get an unlimited membership. This means we can go to things like the Dolphin Show, Hamil Play Zoo, or special exhibits whenever we want. Know that when you buy your membership, unless you pick unlimited you won’t have full access to the zoo (you get 6 or 8 one-time use passes with the standard membership)

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