After a four-month long hiatus, we made it back to Brookfield Zoo during the Fourth of July weekend. This was a long anticipated return for us and our kids. Despite temperatures in the mid-90s, I’d call our visit a success. However, unlike a normal trip, visiting Brookfield Zoo during these conditions takes some planning. Below we take you through the process of going to Brookfield, along with some tips and pictures.
Reservations
You need to go online and reserve a time for entry before visiting Brookfield Zoo. You will be prompted to a page for members or non-members. If you select Members, you will be prompted to select your membership level. Non-Members select between “purchase a new ticket” and “I have a complimentary pass”. Then, the screens become the same for members and non members.
Select the Day you’d like to visit the zoo – this has tripped many people up. It defaults to “today”, so you might initially see no times available. Select a day, and then times during that day will populate. Available times are in blue, blocked times are in gray. After selecting your time, you will also select which parking lot – Main (North) or South (by the High School). After selecting a parking lot, a screen populates for how many cars you will be parking, and how many adults/kids/seniors will be visiting with you. For members, you do have the option of adding guests, and using a guest pass at this point as well.
Once that information is entered, you move on to the confirmation and payment screens. Overall it’s pretty simple.
Safety Rules
The biggest rule for visiting Brookfield Zoo is that guests must wear a face mask when entering the zoo, and when around other people. You are allowed to remove the mask if you are not near an exhibit or more than six feet away from others. Our daughters definitely got a little more tired and hot while wearing masks. We threw in a few extra water breaks to account for this. The zoo has many signs around the zoo to remind visitors to maintain a social distance. Overall, families seemed to do a good job of both wearing masks and keeping a social distance from each other.
The zoo is trying to minimize areas where guests could gather in groups. Because of this, the misters that are placed throughout the zoo, are not turned on. We usually utilize the misters as a quick way to cool off the kids, so keep in mind that these are not operating.
There are not many one-way paths, as the walkways at Brookfield are pretty wide. However, upon entering they do direct you in a specific in or out gate to enter/leave the zoo. Many exhibits are roped off so that you can’t get too close, or touch the glass. Indoor animal exhibits are closed, thus limiting how many animals you can actually see. However, some areas like Wild Encounters and the new Dinosaurs exhibit are free and open to everyone. You can learn more about Brookfield’s policies on their “Know Before You Go” page.
As far as food goes, we usually bring our lunch/snacks rather than rely on the zoo. Some concession stands are open, but not all of them. So although the zoo has made some changes to concessions, it didn’t alter our eating habits. However, the zoo is not currently honoring the cup refill system. We usually bring water bottles for our girls, and share a refill cup of lemonade or something like that. This is an additional option that does not run out. So with the cup refill system on hold, be sure to pack enough drinks, or be prepared to buy some. The water fountains are shut off, and the only drinks sold are bottled drinks or icees.
Animals
So far our focus has been on adapting to being at the zoo with intensified precautions due to COVID-19. Now, let’s shift and talk about another factor: the heat. Because of the heat, animals are not going to be as active as you might expect. There are several keeper chats that happen throughout the day. These usually include a feeding or an enrichment session, so going to see animals during these chats will usually lead to seeing the animals active.
We recommend you go early, and go by the big cats to see the new male lions, Brutus and Titus. They will most likely be relaxing in the shade, but when it gets hotter, they will opt to go inside. You also might be able to see the tiger in the water, and perhaps the new leopard cub might be out. In the Hamill Wild Encounters area, the wallabys might be grouped in the shade. However, on our visit it was over 90 degrees, and they could still be found hopping around.
With indoor exhibits closed, you can’t see the gorillas, penguins, dolphins, Rainforest animals, Dessert animals, or Australian animals. Look for places where the animals have access to water, as that typically leads to more activity. As mentioned above, this includes the tigers, but also the seals and sea lions. We camped out there for a while, and they were very active.
We would also recommend the nature trail around the pond, found behind the bears. The only animals are in the natural scenery, like turtles, ducks, and chipmonks. However, it is a short path, and is completely in the shade. You come out on a trail by more animitronic dinosaurs on your way to the zebras.
One other animal callout is the anteater. The anteater can now be found outside in the middle of the zoo, outside the pachyderm house by the abandoned nature stage.
Dinos Everywhere
Brookfield’s “Dino’s Everywhere” exhibit is actually really cool. While they do have a specific dinosaur exhibit in their “Seasonal” section behind Wild Encounters, they also placed dinosaurs throughout the zoo. A map of where these are can be found here, and also in several places at the zoo.
While normally animitronic dinosaurs scare our girls (ages 4, 6, 8), these didn’t. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re used to them now, or just getting older, but I think perhaps it’s because these are more timed and not just random sounds.
Bathrooms
One of the perks of going to the zoo during this time is the bathrooms. The zoo is doing a great job of ensuring the bathrooms are cleaned. Each bathroom we visited was visibly clean. The bathrooms by the south gate are usually our go-to bathrooms, and they were very clean. We also visited the bathrooms by the bears, and these too were clean. We also never really saw any lines by any bathrooms, making these trips pretty quick.
In addition to bathrooms, the zoo has several first aid stations set up in case you need assistance.
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