We went to Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, MA yesterday and here is my review.....
Date: 5/16/2009
Parking: Plenty of parking in a grass field
Gate/Admissions: [$$$$] Pricing page here. My son was free (he's still under 3) and we printed the coupon from the website. A $2.00 off per person coupon icon is at the bottom of the pricing page.
Birthday parties: Yes (see website here)
Bathroom: There are bathrooms throughout the zoo, but some are port-o-potty style or chemical trailers. The chemical trailer I came upon had a ramp for strollers and a changing table. There is a bathroom after you enter the zoo by the food with plenty of changing tables also.
Cleanliness: Very clean
Overall: We had a great day. I did not bring a stroller for my son, so he had run of the place :) It worked out well. I just packed a backpack and followed him around. He was smiling 90% of the day. The first unhappy 5% was when we walked in and he could hear the Macaw behind a fence making very loud noises. He decided then (at the front gate) that he had enough and was ready to go home....some coaxing and explaining, then just carrying him in past the Macaw and showing him what it was finally worked! The other 5% of unhappiness was leaving! I was amazed at how close you can get to the animals. It is a pretty big zoo. It took us 2.5 hours to cover most of it. We didn't go on the rides, but they do have them. You buy tickets or you can buy a combo ticket at the front gate. There is a playground with a huge sandbox also. You can bring in your lunch and you will find picnic tables scattered all around the zoo. There was lots of shady spots and park benches along the way. My son loved the train ride! We drove 2.5 hours to get there and I would do it again. We had a blast! Go check out Southwick's Zoo!
Zip on FamilyZip
Posts
5 comments:
We went to this zoo over the weekend. It was a great place to visit, although we did not see everything. The only down side was the fact that we got the more expensive (bracelet) pass to include rides for our 2-year old daughter and at the front they stated she didn't need a bracelet, and that ours was enough to get her on the rides. Well, once we got to the rides, the ride attendant stated she did need a bracelet to get on the rides. So pulling a 2 year old away from a ride she was dying to get on was not fun. And then standing back in a line for her to get a bracelet was not fun either. So get your kid a bracelet even when they say your child doesn't need one!
We visited the zoo on Saturday with our 1 year old and 2 year old. We brought our Safari Wagon with trailer! We were there from 12 to close (at 5pm). We also ended up getting a coupon from one of those giant "Entertainment coupon books" that come out every year for "buy 1 get 1 free admission". Since both our girls were under 3, my husband and I were able to use the coupons for ourselves. We paid under $20 for our family of 4!!! We brought our picnic lunch and had a fabulous day! The girls loved the deer park and the playground was a nice break in the day. We let our daughter pick one ride at the end of the day to ride. We were a little bummed that she wasn't old enough to ride the camel; and would have had to pay $15 for an elephant ride (adult has to ride w/ child under 5), but other than that, we were very pleased with our visit!
If you get a mass value pass, you can get buy 1 get 1 admissions. visit massvacation.com/deals for info they change discounts frequently, but Southwicks has always been on there whenever I've gone.
My 7 year old LOVED the Zoo, she's demanding we go back again 'zoon'. ;) We all had a blast and I recommend Southwick's to everyone. I saved on admission with a coupon from this site - http://zoocoupons.org/southwicks-zoo-coupons/ hopefully someone else finds it useful. :)
We love Southwick Zoo and look forward to goingevery year, however this past August my 5 yr. old son and I went and he found a $20 bill in the parking lot..doing the right thing we turned it into the cashier at the gate, she never said she would try to make sure it goes to it's rightful owner or anything. When we were leaving at closing time the cashier was gone and we spoke to an employee to see if anyone had claimed it, she contacted her manager and I was told that none of the employees had turned in any lost/found money that day....It's pretty obvious that cashier had kept the money herself.
It certainly won't stop us from going again but next time I will turn in any lost/found items directly to management instead of the cashiers.
Post a Comment