If you are ever in New York and want to see a huge variety of animals, the Bronx Zoo is the best place to experience it all. Just remember to put on your best walking shoes and carry enough liquids with you for the entire day. That's right, you'll be walking the entire day and for a very good reason. I recently visited the zoo with two of my best friends as a reunion and it was a day well spent. The zoo opens at 10am and it takes me an hour and half or so to get there. I was carrying with me three bottles of liquids, a lunch box, and a DSLR in my messenger bag and that thing was a bitch to carry on the train. Especially when you're standing, that bag feels like a ton on your shoulder.
The weather was much cooler the day before which was sweltering hot. We went on a Wednesday so that means general admission is pay as you wish. One friend and I originally thought about going for general admission, but our other friend went on ahead and purchased the Total Experience ticket which is normally $33 or so. Since it was a Wednesday, it gets lowered to $15. So in the end we all went for the Total Experience. What a deal and it was totally worth it! I'm so glad I didn't get general admission. You get to wave your ticket everywhere and they let you into every exhibit. I highly recommend that you arrive at the zoo early because there's so much to explore and you won't be able to see all of it in one day. You should also bring your own food because dining inside the zoo is expensive. It's more like the prices are not worth the product. For instance, if you get a combo meal consisting of one soda, two chicken strips, and an order of fries, that's already $11. A sandwich is roughly $8 and a drink is about $4. I will also add that it is better to dine at the Dancing Crane cafe located deep inside the zoo as opposed to the dining place near the Asia Gate. My reason being that there are tons of pigeons there that will fly close to your head at any given moment and they will flock to your feet without a care. The lines can get pretty long so have some patience. Deeper inside the zoo, there are more food stands like popcorn, ice treats, and Dipping Dots. I packed myself a fairly large lunch (rice, spare ribs, carrots, egg, onion) and unfortunately, the grease leaked through the container. Still better than paying $12 for fast food.
Our trip began with the Asia Monorail. It's a fairly short ride and it's one of those exhibits that you need to pay for. You get a glimpse of Central Asia and into India basically. We happened to catch a tiger just roaming in the forest. Once you see the Bronx River, you kind of forget that you're actually in the city. Afterwards, we went into Jungle World. I highly recommend paying for this one because a lot of the exotic animals are here. My favorite are the monkeys. You are separated by space and the monkeys have no way of making their way towards you. It is only when you make a turn to get an even closer look, there's a glass wall to separate you. We were lucky to have a pair, one orange and one black, come up close to glass. They observed us and looked very interested in us. At the same time, they were busy ridding themselves of fleas. Being able to see them up close was a treat. They had such clean and beautiful fur enough to rival well groomed human hair. There was a very rude woman at the monkey section. She kept making noises to attract the monkeys to look her way. Seriously, they may be living in a zoo, but that doesn't mean you can disrespect them like that. Anger them enough and they will throw shit at you.
Another notable attraction is the 4-D Theater. They are currently showing an Ice Age feature and it's really fun for both children and adults. Put on those 3-D glasses and things pop. I don't want to spoil it too much, but there's vibration, wind, and bubbles involved. You will laugh and scream during the show. It is inevitable. We visited the Congo Gorilla Forest towards the end of our outing. There's a conservation video you get to watch and it then opens up to the gorillas. Seeing the gorillas up close, it's just like how gorilla experts say. They feel very human. I say this because I observed a gorilla family. The mother was playing with the baby and the father was on its side lounging, but watching his child. Another gorilla was "posing" for a photoshoot with its back to us.
Even though you may come to the zoo just to look at animals, I think it changes your views on animals. You feel more obligated to make decisions that are environmentally conscious. Unfortunately we couldn't visit Tiger Mountain and go on the Dinosaur Safari due to time restraints, but we did a lot of things that day. With a purchase of a Total Experience ticket, you get a receipt that has an online link to a survey. Once you take this survey within 7 days, it will give you a long ass number that you gotta write down on your receipt. It is so that the next time you visit the zoo, your General Admission ticket is free. You just then gotta pay for any special attractions you want to go to. I am looking forward to my future trip back to the Bronx Zoo. Maybe sometime in the fall once it's cooler before most of the animals go into hibernation. If you have nice cameras, get them ready because there's always something exciting to take pictures of.
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