Our summer wasn’t complete without a trip to the Metro Toronto Zoo. Like many other attractions, we were required to order our tickets online ahead of time. We arrived at the zoo in the morning with the hopes of beating the midday heat. We made it through the gates quickly, with no lineup. The young man at the ticket window knew what he was doing because he gave each of the kids their own map to help them navigate their way to each animal they wanted to see.
We headed to the Indomalaysian building first. While outside, masks were not required but at the entrance to each building/pavilion, there were signs asking us to wear our masks and to maintain social distancing while inside. Families were very respectful and the zoo has marked the floor with arrows and safely distanced dots to help maintain distance. The highlight in this building was the tiger that walked right up to the glass and began licking it right in front of our kids – they shrieked with excitement!
We then headed to Africa. We were able to see the giraffes, hippos, cheetah, baboons, lions, zebras and so much more! I was appreciative of the cooling stations (fans with a light mist blowing) that we located in different areas of the zoo.
After touring Africa, we decided to stop for lunch. The restaurants and snack bars were all fully operational but we had brought out lunches. We sat at a picnic table in the shade and enjoyed a quick bite before heading to the Arctic Tundra!
We were disappointed that the polar bear wasn’t swimming because it is always a highlight but the zipline (at an additional cost of just over $10 per ticket) was thrilling for the kids. We then went to see the flamingos.
Did you know that there is a new baby tiger at the zoo? We had the fortune of seeing the tiger cub before checking out the new Goat Playground located beside the Splash Pad. The Splash Pad and Kid Zone are both open but it was getting really hot and we decided to head home.
We couldn’t leave without taking a ride on the carousel! It was less than $3 for them to ride and they loved it.
Each of the kids was able to see at least one of the animals that they hoped to see and they only stopped talking about our day when they all fell asleep on the way home. This picture definitely captures how much fun they had.
The zoo has so many great learning opportunities and offers something for everyone to enjoy. We took our wagon and we had no problem navigating through buildings with it. I never felt like a building was crowded the kids were able to get close to each exhibit to really see the animals. They are already asking to go back!
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