The best zoo in south Florida is only about 15 minutes away from us and its Lion Country Safari. We've been a few times already and have taken some out of town family members in the past. There are two parts, a drive-through "safari" and a normal walk-through area with exhibits.
The drive through area has roads through the habitats of the animals so you can see them up close and even have to stop to let them cross the road. The habitats that are kept away from the roads are for the lions, monkeys, and white rhinoceros. The walk through area has more exhibits but much of it is geared towards children. There is even a splash zone and water slides.
Since we live so close, we decided to get a year long pass. After three trips, it pays for itself. More than just the cost, we want to go frequently because Ethan can't spend a day in the sun so we want to go frequently but for a short duration that way he can still get his naps and food at home. Also it rains a lot so we don't want to feel like we didn't get our money's worth if the trip got rained out. Now we can just come back on a nicer day. Also, some of the people we've met say they go just to take the kids to the splash zone for the afternoon and let them run around.
Ethan really liked the giraffe exhibit and got really excited seeing the giraffes. He got to feed them too.
My arms got tired holding him so long so he could see everything. He really liked it though.
Here we are watching the spider-monkeys run around.
These photos are from our second trip with him. We came specifically for the splash zone after his nap. It was his first time around a fountain like this so he was shy at first.
Here he is exploring the water park. He likes running water so it only took him a few minutes to jump in. I stayed close by and got wet. Not completely wet, but I did get wet.
After about 15 minutes, I had to make sure he wasn't getting too carried away because he was enjoying it so much. Just 15 minutes earlier, he was scared to go in.
He had a great time and got nice and wet.
