I would highly suggest getting a yearly membership to this place. It's big and if you have kids, you'll have a hard time cramming everything in during one visit. It's fairly reasonable, includes free parking and various other freebies they toss in.
My favorite exhibit is the Living Waters. It is an indoor exhibit that features a giant wave, jelly fish, other large fish in tanks, and many other exhibits. I also heard they just installed a water play area just outside.
There are a LOT of things to see at this zoo. Many outdoor and indoor exhibits to check out. I would take the map and plan out your day. You are allowed to bring in a picnic lunch and eat on the grounds (there are lots of places for this). They also have restaurants and food vendors, but they are quite pricey. There are many little gift shops with cute little items to buy. There is a special play zoo for kids (costs extra) plus a petting zoo. There is a trolley, dolphin shows and a butterfly exhibit (cost extra). There are plenty of bathrooms, a park for the kids to play on, magnificent grounds, those cool mold-a-rama things, and a place to rent strollers, wagons and wheel chairs at a reasonable price.
Definitely plan on this being a day long excursion if you don't have a season pass. If you've got the pass, you can spend just a few hours, poop out and know you can come back another day.
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