Washington Park and Zoo Railway

You probably want to take a pass in this time of covid. Although it was nice to get out and walk around and see a few animals, the experience overall was lackluster and not worth the regular priced admission that we paid. As expected, the petting zoo and all the in-person animal interactions are closed. I was surprised though that the elephant house, penguin house, and rain forest are all closed. The train is also closed. You are not allowed to touch any of the interactive exhibits. Only one cart was open to purchase food and only one gift shop was open near the entrance. All other food stands, cafes, and restaurants are closed. I recommend you bring your own beverages and snacks. The path is now marked so that you are forced to follow the one-way arrows throughout the park with VERY limited ability to see what you want when you want. On the flip side the arrows do ensure that you get to see the few animals that are “available”. Most of the grottos and associated viewing areas were open, but this was only for the otters and seals which aren’t in the enclosed houses. We were able to see the elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, and cougars in the outside areas. Masks are required everywhere in the park and social distancing markers are pretty much everywhere on the path; however, when we visited this week there was hardly anyone there so minding the distance was not an issue. Save your money and just take a nature walk for free until the pandemic is over and save yourself the disappointment. :(

One star for the short loop. 5 stars for the ride to Washington Park and back. Metro, please fix the track and restore the long ride.

Stop mistreating the Panda and feed them proper food and FRESH bamboo. Stop feeding them ice! This is animal cruelty. No more pregnancy for Meixiang. The bad reviews will keep coming. Do the right thing!!!

Despite that you can see the narrow gage rail outside of the zoo, the experience you will get is an extremely short, both in time and distance, a train ride inside the zoo grounds. Though at 5 bucks per ride you should not expect more.

The parking situation for zoo lights is ridiculous. Open the bottom lot and let people search for spots:) other than that it's the best place to take kids to see lights with a zoo membership.