How to Get the Most out of Your Zoo Membership

We have a membership to the Hogle Zoo in Utah, but I believe this post can apply to almost any zoo in the US.  One of the biggest perks of having a zoo membership is you can use your membership to get into most other zoos around the country for a discounted price.

We became members just over a year ago right before out twins first birthday.  We wanted to have their party at the zoo, and knew we would be visiting the zoo a lot with the kids, so we signed up to be members.   We have one of the more expensive memberships, the booster membership, that gives unlimited rides on the train and carousel, we are allowed 2 guests every visit, we could add a third adult to our membership and as many kids as we needed.  This allowed us to include our nanny on the membership so she could take our kids to the zoo if she wanted to.    Even being a more expensive membership, it did not cost that much.  You can view prices here.

We go as often as we can to the zoo and the kids never get tired of it.  They are just excited now to see all the animals as they were the first time they went.  Maybe even more because they are older and understand more of what they are seeing.  Their favorite part is going on the carousel, and we go every time.   I love the zoo because I can go with other moms and their kids as a place to walk, chat, and let our kids play together.  If my friends do not already have a membership, I get them in for free with mine, so it is a great alternative to going to a park or play area.

The Hogle Zoo is a smaller zoo, so we can easily see everything in a few hours.  They are just about ready to open their Savannah area which has been under construction for a long time.  That will definitely add to the overall zoo experience.  There is also a splash pad for kids in part of the zoo.  When it is too cold for the water to be on my kids still love to climb on the rocks and go down the slide.  It is hard to pull them away from that area.

The splash pad

Being a zoo member I receive a zoo magazine that tells me about events going on at the zoo and fun facts and stories about the animals and workers.  It allows me to feel more connected with the animals when I go.  I know their names, where they are from, their ages and even when they pass away.  I love getting this magazine and usually learn about an event I did not know about already from it.  I also received a calendar that I have hanging up that tells me of upcoming events.  There are free events, member only events, events that cost money and events that need a reservation.  They are clearly marked on the calendar.

A great benefit of being a zoo member is the sunrise and sunset safaris.  Those occur about once a month during the summer hours on different days of the week.  The sunrise safari is when the zoo opens a few hours early to members only, and the sunset safari is when it stays open later.  We have gone to the sunset safaris and loved seeing the zoo at a different time of day when it was less crowded and less hot.  Most animals were still up, but several were sleeping.   If you have a booster membership it includes early entrance to Boo at the Zoo and a free entrance to zoo lights.  Boo at the Zoo in my opinion was too crowded, even with the early entrance.  The line was so long to get into the zoo we had to park around the back and they didn't get around to opening the gates until a few minutes before everyone else could enter.  I do not know that I would do it again, if I did I would go later in the day when most of the crowds have gone.  We did that for the Easter Egg dive and had a much better experience.

At Boo at the Zoo, the kids can wear costumes.

We love going to the zoo, it is something we do several times a month.  The kids love it and I am excited to take them to the different educational experiences they have for kids when they are old enough.  The membership has paid for itself 10 fold.  Now we consider it a free activity to do as a family that is healthy, educational, and fun.