To Jupiter and Beyond: August 2021

Map: Brackenridge Park (San Antonio Zoo)

Overall: 4.75/5

Factor	Description	Rating (Out of 5)
Uniqueness	Did it have that keep Austin Weird unique vibe? Was it new and interesting or same old neighborhood park? (Nothing wrong with your neighborhood park...but if we took the effort to travel...we want something different and unique!) A value of 1 means it was not very unique, a value of 5 means it was crazy unique and different.	5
Variety	Refers to the different areas or different activities that were available. A value of 1, means there was not much variety. A value of 5 means it had a lot of different things for the kids!	5
Safety	How safe was my toddler without me having to intervene much? Did he fall multiple times? Did he hurt himself? A value of 1 is not very safe and probably would not bring the kid back. A value of 5 means safety was in the mind of the designer and pretty much kid proof.	4
Kid Friendly	Was it Intentionally design for kids? Or mostly for adults? A value of 1 would mean that it was fun enough for kids, but not really designed for kids. A value of 5 would be it is designed for kids.	5
Overall	Average of all factors listed below for final overall score	5

Cost: (As of 8/31/21) Cost varies depending on packet and ages. As of 8/31, kids under 3 were free. I did two kids and the butterfly experience and the train.

https://sazoo.ticketapp.org/portal/pages/tickets

Stroller friendly? Uhm...mostly yes...but there are a few buildings that are not stroller friendly. For example the reptile area just have a bunch of stairs and I had to lift the stroller to get it in. If you have a big stroller it will be hard. I have a small graco one so it wasn't too bad for the most part...but some areas are more tricky than others. However since I did this solo trip. It was worth it toke it.

Restroom? Multiple restrooms, check out the signs!

AGH! I know this is technically not a park, but it kind of is? It is a gem! I love this zoo and its the best zoo nearest to Austin that I have found!! It was extra amazing because it also had a dinosaur exhibition. My son loves dinosaurs so he was over the moon!

We did the combo with the butterfly's, train and carousel. My advice if you do this is to do the train last when everyone is tired and do the zoo area first. Even if you decide to do the train first, if you've purchased the tickets as a combo you have to go into the zoo to get them, not at the little train station...so it makes sense to just do it on your way out!

We went to the butterfly exhibit first and it was fun. Honestly my toddler wasn't as much into it as I thought he would be, but it was entertaining enough for me. They take great care of all the caterpillars and butterflies.

Then we went to the reptile building. He loved finding all the reptiles in various areas. We also saw the flamingos, bats and crocodiles. After lunch we went to the carousel. My son loved it! It was worth it to pay the extra bucks to ride on it IMO :-)

We had come to the park one time prior, but my son fell asleep prior to seeing the giraffes...which was a bummer...so I made it a point to follow the arrows towards Africa to make it there in time before he fell asleep. We paid extra 5$ to feed the giraffes. He was so happy!

At the end we rode the train. TBH I wouldn't do it again bc it is kind of a hassle and the train does not go through the zoo...it goes towards a museum and to the Botanial gardens (not through), so it was more of a hassle...but if your kids are into trains then it might be kind of cool. It is just a long wait to finally get there.

What was the rarest animal we saw? The Okapi! It looks like the most weird mix of animals. Zebra print on the bottom and maybe like a Kangaro face.