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Last Updated: Jul 22nd, 2006 - 09:02:32 |
Sure, the kids are out of school and itching for adventure, but the prospect of a long day of broiling outdoors on crowded sidewalks has traditionally been a recipe for a meltdown.
Enter the newest feature of family-friendly zoos - splash parks. Both the Jacksonville Zoo and Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo offer areas to cool off in. These safe, low-depth water areas are suitable for even the littlest visitors.
In Jacksonville, the first phase of a new, two-and-a-half acre play park opened in May, with two mazes, a 4,000-square-foot splash park with tree houses and swinging rope "vines," with more to come when the second phase is complete. Look for the upcoming otter exhibit, which will house two of the playful critters in a habitat with a crawl-through space where kids can watch the otters play above them.
At Lowry - recently named the No. 1 family zoo by Child magazine - two splash areas cater to different age groups. Older kids frolic in the fountain area near the main gate, where water spurts out of the ground around a manatee statue, while younger kids play in the new Wallaroo Station, which has a separate splash park as well as a playground for kids 5-12. (Bring a change of clothes, and a swim diaper or rubber pants for babies.)
If you remember Lowry from years ago, give it another chance: It's changed a lot from the neighborhood zoo it once was. It's compact, meaning there aren't any long, hot hikes from one exhibit to another. It's heavily shaded, with show amphitheaters sporting new canopies. A baby elephant born in October is still painfully cute, and Stingray Bay, a 16,000-gallon touch tank, features some of the friendliest stingrays around - they make those stand-offish SeaWorld stingrays look positively jaded.
My only gripe about Lowry is that they nickel and dime you a bit with rides, which use dollar tokens from machines that take only cash, unless you buy them along with your ticket at the gate. The ride costs range from the $2 jungle animal carousel (well worth it with its elaborate tigers, ostriches and dragons; accompanying parents ride free) to the $4 sky ride and a 15-minute behind-the-scenes tram safari for $3 per person. Lowry makes up for the extra costs, however, by keeping its admission price low: $14.95 for adults, $10.50 for children ages 3 to 11, and throws in free parking.
Jacksonville is even less expensive: $11 for adults and $6.50 for kids. Tickets to the train - a good bet for getting the tired brood back to the gate at the end of the day - are $4; $2 for kids.
E-mail Alisson Clark at kidfriendly@gvillesun.com.
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