Lowry Park Zoo - FL

[Jasmine-Rose]

Sweetheart and I are going to visit my parents in Florida soon. We aren't very interested in Disney or the big theme parks, but I want to do something fun one day while we're there. I went on the internet and found a reference to the Lowry Park Zoo which is near Tampa (I think).

Can anyone in the area, or anyone who has visited the zoo, give me an opinion/review?

Many thanks!

[manetta]

I am not much of a zoo person. That being said, sure Lowry Park is a perfectly nice zoo and is great for families. I am sure that you will enjoy it. It would be nice if you could combine it with a trip to the Florida Aquarium also located in Tampa.

There is also a great Monet exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. The Salvador Dali Museum is also located in St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg is an easy drive from Tampa.

Cypress Gardens, Florida's original theme park, also just reopened. It is located in Winter Haven. It is much, much smaller than Disney, Universal and Sea World. It is a fun way to spend the day, although sections of it are still not open to the public yet.

Hope this helps!:)

[HeidiD]

Jasmine Rose, I'm in NH like you but have been to Tampa many times since my FIL lives there. We go to Lowry Park Zoo nearly every trip. It's a nice size -- big enough but not too big -- and has everything from sea animals to camels and white tigers.

We also have enjoyed the Florida Aquarium and MOSI - the Museum of Science and Industry, which is located in the area of Busch Gardens.

This year, I am trying to get my family interested in going to the Pier Aquarium and the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. The Florida Strawberry Festival is also opening when we will be there (it runs 3/3-3/13 in Plant City) so we might take that in as well.

Have fun in the sun!

Heidi

[Jasmine-Rose]

Thank you both very much for your input. The website for the zoo made it look nice (but don't they all?), and it appears to have won some awards so I thought it would have potential. Now I'm really looking forward to visiting there!

Manetta, we've been to Cypress Gardens with my parents before and they really like it there. My mother uses a scooter to get around and Cypress works well for that. I was disappointed when it closed a couple of years ago, and I was worried about the Banyan tree - that tree is amazing and really made an impression on me. I read that they will have a butterfly house and I'd like to visit that if it's open when we go.

Heidi, it's nice to hear that you like the zoo enough to visit it so often. When we go to visit Sweetheart's parents near Chicago we always go to the zoo there because he used to go as a child - I think it might be called Brookside. We enjoy going back each time and that's what made me look for a zoo near my parents. The HUGE theme parks are more than we want to take on, so the Lowry Park Zoo seemed like it would be just right. Thanks for the endorsement.

[manetta]

My husband is a project manager for the company doing all of the renovations at Cypress Gardens. I asked him tonight and he said that the butterfly house is open to the public and the tree is still there, although it may have sustained some damage from the hurricanes last summer.

Have a great time!

[Jasmine-Rose]

Hi All,

Just wanted to report back to say that we did go to Lowry Park Zoo and we had a wonderful day. The zoo is very nice and clean and just the right size. As a matter of fact, it reminded us both very much of the Brookside Zoo near Chicago which is just what we were hoping for!

And I fed the giraffes :) .

We didn't manage to get back to Cypress Gardens and I was sorry not to see the banyan tree. Perhaps next time...

Thanks again to all who replied to my query. The people who make up this BB community never cease to amaze me with their generosity and willingness to help others.

Did I mention that I fed the giraffes? ;) I love giraffes!