Cruise the Zoo
Enjoy a unique opportunity to drive your car through the Phoenix Zoo. Cruise the Zoo allows guests to view a variety of zoo animals such as flamingos, giraffes, lions and elephants, while maintaining safe social distancing measures. The drive-thru event kicked off May 8 and runs through May 28. Due to overwhelming response, the Zoo has added 50 more cars to each day that has previously sold out.
Phoenix Zoo members will pay just $50 per vehicle for entrance and the general public fee is $65 per vehicle. Tickets for this experience will need to be pre-purchased online at phoenixzoo.org. There will be approximately 600 tickets sold per day.
“We keep hearing from our guests and members that they can’t wait to get back out and visit the Zoo,” says Bert Castro, Phoenix Zoo president and CEO . “This seems like the best way to offer the community a safe activity they can do with their families and loved ones, while also benefitting the Zoo financially throughout our closure.”
Designed to be approximately 30 minutes in length, the Zoo is providing a narrated tour of the route to offer insights, information and facts about the animals that may be seen along the journey. This audio tour is available at phoenixzoo.org/cruisethezoo along with a map of the route and an FAQ document. Vehicle size must be no larger than a full-size long bed truck. Max vehicle specs are: 266″ L x 81″ W x 74″ H.
The route will enter and exit at a private gate located in the far southwest corner of the main parking lot with queuing of cars in the lot. The journey takes guests along the Zoo’s outer Tropics Trail, past the habitats of elephants, jaguars, Aldabra tortoises, the Thunderbird Charities Equine Center and continues into the Zoo’s Africa Trail past rhino, hyena, and lion habitats to the front of the Savanna. The route meanders past zebra, flamingos, Monkey Village and winds around the Inner Tropics Trail to pass the Tropical Flights Aviary, orangutan and tiger habitats and then out of the Zoo. Many other animals not mentioned are along the route as well but always keep in mind that animals have the choice to be in various parts of their habitats and may or may not always be seen, similar to a typical daily walking visit of the Zoo.
The Phoenix Zoo has been closed since March 18 to do its part in minimizing the spread of COVID-19. With more than 80 percent of the Zoo’s earned revenue coming from gate admission, food, retail, school groups/fieldtrips, programs, memberships, experiences and hosted events, and the spring season as the busiest time of the year, the Zoo has missed nearly $4.5 million in revenue during this time.
