Enjoying Christmas in the WILD

Christmas in the WILD at
Lowry Park Zoo

I love going to the theme parks during the holiday season. It is beautiful to see everything decorated and all the sparkling lights. This year we decided to go and see the Christmas in the Wild at Lowry Park Zoo. We went the first weekend it opened. You couldn't have asked for a better night. The weather was perfect!

Carollers performing
Christmas songs.

We have been to the zoo quite a few times, especially when my two girls were younger. They are 10 and 12 years old now and this was the first time my husband and I took them to a night event at the zoo.  It was a different experience because it was dark, but there were twinkling lights throughout the park with Christmas music playing. It was also different because you don't see as many animals as you do in the day time, but we still saw quite a few animals.

Randi feeding the giraffe!

One of the girls favorite parts of the night was feeding the giraffes lettuce. In my opinion, giraffes are some of the most interesting and beautiful animals. When you feed them at Lowry Park Zoo you are right up next to them on a platform and they eat right out of your hand.

Checking out some of the animals.

There are several animal encounters you can attend throughout the night. They include one called Presents for Primates with the Bornean orangutans and one called the Elephant Enrichment Social with the elephants. There is also one where you can say good night to the penguins.  And the one we really enjoyed was the Christmas Show. This was a show outside with some of  Santa's elves who brought out different animals for the kids to see including a snake, bunny, goose, turtle and goat.

Ready to ride the roller coaster!

The rides are also open during the night, so the kids were able to have fun going on the roller coaster and merry-go-round.

Riding the roller coaster!

Here's a money saving tip if you are planning on purchasing food or drinks at the park, the best way to go is with the couples or family dining plan. You can save at least $10 for five meals or refreshments or $34 on a ten meals or refreshments plan.   

Randi and Graci having fun with
one of Santa's elves!

Our highlight of the night was seeing Santa. They have a new location for him this year under a hidden tree canopy in the zoo called Santa's Tree Top Lodge. We tried to see him right when we got there, but the wait was about 45 minutes, so we decided to go back later in the night, which was a good idea because the line was shorter and about a 25 minute wait. We were greeted by a funny little elf who took us to see Santa inside a beautifully decorated house. The girls were each able to talk to Santa and give him their wish list. It was fun and we had a family photo taken with Santa and all the festive decorations.

Here's another tip...the photos with Santa are cheaper than the other photos in the zoo. At least they were the night we were there. Another nice thing about the zoo is the parking, it's free to park. So, if you are looking for a place to take the kids this holiday season I recommend the zoo. You can get some great holiday photos and it's a fun time for the whole family.

The zoo is still open during the day. The Christmas in the WILD runs select nights until December 30 from 4pm to 10 pm. To find the exact dates and  more information about Lowry Park Zoo visit their website at www.lowryparkzoo.org

Merry Christmas from our family
to yours!!!!

More than just a day at the zoo

As I watched my two little girls ages 8 and 9 circling around on the Jungle Carousel at the Lowry Park Zoo, I had a thought, “Can a day get any better than this?”

It was such an indescribable feeling, sitting there watching my daughters have fun and not worrying about anything else. The girls were so excited when I said we were going to go to Lowry Park Zoo. They couldn’t wait because they hadn’t been in years and loved seeing all of the animals.

I couldn’t wait because it brought back memories of me taking them when they were younger. It reminded me of days when we could just get in the van and go on a whim. This was before we had restrictions like school and work.

Since the girls had been babies two of my favorite places to go for a day trip were Lowry Park Zoo and Busch Gardens. I think the reason we liked these two attractions was because we love animals and because we could travel there in less than an hour.

 I love going to the zoo, because you don’t have to pay to park and the admission price is reasonable. Since the last time we went, they even included most of the rides for free and in the past you had to pay for each ride.

We would go to Busch Gardens because they had a preschool pass program where kids could get in free until they were five years old.

I loved walking them in their stroller. It was great exercise! As they got older they would walk. Now they run!

 It just brought back so many wonderful memories. Not only memories of the zoo itself, but the people we went with us to the zoo. While we were driving there, we thought about all the different people who went with us including grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and friends.

I realized so many times, as parents we get caught up in our everyday lives. I know I do. Even at the zoo my phone went off with a text from work. Of course when I got it, I started texting back, but you’ll never guess what happened? My battery that was charged just died. The phone just stopped working. I couldn’t text back.

I knew it was a sign and that I needed to not be thinking about work and re-focus back on why I was there.

We need to take time and have quality time with our kids. I needed to do this without distractions. My kids missed that and I did too. I probably missed it more than them.

My kids and I had a blast. The weather was one of Florida’s gorgeous sunny days, but not too hot, just right in temperature. Even though the parking lot was full, the zoo wasn’t crowded. We were able to see everything we wanted to see and not have to wait too long for anything. The only ride we waited more than 20 minutes was the Expedition Africa Guided Safaris, which is an 18 minute tour of the animals on a trolley. The other rides, like the Jungle Carousel and the Tasmanian Tiger Family Roller Coaster the waits were minimal. The fun part was going on these rides with the girls. Yes, I even went on the roller coaster and I am not one for roller coasters.

I asked my girls what the best part of the day was and they said they couldn’t pick just one part. They said everything was great! I had to agree. For me this day refreshed and revitalized me as a mom and built on the good memories I have with my daughters.