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Which zoo is best?

I have been playing around with the idea of taking my 1year old to the zoo. he loves animals and is working on mimicking sounds. problem is i have no idea which zoo would be best for my buck. we go to hollywild every year for the lights at christmas so ive been debating on greenville zoo or the zoo in columbia. anyone have opinions on either of them? thanks!

Tags: opinions, zoo

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Permalink Reply by Kristina Pilat on August 23, 2012 at 11:36am

Personaly, for a 1 year old, I would go to the Greenville Zoo. It's small, but I think it's just the right size for the little ones. I took my daughter for her fist birthday and it was wonderful.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Dill on August 23, 2012 at 4:17pm

I agree, the Greenville Zoo is great, much better than Hollywild. And there is so much to do. You can definitely make a day of it. If your child is 2 and under, they get in free. And the admission for adults is only around $7 or $8. They also have a great playground and snow cone vendors outside the zoo. I haven't been to the zoo in Columbia in a really long time, so I'm not sure about it.

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Permalink Reply by Rachel Hopkins on August 23, 2012 at 9:07pm

thanks! we still dont know where we will go. greenville zoo is closer and cheaper but columbia seems to have more animals judging by the park map.

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Permalink Reply by Nataliya Camp on August 24, 2012 at 2:55pm

We always go to the Columbia Zoo. It has so much more to offer!

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Permalink Reply by Katie Myers Hill on August 29, 2012 at 2:52pm

Greenville Zoo is great for a 1-year-old. Closer and probably cheaper. And it is perfect size for a little one. Cute little playground inside the park too. My kids love it. We live in Greer and get the annual membership there every year. For a family membership, it is only like $55. Sometimes, my little one and I would go when he was 1 and his big brother was in preschool. He is just a little over 2 and gets so excited when I tell him we're going there. He knows where all his favorite animals are. Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia is a great zoo, but for a 1-year-old, I'd suggest Greenville since it is closer and smaller. A toddler won't know the difference. I'd wait to go to Columbia when he is older. We are actually thinking about going there with our two boys next time we visit my inlaws in Cola. We'd go when we were on a weekend trip there. Won't make a day trip out of it quite yet.

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Rochelle on August 30, 2012 at 12:42pm

I would say the Greenville Zoo. We had a yearly membership last year (my daughter is two now), and it was worth it, as we went many, many times. It's a small zoo - but probably the perfect size for a one-year-old. They also have a small playground within the zoo, as well as Cleveland Park outside. We love the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia - there is so much to do, and they have a lot more animals. We took our daughter last year when she was one, and although I think she had a good time, it was a bit much for her at that age. At Riverbanks you can feed the lorikeets, ride a pony, ride a carousel, etc. We are planning on taking our daughter there this fall - I think she will enjoy it more this year.

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Garrett on September 7, 2012 at 1:06pm

Greenville Zoo is great for young children. My 16 month old doesn't have much of an attention span so the size of the zoo is perfect for her. And it doesn't cost as much as some of the larger zoo's, so you don't feel like you are out of a lot of money if your little one falls asleep half way through or starts to throw a tantrum while there. The Greenville Zoo also offers special programs for toddlers I think starting at age 2, so that could be beneficial as well being closer to home than Riverbanks Zoo.