Yesterday we went to Franklin Park Zoo in Boston with a group of friends. Overall there were 9 kids 5 and under, and 5 adults. We all had a great time, notwithstanding of course the several meltdowns that occurred along the way for various reasons. And yes, my three had more than their fair share.
Compared to Stone Zoo, Franklin Park is overall a much nicer zoo. It has many more of the impressive animals, a great snack bar, a really nice 'all ages' playground, and for kids really into the animals this makes it worth the trip. The biggest downside to this zoo is location. For those of you familiar with Boston and it's neighborhoods, you might know that it is in the area known as Blue Hills, and it's not 'just off the highway'. Even with my GPS, I got so confused and made several wrong turns. Fortunately, the GPS politely "Recalculates" and we made our way to the zoo! We were supposed to all meet around 11. With this many kids going, you know we were almost all late! I got a call that we were meeting in the Giraffe parking lot and I immediately thought, GREAT! now I'm just a few minutes out. However, once I got there, I couldn't figure out where the parking lot was. I thought I found it, parked an unloaded the kids. Another mom friend pulled in right next to me with her two boys, and we headed up towards the gate. Only then did we notice we were not in the right place! There was a little teeny tiny sign saying "Zebra Entrance". We opted to just go in and walk to the other entrance, well run, since we were indeed late. So, downsides one and two: Bad area, and poor signage!
As we ran/dragged the kids past animal after animal to meet the rest of the group, I thought this is a really nice zoo! There were plenty of different types of animals to look at, and unlike the Stone zoo, there are the animals you would expect to see: Tiger, Lion, Gorillas, Monkeys, Zebras, etc. We loved the different exhibits, and it felt like it was more 'open' than stone zoo. I felt I could let Patrick explore a little more than I could in Stoneham. We were a bit sad that the Giraffe was not around because of the 'colder' weather. We were also disappointed that the butterfly garden hadn't opened for the season yet. This would have been a great test for our trip out to Westford's Butterfly Conservatory!
As for facilities, there is a large food area that has both inside and outside seating. I brought a lunch, so we didn't really explore the menu options. But I loved that there were picnic tables in the shade, in the sun, and regular tables inside! There were a few coin operated rides that Patrick preferred. This is such a nice difference from Stoneham which has a food 'trailer' (for lack of a better term). Next to the food area is a farmyard and a really cool slide that's built into a 'silo'. Behind this is a tractor for the kids to play on. These two things kept mine occupied for quite a while! There's also a decent sided play area. Amazingly, we didn't check this out as mine actually wanted to see some other animals.
For bringing my crew, I thought this place was great! I wasn't as concerned about keeping track of the kids as I have been at other places, and certainly feel it is something I could do on my own. Despite a few breakdowns that mine had, and the general difficulties in keeping a large group together, it went really well. As for accessibility, I had few, if any, problems pushing the bigger stroller through, and would definitely hope to break out the double wagon at a future visit. Important to note: there are areas that you can't use a stroller, so I couldn't go in with them, but Patrick got to go with his friends to feed the budgies.
Leaving the zoo, my GPS sent us in an amazingly worse area than the way we came in. After hitting a crime scene detour, I decided while the zoo is definitely worth coming to again, I would likely find a better way to get in. Those in the Giraffe parking lot got sent home a different way, and avoided the less desirable parts of Mattapan. Next trip I WILL find this parking lot, and will find a way to avoid Blue Hill Ave.
Next Stop: Ingaldsby Farm, Boxford
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