The Kansas City Zoo will reopen this weekend. What you need to know before you go
The Kansas City Zoo will reopen its gates this Saturday, but families should know a few things about how the coronavirus pandemic will change operation of the park.
For the foreseeable future, the zoo will not allow walk-up visitors. All tickets must be purchased online to help manage crowds at the front gates. Those without internet service can call the zoo at (816) 595-1234 to reserve tickets.
Tickets will have staggered entrance times to limit visitors to about half the crowd of a normal peak summer day.
The zoo closed in March because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as stores and restaurants begin reopening in the metro, zoo officials find their attraction in a unique position: like movie theaters and malls, it can draw massive crowds. But it also sprawls across 200 acres, allowing room for families to enjoy some outdoor time as they spread out across the park.
“Our goal is to probably never have more than 1,500 to 2,000 people in the zoo at any one time,” Zoo CEO Randy Wisthoff recently told The Star. “If you take that size of visitorship and spread it over 200 acres, we feel there’s plenty of space to social distance.”
On Thursday, city officials approved the zoo’s plans for reopening.
“Things will look and feel a little different at the Zoo as we open back up, and we know we will have to continue to adjust things daily. Our primary concern, though, is the health and safety of our community,” Wisthoff said in a news release Thursday afternoon.
Aside from new entrance protocols, the zoo has installed hand sanitizer stations and moved some areas to one-way traffic, like the Africa exhibit. Likewise, the buildings that house the penguins and polar bear exhibits will be open only for one-way traffic, with guests entering in one entrance and exiting through another.
All zoo staff will wear masks and visitors are encouraged to do the same.
Wisthoff said the zoo believes it can safely reopen, but it will be up to families to help ensure groups stay spread apart from each other.
“We’re going to have an awful lot of signage out,” he said. “But we’re really counting on people to police themselves.”
Communal events like keeper chats, animal demonstrations, the indoor bird show and the sea lion show will be suspended. Many of those events will be available for viewing online.
Zoo feeding stations and playgrounds will also be closed.
The Africa Tram will operate daily but at limited capacity. All other rides will be closed for now.
Visitors can also expect changes to the food and beverage options available at the zoo.
Seating will be limited at concession areas and picnic tables have been spread far apart, much the way restaurants have done as they begin to reopen. All self-service food items and condiments have been removed.
Water fountains and refill stations will be closed, but free water is available at any food stand.
Wisthoff said it’s hard to predict what demand will look like: Many families have been cooped up for weeks and are looking for activities to stay busy. But those desires may be complicated by Saturday’s forecast, which calls for a high chance of thunderstorms in the area.
“We know the zoo is popular and a great attraction for families,” Wisthoff told The Star. “We’re just working as hard as we can to make sure people feel comfortable coming.”
On Thursday, the zoo and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art released a playful video of several Peruvian penguins waddling around the museum’s ornate hallways.
“Taking care of wild animals at the Kansas City Zoo, we’re always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate their days,” the zoo CEO said on the video. “And during this shutdown period, our animals really miss having visitors come out and see them.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
