Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

Awesome and what an amazing experience it was. No wonder they got the best zoo award once.nnParking:nBetter to reach early at least half hour before opening as it tends to get crowded and you would have hard luck finding parking there. We visited on weekend both Sat and Sun and it was pretty crowded. Not sure about the weekdays.nnFood:nWe took our own food inside as a lot of people did. The zoo is huge and better to carry your own food and water. I think there are two cafeterias where they sell eateries.nnKids:nInfants won't have anything to do in the zoo. Toddlers would love it and so do small kids. Huge park for kids with a lot to play and also a small water park kind of section where they could just bathe and chill. Teenage onwards can enjoy what adults would.nnTwo days is definitely the least you would need to explore the zoo. Anything less and you would miss sections.

The new sea lion exhibit is a great upgrade from the old one.

Best zoo I've been to. Very family friendly. Walking straight through and seeing everything takes about 5 hours. They don't check bags at the gate that I've noticed. I'd recommend bringing in food and water if you're on a budget, it's theme park prices for food and drinks in the zoo. There's a lot to do indoors if the weather isn't the best.

This place is enormous. I spent five hours here multiple times and it seems like I've only seen about half of it. That being said, I'm a 'slow' zoo and museum-goer. I like to take my time and really reflect on and experience each exhibit. The variety is impressive here. I would say that it's comparable to the North Carolina Zoo in quality but very different in style. Whereas the North Carolina Zoo is fluid and organic in design, with the design of the zoo blending into the surrounding woods and habitat, the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo is almost colorful and almost corporate by comparison. It has more of the feel of a circus festival whereas the NC zoo makes you feel like you are hiking through the woods 'discovering' the flora and fauna.

This zoo is quite awesome! The kids all had fun. I enjoyed their alligator enclosure. It is quite large; much larger than I expected. We would definitely recommend and we will return; we didn't get to see it all!