EPZ READY TO ROLL
Gates open: Elmwood Park Zoo will reopen June 26 with precautions in place
NORRISTOWN » The giraffe, the donkey and the Boer goat are ready to welcome you back to Elmwood Park Zoo.
Will it be just like old times? In a lot of ways it will, but some new rules have been put into place that make the zoo as safe as possible for everyone.
As Elmwood Park Zoo reopens on Friday, June 26, all guests, including Yearly Members, are required to purchase or reserve tickets online prior to visiting the zoo, noted marketing director Shaun Rogers.
“It’s a very long-awaited day. We’ve put together the policies that will ensure the safety of our guests as well as our animals and our staff,” Rogers said. “We have signage all around so that everyone knows what to expect. We’re ready to welcome guests for the first time since mid-March. For now, we’re asking all guests who would like to visit the zoo to either purchase their tickets online at elmwoodparkzoo.org, or, if they’re members, to register online.”
Tickets will be timed, to allow a new capacity of tickets to become available every half hour.
“That will help us maintain proper social distancing. We’ll be reminded guests to have their masks on and wash their hands and practice social distancing, all the things we’ve come to expect since the pandemic started,” Rogers said.
The zoo experience it
self will be somewhat limited in the early stages of reopening, “Our attractions, such as animal feedings, the jaguar and the playgrounds will be closed initially, but out animals that are all part of the outdoor exhibits will be open.,” Rogers noted.
Food vendors will remain closed for now as well.
“Not knowing what to expect we’re taking a (sustained) approach to opening,” Rogers said. “Certainly we know there is a demand for people to come back to the zoo and we don’t want to overload our staff or the regular animal care, so we’re doing things in small steps to ensure the safety of our guests coming to the zoo.”
Yearly members will be permitted to visit from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday, 9 to 10 a.m. weekends.
Regular zoo visitors will be permitted from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission tickets will be available to purchase/reserve beginning Wednesday, June 24th at 9:00 am.
For more information, visit elmwoodzoo.org