As you know I am a mother of two little girls, as of Sunday, they were quite literally two little cupcakes. Like any other good parent I take my children Trick-or-Treating every year, but for the longest time, Trick-or-Treating only consisted of my daughter Celeste and I...simply put Trick-or-Treating can be scary for a single mom. Walking around in the dark, people in masks running around, oh and DO NOT GET ME STARTED ABOUT CREEPY CLOWNS. Yes, Halloween Trick-or-Treating can be scary.
In the years that I have been a single mom, a safe haven for me to take my daughter Trick-or-Treating has been the Detroit Zoo-Boo. For $9 each I can take my daughter to a place that is well monitored and in most cases well-lit area.
At the beginning of this process this year I had a little issue with the tickets when I bought them online. My issue was that the PDF did not want to print out my tickets. I am sure it has to do with the print drivers and nothing to do with the actual website the Detroit Zoo hosts. SO I do not blame them for my technical issues. Why I mentioned this is because upon our arrival to the Zoo the ticket person did an excellent job assisting me with pulling up my tickets. From what I saw behind the (what looks like bullet proof glass) it looked like she was able to go onto some intranet site and open the order number. It was very helpful and made me feel a little less anxious about forgetting my tickets at home. Honestly, this alone would make me come back next year.
Now, I have been to the Zoo-Boo in the past and they had provided Trick-or-Treat bags. Thus making it super annoying for me to haul double candy bags for my daughter because we all know that us parents end up being a pack mule. So Mommy once again made a boo-boo. I forgot to grab Trick-or-Treat bags. Now, I was a little annoyed that the guest services did not head me off before I walked into the park to let me know that there were no bags in the park...had there not been two velcro bags attached to my stroller that the girls used to trick or treat...well honestly I would have had to walk what seems like 300 miles back to my car with the kids who would be very angry that they were not getting treats. As a suggestion to next year, the Detroit Zoo should put on the ticket that it is a bring your own Trick-or-Treat bag kind of place.
If you have never been to the Zoo Boo, it is like walking around the Zoo after dark and along the path they have candy stations that children and adults can walk up to and ask for candy. I love that there are other things than just candy, like Better Made Chips, Pops, and my personal favorite Michigan Apples.
Once inside walking around the Zoo, it is a very different place. A positive change I really liked this year were the Pumpkin Smashing, Craft Beer and other assorted activities that allowed the girls to have something other than just walking from candy station to candy station. Way to go Zoo-Boo that really was fun, so not to routine your time if you choose to go this year, trust me they are cool.
In addition to the new activities, the annual pumpkin painting was back this year. I have grown to love some of the exhibits and highly recommend taking a look at the pumpkin displays. They really are a work of art.
In conclusion, I had a great time at the Detroit Zoo and highly recommend that you BYOB, you know, bring your own bag. If you are looking for some safe family fun the Detroit Zoo-Boo is a great place to experiance a fun time for all ages. Have fun and Happy Halloween!
