Zoo, Animal Park Boost Admission Fees for Adults

Beginning Monday, adults visiting the San Diego Zoo will pay $1 more to get in, the Zoological Society announced Wednesday.

Adults visiting the San Diego Wild Animal Park will also pay more, said Jeff Jouett, Zoological Society spokesman.

The new San Diego Zoo admission charge for adults will be $7.50, up $1 from the current charge. The new Wild Animal Park fee for adults will be $12.95, up $2.25. The latter includes admission and a ride on the monorail, which takes visitors around the large, hilly park. The current admission price of $7.95 does not include the $2.75 ticket price for the monorail ride.

Jouett said prices for children, senior citizens, students and people who purchase an annual admission pass to the zoo will remain the same.

“The main reason we’re raising the prices is that the cost of doing business has gone up,” Jouett said. “The utility bills are up and the liability insurance has really taken off.”

For example, Jouett said, the zoo and park had to pay $300,000 for liability insurance last year. This year, the bill will be $900,000. He said another reason for the higher ticket prices is an increase in maintenance work, which officials attribute to the age of the attractions. The zoo is in its 70th year, and the park is now in its 16th year.

Zoo Society officials hope the price increase will help to make the Wild Animal Park self-supporting. In the past, Jouett said, money has been taken from the zoo budget to help pay for utilities and maintenance work at the San Pasqual Valley park.

The last admission fee increase came last year, when adult tickets to the zoo rose from $5.95 to $6.50 and adult tickets for the Wild Animal Park went from $6.95 to $7.95.

Zoo officials said that, despite the increase in prices, they believe their family attractions are one of the top entertainment buys in San Diego.

About 3 million people visit the zoo each year and about 1.2 million people visit the Wild Animal Park, which is about 30 miles north of downtown San Diego.