I grew up in the Chicago area, and my family have been members of the zoo since I was quite young, so I've seen a lot at Brookfield, mostly good but some disappointing.

On the good side, Brookfield is huge! If you want to see everything, it can easily take all day, and you better have some good walking shoes because you are going to cover a lot of ground. In all this area, the zoo has all the expected creatures you see at most zoos, but also some pretty unique exhibits as well. There are several animals in the zoo that can only be found in 3 or 4 zoos in the country, and Brookfield is one of them.

Now for the downsides. In recent years, the zoo has made some additions to make itself more "kid-friendly," which have come at the expense of the animal exhibits. Aside from Stingray Bay, the two most recent additions are a carousel, and the "play zoo" in place of the former Small Mammal House. And all three of these cost extra on top of the admission cost. It's sad to me that former animal areas are being replaced with glorified playgrounds, at a zoo no less.

Overall, it is worth it to check out Brookfield Zoo, despite some of the recent changes they've made. There's enough other nice areas that you can skip the playgrounds and not feel like you didn't see the whole place.

Favorite areas of mine are: Australia House (wombats, kangaroos, cassowaries), Habitat Africa (large giraffe area, and kopje - rock outcrop dwellers), Fragile Desert and Rain Forest (meerkats, fennec foxes, naked mole rats), and Seven Seas/Pinniped Point (dolphins and sea lions) although that one's REALLY showing its age now. The Living Coast and the Swamp are pretty nice too.