DEAL ALERT: Zoo Membership in Toledo?

Every year, as the spring leaves begin to bud, our family gets itchin' to visit the zoo. This year is no exception. With the weather supposedly improving tomorrow we have decided to take off for the day and visit the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma Washington. Which brings us to the same dilemma we face every year.

"Do we buy a membership for $97 this year?"

The conversation is always the same and usually starts with us figuring out how many times in a year we can possibly visit the zoo during decent weather months. Usually we end up calculating that we most likely will visit three or four times and that the cost per visit (for our family of 3 paying individuals) is going to be $27 each time. ($11/adult and $5 for our toddler) Since zoo membership at Point Defiance allows you to take a few friends for FREE too - it sounds like a great deal at first glance. But, as the conversation continues we quickly realize that sometimes we want to take our family to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, or the Oregon Zoo in Portland since the animals there are different. This poses a problem.

You see, Point Defiance and Woodland Park have a non-compete clause. This means your membership at one zoo will not work at the other. So, since our membership would not be transferable and we'd be losing money on the deal if we ever "betrayed" Point Defiance and visited another zoo - we say goodbye to our dreams of zoo membership.

But NOT this year.

This year I decided to do some researching online. I visited several zoo websites trying to find a zoo that offered members reciprocal visits to both Point Defiance and Woodland Park Zoo. I am happy to say that I found it...and what a deal it is.

The Toledo Zoo offers a family membership (2 adults and all of your kids) for $65. But their reciprocal zoo list includes FREE entrance to both the Point Defiance Zoo AND the Woodland Park Zoo. Throw in the Oregon Zoo in Portland as a bonus (along with 122 other zoos across the country) and we have a bargain that I couldn't pass up.

Granted, we will probably never visit the Toledo Zoo this year, but with a membership package that allows me to visit any zoo in my area, as many times as I want for only $65...well...I joined up. And to top it all off - the membership is tax deductible. "Take that Uncle Sam!"

One thing to note is that your membership at the Toledo Zoo does not include any FREE guest passes at reciprocal zoos. But, that being said, we decided the flexibility to visit multiple zoos was a greater reward. Not to mention, the cheaper membership price relects a better bargain in our estimation.

Oh yeah, and even though our membership cards won't be here for a couple of weeks we called the Toledo Zoo and explained that we wanted to go to a reciprocal zoo tomorrow. They offered to call Point Defiance Zoo for us and have guest passes waiting for us tomorrow when we arrive. Now THAT'S great customer service.

So, for all of you Washingtonians who are itchin' to visit more than one zoo in our area. You would be wise to check out the Toledo Zoo.

After all, membership has its advantages.