If you’ve been trying to get your hands on tickets to the Oakland Zoo, you're not alone.
There’s cheering and laughing among kids again as parents roll strollers to the ticket booths, a sound Oakland Zoo President and CEO Dr. Joel Parrott told KCBS Radio is certainly welcoming following a two-month closure.
"The zoo without the people…we’re just not complete," he said.
So many visitors were excited to return that the zoo’s online ticketing system actually crashed for a brief time.
Excited visitors file in to the Oakland Zoo, the first to come through the gates after a two-month closure because of COVID-19 restrictions.Carrie Hodousek/KCBS Radio
"We have to sell advanced tickets so that we can limit the amount of people at the zoo so that they can maintain social distance," Dr. Parrott said. "Because we now require that, all of a sudden everybody wanted to order their tickets at the same time."
Jennifer and her family did just that.
"When I found out, I set my alarm so that I would make sure to be one of the first people to return," she said. "Even then, I still had to wait 30 minutes to get tickets."
Concessions are available outdoors, but indoor attractions are closed.
The zoo’s beloved gondola ride is operating.
"It’s something that my children look forward to and have been asking me for months," she added. "We’re so happy to be back, see the animals, learn and just enjoy the outdoors."
