Your highest zoo rating

[Guest zoomeister]

I've been getting more 5 star zoos lately, mostly due to incorporating more endangered animals and lots of multi-species exhibits. The last zoo I did was in the campaign to unlock the breeding conservation building. I didn't have any Jeep tours or Tramways like I normally do, however I did have an elevated pathway that spanned two exhibits with three down ramps. People flocked to my Hippo/Flamingo exhibit, my American Bison/Giant Camel exhibit, my Masai Giraffe/Zebra/Wildebeast/Thomson's Gazelle exhibit, the Galapagos Turtle/Red Kangaroo exhibit, the Bongo/Baird's Tapir exhibit, the Markhor/Ibex exhibit and the Camel/Addax/Scimitar Horned Oryx exhibits. I had one exhibit with a singles species left in it and that was the Moose exhibit which is always a crowd pleaser. What kept people really amused was the Entertainer and associated stage from EA. Love that to keep people happy. Big exhibits to allow animals to roam and breed freely. Elevated walkways or else raised viewing areas to allow guest to see into the larger exhibits coupled with binoculars keep them happy.

 

I had one incident where people were thinking they were being chased by the Bongo, but it was because I had placed a bench too close to the wrought iron fencing and when a guest would try to walk behind it they would hang out into the exhibit making them panic. Once I got rid of the bench, the guest no longer pressed into the exhibit.

 

It was a very minimal zoo in that there wasn't much of the stuff I normally stick in a zoo because of the limited space left over, although I did put in a Koi pond with an elevated pathway over it for guests to go rest on if they wished. It was in an out of the way corner so it wasn't much travelled as of yet, not much to draw the crowds except for a couple of dessert carts and a slide for the kiddo's.

[MarineManiac]

The highest I've ever gotten is a 5 star zoo. The key is not too have as many animals as you can, but to have rarer animals and diverse species. Another important factor is ambiance. Guests LOVE to be pampered. If you make them happy by meeting their needs and more ( i.e. adding tons of plants to your exhibits and zoo and scenery as well). Plus check your zoo fame every so often to see what you can do.

[Eragon845]

2 months ago,when I was still playing this game,I got a 5 star zoo in challenge mode. I've actually gotten a lot of 5 stars in freeform,and I've HAD to get 5 star in some scenarios,like the mysterious panda or dino zoo.(The latter I HATE!!)

[Guest tokio_fan]

5 stars, in year 1, w/ only half the zoo finished... *smug*

[Guest Gloria]

*scrtaches head*

 

To be honest, if I build a zoo I can't NOT get a 5-star rating. I'm not sure exactly how fast I could get one in freeform (by pausing the game and building everything beforehand one could, in theory, gain an almost instantaneous 5-star zoo in freeform mode). In challenge it would depend on how much money I started with. Heh. Without being too stingy I can beat the "5-star sensation" scenario by August, I think... but I do have a lot of user downloads, which makes it easier.

[Guest zoomeister]

I messed with that zoo a little bit more and added some ambiance adders, like fog and snow machines. I also converted the Koi pond I had built into an exhibit for Narwhal and Beluga's which got the traffic flowing into that corner of the zoo. I also added another Entertainer's stage and another Entertainer to the mix and a couple more Educators. That zoo was pretty maxed out as far as space went, I don't think that I could stuff anything more into it. Oh, I also added a couple of Dwarf Elephants to the American Bison/Giant Camel exhibit and some Peafowl to the Moose exhibit. Overall it turned into a pretty good zoo considering I didn't put any predators in it. The only rating that I hadn't maxed out was the number of species, all the other ratings were off the charts.

[Guest Gloria]

I find that "entertaining animals" is the most difficult bar for me to fill.

 

Probably because I avoid using primates. >_>

[Guest zoomeister]

Entertaining animals are ones like Pink Flamingos, Hippos, Okapi, Moose, Peafowl and Zebras. Also guests love to see the really endangered animals in exhibits. This last zoo I did did not have primates or carnivores (unusual for me). Mostly ungulates, two species of birds and two from MM2 - the beluga and narwhals.

[Eragon845]

I usually don't use primates,I always use stuff like unglates,(Cuz I'm a bovine fan!!) and I usually only use alive,land animals. But,I use TONS and TONS of plants and scenary.