Comments on: LinkStuff For June 1 – Zoo Visit And Creative Topic Theme

By: MoneyEnergy

MoneyEnergy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:44:29 +0000

Thanks for participating in the Cashflow Consciousness carnival (next one is being held at Passive Family Income, I’m still looking for other hosts, too).

The zoo sounds just as expensive as the movie theatres. But I agree with Nurse911, the importance of being able to see and interact with animals is very important for the kids. Trips to pet stores and the SPCAs/Humane Societies could achieve some of that, though, too.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:00:34 +0000

Guinness – good point about the membership. Like Wonderland etc you don’t have to go very many times to make it worthwhile. Once the kids are 4 then it becomes worthwhile for us (kids 3 and under are free).

MDJ – 13,500 aeroplan points for a $100 entertainment card. The entertainment card is pretty limited though – the zoo, ballet (the real one), movie rentals etc.

I have a bunch of points (32k) that I’m going to eventually use to buy a $250 dining card which will be easy for us to use.

I used to value aeroplan points at about 2 cents each but they are so hard to use that they are practically useless for flights.

By: Million Dollar Journey

Million Dollar Journey — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:21:58 +0000

Thanks for the twitter link! Yes, $18 for 4 slices of pizza sounds pricey. I remember visiting the Toronto zoo many years ago, and the Macdonalds combos were at least double the going price.

How many AP points did it cost you to bring your family to the Zoo?

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:09:42 +0000

You can become family members of the zoo which may help when they’re a bit older. You’d probably have to go 3 or 4 times before it pays off, but going off season can be fun. We were at a wildlife park in Ireland last week and with nobody there in rain got up very close to the animals. I’m 32 and love the zoo!

I can’t quite articulate why but the earnestness of that Art of Manliness blog makes me cringe. Better than average post there though.

By: Four Pillars

Four Pillars — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:38:27 +0000

Brad – congrats on the Globe and Mail mention. My kids are 1 and 2.5 – they definitely won’t remember anything. I have fond memories as well from my first zoo visit at age 7.

tax Guy – the weather wasn’t bad – no rain at least.

Our youngest was pretty cranky yesterday which made the visit a bit more difficult.

By: The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:34:45 +0000

Thanks for the link love!

By: tax Guy

tax Guy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:05:13 +0000

We were going to take our 3 year old aughter to the Toronto Zoo over the weekend but thought it might be too cold.

I thought she might not get much out if it but she still talks about Canada’s Wonderland gets excited when we drive by … We went there last summer.

I think its a great experience for kids.

By: Nurseb911

Nurseb911 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:58:25 +0000

I don’t know the exact ages of your kids Mike, but from my experiences (when I was a kid and working with tots) a young child might not remember all the specifics, but the experience of seeing animals they might otherwise never interact with has a great developmental effect on young kids; especially if its an animal they really take to. All I remember from my first Toronto Zoo visit (4 or 5) was seeing Koala’s on loan from an Australian zoo and a tiger (my favourite animal). Everytime I’ve gone back I’ve had to see the tigers (still my favourite animal). Worst case you get to spend a great day with your family that you might otherwise miss out on and that’s probably the greatest thing they’ll remember.