Dallas Zoo's $1 day draws thousands, another set for August

Dallas Zoo's dollar day draws thousands amid Texas heat

The Dallas Zoo's recent "Dollar Day" drew 25,000 visitors who braved the heat and crowded conditions for discounted admission, with another highly anticipated dollar day set for August 5th.

DALLAS - The Dallas Zoo sold 17,000 tickets at just $1 each and people told us about such a great deal that a little heat was worth it.

The Baer family were one family among many that saw getting to the Dallas Zoo on dollar day as an adventure all by itself.

"There was no parking," said the mother, Whitney Baer.

"Parking was crazy," said the father, Chris Baer.

All worth it, as the kids got to see their favorite zoo animals.

Giraffes and zebras for their son Judah, but his 4-year-old sister Jubillee was "looking forward to the horsey ride."

FOX 4's Lori Brown was expecting the Baer family to be looking forward to seeing the bears at the Zoo, but father Chris stated, "I’m more of a Fox person."

At FOX 4, we can't argue with that.

As the high temperature reaches the upper 90s, to survive the heat, you just have to know your way around. 

"It was a lot hotter last year not as many fans. That is an improvement," said Whitney.

Dig deeper:

Dollar days are a hit for people traveling in large packs. They are easy to spot with matching shirts. 

"Yeah, the little ones, we don’t want to lose them. It is a busy day," said zoo attendee, Diana Rivera. 

"On our way to the splash zone for the little ones so they can cool down after seeing the show."

Diana's 9-year-old sister, Genesis, was just excited to feed the animals at the show.

"I even fed some giraffes," said Genesis.

Local perspective:

The McKinney family definitely understands that the early birds get the worm on dollar day at the Dallas Zoo.

"Dollar day has been great. We came in bright and early. It opened at 8:00, we got here 9:00, and got great parking. We are ready to leave at this point," said the father, Joquin McKinney.

"Make sure you have comfortable shoes, a lot of water snacks, cooling towels, ice water a lot of cool things to keep us cooled off."

What's next:

There is one more dollar day at the Dallas Zoo this year. It will be August 5, but a spokeswoman for the zoo says tickets are going fast. 

So if you think you are tough enough for the heat, then you will want to grab your $1 ticket online as soon as possible.