63,910 in Attendance at Zoo — Crushes Old Record

Yesterday saw a record-crushing attendance day for our Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, with nearly 64,000 people turning out to take advantage of the beautiful weather and free President’s Day Admission.

It was an all hands on deck situation for the staff and surrounding community which saw traffic backed up for miles.

Headed to the @ColumbusZoo? A lot of other people are taking advantage of the free admission today as well! ? pic.twitter.com/1T8r1Pqqkh

— WSYX ABC 6 (@wsyx6) February 20, 2017

The previous attendance record was set December 10, 2015, during the Wildlights holiday festival.  37,459 people visited the zoo that day when temperatures were also in the 60s, yesterday saw that number nearly doubled.

Today, on our most unseasonably warm day, something special happened. The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium set an attendance record after offering free admission in honor of President’s day.

Warm temps & holiday free admission = record crowd. We close at 4:00 and there is still heavy traffic. We apologize for the inconvenience.

— Columbus Zoo (@ColumbusZoo) February 20, 2017

That record? 40,000 people according to a spokesperson for the Zoo.

It’s so busy in the area, that Powell police are advising that people completely avoid the area.

Update: Traffic congestion around Powell has worsened. Subdivisions are experiencing surges in traffic as well Avoid area completely.

— Powell Police (@PowellPolice) February 20, 2017

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