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1994–2026
The series: The zoo's attendance stands in the record at dated points, and they are printed as a series, not a slogan. In 1994 the zoo drew 540,000 guests — the record until the African Journey broke it. In 2009 more than 613,000 came. The zoo's boilerplate through the following decade held at "more than 500,000 guests annually" (2013) and then "more than 600,000 guests" (2015). The pandemic cut the 2020 season short; the rebound set the standing record: 670,000 guests in 2021, "about 20,000 more than in any previous year," in the words of the zoo's communications director — a record year for membership and fundraising as well. The zoo's September 2025 boilerplate puts the current figure at "more than 650,000 guests annually." And at the opening of the sixtieth season, in March 2025, the zoo counted the whole course: 25,615,315 guests had walked through its front gate since 1965.
The honors: The national rankings follow the same dated discipline. Parents magazine placed the zoo fifth in its "10 Best Zoos for Kids" in 2009, and among the nation's top ten zoos for kids in the African Journey year; America's Best Zoos named it the country's number one zoo for Australian animals in 2008; TripAdvisor named it the seventh-best zoo in the nation in 2015. In the state's own measure it was voted Indiana's number one "Gotta-Do Summer Attraction" in 2012. The zoo's standing description — northeast Indiana's largest tourist attraction — is its own, and the attendance series above is what stands behind it.
Sources:
- City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department, "Franke Park History" (540,000 in 1994; more than 613,000 in 2009), cityoffortwayne.in.gov.
- Peggy Werner, "Children's Zoo Season Opens April 30," Northwest Quarterly, spring 2022 (the record 670,000 guests of 2021; Bonnie Kemp, communications director; the shortened 2020 season).
- Fort Wayne Children's Zoo news releases (the boilerplate series: more than 500,000 annually, 2013; more than 600,000 in 2015; more than 650,000 annually, September 2025), via AroundFortWayne.
- Fort Wayne Zoo, sixtieth-season opening release, March 2025 (25,615,315 cumulative guests), via Whatzup and Amusement Today.
- Karen Cicero, "10 Best Zoos for Kids," Parents, 4 April 2009; WANE-TV, "Zoo named one of country's best," 15 July 2015 (TripAdvisor's seventh-best); the zoo's 2012 Indiana "Gotta-Do" record, zoo releases.