Beautiful Weather + Holiday = BUSY Zoo Day
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DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Beautiful weather brought huge crowds out to the Dallas Zoo on Monday.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday meant many parents and children had a day off work and school.
Combine the warm temperatures, no school, and the winter admission price of just $5, and attendance was as big as it ever is in January - 10,812 guests on Monday alone.
Parking filled up by 12:30, and people were encouraged to take the DART train to the gates.
"We've just been inside, cooped up. We wanted to get the kids away from the video games," said Mindy Rosenfeld, who brought her son along with Natalie Brennan and her three boys.
A group of friends from UNT also took the opportunity to enjoy a day off school outdoors.
"Coming here in the winter, you think there's going to be no animals out, but all these guys are just running around and having a good time," said Parker McNally.
Park employees say the warm winter temperatures make the animals happy, too.
"When we get weather like this, they can explore it -- come out and explore their habitat a little bit more," said Sean Greene, Vice President of Guest Experiences at the Dallas Zoo.
Greene says a normal January bring just a couple hundred visitors to the zoo, but Saturday and Sunday had attendance of over 9,000 as well.
"It was really cold and dreary the last couple of months here. Most days when it's not 40 degrees, a lot of the animals aren't out, which translates to fewer guests," said Greene.
Monday's sunny weather pushed close to 70 degrees in Dallas.
The Chen family enjoyed bringing their children to see the big animals, like elephants and giraffes, roam their habitats.
"I've been to the zoo here. It's the first time either of our kids have been to the zoo, so it's been a good experience so far," said Derrick Chen.
The Dallas Zoo's $5 'Penguin Days' run through February 28th.
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