1962 Storyland Valley Zoo Edmonton

Many of these concrete structures and the storyland-themed buildings still exist at the Edmonton Valley Zoo even after the extensive renovations in 2013. The 8mm film transfer was done by TMTV.NET.

[@cbman4767]

Thanks for posting I spent many vacations at this place in the early to mid 70s.

[@swhabby]

Thank you for saving this gem. We spent many hours as children at this zoo. It’s wonderful to have this memory preserved

[@owellafehr5191]

I went to the zoo a lot as a child in the 1990s and early 2000s and it looked remarkably similar to this - the trees were much taller, of course, but the layout and the structures were all the same. Over the years since then it's changed a lot. I went back today and almost all of the 'Storyland' features are gone, with the exception of a few of the buildings (train station, petting zoo barn, one of the roundhouses - and all those are in pretty bad shape. However, there is a small 'memorial' display with painted scenes of the old zoo.
I still have a lot of nostalgia for the old zoo, and I miss the fairytale theme and buildings, but I also appreciate that the zoo is trying to modernize and provide a better home for its animals. Thanks very much for uploading these memories - this would be the zoo as my Dad knew it as a child.

[@tonywildeman6976]

Thanks for putting a huge grin on my face - this amazing clip shows the Valley Zoo exactly as I remember it from the first time my family visited it back in 1962 when I was 11 years old. It was great fun for kids, but I was much too old and mature for kid's stuff like this. Does it still look like this after all these years?

[@jeansurinatel5332]

Yes, thank you so much & ditto everything Swhabby said. Was much the same in the 80's when I took my own kids as well! Memories....

[@sharonwaddell2548]

We went there a lot as kids. I seem to remember a stage coach , and donkey rides also.

[@EricMontreal22]

They still had most of this when I was a kid in the 80s. My favourite part then was a tunnel for the train that went through a jungle with loud animal sounds, mechanical swinging monkeys, elephants, etc--anyone else remember this?

[@EricMontreal22]

@@twindrivein Yes!! I remember that too. So I haven't completely gone insane lol

[@hollypeterson955]

I can't remember mechanical animals but I do recall being slightly afraid of that tunnel, and what you said about loud animal sounds rings a bell. I think by the time I would have gone on this ride (late 90s/early 2000s) the mechanical animals might have been taken out (or stationary? I seem to remember images of animals on the walls?)

[@EricMontreal22]

@@hollypeterson955 Hey thanks for your reply! I had moved away from Edmonton by that time, but I do think for a while they did just let the animals be stationary (and really, originally they were very simple movements--we're not talking Disneyland's Jungle Cruise elephants...)

[@owellafehr5191]

@@EricMontreal22 Makes sense then! Glad that you jogged my memory!
Out of curiosity, have you been to the zoo since then? I last went a couple years ago and a lot has changed - they've removed almost all the Storyland elements and added many new exhibits. It seems to have improved a lot in terms of the animal enclosures, but I do miss the nostalgic charm it used to have.
Edit: posted from the wrong account but this is Holly Peterson who responded to you earlier.

[@EricMontreal22]

@@owellafehr5191 I haven't, though my twin sister is back in Edmonton and was briefly dating an employee there and we've always planned to back when I visit. Yeah, I know they removed all the theming stuff and I'm sorry to see that go, but it does look like they've upped the standards in terms of being an up to date place for the animals, which ultimately is for the best (they could have kept Humpty Dumpty though lol)