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Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Reviews

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Tacoma, WA
4.7 out of 5 rating, 24 Reviews
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Reviews

4.7 out of 5 rating
4.7 out of 5 rating
24 Reviews
93% recommend it
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  • Quality of service
    4.7 out of 5 rating
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    4.7 out of 5 rating
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Awards

24
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2015 Winner
  • L
    Luz Sent on 07/28/2017
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    We had our ceremony in the Plaza with our reception in the South Pacific Aquarium, in front of the shark tanks. From start to finish, Lancer Catering (Chip Venzone specifically) was great about answering all of our questions in a very timely manner. We were on a pretty tight budget, but Chip helped us put together a night that we will never forget. We had several compliments on the wedding, and both my wife and I agree that it was even more than we had hoped for. I would absolutely recommend PDZA as a venue!
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    Sarah Sent on 06/26/2017
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    Can't say enough good things about the venue and Lancer catering. Multiple guests mentioned how awesome the venue and food were. Chip and Michael and their staff were great to work with both for the catering and event management parts of the wedding. Wedding and reception took place in Asian animal exhibit and the animal experiences were a highlight of the evening.
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    Emily Sent on 05/13/2017
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    We LOVED working with Chip at PDZA! Our venue and catering were the two things we never worried about because we knew Chip had it covered.

    If you're worried about "zoo food" at your wedding, don't be! The food was fresh, tasty, and all around amazing. Our guests raved about the garlic mash and delicious chicken.

    The venue was itself was lovely and we could explore both the top and bottom floors. This was especially nice for our more introverted guests since if they didn't want to dance they could look at fish and explore the aquarium.

    I could go on and on about how great this venue is! If you're even considering go take a tour, trust me, it's well worth your time.
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    Gloria Sent on 05/07/2017
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    My husband and I had our wedding and reception at the aquarium on April 1st this year. We were more than pleased with the venue and staff. From the planning to the end of the event, everything was perfect. Chip, Michael and their staff at Lancer Catering did an amazing job. Tours were easily arranged, questions we had throughout the planning were answered almost immediately and everything was done with professionalism and sincere kindness. The wedding and reception went off without a hitch. The venue was perfect and the food was amazing! Everyone, including my mother who can be difficult to please, raved about every aspect of the event. If I could do it all again, I would, just to have another party there.
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    Shelley Sent on 02/03/2017
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    Wonderful venue to help make magical memories
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    Jeremy A. Sent on 12/10/2015
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    We were absolutely floored by the outstanding service provided by Chip, Emily, and the team of Lancer Catering. My wife and I could not be happier about this venue and catering. Chip and Emily constantly kept us in the loop, answered all of our questions (even if we'd already asked the same questions a thousand times), met with us when we needed, were patient and considerate the entire time, and even stayed during the wedding to make sure everything on their part ran smoothly. To say they are professional is an understatement. They were flat out amazing.

    And the zoo and aquarium were breathtaking for our wedding. From the view of the water in our backdrop to the cocktail hour and reception in the aquariums, everything was perfect. Chip even helped us arrange to have the stingray touch tank open for guests during the cocktail hour!

    Last but not least, the food was spectacular. We didn't hear one bad report of the food. In fact, we heard tons of comments raving about the food. Everyone loved it! The chefs clearly take pride in what they make. Couldn't have asked for a better first meal with my wife.

    Overall, it was everything we wanted and more. We had awe inspiring views, aquariums to keep guests entertained, a great dinner, and overall just an amazing day. And one of the nicest parts about it was that the price of this venue and catering is incredibly competitive. They beat out so many of our other venues that had far less to offer. What a fantastic place. Many thanks to Chip, Emily, and the entire staff of Lancer Catering.
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    Melissa Sent on 11/17/2014
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    You will not find a more professional or courteous group of wonderful people to work with. My family is grateful for the services Lancer Catering provided for my daughters wedding. Chip Venzone and Emily Treadwell provided this first time catering client a total piece of mind so I could focus on all the other aspects of a wedding. The staff on the event night were amazing looking after every small detail so the guests could truly enjoy the wonderful and magical aquarium. Thank you again
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    Adam Sent on 04/06/2014
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    Our wedding at the Point Defiance Zoo was outstanding. Since the wedding on March 22nd my wife and I have received countless comments on how beautiful the venue turned out to be and how amazing the food was. Lancer Catering and Chip Venzone were amazing from the time we started planning until the end of the event.
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    Sabina Sent on 07/22/2013
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    Beautiful venue and amazing service
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    Sabina Sent on 10/14/2013
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    Everything went smoothly. Chip made the whole process easy and stress free.
  • User1211819 Sent on 06/23/2013
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    Beautiful views, professional and knowledgeable staff, and the food was FANTASTIC!
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    Amy Sent on 05/08/2010
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    We really wanted to get married in an "unusual but not weird" location and since we both love aquariums, we figured we'd check out our options. We ruled out the Seattle Aquarium because of the cost and minimum number of people required. We'd never been to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium before but thought we'd check it out.

    We loved it at first site. We talked with the coordinator, Heidi, who completely sold us on the location. She had ideas for where to hold different parts of our event and was willing to work through the logistics with us whenever and however we needed. We booked the South Pacific Aquarium for the ceremony and the North Pacific Aquarium for the reception. It was perfect for the number of people and the price was totally reasonable.

    We did book 14 months prior to our wedding and visited the aquarium numerous times. Heidi was always willing to let us into the venue to check things out and was very responsive to all our questions.

    During the course of the 14 months, the zoo changed catering companies. While this made us nervous, it certainly benefited us in the end. The new catering company, Lancer Catering, did a great job. The food was excellent, the staff was professional and kind, and everything was exactly as we had asked for. They were flexible in the menu options and we were able to switch out a few things. They honored parts of the contract that existed with the old caterer which we appreciated.

    The venue was set up exactly as we had requested and all the staff were very patient with us on the wedding day. Heidi even gave up her office so my MOH and I could get ready for the ceremony.

    We had a perfect wedding in a great location and highly recommend it.
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    Serena Sent on 08/29/2016
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    Emily was very responsive and so helpful. I didn't know much about weddings and she was able to make recommendations to help me out. The venue was beautiful and just a lot of fun. My guests really enjoyed the aquariums and really, really enjoyed the animals (sloth and bald eagle) that attended our reception. The animals were the star of the show! I was looking to a fun and easy-going venue and Point Defiance was just perfect. I did not even decorate that much; the aquariums worked as beautiful decorations. I'm so happy that we decided to have our wedding there.

    I didn't get to eat much of the food in the kerfuffle of the wedding, but our guests said the food was amazing. The zoo did require we use Lancer Catering for the food, which was a little pricier than we expected, but turned out to be great. The alcohol prices were fairly high, but we were able to bring in our own wine with a corkage fee, which saved us some money.
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    Jessica Sent on 06/03/2015
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    Chip and his team were on top of everything and worked to accomodate all my requests. Long distance planning ( I live in Florida) was difficult and they made sure everything went according to plan. The venue (S. Pacific Aquarium) was incredible! Every single one of my wedding guests commented on what an awesome space we were in! I was nervous about the food since we did not get the opportunity to do a taste testing, but everyone was absolutely blown away by how delicious the food was. It went above and beyond my expectations. The catering staff was SO nice. They were smiling and friendly all evening. It was by far the most amazing night and everyone had an awesome time watching the sharks swim around! Thank you to Chip and the PDZA for making it such a memorable night!
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    Jill Sent on 09/26/2016
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    We loved having our wedding reception at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. We paid a little extra to have our cocktail hour by the tiger area before moving the reception into the aquarium. They had told us they would wait to feed the tigers until that time. We had no idea they were also going to be staffing someone to talk about the tigers! There were a few of the other animals out (monkeys, elephants, etc) for our guests to enjoy, too. Some of our guests had a bit of a hard time finding the cocktail area, I had wished there was another staff person or two to direct guests. However, the zoo staff over all was very friendly and helpful.
    Lancer Catering did a fabulous job putting on a great meal for us inside the aquarium and Chip was very easy to work with in the planning stages. His assistant was a bit young and didn't have all of her facts straight. However, Chip assured us they would be able to accommodate all of our requests. Overall, we loved experience with PDZA and Lancer Catering!
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    Karrah Sent on 10/17/2014
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    We had our wedding in the aquarium. The ceremony was in front of the sharks with the reception in the big north shores area. It was beautiful and unique. Chip the cater coordinator was responsive with most of my questions. For most things they were either easy going or understanding. You can't hang stuff but really there was no need to and even minimal decor goes unnoticed. A few things to keep in mind is that we didn't get to taste the food even though they said we would get to, the food was fine but still. Also my poor mother and MIL only got thirty minutes to set up very stressful but it looked great. It was more the zoos fault because they didn't people out there fast enough. Lastly keep in mind all the little fees, they Add up. Set up fees, 20percent comp, cake cutting fee etc. otherwise though it was dream.
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    Heather Sent on 05/15/2008
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    This venue is AWESOME!!!! Despite the problems we had with rain and me being stubborn and wanting everything to go as originally planned.....the venue was everything i had imagined. The view from the ceremony plaza area was amazing. The guests raved about being able to see the tiger while the keeper was having it do "tricks." The reception location was great, plenty of space for all of our needs. You don't need to buy too many decorations in this venue because you can simply work around what's already there. The zoo has tons of flowers and plants that you don't really want to distract from. Price was pretty good compared to other vendors in the area. Would recommend this location to anyone...very unique and fun!

    You do have to use the onsite caterers at the zoo... my only suggestion would be to EXPLICITLY state to the staff what you expect for the reception. Don't rely on the fact that you think they know what they are doing, otherwise things may end up in the wrong places and that's the last thing a bride wants!
  • User1944560 Sent on 11/30/2014
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    Chip made sure that i would not have to worry about anything on my special day! It was touch and go on the wheather but the staff made sure that everything turned out stunning!
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    Renee Sent on 03/22/2014
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    I think Chip did a fantastic job organizing my wedding event at the Point Defiance Aquarium. The food from the catering service provided there was absolutely delicious! I had many wedding attendees compliment about how good the food was. Also, the aquarium was a perfect spot, beautiful scene and ambiance so no need to spend extra money on wedding flowers!!
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    Jennifer Sent on 03/31/2017
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    Our ceremony and reception were held here. We were wanting the ceremony in the Pacific rim, but being the northwest, this didn't happen. They have a great backup plan though and will work through the rain! Our reception was in the aquarium, we rented the north and south. Cocktail hour with the sharks, dancing with the jellyfish. The food was amazing!!! We had guests that were vegan and they worked hard to accommodate these needs. Chip was our wedding coordinator and my family was in love with him! He really made us feel at home. The only flaw was there was not much space for getting ready, maybe do it off site.
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    Sheana Sent on 04/18/2016
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    Chip Venzone & Emily Treadwell were great to work with! The complimentary menu tasting was quite helpful in making menu selections--the food was very good! There are several different areas in which to have the ceremony & reception; we had our ceremony outdoors in the plaza (so beautiful), and the reception in the aquarium. Our guests were enthralled! And the animal guests that we booked were the icing on the cake!
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    Shannon Sent on 08/12/2012
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    Such a cool and unique venue!! My guests were amazed at the spectacular view of Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier. We had the zookeepers feed the tiger and keep the monkeys out! It was a fabulous family friendly venue that all our friends were WOW'd by! Thanks PDZA!
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    Leah Sent on 02/12/2012
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    The setting was unique and beautiful and a great outdoor location. We had the plaza and the shark tank, which made for cool pictures and a nice place to go when it started to get chilly later in the evening. The price was very reasonable. You have to use their caterer, but the food was good.
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    Amber Sent on 01/12/2017
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    Even if its your DREAM wedding location, if you learn that Lancer Catering is the caterer, RUN!! The staff from top to bottom is completely unprofessional. Our main contact whome we'd been planning with for months left our wedding without telling us and after he left our event fell apart. Food was taken before people were done eating. the catering staff was extremely rude to our guests, the catering staff was overheard saying inappropriate things about shutting the event down, the catering staff was seen drinking wine we provided in their back room while the event was still going on, the power to the DJ got shut off at 10pm and we paid for the space until midnight, the catering staff did nothing to help get the power back on until one of our guests offered them money, the catering staff cussed at and called security on our DJ whilst he was trying to get the power back on, security came storming in with a DOG, the catering staff closed the bar at 10pm and blamed it on everyone being "wasted" when it was only a handful of people they could have cut off. Since our contact who should have been handling these issues left the event, the groom spent his evening trying to handle all of these situations. After the event Lancer has been, and still is, giving us the run around to try and get it rectified, three months later. I will definitely never use Lancer Catering or any facilities they cater again. I recommend you don't either if you want to have a good experience at your event.
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