attendance dropped significantly from 2016 to 2017, to 833,114 guests; 2018 saw another slight drop to 828,000 guests. while no major new exhibits opened in 2017, may 2018 saw the debut of a new children's water attraction named "wilderness falls." this new play area was designed to allow younger guests to "cool off and make a splash in the waterfall, follow the footprints and explore the wilderness, and discover the fire lookout tower." work also began in late 2018 on an infrastructure project designed to enable future zoo expansion, including the forthcoming "kingdoms of asia" project, as well as a new warthog and tortoise exhibit. the warthog/tortoise exhibit opened in african adventure in june 2019.