Membership includes free admission, free parking (the main, North entrance only), and 10% off at all restaurants (though not food stands). Family memberships include 2 adults (or more for higher levels), plus the cardholder's children and grandchildren under 18.
Family memberships are divided into three categories: basic ($145), plus ($189), and unlimited ($289). All three family membership categories include admission for 2 adults and all children in the house, along with free parking for one car and a few guest passes. Plus membership also includes admission to the Play Zoo for free, a free guest with every visit, and a few one-time use tickets for attractions (like Wild Encounters, the dolphin show, and the carousel). The unlimited membership includes unlimited admission to those attractions, plus free parking at the south entrance. Members at all levels receive discounted prices on attractions, and 10% off food at restaurants.
A family of four will save money with a membership after just two visits. If you feel like you were going to use 15-20 attractions during the year (4-5 per person for a family of four), you'd save money with the plus membership. To make the extra cost of an unlimited membership worthwhile, you'd need to get around 40 tickets to attractions. If you're visiting them a lot, that could be worthwhile (4 tickets to each would be 12 in one visit). If you have the money, it is pretty nice to always be able to say "yes" to the attractions without thinking about the cost. Unlimited membership also includes free parking to the South entrance, which has a much shorter walk to the zoo's entrance.
You can buy membership online and print a temporary card to bring with you (I'd recommend this to allow you to skip the line), or buy it in person (bring your parking receipt with you, and they'll apply the fee towards your membership cost).
Most memberships are not tax deductible (with the exception of a portion of the cost of the sustaining unlimited membership).
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