how early does the shuttle bus run to the zoo? Is it on a fixed schedule or on an as-needed basis?

1st bus leaves at 4:45.

I'm sorry, I don't know but if you call the front desk I'm sure they can tell you.

It is a bit of both. There is a regular shuttle time that goes to the Midway, to the airport and then to the zoo (in that order). It works on a first come first served basis on the hour.

We just stayed there in January. It was on an as needed basis, working around any othet scheduled runs they had. We had no problem getting to and from there and the airport on our schedule.

Thats a question for the hotel.

Good question, give them a call direct.