I have a great tip concerning the Battle of the Poo..... I decided to actually read parts of the strategy guide I have had since I first bought ZT2. I don't know why I never thought about this myself, but it said that animals prefer to "relieve themselves" on dirt or rock (depending on the biome), so cover the entire exhibit with grass (or snow) then just make a patch of dirt or rock not far from the feeding area and preferably near a staff gate. It says the zookeepers are more likely to clean up the poo, if they don't have search all over the exhibit for it! (I tried it last night and the animals did go there most of the time!) The guide also says to put the feeding area in front of the viewing area, b/c guest love watching the animals eat & will donate more $... I always assumed they wouldn't be as interested in feeding time as they would the toys, so I just scattered the food throughout. You do need to put water bowls throughout, though.
Another tip... Be careful to make the best view from your viewing area(s) by placing trees/rocks and such near in front of the fence in other areas. It says this will increase the likelyhood of donations, b/c the guests have the best views where you have placed donation boxes. Also, you won't have large crowds of people forming in places that you don't want them, b/c guest don't like it if their path is obstructed.
And another... The book says to use
many donation boxes, and to put gift carts near every viewing area. (That would be too costly for me, b/c I usually place several viewing canopies around each exhibit, but I did add a few more carts.)
And another... You should base your prices (low, moderate, high) on your fame level. With 4 or 5 stars, you can get by with charging high prices with only small decreases in happiness when guests are "forced" to buy an item that is not their favorite.
And finally... go to
this thread for the guide's info on guests' sight ranges.
Sorry for the length of this post!