Thanks JLR. It sounds like perhaps what you experienced was a placekeeper between the removal of the Budweiser Clydesdales and what they created now. I already explained the renovation, but since you posted a good description of your experience, I thought I'd post a more detailed description of mine.
What they have now is not super-spectacular, but it is very pleasant, enjoyable, and a suitable replacement for the Clydesdales in my opinion. I like how the entire outdoor area where the horses used to roam is landscaped with plants that makes it look like an underwater landscape. It's amazing what appearance can be created with the right plants even though they aren't water plants at all. An entrance sign called this the Sea Garden.
Within the Sea Garden there is a fenced off area with some rescued cranes and another with nothing at the time of my visit, but a keeper said she thought some sort of animal was arriving soon. There is a "tree" with several colorful parrots, and two shade structures where multiple animals are brought out throughout the day for Q&A/educational sessions and photographs. The animal interactions were totally informal with no time limits, no lines, and no photographers. It was more like a small group of people standing around listening and talking with the keepers. I enjoyed it very much, and I liked returning to see different animals.
As I said previously, the barn had a sign that said Wild Creatures, but it appeared to be only where they kept the animals behind the scenes. That particular sign/barn door was set back a bit from all of what I described. The sign did create a back drop of sorts if one had reason to stand in front of the closed doors, and I noticed that the map shows a photography symbol at that location. I wonder if they sometimes have photographers there but not during my visit.
