diff --git a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb.go b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb.go
index e84825f52..c981eaba4 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb.go
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ func resourceAwsElbRead(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	d.Set("name", lb.LoadBalancerName)
 	d.Set("dns_name", lb.DNSName)
 	d.Set("internal", lb.Scheme == "internal")
-	d.Set("availability_zones", flattenAvailabilityZones(lb.AvailabilityZones))
+	d.Set("availability_zones", lb.AvailabilityZones)
 	d.Set("instances", flattenInstances(lb.Instances))
 	d.Set("listener", flattenListeners(lb.Listeners))
 	d.Set("security_groups", lb.SecurityGroups)
diff --git a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb_test.go b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb_test.go
index ae65aa6cf..cf14613c9 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb_test.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_elb_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"reflect"
+	"sort"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/helper/resource"
@@ -28,11 +29,11 @@ func TestAccAWSELB_basic(t *testing.T) {
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(
 						"aws_elb.bar", "name", "foobar-terraform-test"),
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(
-						"aws_elb.bar", "availability_zones.0", "us-west-2a"),
+						"aws_elb.bar", "availability_zones.2487133097", "us-west-2a"),
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(
-						"aws_elb.bar", "availability_zones.1", "us-west-2b"),
+						"aws_elb.bar", "availability_zones.221770259", "us-west-2b"),
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(
-						"aws_elb.bar", "availability_zones.2", "us-west-2c"),
+						"aws_elb.bar", "availability_zones.2050015877", "us-west-2c"),
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(
 						"aws_elb.bar", "listener.206423021.instance_port", "8000"),
 					resource.TestCheckResourceAttr(
@@ -150,7 +151,9 @@ func testAccCheckAWSELBDestroy(s *terraform.State) error {
 
 func testAccCheckAWSELBAttributes(conf *elb.LoadBalancer) resource.TestCheckFunc {
 	return func(s *terraform.State) error {
-		if conf.AvailabilityZones[0].AvailabilityZone != "us-west-2a" {
+		zones := []string{"us-west-2a", "us-west-2b", "us-west-2c"}
+		sort.StringSlice(conf.AvailabilityZones).Sort()
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(conf.AvailabilityZones, zones) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("bad availability_zones")
 		}
 
@@ -182,7 +185,9 @@ func testAccCheckAWSELBAttributes(conf *elb.LoadBalancer) resource.TestCheckFunc
 
 func testAccCheckAWSELBAttributesHealthCheck(conf *elb.LoadBalancer) resource.TestCheckFunc {
 	return func(s *terraform.State) error {
-		if conf.AvailabilityZones[0].AvailabilityZone != "us-west-2a" {
+		zones := []string{"us-west-2a", "us-west-2b", "us-west-2c"}
+		sort.StringSlice(conf.AvailabilityZones).Sort()
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(conf.AvailabilityZones, zones) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("bad availability_zones")
 		}
 
diff --git a/builtin/providers/aws/structure.go b/builtin/providers/aws/structure.go
index 8b1f7389b..2e634931b 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/aws/structure.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/aws/structure.go
@@ -172,15 +172,6 @@ func flattenInstances(list []elb.Instance) []string {
 	return result
 }
 
-// Flattens an array of AvailabilityZones into a []string
-func flattenAvailabilityZones(list []elb.AvailabilityZone) []string {
-	result := make([]string, 0, len(list))
-	for _, z := range list {
-		result = append(result, z.AvailabilityZone)
-	}
-	return result
-}
-
 // Flattens an array of Listeners into a []map[string]interface{}
 func flattenListeners(list []elb.Listener) []map[string]interface{} {
 	result := make([]map[string]interface{}, 0, len(list))