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barbarak740
I had a bad experience. I drove two hours to the zoo and took my three year old son. While on the Wildlife Tour we were continually reprimanded for not staying within the small group, instead I chased my toddler around in the back of the group, always within sight. We were asked to leave and told that it was too dangerous for us to move around. I inquired as to what they meant by "too dangerous" and I was told that we might put our hands inside a cage. This is ridiculous. I am almost forty and a mother. I think I know better than to stick my hand in a cage or try to hug a wolf. I did not argue when we were asked to leave because I did not want to cause a scene or upset my cute tot, but I am requesting a refund. There were no age restrictions on the Groupon and I was treated unfairly. I have called the Zoo and left messages and no one within management has returned my call. Thank you, Barbara
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amarain
I read on the other reviews that there are apparently more 'zoo like' animals here, but I couldn't find them on our visit today. Perhaps that was one of the many, many extras - everything seems to be separate when you visit, although this is not clearly explained. We decided to just pay the regular fee plus buy a bucket of feed and do the petting zoo part. There are sheep, goats (lots and lots of goats), a handful of llamas, pigs, cows and chickens here, most of which you can feed and pet. The kids, ages two and six, absolutely loved it, but unless your kids are super, super into farm animals, there's not much more than an hour or so of entertainment here. We also saw a wolf in a kind-of-small cage, which seemed a little sad to me for that kind of animal. Generally the animals seem relatively well cared for (though they fall all over each other to get to the food). There were yellow jackets EVERYWHERE as well, which was unpleasant, and those with allergies should be aware of this. As an aside, the owners clearly are very religious as there are Bible verses posted all over the place as well as random Christian things inserted where you normally wouldn't expect (example: in the placard telling you about one breed of sheep, there are facts about the breed followed by "Is Jesus your Shepherd?" Uhhh okay. Overall a fun visit for small kids, especially city kids who don't get to see a lot of animals, but pretty overpriced and probably not the kind of place you'll make the trip to return to over and over again.
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melodyh868
If you are from a rural area, and you have experienced farm life; then save your money! My kids were wanting to know where the other animals were because these were "normal, every day animals." If you want to see exotic animals plan to pay more after the general admission price. We planned to go here after looking at their site, but we were disappointed that the place and the website information doesn't completely match up! I will say that the staff were friendly!
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SongMan67
The North Georgia Zoo is a 100% privately-funded zoo. That being said, the prices at first seemed a little high, but I can understand, when they receive no other funding. We didn't mind the price either, when we know we're supporting a local enterprise. They said that they have been around for many years, taking animals to learning events, birthday parties, etc, and just opened their facility to visitors about 4 years ago, when people kept asking where the animals were kept at. For $5, we got a whole bucket of feed for the sheep, goats, and cows. That was fun, and the kids really liked it. The animals are used to it, and they swarm at you for food, which was also fun. A parakeet house has a couple dozen parakeets, and you can pay to get some food on a stick and try to get one to eat off of it and then perch on the stick for you. A lot of animals to feed and pet, and you can pay extra for some excursions. We paid extra for a wagon ride out to see camels, yaks, oxen, and other exotic animals. Is it a zoo like a major city would have? No. It's really more of a large petting zoo, but it's a nice day trip if you're in north Georgia. The staff was also very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and they really seemed to enjoy their jobs. Our kids (5, 8, 9) loved it. They do have a "rain or shine" policy, which would mean that if you paid for an excursion and it got rained out, then you don't get a refund. We had a good bit of rain and were concerned that our wagon ride might get rained out, but they were very accommodating and delayed it for a while for us. The facility feels safe, and I think our kids could have run around by themselves with no problem.
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kristyangelique
The North Georgia Zoo and Petting Farm was one of the highlights of our trip. When we messed up and went on a weekday (when they are closed), my husband emailed and arranged for a private visit, which though not inexpensive was worth every penny.Not only did we get to pet wolf cubs and interact with them for at least half an hour, the staff treated us like royalty. When they saw that I walked with a cane, they automatically offered to drive us around in their golf cart.
