Sugarplum zoo — Attraction in California

Found this place online and kept it a secret for a surprise trip for the grandkids. From the website and "reviews", it looked like a fun little place. My grandkids (12 & 9) love anything to do with animals, so this looked like a great idea.

I cannot stress how horribly disappointed I was...almost embarrassed to have built this place up as a surprise day trip.

The lady who greeted us and took our payment was nice and friendly. She gave us an overview of the animals they have, and the "zoo", in general. Then, we were off to visit the animals. That's when the horror began.

These animals are in cages so small that they can barely turn around. They had water and some shade available, but no room to exercise or run around, as animals should have. The camel, for example, was lying down the entire time we were there, and I can't imagine he'd have room for more than a few steps if he did stand.

I walked around the entire place, hoping to find a wide open pasture of some sort for the animals to run around, perhaps after hours. There is no such thing. They are confined to small cages all the time.

The animals seemed depressed...sullen and unkempt. They did not appear to be cared for or loved animals at all. Their cages are dirty and not well tended at all.

We spent less than 30 minutes with the animals, because we grew increasingly angry the longer we were there.

We went into the candy shop to wash our hands, only to find an owl held captive in a dog crate! The dot (literally) of chocolate they provided as a sample had a good taste, but we didn't even look around, as we were did not want to give another cent to this place. I'm embarrassed to have given them the $30 entrance fee!

We're not typically an activist type family, but we couldn't stop talking about those poor animals. We will be calling Animal services, Animal Friends of the Valley, and anyone else who can assist those animals. NO animal deserves this...

I've had a great experience here both times that I've came and thankful to have such a fun place in Temecula. You can easily see everything that the petting zoo has to offer in about an hour or two, so don't expect to spend a full day here but the affordable prices and adorable animals are perfect for those days when you are looking to have some fun with the kids without needing much planning.

Me and my son's favorite part was feeding the little goats and mainly found ourselves rotating back between the goats, the camel (which is just awesome and surprisingly friendly), and the small animal enclosure that let's you go into a small area with guinea pigs and a big fluffy rabbit where my son could not stop laughing about the cute noises the guinea pigs made.

When you're finished playing with all of the animals, they have an outside sink so you can wash up before heading into best part - the chocolate shoppe! They have a wide assortment of chocolates, fudge, truffles, and plenty other treats available and while this is likely to be the most expensive part of the trip, the proceeds help pay for the food and upkeep for the animals so I was happy to buy some. Don't forget to check out the owl who's likely to be sleeping in the corner while you're inside too.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this place to anyone that's looking for something to do for a couple of hours in Temecula and will definitely be coming back myself in the future. The only thing that I would recommend is to bring some hand sanitizer as I don't remember seeing any dispensers on the property.

Thanks and keep up the...

Sugarplum Zoo and Chocolates is the most fun for families and anyone that likes chocolate. The zoo is also great, but I will address the chocolate first.

Sugarplum is a fun way To Experience a Chocolate tasting class. I likes this so much more than wine tasting. Similar wine tasting you will get a tasting of different bean-to-bar chocolates as well truffles.

You will learn about chocolate - flavors, and the process to make them. They even have a chocolate map. All tastings include about 5 types of chocolate. They have a great selection: Coconut, Cappuccino, Coffee, Key Lime, Milk Chocolate, Mint, Orange (the best one) and, Raspberry. You can buy some to take home and prices are fair. We all loved this.

Now, the zoo is small but very cool. The whole area sits atop about 8-acres of hilltop. All of the animals, as far as I know, are rescues or re-homed animals, some of which might have been pets at some point. They have chicken and pigs, turkeys and all sorts of adorable animals and some are for petting. Now, I think some of the enclosures are a tad small, but all the animals look well fed and cared for. I think the owners love these animals. It is super fun for kids and adults. Yes, your hands will get smelly if you pet them but there is a place to clean off and their are bathrooms. So, pet away. Please watch your kids and make sure they are being kind to the animals.

The entire place was a real treat, and in a lovely location.

They also have a wine tasting area with wines from Chapin Winery. We did not go in, but it sounds nice.

Have a...