The Wild Animal Sanctuary — Attraction in Hudson

So this is a really unique place with a very good mission. I don't really write reviews, but as a toddler parent I wish I had known these things I'm going to mention. This just isn't a good place for anyone under the age of 4. I say this after having attended with my 2, now 3, year old several times in the last year. We bought a membership because it was cheaper that day passes, and my son loves animals. He also really loves the sanctuary, but it's clearly not a place that wants him there yet, which is fine by the way ,I just wish they would advertise it as such. My son and I would only attend on weekdays and and right at opening. I know we are bothering less patrons this way, and sometimes we had the place to ourselves for 30 minutes ( minus volunteers. ) which is very peaceful. Even with a membership you still have to fill out saftey slips every visit and they make you watch the video everytime. It's a long video for an adult much less a toddler to sit through, and has about 5 minutes of animals being harmed or being violent which is very scary for my son. It's the same video everytime. Every single volunteer we pass is constantly on me about my son. If he happens to be holding his binoculars I get lectured by evey volunteer to make sure he doesn't throw them over the fence even though I've explained many times they are attached to him along with everything else. The second he starts acting his age I'm getting another lecture about his volume and happy feet when he's excited and saying " mommy look at this". He has a reasonable behavior 80 percent of the time when there which amazing considering how high energy he actually is. I get lectured on how to hold him if he wants to be carried. I get a lecture every visit from multiple volunteers. Then when other patrons show I start actually getting shushed and dirty looks when he's actually being very reasonable. So the fact is patrons with our kids are excepting 100 percent peace and quiet .. I can get my toddler to do 80 for this place specifically, and it's not good enough for anyone there. I take my son everywhere for practice in social situations and just to experience life and this place is the only place I've felt like I don't belong with a toddler.... Even though he loves it. Other factors to consider is it's a metal bridge... If your child touches or falls on it for more than a couple seconds in the summer they WILL get burned. I understand the need for calm around these animals given their trauma, but at the same time I've been there when construction has been happening on enclosures which excavators. I always see trucks driving past enclosures. I also think the volume on the information boxes is louder than my son is. If you don't want young children there that is 100 percent fine just please...

Generally, I love the place and taking friends and family here when they come to visit. I always get myself some ice cream when I get to the end before making my way back to the start. The two recent newsletters have both written badly about young people and their work ethic. For example: "many of us grew up in a time when building a life for yourself required hard work, sacrifice and determination. Trying to imagine a world where those ideals are no longer part of the workforce mentality seems nearly impossible." And another longer section talking about how many young people don't want to work anymore. The employment ratio for 25-54 year olds in the US is over 80% and near an all time high. Young people are working and many of them are working in worse conditions than I ever did are harder jobs than I ever worked. I've been fortunate, but a lot of people younger than me have grown up in an incredibly tough economy. Things that older generations took for granted are no longer reasonably attainable for the young. It's no longer as easy for a lot of people to make ends meet, but the labor market has gotten tighter with a lower unemployment rate. That has made it easier for the more reliable employees to demand better conditions and pay. If you're not attracting the talent you want, they're probably making more or getting better benefits elsewhere. The problem isn't young people not working or being morally inferior to the older generations.

Seeing that sort of attitude from a place that I love and that I love to share with others and that I have donated to, that hurts. I hope that they're more understanding and less critical in future newsletters.

Edit: Oh wow! That's a very generous offer! I would be more than happy to visit in person, take notes, get an in depth look at the internals of your business, look through the pay and benefits packages offered, and hopefully a chance to chat with some employees and maybe former employees as well, and update my review again afterwards with some of what I've learned. I have been on the interviewing side of the table for new employees before. I've done some small business consulting work on the side for a decade or so now and love learning as much as I can and chatting with the small business owners about their problems. I've never had experience with any businesses of your scale, only fairly small and very large. I've always loved the Wild Animal Sanctuary and greatly appreciate the offer to get an in depth look at how things work behind the scenes! Who should I contact to schedule...

My wife and I visited this facility in Oct 2024. It is the second time we have been there and we had some positive and negative experiences so I will be covering a few topics.

Positives: The concept behind the Sanctuary is great in that the animals here have been rescued and are allowed to live out their lives stress free, well cared for, and well fed.

Price: It costs $50 person ($20 over 69, children 3-12 $30, free for age 2 and below) which makes it somewhat expensive. However, the facility is supported by these entry fees and donations which makes the cost reasonable.

Negatives: We went during the afternoon and had to leave just before the closing time of 4:30 PM, the animals were hard to see and were not really doing much. If you want to be entertained by animals, this is not the place for you. During our visit, near the far end of the walkway, my wife was taking pictures and one of the staff members came along and scolded her for disturbing the animals. The website encourages people to take photos and discusses at length that being overhead does not disturb these animals. This was really confusing. Also, there were others doing the same thing and this employee said nothing to them. We really did not know if the woman was acting on her own or if there was a policy in place. In addition, the animals we saw were resting and did not even know we were there. We paid a lot of money for our visit and this patronizing attitude towards us was unacceptable. We will not be back.

Location: The Sanctuary is located in a remote area of Weld County and it takes awhile to get there. We live nearby but it's still a trip. If you are coming from a distance (either flying in or driving) prepare for a long drive just to get there.

Alternative: We have also visited the Out of Africa Park in Camp Verde, AZ and had a much better experience. However, the animals there were no where near as isolated from people as they are at the Sanctuary. These are entirely two different types of facilities however, the animals at Out of Africa seemed to well cared for. It is also cheaper.

Suggestion: If you want an animal experience, visit Out of Africa facility instead and then you can donate to the Sanctuary without the expense and hassle of...