Wild Florida Adventure Park — Attraction in Saint Cloud

The Good Things: We have always enjoyed going to Wild Florida, from vacations before moving to Florida to now going at least once a year to do the safari and visit the zoo. Recently we visited, using a Groupon, and had an absolute blast going through the safari. We were the first car to go through for the day and we loved seeing all the animals. When we left the safari to go in the zoo we did some fun things and got to see even more wildlife. It is very obvious that they take very good care of the animals there.

The Frustrations: First of all, this was for the morning of July 5th, so I realize that may come into play here, although it shouldn't... The safari park says it opens at 9am, yet they didn't even open the entrance gate to get up to the ticket buildings until 9am. Staff were very nonchalant and taking their time to get things going for the safari, and in the zoo area, honestly, no one was very welcoming. Most walked by us and acted like we weren't even there. Very different from past experiences. No 'hellos, good morning, or anything.' When we went to go in one of our favorite buildings, which is where the birds are, the door was locked. A young lady was cleaning inside and kindly told us the building would not be open all day due to workers calling out and not having enough staff. About 10 minutes later, when we got to the photos, gator food, etc to try to get our purchased photos with an alligator, we found four workers sitting in there, most on their phones and all chatting with each other. We stood there for a moment and they didn't even acknowledge us. I finally just blurted out, asking if we could get a photo with the gator. Then one of them explained that we had to wait until after the animal keep group show. So we wandered around and enjoyed ourselves for a bit, while also talking about how one of the four, who we found still sitting there doing nothing when we came back for the photo, could have easily kept an eye on the bird building since the crowd in the zoo at the time was quite low. I do need to say that when the feeder show was going on, and then the photos were happening, one of the guys was busting his tail to get the gator to the handler and back to do all the photos on his own. The other three in the building did nothing until they absolutely had to, such as one getting up to do the cash register and one having to show people their photo choices. Just very disappointing to see that level of laziness and attitude in a place we really enjoy.

Final Thoughts: I am still giving the park four stars as I know it takes a ton of work to manage a park such as Wild Florida and that there can always be off days. We still love going there, but I hope that the staff can be reminded that they play just as much of a role in making someone's day at the park as seeing...

What a super cool place! We were tourists in Orlando doing the typical Disney thing, and Wild Florida was the place that I wanted to go to, so my family took a day trip here. I was absolutely blown away at how much this place had to offer! You can feed the birds in the aviary, you can feed the gators (which we did not do, we only fed the birds), they occasionally do alligator shows with Crusher, they have SO many different alligators, there is a petting zoo with pigs and goats, there are alligator presentations, etc. There is even a little jungle gym for the kids to burn off steam when they get overexcited about the animals! The cafeteria/food stand food is actually delicious. We wanted to take an air boat ride, but we thought it might be too much for our toddler, so we will have to do that next time. The driving safari tour was very cool, though I feel that is one place where there is room for improvement. We would have loved to have a sheet or audio guide that discussed the different animals that we would see as we went along on the safari. We could recognize several animals, but many of them were a mystery to us! I also was curious about some of the trees growing in the safari. When you arrive at the park, they give you a map that shows where the different exhibits are at the park, but it really doesn't discuss in detail the animals and plants that you will see! Even a mobile app/audio tour to download would be an excellent addition to the safari. On a final note, there were several emus in the safari, and all but one of them kept a safe distance from passing vehicles. That one emu, though, had rage in his/her eyes and was aggressively attacking all cars that came into its area, and specifically the wheel wells of cars. It was sticking its entire head/neck and a leg inside the wheel well, trying its absolute best to pop those tires. I was concerned for the bird's safety, because one wrong move and things could have ended quite poorly. All in all, Wild Florida is a VERY cool park, and one I will absolutely be revisiting in the future because I really want to take an air boat ride and maybe see a Crusher show (Crusher was not performing on the day that we went)! Hopefully Angry Emu is still alive and well when I go...

This place is awesome. If you want to see alligators, they have plenty. If you want to see other animals, they have those as well.

They offer a good selection of animal encounters. This is not like your zoo back home. Depending on what you book, you are going to be able to hold an animal that you may have only seen on television or in an exhibit.

My wife and I were able to do the VIP Sloth Encounter. I can't say enough great things about it. Arie the Sloth was a joy to hold and watch. We each got to hold her while she ate a corn on the cob and some strawberries. Arie loves her some corn. You can take as many pictures as you want as well as you can purchase the pictures that they will be taking. We opted for the digital package, which included all of the pictures that they took. Who can pick one picture when they all look great? Daniel did an amazing job and took some great photos. This was a truly unique experience that I will cherish as one of those great memories.

I highly recommend checking out their website and choosing an animal experience that fits what you want. I can't tell you if the cost is more than you would like to pay, but I got to hold a Sloth. Something that I never thought I would ever do. It was worth it. Save up the money if you need to. You will not be disappointed. We had to book our VIP experience in advance, so make sure you plan ahead.

The rest of the park was enjoyable as well. They have a good variety of animals to view. We did not do the drive-thru safari, but it is available if that is what you are wanting to do.

All of the staff were very friendly.

This place will definitely be on my to-do list the next time we are...