Hollywild Animal Preserve
Hollywild Animal Preserve things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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outdoor
family friendly
Hollywild Animal Park is a non-profit zoo in Wellford, South Carolina. The 100-acre park has more than 500 animals. A number of the animals have appeared in TV shows and movies. The park includes an outback safari which covers more than 70 acres.
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Description
Hollywild Animal Park is a non-profit zoo in Wellford, South Carolina. The 100-acre park has more than 500 animals. A number of the animals have appeared in TV shows and movies. The park includes an outback safari which covers more than 70 acres.
Posts
Have had this on my “must go” list for two years now after hearing from local friends about how awesome it was - finally made it this past weekend and I’m sorry to say it was an enormous disappointment. It appears that what used to be a unique local attraction has been outsourced to some third party to operate and it’s gone majorly downhill in the process. We spent $40 just to drive through the park and see the lights and then an extra $10 to experience the “enchanted deer forest” - most of the light display consisted of these canned sculptures/lighted signs propped up along the side of the road - the kind you can see on display in any number of cities for free. Half of the lights were out across the park - you could see several sculptures and structures that looked like they were maybe supposed to be lit, but the lights weren’t on for whatever reason. The signs at the entrance said to turn your radio to a particular channel (I assume to hear Christmas music) but the station was nothing but white noise. The “enchanted deer forest” was basically a section of open parking lot area with a herd of terrified deer running around trying to escape from cars that were driving around at them like some kind of strange vehicle rodeo. If you wanted to throw food at them, that cost extra $$. Santa’s village was open this year, but whereas that had been free to walk through in prior years, now they charge extra $$ just to enter (and there’s not much in there to see) plus it’s an extra charge if you want to do any of the activities in there ($30 for the “best deal” ticket package to do the 3-4 activities available). Plus it took us over an hour and a half just to get in and drive through the thing, which sounds like it would be great because that’s more time for the money spent right? But because the displays were so lame it just made the entire experience more painful - that’s an hour and a half of my life I can’t get back. So disappointed.
Jennifer BrowneJennifer Browne
90
I’m normally the first to give a place the benefit of the doubt when it comes to a bad experience. I had good memories of Hollywild from my youth but clearly things have changed. The lights were decent but all seemed to be dated a bit and not synced to any music or radio station. Some lights were out but overall is was a decent light show. The trouble with mud and sliding was apparent almost immediately as you pulled off the main road. The further you go into the park the worst it got. We paid $10 extra to go to the deer forest and feed the animals. Upon arriving at the entrance the attendant gave us our “free” bag of food… which we had to show a wrist band for, not making it free. The field where the animals roam is pretty large and the only instructions given by the attendant were, “keep your lights on and don’t form lines”. It became obvious almost immediately that this was about to be a bad situation. Chaos is the best word to describe what happened next. The animals were roaming around all the vehicles, which on a normal day wouldn’t be an issue; however with the rain that the area got in the past few days it turned into a mud pit. Vans, sedans and trucks alike were all sliding around trying to make their way to an exit. We spent over an hour with what seemed like hundreds of cars trying to navigate and escape the field. My concern is that the staff and facility were more concerned about the dollars being brought in that the saftey of the guests or animals in the park. I truly don’t know how an emergency would have been handled. There were no staff helping people who were sliding and stuck. I would be concerned for anyone older or not used to adverse driving conditions driving through there. I hope the staff and facility look into this and put the guests saftey before profits. Hopefully this helps someone else avoid a horrible situation in the future.
Jonathan PittsJonathan Pitts
60
The park was great but the photography company are scam artists. We were told we pay for photos there and then we download off their website later on. This is a lie you pay for the picture and then you have to pay Again online. After contacting them I was told normally they charge $10 but they decided to charge $5 then an additional 5 on their website. They don't tell you that all they tell you is you pay 5 for the photo. If they're gonna charge you an additional fee to download it they need to tell you that when you ask them for details. not lie to you. Not very happy. I contacted them and they just gave me a bull excuse. Any professional business should tell you any additional fees before you make a purchase not blindside you with them later on. Yes it's only $5 but it is a principle of it. And furthermore when you're scamming someone and they email you about it don't and your scam of an excuse with God-bless it is disrespectful.
mike libertymike liberty
10
It's not super professional and slick but it's a lot of fun. Lots of lights, not in great repair but the addition of the animals makes up for it. For an extra ten bucks per vehicle you get to drive through an area where deer, antelope, zebras, cows and donkeys wander around. They come up to your vehicle and you get to feed them with food provided by the Safari. Then you move on to Santa's village with an extensive free petting zoo and a variety of activities that cost money... food, drinks, photos, pony rides. There's a bonfire and a pit for roasting marshmallows ( you have to pay for them). There are a number of religious themed exhibits. There's sporadic music throughout. Very few moving displays. We were satisfied with what we got for our money as an adult couple. It can get rather pricey if you have a number of kids and do more than the basic drive through.
Kissed By SunKissed By Sun
10
Our family had an awesome time at Hollywild Animal Park this weekend. We did the "Cuddle with Cubs" animal encounter and it was AMAZING! The cubs were adorable! We thoroughly enjoyed interacting and feeding them. You may get some slobber on you but it is definitely worth the it to spend time with these fluffy little guys. Hailey was helpful, friendly and professional from scheduling the appointment as well as answering all our questions about the cubs during the encounter. We also had a great time doing the Safari drive through the park, getting up close, feeding and interacting with the animals. If you are in the area and enjoy animals we highly recommend that you take advantage of this great opportunity to spend time with these cubs or at least drive through and feed the animals.
Bridgette HayesBridgette Hayes
100
This establishment was horrifying and dreadfully depressing. We spent $60 to go look at a couple scared underfed animals. The music made me want to bang my head against the window. 70% of the lights were out. We spent $10 extra for some food that the worker described as free! This was the worst experience of our lives. I am worried for the well being of the animals and the mental health capacity of the owners. It is safe to say I have lost a couple braincells tonight. my favorite part of the whole depressing atmosphere was the lack of dignity towards the animals and the way that they smelled and weren’t fed all day so that they were hungry to come up to the car. The thrilling point of the evening was when we were exiting and they had gull to beg for donations.
clayton surberclayton surber
140
Reviews
Overview
4.2
(973 reviews)
Phone
(864) 472-2038
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Website
hollywild.org
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Deep Dive
A deep dive into Hollywild Animal Preserve
