Ocoee Riverside Farm — Hotel in Cleveland

So the older kids 16 plus great but younger kids there’s nothing for them to do. We stayed in the camel condo it wasn’t very clean as far as dishes were dirty and tub was dirty and my son was bit by something like ten times our first night. We stayed from sat to Tuesday but left early Monday because the kids were so bored. There is a PlayStation but you can’t play without signing in and the account on the system are locked there was a oculus, but you can’t sign into it because there’s a sign saying you’ll be charged 300 dollars. The animals are fun to look at, but you can’t really see them that good from the secret rooms flashes awesome like I said for older people to look at, but he really doesn’t do anything so younger kids do not enjoy it. We did an encounter with the farm animals and that was fun, but we didn’t get to do so until Monday because you can’t do encounters on Sunday, there are very strict rules that are enforced, which are great but when you have young children excited about animals it’s hard. I paid for the Theencounters for my whole family seven of us but my husband had to go home you will not be refunded if you make an appointment and something happens. Another confusing factor for us was you can only see the baby sloth two at a time so it’s really hard to get your family in to see that if you have more than one person with the larger sloth which is flash he is great, but the kids were not too impressed with their encounter with flash just because flash is very lazy like a sloth lol I think they thought they were going to be able to encounter with him but it’s mostly just pictures. If you do the kangaroo encounter that does not include feeding the baby kangaroos. We were very confused about that. This trip was something that my husband did for us as an early Christmas present. We enjoyed getting to spend the time together, but all in all my youngest boys did not get to do the encounters they wanted to because they were too young to 11 year-old and seven year old . However, there is really cool little turtles that are inside the camel condo that you can get out and hold and feed and that was the most exciting thing for the younger boys out of the whole trip. But when I do, I think it would be with my husband It’s more of a place for grown-ups and not children. when I first arrived, I actually went to the owners home by accident. I was met at the door. Of course the kids are getting out of the car excited chasing the geese. She’s telling the kids not to chase the geese so I’m trying to get the kids in the car she’s telling me which way to go. It was just all very confusing. I will say the kitchen had everything that you will need you had to rewash all the silverware and cups but that was nice. The younger kids could do the farm encounters but honestly, I don’t know if I would pay for them because honestly, the kids can encounter the animals for free why you stay there they goats the pigs the turkey they’re all very nice and come right up to you and let you pet them. there was another family staying in a wagon whose children had made a fire and it had gotten out of control while we were there. The fire department had to come. It was a whole mess so we decided to leave early after we did our encounters because my youngest kid was so freaked out. We had made a fire the night before and had s’mores. Everything went smoothly. They do have a designated place to have fires. there is a little house that looks like a playhouse it is not my seven yr old had been playing in there but we found out that is were they do encounters there is a playground we are from Corryton tn so we didn’t travel that far. I wish I had known someone who had gone before I decided With the younger kids I would have chosen differently hope this helps a family like mine to get a...

My wife and I visited Ocoee Riverside Farm today for both the Baby Sloth Snuggles encounter as well as the Farm Tour & Animal Encounter. In booking the activities yesterday for today, Donna quickly answered the questions I had prior to booking and also gave excellent directions to both the farm as well as explained more about their operation and the history of the farm since I had asked.

The checkout process for booking the reservations was fast and easy, and I also quickly received an e-mail confirmation for each of the two activities along with very clear and easy to follow instructions on how to both get to the farm and where to go when we got there so that we would not miss any time for the activities. Extensive explanation on what to expect for the encounter, how to treat the animals respectfully and interact with them safely, along with various other useful information was also contained in each of the confirmation e-mails, which allowed my wife and I to get the most out of the experience while also ensuring we understood the rules of the farm.

Donna met us when we arrived, ensured we understood all the various instructions from the confirmation e-mail as well as various specific behaviors of a sloth and how to interpret them so that we and Zoey, the 4 month-old sloth, would have a safe, positive interaction.

My wife was able to let Zoey rest in her lap and feed her while Donna supervised and explained more about sloths as well as the history of the farm, also explaining how they ensure their animals are obtained legally and cared for well above the required minimum standards so that they can have a happy life at the farm and be loved and cared for. My wife and I can attest to the quality of care and treatment the animals at the farm receive both during our time with Zoey and also in our later activity; John and Donna clearly have a deep love for the animals for which they care and the animals clearly also very much love and trust them in return.

The Farm Tour & Animal Encounter was conducted by John and he shared a great wealth of knowledge and information about each and every kind of animal there as well as the story of each of them and how they came to be at the farm. I came away learning quite a lot and John had a very pleasant and congenial way of telling the story of the farm and watching him interact with the animals and how positively they responded to him was a treat in and of itself. Also today was the first time I had a camel kiss me on the cheek, which was quite an experience and one I won't ever forget.

There are also multiple accommodations for staying overnight at the farm as well. While my wife and I live nearby and did not stay, in seeing the options (including one where you can see into the sloth habitat from the lodging), they have all the amenities one might want and appear to be both comfortable and relaxing.

Overall, we had a very memorable and positive experience at the farm today. We are very happy to see the quality of care and love the animals receive, and clearly John and Donna see this as a calling for them and we appreciate their opening their farm (and hearts)...

I never dreamed what a wonderful experience this would turn out to be! When my wife reserved us a 2 night stay in the covered wagon, my first thoughts were Little House on the Prairie. I was so far off the mark. The wagon we stayed in had a king size bed and a set of bunk beds along with a small kitchenette including a microwave, mini fridge (not that mini!) and many helpful utensils. The bathroom (toilet, sink, and shower) was walled off with a door as well to separate it from the sleeping area, which is air conditioned. You could even open a window in the bathroom for ventilation which helped for showers and other activities. The wagons are set up alongside the Ocoee River where we saw kayakers passing by in the morning. Moving on to the farm itself, the first night we fed baby kangaroos as the owner (who led us through every event of the weekend) shared so much knowledge about them! He would continue to do so at every event. We felt so blessed to have learned so much, heard so many stories he shared. Saturday morning my wife went horseback riding while I sat by the river and read a book and just enjoyed peace. After she returned, we headed back over for the sloth cuddling experience which was the best moments of the weekend. The sloth just fell asleep on our chests and also munched on spinach leaves, so darling! We had a brief rain shower after, which we took advantage of a short nap in the wagon. We then went back over for a camel ride, followed by a lengthy guided farm tour, all with the owner. We saw so many animals from the tiniest we held in our hands to the camel who thinks its the family pet and follows the owner everywhere, lol. there are so many ways to enjoy your stay here, including a nice cabin by the water, in the loft over the horses, or over the camels and sloth enclosure in an amazing room you can read about on their website. I wish I could...