FunKidsActivities

Timbavati Wildlife Park

2220 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965, USA

Overview

Category:Petting Zoos
Location:Madison, WI

Expert Summary

Detailed Insights

Timbavati Wildlife Park offers a highly interactive animal experience, allowing families to touch and feed a variety of animals from around the world. The VIP tour is a standout, providing exclusive, up-close encounters with a diverse range of species, guided by knowledgeable staff who expertly pace the tour for all ages, including toddlers. Beyond the animal exhibits, the park enhances the family experience with a small playground and a train ride, making it a comprehensive and educational destination, especially for those visiting the Dells.

Key Highlights

  • Great variety of animals from around the world.
  • Unique opportunities for hands-on interaction, including touching and feeding animals.
  • VIP tour offers exclusive access to specific animals like primates, big cats, red pandas, and sloths.
  • Nursery visits during the VIP tour allow petting of baby animals (e.g., snake, baby goat, armadillo mentioned, but these change seasonally).
  • VIP tour includes direct feeding experiences with goats, canaries, and giraffes (from the top of the giraffe barn).
  • Knowledgeable and friendly staff/guides (e.g., Lane) provide information and stories.
  • Pacing of activities, especially the VIP tour, is well-suited for small children's attention spans.
  • Features a small playground for kids.
  • Offers a train ride.
  • Specific animal enclosures like the parakeet enclosure (with cockatiels) are highlighted.
  • Animals are reported to be active, particularly shortly after opening.
  • Gift shop available with reasonable prices.

Standout Features

  • VIP tour offering exclusive close-up animal encounters and feeding opportunities.
  • Direct interaction with animals (touching, feeding).
  • Knowledgeable and engaging tour guides.
  • On-site small playground for children.
  • Train ride amenity.
  • Parakeet enclosure providing interactive bird experiences.
  • Gift shop with reasonably priced items.

Perfect For

Toddlers (1.5 years old): Had a blast on the VIP tour due to its engaging interactions and appropriate pacing.
Preschoolers (4-6 years old): Enjoyed the hands-on animal feeding, playground, and train ride; the VIP tour was well-received.
School-age children (5-11 years old): Found interactions like holding a snake, feeding birds, and giraffes to be memorable and engaging.
Teens (12-17 years old): The VIP tour with close encounters to sloths, baby goats, and giraffes was a 'wonderful' and 'memorable' experience.
Whole Family: Explicitly recommended as a 'memorable experience for the whole family' and suitable for 'animal lovers and families looking for a hands-on adventure'.

Ideal For

Families seeking highly interactive and hands-on animal experiences.
Animal lovers of all ages wanting direct engagement like touching and feeding.
Families with a wide age range of children (from toddlers to teens) who will all enjoy the VIP tour and general park offerings.
Repeat visitors to the Dells looking for a consistent and enjoyable family outing.
Parents who appreciate a mix of animal exhibits, play areas, and ride attractions (playground, train).

💡Pro Tips from Reviews

  • Consider booking the VIP tour for the most comprehensive and exclusive animal interactions, especially if seeking memorable experiences with specific animals like sloths or giraffes.
  • Visit shortly after the park opens for a higher likelihood of seeing active animals.
  • Be aware that the specific animals available for interaction, particularly in the nursery, may vary by season, so manage expectations for seeing particular species.
  • Factor in the cost, as the experience is described as 'pricy but worth it' by multiple families, indicating good value despite the price tag.

Things to Consider

  • The park can be perceived as a bit pricy, though reviewers found the experience worth the cost.
  • The specific animals visible or available for interaction (e.g., in the nursery) can change seasonally.
  • Fewer animals might be out or visible during certain times of the year (e.g., spring break mentioned).

Price & Value

General admission is described as 'a bit pricy' but consistently deemed 'worth it' due to the unique animal interactions and overall park offerings. The VIP tour is explicitly stated as 'definitely worth the money' for the exclusive access, knowledgeable guiding, and memorable close encounters. The gift shop offers 'reasonable prices'.

Accessibility & Special Needs

  • No specific accessibility accommodations or limitations were mentioned in the reviews.

🍎Food & Drink Policy

  • No specific information regarding outside food, snacks, or on-site dining options was mentioned in the reviews.

🚗Parking Info

  • No information about parking availability or cost was mentioned in the reviews.

👥Crowd Levels

  • Visiting 'shortly after the park opened' is suggested for more active animals, which might also indicate a less crowded experience during those times. No other specific crowd level information was provided.

🛡️Safety Features

  • No specific safety features were explicitly mentioned, but the presence of knowledgeable guides during interactive experiences implies supervision.

When to Avoid

  • Expectations for seeing specific nursery animals unless current seasonal offerings are confirmed, as they change.
  • Visiting during seasons when fewer animals might be visible (e.g., 'spring break' was mentioned as having fewer animals out) if seeing the maximum number of exhibits is a priority.

Pricing/Package/Events

Pricing & Packages

Red Panda Encounter

$150+tax

Learn about and photograph the animals while in their park environment.

Includes:
  • Learning about red pandas
  • Photographing red pandas

Sloth Encounter

$49+tax

Learn about and photograph the animals while in their park environment.

Includes:
  • Learning about sloths
  • Photographing sloths

VIP Tours

Duration: 90 minute visits

Behind The Scenes Tours. Available at 8am ONLY. Call to schedule.

Events & Schedule

Special Events(Last 2 months - Next 6 months)

Birthday Parties

Accommodated for personal events.

Family Reunions

Accommodated for personal events.

Large-Scale Events

Accommodated for high volumes of people.

Field Trips

Regularly hosted for schools, daycares and senior centers.

🍎Food Policy

  • Congo Cafe available for good food and cold drinks within the park.

📅Booking Policy

  • Call (608) 253-2391 to schedule Sloth or Red Panda Encounters.
  • Call to get VIP Tours on the calendar.
Information extracted from official website • Last updated: Oct 3, 2025

What People Say

What's Great

  • Fun and entertaining activities (mentioned in 4 reviews)

Areas for Improvement

  • Parking can be challenging (mentioned in 4 reviews)

Recent Reviews

Elver Méndez

Elver Méndez

a week ago

Timbavati Wildlife Park is a wonderful place to visit with kids! 🦓🦒 It has a great variety of animals from around the world, and the park allows for unique interactions—you can even touch and feed some of them! It’s a fun, educational, and memorable experience for the whole family. Highly recommended for animal lovers and families looking for a hands-on adventure! ✨

Emma Munson

Emma Munson

2 months ago

We had so much fun doing the VIP tour this morning! Definitely worth the money. Our guide Lane was very knowledgeable about all of the animals we saw and the park itself. We got to see some of their primates, big cats, red pandas, sloths, the nursery (with a variety of animals, we got to pet a snake, baby goat, and armadillo-these animals change based on the season) feed the goats, feed the canaries, then we got to go up to the top of the giraffe barn to feed the giraffes. Our kids (6,4,1.5) had a blast. We spent adequate time learning about each animal and didnt overstay our small children’s attention spans. It was very cool to learn about everything they have coming up and what they are working towards. We look forward to visiting when they open in the summer.

Christine Quandt

Christine Quandt

a month ago

2 adults and 4 grandchildren ages 5-17 took a VIP tour last week over spring break. It was wonderful!! Being up close to sloths; interacting with a month old Pygmy goat;holding a snake;feeding a multitude of birds and feeding giraffes were memorable experiences. Because of the time of year there were not as many animals out but those that were looked happy and content.Our guide was full of information and stories. Great place! Great time!

Yuriko K

Yuriko K

a month ago

We try to visit every time we are at the Dells. We love it! Such a fun and beautiful park to stroll. They even have a small playground for the kids and a train you can ride. My children love feeding the animals and interacting with some. It may be a bit pricy but it’s worth it.

Karen Cooley

Karen Cooley

6 months ago

I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of animals and the size of the park. We went shortly after the park opened. Most of the animals were active and it was fun feeding some of them treats. I especially enjoyed the parakeet enclosure enclosure. There were some cockatiels that brought back good memories of my boy Sammy. They have a great gift shop with reasonable prices. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. I'd go back again when visiting the Dells.

Contact Information

2220 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy, Wisconsin Dells, WI 53965, USA

View on Google Maps

Opening Hours

Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Quick Stats

Overall Rating
4.3
Total Reviews3702
Recent Reviews5