Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park
Overview
Expert Summary
Detailed Insights
Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park offers a vast collection of exotic animals, including rare species like white tigers and black jaguars, across a combined zoo, aquarium, and safari park format. Its unique value proposition lies in diverse interactive experiences such as giraffe feeding, a kangaroo walk for up-close encounters, and an animal nursery with potential for seeing cubs. The highly praised sea lion show and opportunities for petting and learning about creatures add to its distinct appeal, with operations extending late into the evening.
Key Highlights
- ✓Engaging and well-done sea lion show, often cited as a highlight.
- ✓Opportunity to feed giraffes directly.
- ✓Kangaroo walk allows for close, personal interaction with animals.
- ✓Animal nursery, a must-see, with past sightings of black jaguar cubs.
- ✓Petting and interaction areas available in both zoo and aquarium sections.
- ✓Wide variety of exotic animals, including white tigers, black jaguars, huge crocodiles, anacondas, and penguins.
- ✓Animals are often reported as more active than at the Phoenix Zoo, with enclosures set up for easy viewing.
- ✓KC BBQ restaurant offers good food with scenic views of flamingos and an albino alligator.
- ✓Pizza at 'Slice' restaurant is highly recommended.
- ✓Staff is generally friendly.
Standout Features
- ⭐Open all week, closing at 7:30 PM daily, allowing for extended visits.
- ⭐Expansive collection of exotic animals, often featuring species not commonly seen elsewhere.
- ⭐Animal nursery providing a unique opportunity to see baby animals, especially in spring.
- ⭐Direct interaction opportunities like the kangaroo walk and giraffe feeding.
- ⭐Sea lion show provides entertainment and insight into animal personalities.
- ⭐On-site dining options like 'Slice' pizza and 'KC BBQ' with scenic views.
- ⭐Online coupons available for potential discounts at entrance.
Perfect For
Ideal For
💡Pro Tips from Reviews
- →Bring cash to avoid the 4% surcharge on credit card purchases.
- →Check online for coupons or discounts before visiting to reduce admission costs.
- →Consider renting a 'rydable' (vehicle) to cover the extensive grounds, especially with young children or if you want to explore the expansion areas without missing animals.
- →Visit during spring for a higher chance of seeing baby animals.
- →Be prepared for potentially high overall costs if planning to participate in multiple rides or additional experiences beyond general admission.
- →On hot days, bring your own water bottles or be prepared for limited cold water refill options.
Things to Consider
- ⚠High general admission price ($52 for adults).
- ⚠Additional costs for almost every activity/ride inside ($6 per person), leading to easily $100+ per person with a few experiences.
- ⚠Many animals were reported as sleeping during some visits, limiting the viewing experience.
- ⚠Insufficient cold water refill stations, particularly problematic on hot days for families with kids.
- ⚠Significant concerns about animal welfare due to enclosures being too small for a large majority of animals (e.g., Russian Tortoise, monitor lizard, leopard tortoise, big cats, leopards, tigers, birds, small monkeys).
- ⚠Reports of animals looking sad, irritable, or miserable, with specific mentions of a tortoise's overgrown beak needing care.
- ⚠Some food/snack stands appeared abandoned.
- ⚠Credit card purchases are subject to an additional 4% charge.
Price & Value
High admission at $52 for adults. Most rides and small experiences inside cost an additional $6 per person, quickly escalating the total expense to $100+ per person for a few activities. Credit card purchases incur an additional 4% surcharge, making cash preferable. Online coupons are sometimes available for discounts. While some find the unique experiences (e.g., giraffe feeding, sea lion show) and variety of animals to be valuable, others consider it overpriced, especially compared to alternatives like the Phoenix Zoo.
♿Accessibility & Special Needs
- •No explicit accessibility features like sensory-friendly hours or staff training for specific disabilities were mentioned.
- •The mention of 'rydable' rentals suggests options are available to help navigate the park's large size, which could assist visitors with mobility challenges.
🍎Food & Drink Policy
- •On-site dining options include highly-rated pizza at 'Slice' and 'KC BBQ' offering good food and scenic views.
- •Some snack stands were noted as appearing abandoned.
- •No explicit policy on outside food or beverages was mentioned in the reviews.
🚗Parking Info
- •Parking details were not explicitly mentioned in the provided reviews.
👥Crowd Levels
- •One review noted it 'wasn't too busy', suggesting that crowd levels can be manageable and potentially quieter than other large venues, though it likely varies by day and season.
🛡️Safety Features
- •No specific safety features such as staff monitoring, wristband tracking, or first aid stations were explicitly mentioned in the reviews.
⏰When to Avoid
- • If on a strict budget, as additional costs for rides/experiences can quickly add up.
- • If highly sensitive to animal welfare concerns regarding enclosure sizes and reported animal conditions.
- • During peak heat, as cold water refill stations are insufficient and many animals may be less active.
- • If expecting solely large, naturalistic animal habitats, as some enclosures are described as small.
- • If you prefer to pay by credit card without extra fees.
Pricing/Package/Events
Pricing & Packages
Adult Membership
$250.00Duration: Annual
Unlimited access to the zoo and aquarium.
Includes:
- •Unlimited access to zoo and aquarium
- •15% off all gift shop purchases
- •One-time use complimentary pass
Child Membership
$125.00Duration: Annual
Unlimited access to the zoo and aquarium.
Includes:
- •Unlimited access to zoo and aquarium
- •15% off all gift shop purchases
Public/Private/Charter School & Registered Homeschool Field Trip
$25 per adult, $8 per childDuration: Single Day
Field trip pricing for verified schools and homeschools.
Unregistered Homeschool & Adult Day Care Group Field Trip
$30 per adult, $15 per childDuration: Single Day
Group discount for non-registered homeschool groups and adult daycare facilities.
Events & Schedule
Special Events(Last 2 months - Next 6 months)
First Responder Appreciation Day
December 2nd
Click for more info (not provided)
Special appreciation day for first responders.
Annual Staff Holiday Party
Specific date not provided
N/A
Park closes early at 5 p.m. on this day.
🍎Food Policy
- • No outside food or coolers permitted.
- • Outside drinks are allowed.
- • Disposable straws and lids are not provided for the protection of animals.
- • On-site dining options include Slice (pizza, salads, sandwiches), Wild Burger (burgers, chicken tenders), Canopy (chicken tenders, salads), Zoobertos (Mexican cuisine), and Dillon's restaurant (dining with sharks/flamingos).
🛡️Safety Policy
- • Prohibited items: alcohol, glass, balloons, balls, Frisbees, radios, whistles, musical instruments and other sound-producing devices, hoverboards, pushed tricycles, Hula Hoops, Skip-Its, skateboards, scooters, smart trikes, roller blades, bikes, roller skates, rip-sticks, Segways.
- • Smoking is not allowed anywhere on premises (includes cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, shisha, cannabis, and electronic smoking devices).
- • Rydables must be rented by individuals 18 years or older.
- • Rydable riders must remain seated while driving, refrain from horseplay, and stay alert.
- • Rydable riders must obey all trail signs and stay on the right side of designated paths only.
- • Rydable capacity: 1 adult riding alone, 1 adult riding with one or two small child riders, or 1 teen riding alone.
- • Rydable weight limit: Not to exceed 350 lbs.
- • Service animals must be up to date on vaccinations.
- • Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered unless these devices interfere with their work or the individual’s disability prevents their use. They must still be under handler's control.
- • Disruptive behavior (barking, pulling, not under control) by service animals will not be tolerated.
- • If a bad reaction from zoo/aquarium animals is observed, the service animal and handler must leave the area.
- • Service animals are restricted from areas where they might contact zoo animals (like a petting zoo), areas with natural prey/predators of dogs, or areas where their presence would be disruptive.
- • Service dogs are not permitted in restricted areas including all rides, shows (sea lion, penguin feeding, lory parrot feeding, wildlife encounter), giraffe feeding stations, petting zoo/playground area, kangaroo walkabout, and walkthrough aviary.
📅Booking Policy
- • Field trip requests will receive an email confirmation within 72 hours.
- • Field trip and group event guests cannot pay separately.
- • All credit and debit card payments incur a 4% fee.
🚗Parking Information
- • Free parking available.
What People Say
What's Great
- Spacious play areas (mentioned in 4 reviews)
Recent Reviews
Mint Malek
2 weeks agoWe visited this zoo recently and were honestly disappointed, especially when comparing it to the Phoenix Zoo. General admission for adults is a steep $52, and nearly every activity inside — from rides to small experiences — costs an additional $6 per person. By the time you do a couple of rides or experiences, you’re easily spending $100+ per person. Most of the animals were sleeping during our visit, which made the experience feel even more limited. Another downside: there weren’t enough cold water refill stations, which is a big miss on a hot day — especially for families with kids. That said, the sea lion show was a highlight and really well done. It was fun, engaging, and probably the best part of the visit. Overall, it’s not worth the high price tag in my opinion. Phoenix Zoo offers a better experience at a more reasonable price.
Whitney Freeman
in the last weekThis zoo is okay. The enclosures are too small for a large majority of these animals and a lot of them aren't taken care of properly. For example, their Russian Tortoise's beak is overgrown and needs to be taken care of - he or she looked so sad. There is a large monitor lizard housed with a leopard tortoise in an enclosure that is too small - these two looked miserable. They're supposed to have one of the largest collections of exotic animals which might be accurate due to the small enclosures. I would even say the big cat enclosures were also small. The leopards looked irritable. The two tigers did as well. The birds and small monkeys also looked both irritated and sad. Some of the food / snack stands looked like they have been abandoned for some time. I think the best part here is being able to feed the giraffes and the pizza at Slice is pretty damn good. The staff is also friendly. We actually ended up leaving this zoo to go to 'Out of Africa', which seems to take better care of their animals.
jojo jessy
in the last weekThis is a great to visit all week! This place is open all week and closes at 7:30 everyday. Here you can see animals that you never knew existed! Not only you can see them but also learn about them. In both the zoo and aquarium parts there’s (a) place(s) to pet and interact with the creatures! To conclude, if you’re interested in wildlife then this is the place for you!
Erika Hayes
a month agoGreat day! Animals were out and about. Wasn't too busy. This zoo is so big now. I am so glad we got the rydable otherwise we may have missed a lot of the animals in the expansion. The lions were being friendly today so that was interesting. I love the aquarium as well so many things to see. It's more than a day to truly enjoy the whole experience. I do recommend taking cash as credit card purchases are subject to an additional 4 percent charge. You can also get a coupon online for a discount at entrance.
Tyler Morse
a month agoI love this zoo. Animals are typically more active than at the Phoenix zoo, and the enclosures are set up for easy viewing. White tigers, black jaguars, huge crocodiles and anacondas, penguins, there is a huge variety of wildlife. The animal nursery is a must see; last time we went (a few years ago) we were able to see a black Jaguar cub. The kangaroo walk is awesome, allowing you to get up close and personal with the animals. Plenty of baby animals in the spring. Every time we visit, it gets a little better. The sea lion show is great, letting you see a bit of the personality of the sea lions involved. The KC BBQ restaurant has good food and scenic views of flamingos and an albino alligator. Hands down one of the best zoo experiences you can have in Arizona.