Is the Experience good for kids?
While hundreds if not thousands of children of all ages have loved the Dinner or Brunch and Wildlife experience, they are designed with more mature guests in mind.
The dining feature is meant to be an experience. The pacing is relaxed and set to live music. We share information about our program, our staff, our history. The menu is always evolving, is creative and offers fresh and unique culinary sampling for adventurous palates. It is pointedly not rushed, and not typical zoo food. That means that some children can get bored, or are uninterested in the regular menu. To help with this we offer the universally loved chicken strips and fries and have coloring books on offer.
The Wildlife feature is also a robust and immersive experience. You get to go inside habitats. This is completely different than a zoo where you are just herded passed exhibits. That means that we have extra rules not only because we have strict regulations to follow from the USDA, but for the safety of our guests, our animals and also for the overall enjoyment of the group. If children are unable to stay calm inside habitats with incredible and socialized but still wild animals, or are unable to follow the rules to interact with animals, they and a parent will be asked to leave the habitat. We very rarely need to ask guests to step out – most children are highly motivated to stay interacting with these precious animals!
The Experiences are 4 – 5 hours long. This is an amazing amount of time to get to spend immersed in such unique sensory experiences and it is a goal to not rush through habitats; we strive to ensure that each guest gets to interact with the animals for the amount of time that feels right. The evening flows and is organic to each group. It can also be a very late night for some children.
We are not trying to discourage you from bringing your children. In fact, we hope you do and we look forward to hosting you and your family. The goal here is to help people manage their expectations. Children love the Dining and Wildlife Experiences and we love y’alls children – we just want everyone to be on the same page about what to expect.