If you're just looking for something to do and have money to blow, this is a quick fun stop, but if you're looking for an actual "Zoo" experience, this isn't it. It's more of a park setting.
So many animals to hold and pet. Staff are very nice and let you hold many of the animals even baby alligators. They often are getting different animals so each time there’s something new. A great place for a picnic with the animals. Be sure to check the website to see what times they feed the alligators. It’s great to watch. They also have food that’s tasty including alligator meat.
TLDR; 3 stars because everything was nice except for the price, which is quite high for the size of the "zoo."
What a breath of fresh air for this part of East Texas! This is hands down the best attraction in the area! We saw beautiful exotic animals like we've never even seen at the Caldwell zoo! The park is clean and well managed, the staff is friendly and knowledgeable and the animals areally obviously very well taken care of. We will go back again and again and again! If you haven't been since the new owners expanded, you're missing out!
But at $10 a person, with a group of 5 people I would think that at least a small sample amount of feed for the animals would be included in the price and not be an extra cost.
I've been to several animal feeding parks & zoos in different states and this was by far the most expensive and the smallest.
It was worth the drive and the $10.00 per person just to see the alligators. Everything else was just icing. It DID not smell, very very clean. And all of the animals appeared to be very content. Other than hot, which we were too. The only problem I had was when we went to gift shop to purchase a cold drink they had drawn a large curtain which appeared to half the gift shop and there was a couple sitting by the entrance to the other half and a piece of what appeared to be just a plain piece of typing handwritten 5.00 admission. It was pinned to the curtain next to the opening. I'm just assuming this was the petting zoo which is advertised but not at an additional charge. I would have gladly paid 15.00 for my grandson and myself when we first entered the park. I don't know if this is normal practice or just that week end. It was at this time we left because we were so hungry hot and thirsty. I would have loved to eaten at the cafe but we didn't even see it until we were back up. Next time, and I mean I can't wait to go back we will be more familiar with everything. And I encourage everyone to go it is so worth it.
Other places include a cup of feed per person for about $5-$8/person entry fee and include a good hour of exploring space at minimum. We walked through this zoo, leisurely in about 20-30 minutes and saw about 10-15 different animals.
The owner is great and amicable. The owner and staff will take on any question you've got and answer it to the best of their ability. The feeding time is quite the sight. "Chomper" was the star of the show and my son really took a liking to seeing him. We had fun trying to keep track of the gators which was always changing as we kept spotting them unsuspectingly throughout the different environments. The concession stand offered your basic varieties at a reasonable price. *try the gator if you're feeling adventurous* The gift shop is filled with themed trinkets and shirts. Definitely worth the drive for a day adventure and for the time being will continue to be a repeat visit attraction.
The Zoo was pretty clean, the staff was friendly, the animals are VERY well taken care of but there were a few spots that had really bad smells (the monkeys.) We enjoyed being up close to the animals, that was very nice.
The gator feeds are the best!
East Texas Zoo Gator Park is a US Park based in Grand Saline, Texas. East Texas Zoo Gator Park is located at 9515 FM1255, Grand Saline, TX 75140, USA.
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