Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park

Only gave 1 star for the customer service aspect but it is not as hyped up as it claims. My boyfriend and I participated in the endangered animal tour and I felt terrible for these animals. The enclosures were very small with mud, unkept, some of them didn’t even have water in the cages (we came at 2:30 when it was 98 degrees). The only «spacious» area held 16 tigers and ligers in which they rotate the others into later. We had a big group and some parents did not know how to keep their children off the fencing and could not follow instructions– especially dangerous around such big animals. This made the experience even worse. In the end we got to pet a snake, tortoise, lizard, skunk, ferret, and then a white baby tiger. However, again, all the kids hogged the baby tiger. I wish the tour facilitator did a better job allowing everyone to enjoy the animals– not just the little children. All in all, I felt that we were paying these people to continue keeping them in small cages with no water and will not be returning. They even had signs that said «peta kills» which was very unprofessional in my opinion.

This does not even deserve one star. If I could give it 0 stars I would. This is my first and only review on Unilocal,and it was so pitiful I had to write a review.
We went to this place thinking it would be a great experience for the children, and the first thing that Joe Exotic, the man and legend himself (with half naked photos of himself and his piercings hanging around the property), was «how the hell are ya doing??!»
He was very disrespectful and had a raunchy personality, constantly making dirty adult jokes that were inappropriate for the large crowd of children.
He even told my children that a camel’s fallice is backwards so that it could urinate on itself when it was hot, while he precedingly forced a 10 year old’s face into a camel’s face to kiss it. He smashed a banana into a girl’s face and also ripped the audiences 240 $ in half– WARNING! Do not give him your money!
His seeming goal is to interbreed cats so that someday in the future he could recreate saber tooth cats, NOT KIDDING.
The tour itself when seeing the animals was not as bad, because other tour guides were talking and NOT making inappropriate jokes, but at one point after everyone kissed a camel he decided to blurt out that the camels had been eating their poop all day, so over 100 people just ate feces!
The property was very unsanitary, and there were no cameras or phones allowed; they would be confiscated if seen.
Cute baby tigers, but crazy Joe Exotic. By far, the sketchiest zoo I have ever visited WITH MY CHILDREN. :)
Forgot to add that we have washed our hands over 15 times and still do not feel clean.

This park is amazing! So many different wild animals to see and up close too. I highly recommend taking the exotic tour instead of just doing general admission. They take you on a two hour tour and you get to kiss a camel, hold a snake, see a liger up close, hold and pet baby Cubs and skunks and lemurs and wolfs and so much more! They take pictures for you which you can buy the disk for which is $ 27. That’s why I gave it a ⁴⁄₅ bc it’s pricey for the cd and you have to wait 20 – 30 mins after your tour for the cd to be burned. This wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t tired and in the sun and knowing I had a two hour ride home. But other than that I highly recommend! Totally worth the drive and the price for the tour and tickets is also worth it! $ 35 for tour, $ 15 for general admission

Joe has an amazing escape to a beautiful world of exotic animals!!! He’s so informative and very gracious and humble. I’ve been here a handful of times from dallas, Tx. The staff is very friendly and the gift shop can have your shopping your heart out! I love how they let you interact with the baby animals too! Joe is an amazing soul and wat he has built to save the beautiful animals is outstanding! I will be back many many times!

No, no, no. I only know of this horrible place because I saw a friend of mine post a picture with a baby lion. I have since done a load of research and am appalled at what I have seen. I am not one for PETA, but they did and as I did research on this garbage of a «zoo», I came across a video of them letting a horse slowly die because they didn’t have proper medication as its leg rotted off. Another showed a «care-​taker» beating a white tiger because it was «mean». Please please please, do not go to this place. How are you going to raise 1,400 animals on 16 acres? That’s barely an acre per 100 animals. Please do research. I am appalled and want to see this place shut down.

Absolutely love this place!!! Will be visiting again! The place was well kept and the staff were very intuitive! Joe was a wonderful host and the fun never seemed to end. Being hands on is a great experience and more people should try it.

I LOVE this amazing place!!! My boyfriend and I took off from work, and drove up from Texas to come play with the baby tigers (cue my girly squeal). There was only one other couple in our tour group, and we had the time of our lives! We got to play with a baby liliger (only 14 in the world!!!) and Bengal tiger. We were kissed by a camel. And we got to play with Wolves!!! You can obviously tell that all the workers are passionate about the animals, and can see it in everything that they do. I love this sanctuary, and will DEFINITELY be returning!!!

I’m only giving two stars instead of one because of how sweet and loving the animals were. After I left I felt so bad for them. This poor kangaroo baby licked my arms for awhile, very sweet. But the conditions these animals are in isn’t acceptable. The cages the tigers are in I wouldn’t even put my dog in. The Tigers look miserable. And the owners and co works are so sketchy I don’t get it. Like I already paid for the CD and they wouldn’t let me take any pics on my phone and got yelled at for taking one video. Hiding something? I feel like this is a family owed sketchy place that just captured a lot of exotic animals, put them in a backyard, and started selling tickets for some money. I saw a video that was showing all around the place of this ape dying and Joe (the owner?) singing a sad song too it. Ok well when I asked what happened to the ape the lady at the front told me that PETA put poison in the food and killed the ape? Like what? I don’t know this place is sketchy and I feel like the animals there should be rescued from that place. I don’t think that place rescued them. You know it’s not a legit rescue because they even say that they are breeding them. There is no where near enough space for them to be breeding them. It’s all just for money.

I visited the Garold Wayne Interactive Zoological Park in May of 2015. This is so far the best exotic animal experience I have had (and I have been in about 5 other similar parks). What I appreciated the most was the interaction with the animals — we pet a baby camel, wolfs, miniature horses, a snake, bobcat, baby kangaroo, and a baby liger … we also «kissed» a grown camel and fed lemurs (all were sooo adorable). There was about 20 people in our group (but I know some groups are larger); I was never rushed with my experience. The tour was very informative and very well organized. The staff is vert passionate and knowledgable about animals and the animal rights. The animals live in very good conditions and are very well taken care of. The tour we purchased was «Endangered animal tour» and I would recommend this tour for children as well as for the adults. It was a lot of fun and more than worth the two hour trip.

Got a Groupon for the tour and play time with a baby tiger. The tour was cool but when there is tons of people in your group it takes forever! Also the baby wasn’t a tiger it was a liger, which was still fine, but I really wanted to play with a tiger.
As other reviews say this is not a normal zoo. It does make you feel a little weird seeing so many tigers in cages. And you feel bad that some of the cages are smaller. But you get to see them pretty close. Just don’t expect a normal zoo with nice habitats for their animals.
DIRECTIONS
We were late since the maps on Unilocal were wrong and when I put the address into google maps it was wrong also. Take the i-​35 and exit 64 and then follow the blue signs to the park!
When we got to the gift shop we showed our Groupons and I had to pay for my requested private play time with the baby «tiger» for 2 people. I was taking out cash and then decided to just use a credit card. The lady took my card, swiped it and said «okay $ 47» as she swiped it. I asked if there was a $ 2 fee for the credit card and she said yes. I told her I had cash and didn’t know about the extra fee but she said she couldn’t do refunds and she was a volunteer and doesn’t get paid extra and blah, blah, blah! Okay it’s not about a small 2 dollars lady, it’s the principle. You should let someone know if there are extra fees before swiping a card! Anyway, she made it a bigger deal than it was and asked her co-​workers for $ 2 to give me making it seem like I was being ridiculous. Again, I honestly don’t care about $ 2, I just paid $ 45 for an extra 15 minutes of play time. It’s just the principle of it all and the customer service. I didn’t take her into account for the star rating or she definitely would have knocked a star off for starting off my tour like this!
What comes in the GUIDED TOUR:
See tigers and lions.
Feed/​kiss a camel
Pet cool small pony type horses.
Watch tigers get fed chicken.
Pet wolf hybrids.
Sit in a large square with the whole group and pet/​hold and take pics with turtles, a tortoise, skunks, snakes, and other animals.
Take pics with two newborn tigers.
Play with 2 baby ligers for 15 minutes in the group.
*You can’t take your own pictures on the tour. They have a photographer to follow the group and you can purchase a CD at the end. BOO. But I guess they need to make money somehow.
PRIVATE PLAY TIME
You have to call ahead an reserve this since they only have a few spots open for this. Play with 1 baby liger on your own or with whoever is in your group for 15 minutes. I think it was $ 45 for 2 people and extra people after that are $ 5 each. The guy with us watching the tiger was Damon and he was super nice and knowledgeable about the animal park and tigers. He took pictures of us whenever we wanted and saved us a bottle of milk to feed the baby liger! Thanks Damon for a great time! Worth the extra money we spent.
All of the actual staff was so nice! They really care about the animals and really want to make sure you are having fun at their park.

Please reconsider visiting any place that allows the public to handle animal cubs. This is extremely stressful and dangerous to the animals, and even some basic research shows that Joe Exotic does not give these animals proper care.

Unkept and seemingly unsanitary for any living species, it is no wonder the entire park is hidden from the outside. I was optimistic in thinking that the animals were all rescues, but later found out that they breed the exotic cats within the facility. Each of which are kept in small cages they claim are «million dollar enclosures», which from the looks of it, I’m sure is untrue.
We opted for the self guided tour which was $ 15 each and then purchased a box of cookies to feed to the animals for $ 5, which I later noticed after were 2 years expired… Really? You claim to spend millions on these animals but cannot provide unspoiled snacks?
Garold Wayne seems like a total nut job. It is totally apparent that he rather spend money on the editing equipment for his tv show than the animals themselves.
The only reason I’m giving them 2 stars is because the staff was friendly and the animals were amazingly beautiful. There has to be some kind of regulations for their living situations! Hopefully someone will look into this!

Drove from Dallas, TX up to Wynnewood to check this place out, came upon it while looking through group on and it was a great deal they were offering so we went this past sunday ¹¹⁄₀₉. The tour guide was great and very informative the interaction with the baby liliger was also a great experience. I would definitely go back later on to see what other babies they have available to play with. They do not let you take photos while on the tour but they do sell dvds at the front afterwards with all the pictures the photographers took and I though that was pretty neat so I purchased one for my group.

Took a ticket from a friend on a whim, great decision.
Drove from Texas to NM then Oklahoma great end to my road trip.
It was a surprise when he handed out babymaking protection at the beginning of the tour but besides his unique personality the zoo — which I went there for — was amazing.
I saw lions and tigers and ligers and tigons — all are real. AND a few bears
I fed a baby tiger some milk. Had pics with snakes on my back — and almost French kissed a camel.
All the volunteers there told me the animals came from damaged homes, this zoo was called by one employee as «the home relocation for larger animals» .
Joe exotic — stands up to the name of «exotic» with his cowboy dress, neon purple tie and excited speech but the history of the zoo identifies his heart. His love is clear —
He and some others made this zoo because of his deceased brothers wish — that large tigers can be seen up close.
3 Ft away
I went as part of a groupon but I would’ve paid full price for this —
Stay as long as you can especially when you play with the tigers. Call ahead and see when a new cub will be there «5 weeks after they’re born is when they are allowed to be played with». $ 5 snacks (for animals bought there) can be shared well by 4 ppl.
The $ 25 cd is worth it as well, i went to 2:30pm tour w/​o them taking pics for me our tour woulve taken way longer with” take a few pics for me with MY camera” x 40 times

***Summary, read further for more details***
— Animals in bad living conditions
— «Joe Exotic», the man who gives the tours and runs the place, is an insane megalomaniac with a messiah complex.
— The tour opens with Exotic distributing condoms with his face on them.
— Pictures are not allowed during the tour; a $ 25 disk that takes about an hour to be burned after the tour must be purchased for any photos.
— One of the sketchiest places I’ve ever been.
***Full Review***
A friend called me this last Wednesday asking if I wanted to go see baby ligers with her and a few others this weekend. Seeing as I am quite busy, being a full time student pursuing an undergrad in political science while working three jobs, I did not get the chance to research this establishment. I wish I had, because I would have never paid money to support «Joe Exotic», the shady character that runs this place.
We arrived and walked in the building where tickets are sold. To the left, I saw a poster of a man that I assumed was a local male-​stripper. However, that, my dear Unilocal!friends, was a glossy of Joe Exotic. I probably should have left then, but I didn’t. But, if I had done so, I would not have the experience with which to provide this cautionary review for you all. We purchased our tickets, which consisted of admission to the «Interactive Zoological Park», as they call it. We had an hour until the guided tour began, so we toured around the area. The animals there were not exactly kept in the best of places. There was trash in some of the animal’s cages, and some of the cages for the bears were MUCH too small. Now, I’m not a veterinarian nor a zoologist, but even I can tell when an animal needs more space.
We get to the beginning of the tour, and our pretentious guide arrived. Joe Exotic held true to his monicker. The first order of business he had was to tell everyone «if [they] can’t take a joke, then get the hell out.» I wish what followed next was a joke. To a crowd mostly full of elementary age and younger children, Exotic asked «Who’s here with a girlfriend or boyfriend?» Several individuals raised their hands. Exotic then proceeded to TOSS CONDOMS TO THE PEOPLE THAT RAISED THEIR HANDS. While doing this, he said «You know you’ve made it big when you have your face on a condom.» If I had been there with children, I would have left right then. There was absolutely no warning about any adult-​related content to the tour, so be warned.
After this, Exotic went on a tirade (which he reiterated multiple times during the course of the tour) against people who donate money to animal rights groups. Now, I’m not a fan of the stuff P.ET.A. does, but Exotic just lobbed them all into one category. To wrap-​up the opening, Exotic tells you that the reason he carries a gun is that he will shoot anyone who messes with his animals. He’s an insane megalomaniac with a messiah complex.
Actually interacting with the animals was fun, I’ll admit, but no one was allowed to take any pictures. I’m not even kidding. As another reviewer stated, to get any pictures from your tour you are forced to buy a $ 25 disk that takes them about an hour after the tour to burn. They can mail it to you for free, but the fact that they ban photos to make more money after you’ve already paid for a $ 35 ticket is just mind-​blowing. Oh! I forgot. That disk? It has every single photo taken during the tour. So our tour, which consisted of about 40 people, had (they said) 1,000 photos taken. Honestly, we probably only even wanted about 20 of those, if that. So you have to go through the trouble of sifting through pictures of people you don’t know.
There is much, much more I could say about this place, but I believe you all will get the picture. Everything is so sketchy there; my friend, who is in currently in veterinarian school, asked two of the employees who their veterinarian was and they instantly got defensive. Please don’t support what this «Joe Exotic» is doing here. I sincerely hope he gets shut down as soon as possible.

Please do you research before Visiting A place such as this… ANY «Zoological Park» that has cubs for petting are exploiting these animals. When you visit the place notice that he only have a few Adult Big Cats… What does he do with all the cubs??? There was an article in the paper where he has 23 baby cubs die in one year!!! This is a scam… Please visit
for more information…

We came here on Labor day Monday for the first time. There was a small crowd but nothing too bad. We went on the tour at 11:30am and we loved meeting Joe Exotic — he is funny, personable and extremely knowledgeable. We kissed a camel, held baby skunks, snakes and a baby tiger! We had a blast and we will 100% come back again in the fall. We have already told all our friends and family to make a visit.

I was driving from OKC to Dallas, TX and saw a sign on the side of the road for this Exotic Zoo. Having my daughter with me, curiosity won us over and we got off the freeway to check out this zoo. We waited in the parking lot a bit as I checked out the website on basics such as hours and price. While the prices seemed a bit ridiculous, I went with the «cheaper» option of a self-​guided tour at $ 10 a kid and $ 15 an adult.
Entering this place gives a really creepy vibe. I’m attempting to find the right words, without being offensive, to explain what the vibe was. The best I can say is two days after visiting, I still feel creepy and dirty about this place. My daughter freaked out after about 10 min of walking around. I really had no explanation as to her questions around why the tigers were kept in what she thought were small cages. Some areas made me nervous as they look like you can get too close to an animal where you, or a small child, would get hurt or injured. My guess is this might be the case in the past with all the warning signs of the zoo not responsible for injury to patrons. This is especially so with a «picnic area» which is a tower type structure. You can have lunch over the animals but, if you’re not careful, it looks like you can fall into one of the cages. The good news is you wouldn’t fall into a tigers cage. More like a bird’s cage. Either way, scary none the less if your child were to fall into the area. The zoo allows you to feed some of the animals with animal crackers. This is strange as I’ve never been to a place where you feed animals a kid’s snack. I honestly felt like this was some sort of carnival without the amusement rides. If you happen to be in the area and want to be close to tigers and other exotic animals, go ahead, at our own risk. But it is definitely no happy, fun zoo type of atmosphere. Personally, if we happen to be in the area again, there is little to no chance of visiting this park again. The whole place just seems sad, strange, and a walk backwards in time.
Despite all the «creepiness», I did give the place 2 stars. When my daughter regained her composure, we were able to walk around the park for another 30 min or so. Most of this time was spent on the play structure which is technically located outside of the park.

Fantastic place. Loved the opportunity to interact with the animals. The baby liligers were so cute.
Really loved talking to the tour guide about the genetic research they are doing in conjunction with Texas A&M.
I highly recommend the tour and playtime, if you and your children can follow directions.

Not particularly a fan of this place. I like what they do and it seems the animals have a pretty nice setup and are well cared for but the price is what gets me. I understand it costs a lot to care for these animals but I don’t think I’ll be back. If you wanted to see anything beyond a few tigers or skunks, you had to pay an arm and a leg to see the back-​end tour. It’d be nice if they had a set up similar to a zoo with animal information at each enclosure.