We just got home after an amazing weekend at the ranch. I surprised my wife for our first…read moreanniversary and her birthday and it did not disappoint!!! All of the staff were so helpful and kind! A special shoutout to Cheslea who took care of us when we arrived, as well as was our driver for the safari tour! Ohhhh the animals, my wife and I were in heaven. She misses her little Cashew and I won't forget my big boy Blue (see photo)! Our first time but will not be our last! Thank you again to you all!

Spent the weekend here and had great animal adventures. We stayed in the kangaroo cabins. The cabin…read moreitself had everything and was great accommodations. The place was clean and just the right size for my wife and I. Being city folks you forget how dark it is out in the country at nights. It was nice. We signed up for these adventures to make the weekend even more fun: 1. Feed baby kangaroo(Bodhi). This was about a 30 minute session where we got to feed him a bottle and kibble. It really was an amazing experience. 2. Bucket of food and self guided feeding of animals. We walked the property and hid to feed so many animals. All of the animals were friendly toward people. They were all very good motivated. We encountered a giraffe, donkeys, zebras, horses, cows, pigs, dwarf steers, camels, emu, deer, buffalo and more. The animals were often trying to bully their way to the front of the line. The cow Oreo who has not skipped a meal was always front of the line. 3. Afternoon safari ride in ATV. This was a fun ride around the property. Did not see any new animals but had a great time. The cows out at pasture were thrilled to be fed. 4. Giraffe encounter and meal. This was a little expensive but I would spend it again. The giraffes were super friendly and personable. We wanted to take them home because they were so much fun. The guide, experience and never felt rushed made this worth it. Our guide was top notch. I think her name was Jackie but could be wrong.

It is a rather good size city park. Much of it along the river. We went to visit Miss Nellie's…read morepretty place that is in The park. This area starts with a lovely Fountain and behind that a field of wild flowers. There is also a small flower garden and a garden with some herbs. It's a quiet and serene place filled with pretty flowers. Good for photos also.

AMAZING FOR PICNICS!! I had a wonderful time with my boyfriend on Easter, such a nice place!read more

Absolute best experience of my entire life…read more I pet a Zebra, a camel, and a kangaroo. This would've been worth any amount of money to me. You get a bucket of buckets of food. We only used one. I think one or two is fine. $5 a bucket. If you have kids they would be blown away. It was $40 for two of us. You take your own car. You must do this.

Best time we have ever had at a drive thru safari! Staff…read morewas great and there was a huge selection of animals and the prices were very reasonable. I highly recommend this.

We booked a trip during Spring Break and this is most definitely worth it! We stayed in Waco and…read moredrove about 1.5 hrs to arrive at the 9AM tour. They say early is when animals are most active. Animals are more I likely to approach us. We chose the guided tour vs self tour. It was windy and chilly at the time we went. Check weather and dress appropriately to enjoy the open air tour! It was an incredible experience. I can't believe it's just outside of Waco! The first tour guide was interactive, talkative, and informative. He gave us quizzes. Our tour guide leaving was more pleasant. We enjoyed the ride back. She spoke less, however, we were able to enjoy the ride taking it all in. She gave us tidbits of information as we moved along... There's a really nice gift shop during the tour break, petting zoo, and cafe. The cart with less people is best. A crowded cart is not that comfortable. Curiosity is key when riding with others.

We visited Fossil Rim on Thursday, June 18, for the Wildlife Safari Tour and an overnight stay at…read morethe Lodge. Overall, I would describe our experience as mixed. There were some wonderful employees and enjoyable moments, but there were also several disappointments that made it difficult to justify the $485 we spent for our family of three (including my 12- and 14-year-old sons). When we first arrived, the woman at the entrance was very friendly and helpful. We asked how to make the most of our day, and she suggested visiting the overlook, café, gift shop, and the Wildlife Experience before our 11:00 a.m. tour. She also explained that tour vehicles returned every 60 minutes and implied that we could either get off at the overlook or stay on the vehicle if we preferred. The Wildlife Experience was enjoyable, and we appreciated that recommendation. Our first tour guide was excellent--friendly, knowledgeable, and informative. However, he also told us we would stop at the overlook for about 45 minutes before another vehicle returned. It appears remaining on the vehicle was not an option. After eating lunch and browsing the gift shop, we returned outside around 12:05 p.m. A vehicle arrived, but it was for a private tour. We were told another one would arrive in about 15 minutes. Instead, we waited until approximately 1:05 p.m., with around 30 people waiting. This is where the experience became frustrating. The young female driver announced she was picking up the 10:00 a.m. tour group, but then allowed at least one couple from our 11:00 a.m. group to board. When I asked about our group, she said boarding was "first come, first served," which directly contradicted what she had just told everyone. After making a phone call, she rearranged passengers so our family could board, she knew I was upset. She was informative during the drive, although her microphone stopped working and she had to raise her voice. That part was understandable. What I did find unprofessional was her repeated use of slang such as "trust" throughout her presentation. It felt out of place for a guided educational tour. I also noticed several children who appeared to be three years old or younger sitting in seats without an adult directly beside them, which raised some safety concerns. After the tour, we arrived at the Lodge around 2:10 p.m., knowing check-in wasn't until 3:00 p.m. The front desk employee politely explained that our room wasn't ready unless we had purchased early check-in, which we completely understood. We spent some time shopping in town before returning. The staff member who checked us in later was very friendly, and gave us a tour of the lodge. Our room itself was nice, clean, and had an extremely comfortable bed. Unfortunately, the lodge itself was not what we expected based on the photos online. There is very little to do on the property. While it's understandable that guests cannot freely explore because of the wildlife, we expected more amenities. We discovered board games ourselves, only to find many were missing pieces or broken. We also learned there was no pool table, despite it still appearing in Google photos. We were later told it had been removed approximately two years ago. Updating the online photos would help set more accurate expectations for future guests. That evening, heavy rain moved through the area. The ceiling fan light in our room would not turn off, and the fan remote was not functioning properly. Since there is no room phone, we had to call through Fossil Rim's main system to reach someone at the lodge. A staff member came to our room around 12:14 a.m. and was extremely kind and apologetic. He attempted to fix the problem but did not have a replacement remote or battery. He offered us a portable fan and later a lantern, which we appreciated, although neither solved the issue. His customer service was excellent despite the situation being unresolved. Breakfast the following morning was acceptable, and we appreciated having access to the dining area throughout the evening. There were no spoons, so I had to go downstairs and ask for some. The lady came up and went into the blocked for "Staff Only" , kitchen and got them out of the dish washer, then proceeded to turn on the dishwasher, so we hope our spoons were clean. Overall, the Wildlife Experience was decent, especially for families with younger children, and several employees provided outstanding customer service. However, the confusion surrounding the shuttle system, inconsistent communication, outdated online photos, limited lodge activities, and maintenance issues made the overall experience fall short of expectations. For $485 for the lodge and tour, I don't feel the overnight lodge stay provided enough value, particularly for families with older children or teenagers. If you're visiting, I would recommend the Wildlife Experience and safari, but I would carefully consider whether staying overnight at the Lodge is worth the additional

Our first time visiting, and this was such an amazing experience. The animals were friendly and all…read morethe children seemed to be having a great time. This is a drive through safari and there is an admission fee per person. The drive from Round Rock was a little over an hour, but definitely worth it if you have small children. You will have an option to purchase food for the animals, or just drive through and soak in all the wonderful scenery.

Fun experience for the whole family…read more A FEW NOTES/TIPS FOR VISITING: --An early arrival is likely best because the animals will be hungrier. We came at 10am and had plenty of interaction. It seems to reason that a late arrival might offer tired/full animals that may not approach as easily. --Before you enter the safari, set up your kids. You will likely have to loosen safety standards for a bit but you're driving 5MPH so I felt comfortable doing it. I held my 1-year-old on my lap in the front passenger seat. He wouldn't have been able to see much otherwise. We also had to unbuckle my 3-year-old's seat belt so she could shift up otherwise she had trouble feeding the animals. --You're not supposed to hand feed the animals. I don't recall them telling us that but there's a sign saying it. It's hard to avoid because some of the animals will literally stick their head in your car (zebras and donkey, I'm looking at you). They're gentle and I had no issue hand feeding them. It felt necessary to get them to back off a bit (my kids got scared though, lol). The little deer were also gentle and easy to hand feed. Anything with big horns -- we definitely just threw the food on the ground. Same for the emus -- do not hand feed those -- they will chomp your fingers hard. Ultimately, they must know people hand feed some of the animals. I'm surprised they don't do liability waivers. --Watch for animals in front of your car or even swarming the side. Throwing a handful of feed away from the car helps move them away. --Get enough food, depending on how many feeders you have. We got a $10 bucket (3 people feeding) and it was plenty (with some left over for the petting zoo). We were conservative with it though. I'd say get more than you think you need since you don't want to run out. It's also helpful to have extra feed to throw when you want the animals to get away from your car. You can always use whatever is left for the petting zoo. They gave us an extra bucket (small one) for our daughter to use in the backseat. I'd ask if you want extra ones. --The goats at the petting zoo are pretty aggressive. If you walk in with a bucket, they will literally swarm you. Maybe it was because we came early in the day and there weren't too many other people there. My toddler got scared, lol. I'd recommend staying outside the gates and feeding through there or having one person stay outside to hand the feed over from the bucket. Ultimately, a great way to spend a couple of hours and entertain the kids. It's a little pricey since you pay per person (including 3 and up) but it's all good. The beautiful peacocks roaming around definitely enhanced the experience. The gift shop was a bit scarce -- could have been stocked with more items. I also wish they gave us a brochure about the animals upon entry (I saw reviews about people grabbing those at the gift shop; we had no idea they existed). Clean bathrooms and ample parking.

In summary, I think this is absolutely an amazing place that everyone should try to go to at least…read moreonce. Location: this is near bryan, texas and is taken care of by Aggies. I think that this also has something to do with their veterinary program as well. Service: the only people that you really interact with are the people that are going to take your ticket or that you buy food from. I will tell you. It's a okay experience, not overly crazy welcoming, but there's nothing I can complain about. Views: so this is why it's so amazing. Is every time I thought we were gonna have no animals come to us alot of animals came to us or some animals would I ignore other cars but totally came to us. Sometimes we had to work to draw them in other times they chased it down. There were very few cars in the park at that time.I 'm not sure if sunday is just a low day to go, but I thought it was great for us. My favorite thing was feeding the giraffes.I will tell you, it is incredibly expensive and you should just buy one cup and continue to get a refilled. They make you spend nine dollars on a super crappy cup. The refills are six bucks. I think that's kind of crazy for the price, but other than that, that is my only complaint.

It would be ok if they didn't keep those 2 poor giraffes in such a TINY enclosure. I mean, it's…read moreTINY for 2 large animals. There's an entire open safari they could let them roam but they don't. It's really sad what they are doing to them!!

In my personal experience, I cannot recommend this organization as a 501(c)(3). Over multiple…read moreoccasions, I have witnessed animals belonging to the owner and her family being intentionally or negligently allowed to roam onto private property owned by local farmers and ranchers. These incidents have resulted in damage to land that does not belong to them. Despite several requests and reminders to contain their animals and respect property boundaries, the situation has continued, and there has been no meaningful effort to correct the issue. Instead, the responsibility has repeatedly been shifted away from those involved, which has made resolving the matter extremely difficult. Out of respect for the agricultural community and the property rights of local landowners, I am unable to recommend this organization and would encourage others to use discretion when considering any involvement.

Shelby is such a great asset to the community! She gives her all to her rescues like no one I have…read moreever seen! Her petting zoos are always a hit too! My parents adopted two young donkeys from her and it was a smooth, delightful experience. They have been a great addition to our Ranch!