I really, really wanted to give this place 5 stars. I rarely write Yelp reviews under 3 stars…read more Unfortunately, there are several reasons I can't give this place a stellar writeup.
I want to preface my feedback with the fact I've been to several animal sanctuaries in the U.S. and aboard (including a wolf sanctuary in Canada). This one was undoubtedly the lowest quality experience (and worst value) of all of them.
I also want to say that at the very end of the tour, my husband and I were told our kids could get a STICKER if they wrote a review during our PAID time to see the animals. For this reason, I suspect that a lot of these reviews are *artificially* inflated.
Now, for the details on our experience:
1) COMMUNICATION: Communication could be more organized. You get an address to enter into your GPS as well as an address for "meeting". It would be much clearer to have these side-by-side in one email with a clear distinction. Alternatively, it would be better to just revive the GPS address since you don't need to walk far at all for the meet up place.
2) TIMELINESS: Next, there is not even a 10 minute grace period for arriving late. I take responsibility for arriving on time, but if you miss one exit you are missing out on the experience. Keep in mind that this place is well aware they are not the easiest to get to, and they still cannot give a 10 minute grace period. Moreover, we noticed that the next group after us began EARLY. Communication should, at a minimum, make it extremely clear to arrive early since this place is stricter on time than a German train station. I would not drive here again from a touristy part of SD County like La Jolla.
3) LACK OF FREEDOM TO WALK AROUND: You really cannot walk around much at all. I understand that the foxes are sacred, easily scared, and must be respected. However, this restriction on visitor mobility contrasts starkly with how other sanctuaries I have been to operate. My family and I were looking forward to walking around during the tour and even a little after. However, not even the former is allowed. We felt inhospitable shuffled from cage to cage (seeing a total of a mere 3 cages) as we heard ten times that foxes are not good pets (it was very clear after two times). We felt like there were opportunities to observe the animals more, but we could not. It felt like we were preschoolers who could be unsupervised alone for more than 2 seconds.
4) SOMEONE ELSE'S ADD ON IS A DIRECT TAKE AWAY OF YOUR EXPERIENCE: If someone in your group decides to do an "add on" experience of petting/feeding a fox, keep in mind that you will spend your PAID time to watch them doing that. So, another person's add on is a TAKE AWAY to you and your paid time. My family + one couple in our group did not opt in for this additional experience, and we were not allowed to see the canids even with one other staff member. Instead, we had to watch those who opted in the "add on" feed and pet a fox (which by the way was exorbitantly overpriced for the amount of interaction). Additionally, it was not even clear that the other couple + my family would be able to *sit in* and observe the add on folks. The other couple asked a staff member if we could sit and she paused before saying we could. We were not even allowed to see the animals EVEN with another staff member. Instead, several staff members passively observed the children with the add on experience feed/pet a fox. We signed up for a 45 min tour and we did NOT get that because others who happened to be in our group *happened* to request an additional experience. I wonder if they were surprised that the add on experience did not occur AFTER the tour but rather DURING it.
5) Towards the end of the time, a grey truck raced through the parking lot and directly alongside the space where our group stood. To our surprise, staff acted as if just a leaf had blown by. Presumably, this reckless driver was a staff member because staff did not look over and we did not see a new person look around/try to join a group. Had a child been running around, this would have more than likely been an instantaneous fatality that could have been entirely prevented. That this place makes you sign a waiver saying you will not sue further troubled my husband and I. Please do not allow reckless driving on the premises, especially right where families and children are walking.
The animals are cute, and I admire the conservation efforts. However, more attention is needed to guest experience.