Wild encounters cafe was an amazing experience for my family & I. The capybaras appeared well cared for and clean. It was easy to book tickets online. You are told to arrive 20 minutes early, this was perfect to give me time to purchase souvenirs. Make sure to fill out your waivers online ahead of time so you have more time to enjoy the cafe. Staff were very knowledgeable about the capybaras, we learned so much about them! Staff is happy to answer any of your questions. The capybaras roam free in the enclosed cafe, we were too busy petting the capybaras that we did not get a chance to order anything from the cafe. The capybaras were so gentle and docile. There is one male named Mikey, he hung out with us the whole time, we just loved him! You have an option to book a table-each table has four chairs or you can book a private area that is more intimate. We did fine with booking a table, we had plenty of time with the capybaras. We were a party of three, someone else booked the fourth chair. Everyone stayed at the table they were assigned to. You are welcome to sit on the floor with the capybaras. Staff gave us zucchini to feed to the capybaras. They have minimal parking in front of the cafe but they have plenty of parking in the back of the cafe. The sloth experience looked amazing, looking forward to booking that next time. I highly recommend you stop here if you are ever in the area & love capybaras! read more

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Unfortunately, our experience did not match what was advertised. The website was misleading when it came to the booking process. The listing showed a full table in the thumbnail, including the table color, which led me to believe I was reserving one table for our family. I booked a quantity of one, only to find out upon arrival that it meant admission for just one person rather than a table reservation. Since we are a family of four, this was a disappointing surprise. The staff did offer an alternative, which I appreciated, but it required us to purchase two additional tickets and accept a shortened 15-minute time slot while still paying the full admission price of $45 per person before tax. Spending around $150 for only 15 minutes did not feel like a good value, but we paid it so our family could still participate. Another concern was the waiver process. The website did not present the liability waiver before payment or before committing to the experience. Only after completing the purchase were we required to sign a waiver releasing the business from liability for certain risks, including those described in the waiver as involving negligence and even serious injury or death. Regardless of the legal enforceability of those terms, I believe customers should have the opportunity to review the waiver before paying so they can make a fully informed decision. Be aware of this before booking. The gift shop was also overpriced. Adult shirts were around $35, and even youth sizes were priced in the $30 range. Pricing shirts closer to $25 would feel much more reasonable. Another disappointment was the advertising of "boba". The website, logo, promotional photos, and confirmation emails all featured and mentioned boba, including images of a capybara drinking from what appears to be a fresh boba drink. However, there were no actual freshly made boba beverages available for purchase. The only options were a couple of canned imitation boba drinks. That felt misleading, especially since it was promoted as part of the experience. Overall, I left feeling that the experience was overpriced and not accurately represented online. I wouldn't visit again, especially since there are other places where you can see capybaras and get much better value for your money. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

I think it's a bit pricey for the short amount of time you spend with the animals, but overall fun experience. I wouldn't splurge on the VIP areas. The capys don't go in there. Luckily, for the people who did pay for it, the workers let you rotate out into the regular floor to spend some time with the Capys. Other reviews made it seem like they are super strict and forced you to stay at the tables, but they don't necessarily. They will give you a turn to move around and pet the capys if they aren't at your table. The sloth encounter is overpriced for the additional 10 mins. Keep in mind, you may not always get to touch or pet them if they aren't in the proper mood or are hiding out of view. We got to pet one, luckily. But a friend of mine went and she was not able to. A fair amount of snacks, candy and sweet treats for sale. The place is nice and the facility is well kept. read more

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We originally booked an appointment online for Sunday at 6:45 PM. A few days later, we received a call from the staff saying that they had changed their closing time, so we had to reschedule our visit to a different day in the morning. Later, we received another call informing us that the new time we had chosen was no longer available because they had a staff meeting scheduled during that time. Once again, we had to rearrange our plans and move our visit. Unfortunately, we then received a THIRD call telling us that the new time we had booked was also unavailable because there had been a scheduling mistake. At that point, we had to reschedule our visit for the fourth time. This is extremely frustrating, especially because we are only visiting PCB for a couple of days and have a limited amount of time here. Having our appointment changed repeatedly because of closing-time changes, staff meetings, and scheduling mistakes makes the experience very disappointing before we have even had the chance to visit. We understand that schedules can change and that mistakes happen, but having to rearrange our plans four different times due to issues on the business's end feels like poor management and communication. We really hope the actual experience makes up for the frustration we've had trying to simply get our reservation confirmed. read more

I was really looking forward to this experience because it's such a unique concept, but unfortunately it felt disorganized. My group's table didn't get meaningful time with the capybaras until the last 10 minutes of our session, which left us feeling like we missed out on much of what we had paid for. I think the experience would be much fairer if all tables rotated instead of only the tables that didn't have a capybara nearby. Rotating by table rather than by individual party would also make the process more efficient and give everyone a more equal opportunity to interact with the animals. I also would have appreciated more guidance from the staff. Rather than standing by, they could have been offering tips on interacting with the capybaras and helping ensure that each table had a comparable experience. One thing that also made the experience uncomfortable was that my group, was among the last to have time with the capybaras. I can't say why that happened, but it contributed to us feeling overlooked. I hope the café reviews its rotation process to ensure every group receives the same level of attention and opportunity regardless of who they are. The capybaras themselves were wonderful, and I truly think this experience has a lot of potential with better organization and a more consistent approach to guest management. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

I went here yesterday with my fiancé. Coming from fort Walton beach it is a bit of a drive. The capybaras are very cute and the people who work here are friendly and knowledgeable. For the price it is a little expensive, because you only get 30 minutes with them, and you can't walk around. You basically have to stay at your table and hope some capybaras come over. Some tables get luckier than others. I know that is not anyone's fault as the animals are pretty much going to do what they want lol. Overall it's a fun excursion if you happen to be in the area. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Capi photos - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

This place is so well thought out and makes for an amazing opportunity to engage with capybaras and sloths. Had such a great time interacting with the animals and their staff. Animals welfare seems to be their utmost concern which was awesome to see! read more

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Great experience! The cafe is really cute and has a Japanese theme. We asked why since capybaras are from South America. Apparently, Clay Cafes are big in Japan. The hosts/educators keep everything on time and running smoothly. They are also very knowledgeable and share a ton of info. The capybaras are so chill. They just hang out, let you pet them and eat snacks. That's the life I want! The sloth encounter was fun too. 3/4 are named after Golden Girls. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Capy - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

Misleading. Based on how it is advertised it did NOT meet my expectations. I booked a zen lounge with my daughter for her 12th birthday. I was expecting to get a 1 on 1 Capybara or at least some Capybara cuddles in our lounge. They say 1 full hour of Capybara cuddles. That did not happen, the groups in the middle "garden tables" got to go first for (30) minutes. Which means we waited in our zen lounge for 30 minutes until all the groups in the middle completed their session. We did get a short armadillo experience after the 30 minutes of waiting, that took 10-15 minutes meaning we only had 15 minutes or less of Capybara time. For the last 5 minutes we were able to touch a sloth and get some pictures. Disappointed to say the least. I paid $410 after tax for a 10 minute Capybara experience. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

Must do if your kids love capybaras and sloths! Probably my daughter's favorite part of the trip! read more

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It's super cute to be able to share space freely with the capybaras. Even though it's only 30 minutes and not an hour, we had a great time. The staff is so friendly and they know all the capybaras' names and info. We also loved that they have table service with a QR code menu. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

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Such an adorable experience. Tons of staff monitored the cafe. I felt that the capybara's were at ease and the priority. Very adorable animals. They have a sloth encounter in the back. I learned so much about sloths I'm fascinated by them now! Adorable ambiance, they did such a nice job. I'd be awesome if they get permission to add a mural of a capy drinking one of their fun beverages on the outside!! (on the street side) Just a suggestion The interior is so well put together. I liked "The capy" beverage With 30, you'll be fine! We did the lounge and I do recommend it if going in a larger group. Private and sectioned off with comfy seating. But the other seating is just fine, and currently, in the middle of all the capy's If you enjoy animals, this will highlight your day So adorable! I had an endorphin boost for sure! read more

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Elle is amazing. So helpful. Made the experience even better. Very helpful and great to talk to. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Chunk!!!! - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

I have mixed feelings about our experience. The capybaras were cute and most of the staff were friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. There was one lady though that didn't seem too nice and was scolding people for walking outside of their table/rug area. Our time slot wasn't even fully booked so it wasn't like anyone was crowding the animals. I believe advertising this as a cafe is very misleading. Having a few fridges with canned drinks doesn't really equate to a boba cafe and the treats didn't really look appetizing. It is very pricy for what the experience actually is. Was it cool to do one time? Yeah, kind of. I don't think we would go back in the future though unless the cafe was actually a cafe and maybe the price was fully justified. read more

I loved this experience! A very clean environment and the workers were very knowledgeable of the animals. We got to feed them carrots and cucumbers and get photos with them. I would definitely go again! read more

This was place was not good at all. The staff would barely let us pet the cappys, they gave us little to no food to feed them and the experience only lasted about 30 minutes. For 45 dollars per person I would not recommend. read more

We had a great time during our visit. The staff were very knowledgeable and helpful and the capybaras were clearly well loved and cared for! read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

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The cappys were cute and the staff were very knowledgeable about them. one had a nasty attitude tbh when she thought we took its stick out of the bowl when we didn't. We paid for the 30 min experience and it felt like we barely spent time there. If you pay the $45 to sit at a table you better hope it's a table next to a bowl because you get one carrot and after you feed it they just go to the bowls. You get the opportunity for staff to take a picture of you with one but don't get very much time around it. I feel like they truly care about the cappys which is good but $45 to sit on the floor and watch a capybara across the room is kinda ridiculous. Oh and they have a menu to order from in the 25 mins you're in there and it has cake pops and brownies but they don't have coffee just energy drinks which is weird for a cafe. After tax it was $96 to sit on the floor and watch a capybara, wouldn't do again. read more

Wild Encounters Cafe - Zoos Near Me - Panama City Beach, Florida

loved every minute! great atmosphere and wonderful friendly and informative staff! the capys are so sweet and down for lovings! they seem to be in great shape and hands :) also did the sloth encounter and he was awesome!!! read more

Amazing worth the money!!! We got vip room and we got to see a baby armadillo and of course feed the capybaras and we also got to see and pet the sloths read more

I took my two 15 year old daughters to experience seeing Capybaras for their first time. They were so excited. We were having a wonderful experience truly a great time. We asked two employees if we could walk over to the sloths to get a picture. Both said Yes, just walk slowly over to them. Once we got over to the sloth area I started to take a picture of the sloth in the background with my daughters until "Nancy a worker" started scolding us like we were a bunch of toddlers. she stated we were not allowed to be up from our seats due to safety of the cappys. I spent $135 for us three to have this encounter and this is how we get treated? The other workers were wonderful. Nancy was out of line with how she spoke to us and felt she needed to raise her voice and scold people when we already had permission to do what we were doing. Not worth the money to be treated the Way Nancy treated us. My girls said this ruined the whole experience and wanted to leave immediately read more