We LOVE YORK ZOO! Again - remember we are in Maine and not the San Diego Zoo or Bronx Zoo- so be kind. Perfect for families and kids! This is a fun amusement park with rides for small children like going to a carnival- they have bumper carts and go carts. They have camel and pony rides for extra costs too! Upon entry we were a little confused as to where the action was, after speaking with the Butterfly lady we headed past the wetlands of ducks- we made it to the coolest part of the zoo! The MAINE attractions include monkeys, sloths, ostriches, reindeers, ravens, foxes, Kookaburras, zebras, lemurs, deer, geese, large blue pigeon, owls, Asian otter, Ankole cattle, chickens, goats, ducks, alligators, kangaroos, prairie dogs, and a lioness and tiger!! They have a butterfly kingdom filled with lovely plants and butterflies and a reptile area filled with tarantulas, snakes, frogs. Our favorite parts were feeding the birds for $2.50! What a fun experience! The birds were so friendly and loved eating from the popsicle stick with seeds! Then we were able to feed the goats, deer and ducks! The baby deer was SO CUTE and the animals are adorable and come right up to you. We were OVERJOYED that we had the ENTIRE zoo to ourselves cause it was raining but the monkeys were still going wild and howling! It was so much fun! Also Moxie is my favorite animal- she is three years old and is a beautiful Tiger. She sat right in front of us and was majestic to appreciate- she is a calm tiger. All the animals are taken care for and we are so glad we made the stop today! It was $18 per person and honestly had a blast. Great for visiting in the summer and early September as they close September 21! Next year they will have a Capybara! We also stopped by the gift shop and got some eco friendly Tiger and Giraffe totes for $5! Very affordable place perfect for young families and fun for children. Please come and support this zoo and amusement pa read more

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Follow and trust your GPS! The sign for the Wild Kingdom is clear but the road is small as you drive towards the Park. Plenty of parking so don't worry about when you arrive. We bought our tickets online making it easy to enter the park. As you come up to the entrance, to the right are the rides, snack bar and restrooms. We grabbed a snack before heading in, but you can bring your lunch if you want. There is a pretty clear trail to follow. The butterfly exhibit was wonderful, our kids loved hours the butterflies were flying around freely. Bird exhibit was fun and watch out for the goats of you go into the fenced area to feed them. They will overwhelm you as they know you have the food. A fun experience, especially for the little ones. They've do have a lioness and a tiger. We liked looking at the Texas longhorns. Those horns were over six feet long. Interesting to see. They do have another snack bar inside the zoo area if you decide to take a break there. They had camel and pony rides which the kids loved. A nice day visit for the family. read more

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Still an OUTSTANDING little zoo and amusement park! They let you bring food and water in, and that saves you a ton of money right there , and they're admission prices are already less than other bigger zoos. *U.S. VETERAN FRIENDLY. THANK YOU FOR THE SIGNIFICANT ENTRY-DISCOUNT!!! Due to this discount, we could once again go to the park. Its smaller than bigger zoos but has tons of different animals from all over the world. Earlier this year, my wife and 4 kids went to Franklin Park Zoo in Dorchester. They like York's way better. Said they couldn't get within 30 to 50' from the animals in Dorchester. But in York we could get withinb5' of several different animals. The kids also didn't think that they were gonna get caught in a street-gang's crossfire on the way in/out of Wild Kingdom... so that was definitely a plus! It was well worth the family-friendly and affordable zoo in York. Its low key and very very special. ( Lots of awesome amusement park rides for younger kids as well.) read more

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delightful small animal park, amusement rides for the littles,easy walking, vendors for food. I was happy to get cotton candy

Came here with our grandkids. A nice zoo but dated but a variety of animals and rides! Its some walking and off the beaten path. My favorites were the monkeys and tiger. A good little zoo in Maine for the amount if people density it serves in Maine. read more

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This is a good zoo for a short day and very young children that want to feed and pet. It's essentially a glorified petting zoo. Other than feeding farm animals and ducks, there is a lion, tiger, camel rides and some active monkeys that will put on quite a show with their yowels. Just dont get your hopes up, you will be in and out in an hour. read more

We went here yesterday, 8/2, and had the BEST TIME! The place is so clean, the animals well cared for, the exhibits were often interactive. Staff was friendly. It wasn't too crowded, and we had a very wonderful time. Thank you. We also thought the prices were great! read more

Knew you had to pay to get in and for the tokens, but I didn't expect basically no rides for kids over 5

It's such a fun place to go during the summer! And I really enjoy spending time taking photos of the animals. I do however wish they were in better living conditions. A lot of their enclosures are dirty and unkempt. read more

We love this place!! A Lion a Tiger an Ostrich and Zebras to mention a few and exotic animals as well and that's right -- several petting zoo experiences. The ducks goats deer and their fawns -- are all available to feed!! The parakeet exhibit is awesome (can feed them too)! Monkeys are many and active. Alligator? Huge!! And a reptile house. The butterfly exhibit is gorgeous! Did I mention camel and pony rides? It's an annual adventure for us!! I belong to Zoo New England (Stone Zoo and Franklin Park Zoo in Boston) but York has more animals and experiences. read more

This zoo has a variety of animals and insects. They offer mini pony rides and camel rides here. There is even a small amusement park in the front. Even though they had several animals, it was very hard to take photos of the animals since there were in double cages. They had a butterfly area as well, but there were not as many butterflies as I expected. (I'm used to Magic Wings in Deerfield). Decent place to go if you're in the area. read more

York Wild Kingdom - Amusement Parks Near Me - York, Maine

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The place is run down, and the cages seem too small for the animals. Bring cash and quarters as all the feeding stations are cash only. We loved the parakeet exhibit and spent $10 on parakeet food. My son also loved the baby goats, but those are quarters only. Ride tokens were also cash only. Hmmmm read more

York Wild Kingdom - Amusement Parks Near Me - York, Maine

Everything was great feeding the animals the rides the price was a little pricey but worth the trip

A number of the animal enclosures are way too small and the animals appear to be totally without stimulation or access to water. There is currently a 10 month tiger cub there (tigers in the wild are not separated from their mother until they are 2) that is alone and being kept in a gated in and very narrow enclosure. There is no stimulation or anything for it to play with so it keeps pacing and just pouncing at the gate. there is no grass and it's just gated it on all sides. An employee said that this tiger was "purchased" like any other "commodity" and is not a rescue. They also said that it was being kept in the small enclosure to acclimate it to the space but the enclosure was extremely small and it was totally alone and in bad condition. It was heart breaking to see. I hope the zoo will read this and improve the condition for this tiger. There were several other animals in small and sad enclosures but the tiger cub was the saddest. I won't be returning. read more

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Very very cute place I think It's family owned . They have a whole little area with kid rides that was cute they have camel rides but your kid has to be at least 3 to do that even if the parent goes with them but they let you go in with the goats and my son loved that read more

It is a great diversion for small children. I went with my seven-year-old daughter and she had a fantastic and amazing time! Yes, the place is not well-kept, the rides are in poor condition, the infrastructure is in terrible condition, and the animals are not kept according to modern standards. The clientele looks pretty rough, and I saw more people smoking today than I've seen smoking in probably the last two years. But if you look at it from the perspective of a small child, it is a great place. My daughter had the most amazing day! I doubt this will be here many more years, so if you have ever wanted to go, you should probably go now, because it is clearly on life-support. read more

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I understand that some animals cannot be put back in the wild. I understand zoos allow them to live out their lives. However some of your inclosers for the animals is beyond sad... The tiger and lion ??? Terrible. Just terrible. You can and should do better. every cage has old fence poles , nothing natural , nothing mind consuming or for them to do other then sit. Half of the water pools didn't even have water for them. Nothing for them ... I know it cost money to run a zoo, but seriously - you can do better for the animals... start this the lions and tigers. nothing for them to climb up on , besides some tree laying down. I dont know how you look at them in that incloser and think that is the best you can do. read more

Nice little zoo to visit with kids. Not too big and a decent selection of animals, including a tiger and lions. The parakeet feeding was super fun. Rides aren't really worth it unless you are looking to extend the day. read more

York Wild Kingdom - Giant crowned pigeon - Amusement Parks Near Me - York, Maine

A read a lot of reviews before going; thinking some of these negative reviews had to be wrong or over exaggerated. I wish they were. I gave it 3 stars because of the interactions my kids had with the animals. Goats are my son's favorite. While the first glimpse of them was disheartening (they were behind 2 fences and we fed them through a PVC pipe), the second site was much better. There was a small petting area that you could go in and feed ($2 a cone)and pet them. The other highlight was the parakeet area. For $2 you could buy a stick with seeds on it. The parakeets land right on them and you can let them. The other positive was the price $14.75 for adults and $9 for kids 10&under. Unfortunately the grounds need a lot of TLC. The grass and bushes are overgrown in the walkways. There's a lot of trash and broken equipment in the bushes as well as run down structures. The animal habitats are small, mostly unkept and outdated. The few zookeepers we saw seemed to care and do their best but that's just it, there were only a few to be found. The animals ranged from an alligator, to various species of monkeys/lemurs, to a lion, deer and goats. There's also a butterfly exhibit that is decent. We decided to have a few snacks between us. It was typical pricing and snacks for a zoo $5 for a "large" popcorn and $4 for a slushee. Unfortunately the area to sit in was backed by overflowing trash cans. We notified the young staff at the concession stands. They were apologetic however Unable to clear at that time due to staffing shortages. Maybe just maybe this is large contributing factor to the poor conditions we witnessed. We did not attempt the camel rides because we were disheartened to see the camels tied up prior to allowing people on. They just seemed so sad. The driveway and parking lots were not paved, but this is typical for a lot of smaller zoos and not necessarily a deterrent. We did not attempt the rides because my kids were a little too big for them (our choice). They definitely seemed dated but the little kids liked them. All I'm all, it wasn't a terrible experience just not a place we'd rush back to. While we know this is a wild park and not a "zoo", We'd much prefer Southwick Zoo in Mendon, MA or Roger Williams Zoo in RI. Bring your quarters to feed the animals. read more

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It may be old, but this year there is new management and a lot of improvements have been made! The animals are amazing, the new parakeet exhibit is fun and the lions are BIG! The gift shop has alot of interesting and fun items and the food is phenomenal! (try the chili - homemade and delish). read more

I'm not sure what some of these reviewers are referring to. My family just went yesterday. I was expecting the worst based on these reviews (some are absolutely scathing), but wanted to do something different for the kids and begrudgingly gave this a try... In short, the park shattered all expectations. It was one of the better zoos I have been to. After this experience, I can all but conclude that most of these reviewers are biased against these types of places and/or are here to post with malintent. That or their expectations are way out of whack and they've only been to the San Diego Zoo or something world class previously... We arrived close to 11AM on a Wednesday in August. It had rained for several hours overnight, but the skies had cleared for our visit. As we pulled down the road to the park, it was immediately clear that this was a bustling place. The parking lot was already filling quickly, but there was still ample parking remaining. Crowds were not overwhelming and lines were not long throughout our visit at the zoo portion, so everything appeared to be decently spaced. Everything was clean and well-maintained, within reason. Many of the walking paths did have roots growing through them, so little ones needed to watch their step and it was occasionally a bumpy stroller ride for some, but mostly manageable. Employees were kind, helpful and numerous. We witnessed animal cages being cleaned and multiple positive interactions between the animals and staff. Cages seemed adequately sized in most cases and some were quite expansive. The tiger is housed in a smaller cage, but can exit out the back to roam in a larger area; same goes for the lions, so perhaps people caught these animals in their smaller enclosure and misinterpreted or maybe they simply have a personal vendetta. This is not a wildlife preserve, it's a zoo. We spent about 2 hours only in the zoo area and had seen most of the animals at that point, when our 3 year old started to get cranky. We could've spent another hour had we not needed to make an exit. My 6 year old wanted to go back to see certain animals, but we unfortunately had to get going. The other side of the park looked to be a happening place and could've made this excursion into a whole day affair, but we decided to save this for our certain future visit(s). Very nice place and a great visit for kids and adults. Kids 2 and under are only about $2. In summary, we either caught Wild Kingdom having the best day ever or it's just not nearly as bad as some of these reviewers claim. read more

I had hoped with the new owners that some of the Park's revenue would go back into modernization, repairs, even 5 gallons of paint. But alas, no such luck. The paved walkways have NUMEROUS raised tripping hazards. Roots from trees have pushed up and broken the pavement. York's fix, spray a little yellow paint around it. Animal cages are small, several animals don't have buddies. The grass hasn't been mowed or trimmed for weeks. Even the entrance road is full of potholes. No staff in the park except to sell "animal food". Bring cash and quarters for the animal food. Basically, to sum it up. The place is run down. It needs better management. The whole park is a law suit waiting to happen. Time for the State of Maine to do a Safety Inspection. Some of their carnival rides cost $4 per ride/person. Skip these. read more

So so sad. I've gone here a few times over the past 20 years, and while it has certainly never been a state of the art zoo, it has really gone down hill. There is virtually no investment happening here and the place is literally falling apart. In their defense, there is a sign near the beach entrance which says, "Pardon our appearance; getting a facelift," but yikes is this place bad. The only reason I gave it even 1 star is because of the new-ish parakeet feeding area, which is really popular; and the pony ride lady is a sweetheart and she is obviously very passionate about her animals. It pains me to say I'll probably never go back...unless they get serious about revitalizing this place. There is SO much potential. read more

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Animals are really cool. The exhibits are mostly unkept and the facilities are horrible and outdated. Must have been a great place 30 years ago. All the rides were shutdown. The staff was very friendly. If you really want to go to a zoo for the day go to Southwick Zoo in Mendon MA. 2 hr trip from here. read more

York Wild Kingdom - Entrance - Amusement Parks Near Me - York, Maine

I don't know. Maybe I'm just used to larger zoos which have far larger enclosures and appear to have enrichments within those enclosures - but this was sort of depressing to me. I don't believe I EVER saw a zookeeper working with an animal or within an enclosure. Every zoo in memory always had zookeepers working throughout the zoo. That was really strange to me. But they definitely had plenty of "upsell" items & staff throughout (feeding for animals, etc). I don't know. I felt really bad for these animals, esp the tiger that just paced back & forth in a VERY small area. Maybe there was a reason for that, but other zoos have put signs up if it appears animals are restricted in some way explaining why. This place really just didn't "feel" good to me at all. We skipped the rides as we have season passes to a local amusement park anyway. But they were looking pretty tired (the amusements) and everything is extra here. Everything. I've been visiting Maine for decades, never went here, I will not go back (sadly). One and one. read more

I took my 1.5 year old here with my husband and my dad, and all three of us had a blast! We went on the family friendly rides together, including the Super Slide. The ride operators were very kind about letting us go as a family. We also went to the zoo, which was great for toddlers--mine especially liked the ducks. We really liked the food at the concession stand, too. It really is very toddler friendly, with places to park the stroller and several little-friendly attractions. Overall we had 4+ hours of fun for a very reasonable price. I hadn't been here in a decade, and I wasn't sure it would live up to my memories as a kid. I was happy to see that it is just as fun as it was then! read more

If you have been here 2 times in the last 3 years, thats one time to many. This is a very depressed early evening night out. You can tell with in the first 20 steps that the parents were dragged by their kids in fear of a tantrum. No one wants to be here to ride these rides, except Naïv children. I said to my family as they entered the fun house "it was nice knowing ya" I know the place is up for sale , it has been for a while. But come on man pick the weeds out from the mini golf turf! In all honesty there was an employee what I would say "allegedly" might be on something harder than the casual rolled mother earth. I took video because it was disturbing. This is just my opinion on things I saw, and it maybe the worst review I have written. I literally gave this place a few tries before I Yelped it! I did not go to the Animals. Just 7pm rides and games read more

York Wild Kingdom - Amusement Parks Near Me - York, Maine

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Every run down. Very sad to see only side of the park isn't even opened,it looks abandoned. The animals there are mostly birds not many zoo animals you'd like to see. Having to pay $18 to just get in as an adult isn't worth it. Very sad to see something like this go to waste,I have a feeling by next year it will be shut down for good.. read more

Awful. Total ripoff. Needs to close. Nothing that see. Back in the 90s it was a nice little take but now it's rubbish.

I was pleasantly surprised with my experience at York Wild Kingdom. Adult admission was only $15 and there was a pretty good selection of animals from all around the world. There is enough shade so you can stay out of the sun on hot days. I was a little disappointed at the small number of butterflies in the butterfly dome but there were plenty of parakeets to feed in their enclosure. And there are plenty of goats and deer to feed and pet. Just a heads up that parking can be a little tough. read more

Why did I give this place 5 stars? For several reasons, hear me out. I have twin 3 year old boys and we were looking for a place to bring them while visiting family in Boston. It was a decent drive to York, Maine on a Friday morning, traffic wasn't too bad. We had to park in the additional parking lot which is about 0.5 mile to the park. They had portable toilets in the lot, so we all went before jumping on the free shuttle. Prices for Zoo only were: $14.75 for adults, $9 (kids 4-12), and $1 (kids 3 and under). Prices for Zoo and Ride Package were: $23.75 for adults, $18.50 (kids 4-12), and $5.25 (3 and under). We opted for the Zoo and Ride Package as I knew the zoo section isn't that large and we would be finished less than 1.5 hours. The zoo section is definitely rustic and I think it's cute and very doable with younger children. Older children may get bored with it though. The only disappointing item was the camel ride. My husband and two children went on the camel ride together ($6 each, which was $18) for one loop in the yard. The amusement section was definitely more of a carnival feel, but very good for younger kids in my opinion. We, as adults looked at the rides as lame, but for younger kids, their eyes just lit up for every ride they were able to go on, they had a glorious time. read more

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This place needs soooo many Updates. I would not even let my daughter go to the bathroom there. Sooo dirty. So I took my daughter to the woods which was much cleaner than the bathrooms there. The way animals are kept is so not the greatest. Major updates are needed. read more

Depressing. I understand the park is outdated and with the challenge of COVID, I'm sure it's difficult to operate at full capacity. These aren't the reasons for my one star. The zoo was terribly sad. No more than two of each species in an enclosure. The animals were visibly heavily sedated - every single animal was asleep. Except for the ducks. Very very tiny enclosures with empty water dishes on a very hot day. I can't imagine these animals get proper exercise or nutrients. York's Wild Kingdom is far from an animal sanctuary. Very very sad and will not return. Will not recommend. I'm going to do some research pertaining to the care of these animals. The zoo keepers & park owners should be ashamed. read more

This place is a time warp. I went here as a kid so I was excited to come back with mine 20 years later. If you like nostalgia, you are in luck because nothing has changed, or been updated. It reminds me of one of those links you see on a Facebook called "You won't believe this amusement park still exists." The highlight for me was the go cart worker smoking a cigarette while gassing up the carts and directing kids into them after with cig still in hand. There's also an empty above ground pool where I can picture a pool salesman sitting 15 years ago peddling pool installs. On the plus side, it's cheap and the kids had fun, so it gets 3 stars on that alone. We didn't go to the zoo, so I can't comment on that. read more

York Wild Kingdom - Amusement Parks Near Me - York, Maine

Randomly spotted this place while looking for a place to eat lobsters. Since we weren't too hungry, we decided to stop by. At first, we thought it was kinda sketchy driving into this long trail of unpaved road, and then we reached a pretty decently filled parking area (still unpaved). The open area where the rides are, is free to walk around. You just need to pay tokens/tickets if you want to ride anything. The rides kinda looked run down. My family enjoyed the zoo, it was fun seeing my 1 year old nephew feed the ducks that walked around freely and feed the deers in the back area~ $0.25 for their food. Oh, my sister was trying to changed her son and they didn't have a changing station. :( The animal selection were pretty cool, for the entrance fee price, I think this place is pretty reasonable. A good place to check out and kill 2 hours. read more

So heres my review of York... One day we (BF, Mother & I) were all sitting at home & talking about how we should all go to the Zoo... I havent been since I was a kid & the BF has never been... so that started my Stone Zoo versus Franklin Park comparisons to see where we should go... (we mentioned Southwick - but for our patience levels & the amount of time we thought we would really spend there - we didnt want to spend Southwick $$)... So last night I was all over the internet (we knew we were going today 7.13.11) so I was comparing what animals were at each zoo & what the prices were... My son is young & learning all his animals & at the current time he is hooked on standards (Elephants, Tigers, Pigs) Franklin & Stone had NONE of these & I know at his age he isnt going to grasp any of it fully, but I wanted to at least go somewhere were there were things he could recognize... It is at this moment that Mom suggests York... I thought "Hey we have been by many times on our Maine, Beach, Outlets, Lighthouse Excursions, but never been"... Lets try it... So I go to their site & read the list of animals & am INSTANTLY PLEASED... The planning of the trip begins, what time we will leave, how we will pack & travel... (I tend to go overboard on Trips, even if they are day Trips)!!! Then I come here & read HORRIBLE reviews, but I wont let that stop me!!! So we take Backroads Rt 1, takes us about 2 hours to get there & at this point, BF & Baby are soo ready to be out of the car (BF's not a morning person)... The ride area is extensive and as I read here, it is truly geared to smaller kids, so dont come here if you are in your 20's with no Children expecting somthing along the lines of Canobie or Six Flags... The zoo was great, there were Elephants, Tigers, Pigs & Several other animals that I had never heard of... The baby had a great time, I got SEVERAL great Photo shots (which is a Good thing if you know me - I tend to rate Vacas or trips on the greatness of photo ops) Grant it some of them were hiding under trees or in the shade (it was low 90's today)... But it was all in all a Great Time & I plan to go back before the end of the season... Maybe on a day when less hot, animals might be more interested in coming out & not hiding... Would def recommend to parents with small children & some advice - Buy the food in a cup up front (for animals) - the little machines for .25 are great but nothing to hold them in stinks (Or just bring your own cup to collect feed for animals) ATM IS UP FRONT AT THE ENTRANCE - other thing I wish I had known, we decided to eat at the very back of the place & no where takes the card - so I had to walk all the way back up front to the ATM... The gift shop was considerably cheap & stocked with tons of items from Stuffed Animals to T-shirts & Jewelry... read more

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The butterfly place & deer feeding & goat feeding is the best. Good amount of animals & they also have a lot of rides & games. Paddle boMy kids have fun. We try to do everyother yr read more

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I was warned that this is an Old Style Zoo, and it truly is, with the exception that you can feed many of the animals. They had an interesting collection of animals and there are many places that you can get up close to the animals. You can actually mingle with, feed out of your hand, and pet the goats and some of the deer. This was a highlight with our six year old granddaughter once she got over her fear of them possibly biting her hand. After we showed her how to put food in her open hand and let them lick it out, she was hooked on feeding them. The rides were a bit disappointing to her as she grew so much over the summer that she was too big for most of the small children rides and not quite brave enough to go on the bigger kid rides. Even though I hate most amusement rides, I went on the Scrambler with her. I had to hold on for dear life and she wasn't very comfortable either. After the ride she said she would probably like it when she gets older. The girl running the bumper boats said since she was less than an inch over the maximum height, she could ride on them and she enjoyed that much more. read more

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I love the rides!!!!! THIS IS The BEST!!!! THE cake the desserts the games the prizzess

Animals are basic and it's not worth the drive, if you're going to Boston. My 3 year old toddler didn't have any fun there wasn't much to do... read more

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