I wish we had never paid to come here. What was supposed to be an enjoyable visit turned into an experience that left us feeling genuinely sad for the animals. Several of the enclosures seemed much too small, the facility was run down, and the entire place felt neglected. We also saw very little visible staff presence actually checking on or caring for the animals. Walking through the facility, it was hard to ignore the condition of the enclosures and the overall lack of upkeep. I understand that no facility is going to be perfect, but when you are responsible for the care of animals, there should be a much higher standard. What we personally saw was concerning enough that we would never return or recommend this place to anyone. We left feeling terrible for the animals and regretting that our admission money went toward supporting this facility. In my opinion, the conditions we witnessed deserve serious scrutiny from the appropriate animal welfare authorities. This place needs major improvements. read more

Great time with the family on Father's Day with the one-on-one primate experience. Brought my sons and hubby and the staff was so prepared and welcoming. We sat in the concession building for a bit exploring before our session started. Once they scooped us up we were escorted to a private indoor area and got to meet and connect with red leemers, an armadillo, a sweet baby spider monkey and one more primate I can't recall the ame. Our trainers were very knowledgeable and so good with the animals and us. We spent about an hour with the animals and then walked the property to checkout the giraffes (we were warned not to get to close), sleuths, kangaroos, tigers and so many more animals. Highly recco if you have an animal lover amongst you. read more

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I have been here twice, several years apart and both experiences were fantastic. Fun and something for everyone all ages. Value is absolutely amazing for the experiences you get. Wagon ride is a must do! You can tell that the animals are well cared for and enjoy life here. I will continue to support and frequent Zootastic for the fun of the park and the care put into both the park and animals. Highly recommend! read more

We absolutely love spending the day at Zootastic. The petting zoo, the safari, gift shop, employees all are fabulous! There is a huge variety of animals and they are mostly super friendly and not food aggressive like the animals at the Lazy 5. Everything is well kept and it is easy to navigate your way through the park. Excellent value for a great fun day! read more

Zootastic Park - Feeding the Giraffe's carrots. - Zoos Near Me - Troutman, North Carolina

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It was a really fun experience! My son enjoyed himself, we did the drive through first and it was nice. It looks like they're expanding which will be really nice, hopefully they will get more animals too! I jut feel like the food buckets should be a lot bigger! The walk through portion was also really nice! The lion, tigers, bears were double caged so I couldn't get a good picture but I had a great time! read more

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If I can give this place zero stars I would this is absolutely a disgusting example of animal captivity. I went for my nephews third birthday and all the adults felt it's so hard to enjoy it because it was just so sad to see these huge majestic animals in these small tight mismanaged cages. They do have a big plot of lion that you can drive through with animals that roam free and I do feel like that's where the zoo should put their focus. They shouldn't have any animals in a cage, especially ones as big as the camels and the lions I've seen. I almost wanted to cry when we looked at the lions they look so depressed and dehydrated and just miserable. And don't get me started on the giraffes. These poor poor animals. And to make matters worse, this whole place is ran by teenagers. I only saw one adult in the admissions and that was it all of them look like they were between the ages of 15 to 16 and honestly look like they could care less about their jobs however, the young girl who was with the giraffes I would say it was fairly nice. She was quiet and you can tell. She definitely enjoyed talking to other people. read more

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Love this park when they have the Holiday lights. Every year they add more lights and this year they added an extra option of paying a little more to see the animals. We did this and it was great. We saw so many up close. After the drive through you can stop at the petting zoo part and feed and pet the giraffes. How cool is that! First time seeing so many animals up close. This is a great place for families of all ages. It's busy on the weekends so be prepared to take your time and be there a few hours if seeing the animals. I recommend this visit. read more

Zootastic Park is such an awesome place to visit and it has a lot to offer! They have a lot of hands on experiences such as feeding the Giraffe's and holding baby animals. You can also feed the animals through the drive through experience (which is so fun). They also have a petting zoo, concession stands and a gift shop. If you haven't been here yet I highly recommend going ASAP!! read more

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We had an amazing time during my son's school field trip despite the rain. We have to come back when it's a sunshine day! Although it's not the largest zoo, it's has plenty to offer. There is a gift shop and concession stand as well. read more

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This is probably one of my favorite zoos ever!! First of all, admission is SO reasonably priced, as was everything else in the gift shop. $17 for adults is hard to beat. The majority of their animals seemed to be genuinely well taken care of, with the exception of a few who seemed restless, but it's to be expected.. the capybaras were my favorite part. It's actually the first time I got to see one in person. The giraffes are on a whole other level, literally. You can reach out and touch them, hand feed them, they're so gentle and adorable. They have a wide variety of animals and to buy a cup of food was $5, with refills for $1. We didn't end up doing the drive through part, but it's included in admission which is also a great deal. I'll definitely keep coming back here!! read more

Zootastic Park - Tortoises! - Zoos Near Me - Troutman, North Carolina

Very nice place to take your family and visit tons of animals. The drive through was very clean and easy to navigate through. Our favorite was feeding the giraffes in the walk through portion. read more

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We took our two granddaughters 10 and 12 on Saturday and we all LOVED it! It is a casual, informal experience with animals to delight all ages. A great petting zoo area and everything from a pair of lemur with two new babies to white tigers and lions. And lots more! The Safari section was lots of fun with the wide variety of animals to see, including zebra, camels, and buffalo and many more! I would highly recommend it. However, I suggest you bring your own lunch. Choices were very limited. read more

Went here with our homeschool group today. Minus the weather not being the best, we all really enjoyed this outing. If you've ever been to the Lazy5 Ranch, it's similar but has way more animals. I feel like the animals were very active, more so than when we usually go to the Asheboro Zoo and the animals are all hiding. Many were close enough to touch and feed. We met a baby kangaroo today, we saw a baby giraffe and baby llama!! We took the wagon ride and feed all the animals that walked up to greet us. Big gift shop, covered picnic tables outside if you decide to pack a lunch. Great place to take large groups or just make it a fun day trip with the fam. read more

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OK I had a fantastic time here. Yes I know zoos and these types of establishments are problematic to some I get it. But this place was clean, well organized, and the animals didnt look downtrodden or cooped up. There were even animals just roaming around outside of cages. The walking piece was adorable I got to feed giraffes and saw multiple species of monkeys and big cats also saw some giraffes and got to feed a camel! The absolute bonus was the driving tour. the animals come right up to your car while you feed them. If you have a rental be careful horn will definitely be bumping up against your car. This can definitely be your entire days activity if you want it to be and the day tickets were economical. Fun gift shop with food and drink items to keep you fed and hydrated. One thing do not pay $3 dollars to go on the train, its a small contained circle you go around twice while an employee swerves you right to left to make it more interesting but doesnt even take you near any of the animals. It was laughable but the rest of Park was great times! read more

Please spend the money and the time to go to an actual zoo. The reason places like this are often cheaper and not registered with the zoological society is because they don't have to meet animal care standards. The cages and enclosures are way too small and you can tell that the larger animals in particular ( camels and a very sad looking silver tiger) don't have adequate space. I understand that little kids will go "oh cute!" but as adults lets do better and teach them better. Here's a picture of a skinny sad llama from the petting zoo. read more

Zootastic Park - Zoos Near Me - Troutman, North Carolina

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Terrible, overpriced, miles of dirt roads with no Christmas decorations Waste of money read more

We enjoyed our time at Zootastic. The drive thru was a unique experience for sure! The opportunity to feed the animals was something we hadn't seen before. It felt very spacious for the roaming animals. There were a few interesting pairings (such as the kangaroos and birds or goats and camels), but again - the areas felt quite open. Our only complaint was that there were signs in the drive thru explicitly stating not to feed the donkeys and zebras because they bite. Unfortunately, nearly every area had both so it was hard to avoid them when trying to feed other animals. read more

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Quick thoughts: lots of walking, a really great zoo, cool to feed the animals and the giraffes, not a lot of shade, but really good frozen lemonade This was my first time coming here (second time for my boyfriend), and I love zoos and I absolutely loved Zootastic. It was a bit of walking since everything was spread out and lots of sun areas, so I'll definitely make sure to have a hat and put on some sunscreen before our next time. The price is pretty affordable, and you can pay to get food for the animals and get food for the giraffes, so we opted to get both options. Refill for those foods is only $1. Had lots of variety of animals compared to the zoos that I've been to (outside of NC). Also really cool that they had the picture wood boards that you could put your face in and could pretend to be whatever animal, had multiple of those throughout the whole park. Had animals from small ones like squirrel monkeys, otters, and lemurs, to larger animals like giraffes, lions, tigers, bears (and yes their signs do reference that), and a white tiger. Very cool to see all the animals, and get to feed them. They have a petting zoo area with lamas and sheep, definitely was fun to feed all the animals there and get to pet them too. Wish we could have done the private animal encounter, but we didn't think about it until after we were halfway done. The only negative that we have about coming here was that the lady at the front had said that we could feed any animals, but once we started going around to the animals who weren't in a second fence (such as the lions who had their regular cage and then a fence in front of that), we realized that we weren't sure what animals beside the petting zoo that was could actually feed. Definitely wish they had signs or even a paper when you bought the food, that said all the animals you could feed. Can't wait to come again! read more

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First visit to this zoo. Everything seems a little old, and needing an update. Drive thru area was stripped of vegetation. But, there were piles of hay, and everyone was tossing large feed pellets to the animals. My favorite thing was feeding carrot strips to the giraffes. I've never been that close to a giraffe. My granddaughter thought the place was great. We all had a good time. read more

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Animal enclosures are inadequate for wellbeing. Facilities in general are in poor state. Duck pond had green stagnant water with no filtration and even several plastic baggies in it. read more

I won a giraffe encounter after naming Noah the baby giraffe in a contest!!! Everything was wonderful, saw a lot of animals.....would definitely go again.... Noah is so sweet (he is three weeks old). Very nice gift shop too. read more

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Wasted $60 to wait in an hour and a half for a bumper to bumper drive through with minimal lights and the park is only open 3 hours. Not right to charge $15 a person - should offer people a free pass to actually experience the park. read more

If anyone lives near Zootastic than you probably know how sad it truly is. I went with my family on December 7th (today) and was very disappointed in what I saw. Zootastic pretty much has every animal you can think of and every enclosure is so incredibly SMALL and when I mean small I mean all they can do is walk around the same 4x4 enclosure that they're trapped in. These animals are depressed and honestly so was I as I walked around this zoo. These animals deserve better than what they are given, I looked them up on tik tok and all I can say is social media is fake. Please let this reach the right audience and if it reaches no one then oh well I tried. (My photos truly don't show how sad this place really was) read more

This place is just depressing Google them - they've gotten into trouble for not caring for the animals and when you go it shows . I was brought here and had no clue or I would've never agreed . Spend the money and time and go to the zoo - your money is going to a good cause and to animals well cared for read more

We visited here the day after Thanksgiving and had a blast. I was a little nervous visiting here because often times petting zoos are a little depressing, but this was very clean and very well run. The animals seemed healthy and happy, which is most important. There are ample opportunities to feed a wide variety of animals from giraffes to kangaroos and goats, etc. The walking is quite easy and most everything was ADA accessible. We paid extra and did an hour long "animal encounter", which was amazing. Spider monkey, baby kangaroo, armadillo, lemurs and more. It was really educational and totally worth it. Would do that again for sure. I think if you are looking for a fun activity for the family, this is a great choice. read more

I've visited the park in the past during the day for the regular zoo portion but I've never gone during Christmas at night for the light display until this year! Boy have I been missing out! We visited a couple other displays in the area this year but Zootastic is hands down the best! Also, it is very affordable! My pictures do not do justice to the numerous displays. Best part is that the 1st half of the display is basically FREE because the prettiest & biggest part of the show happens after you pay. Plus there's a little area setup with concessions & rides before the EXIT. The experience is well worth the price set. I'm so glad we went this year and hope to experience it next Christmas, too! read more

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There are a lot of animals, but their pens are all too small and I saw a lot of pacing. Pacing is a bad sign at a zoo, if you didn't know. It was depressing. The open area where things are expanding seems much too small for the number of animals in it. I won't return. read more

We got a sloth experience for my moms birthday, it was amazing! The staff were so nice and they had so many animals to show!

Really enjoyed our trip to Zootastic Park, it was worth it! The park is laid out very nicely. It is not small but also not overwhelmingly large either.I think it is the perfect size and set up to truly have a wonderful animal encounter experience. There is a very wide variety of interesting and adorable animals. The animals were plentiful and very active when we went in November. They have a wonderful variety of monkeys and apes. The alpacas and llamas are always fun to feed. We really loved feeding carrots to the Giraffes. There were at least 4 or more Giraffes and they were so gentle and sweet. Also loved the little bear! The squirell monkeys were fun to look at and the kangaroos were adorable. It was also really amazing to see a lion and Bengal up close. I was also very impressed that they had Anteaters too! This park is a gem filled with beautiful animals. It was also a very clean and well kept park. I cannot speak for the drive thru since we chose to walk thru the park. I definitely recommend walking through the park. It was so much fun feeding the animals. We also were lucky to see one of the employees Evan feeding the Servals which is a type of cat, Evan was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. He was super caring with the Servals and he even raised one of them since she was a baby and you could tell they had a wonderful relationship. They also have a cool gift shop with refreshments and a rest room on-site. This park is so fun and I highly recommend it! read more

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I loved everything about our visit to Zootastic Park at Lake Norman. We took our son there for his ninth birthday, and I could not have asked for a better celebration. We got to hold and love on the baby kangaroo. He was super soft. The armadillo was funny, and the black and white ruffled lemurs just were full of energy and made us laugh, one of my favorites was the little baby kinkajou he was super sweet and just a baby we did the walk through the park and I have to say I've been to a lot of zoos and these were the most handsome lions and lionesses I have ever seen the male lions look like they just got back from the salon with a fresh blow out. All the animals looked healthy, fed, and content the staff was very friendly, personable, and non-threatening. They have a ton of opportunities to buy a snack or a souvenir. You can buy carrots to feed the giraffes and actually pet the giraffes you can buy grain for the drive through safari. Signs warn you about the donkeys, and the zebras, biting. I personally did not care for the emus peeking in my window. They're very radical. This was a great place to visit, and I think affordable to do as a family. read more

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I was so excited to visit this Park after looking for zoos to visit while on a trip in North Carolina. The drive thru experience was one of a kind and gave me total safari vibes as the animals were literally in the car during most feedings. It was so amazing to experience and truly beautiful to see such creatures up close. By the end I was dying to hold an animal during an encounter and decided to go hold the Siamang Ape. Little BB was just 3 months old and it was life changing to hold such a precious animal. As many reviews stated some animal conditions were hard to see, such as open wounds on animals, lack of stimulation items and abundance of flies on animal injuries. I can not imagine how hard it is to upkeep a center as such, but it was hard to see some of those conditions as well. Overall I personally had a good experience but do agree with many reviews I saw in hindsight of my visit, which made me think about the conditions I saw. read more

Zootastic Park - Zoos Near Me - Troutman, North Carolina

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This feels more like an animal prison than a zoo. It was by far the saddest zoo experience I've ever had. Not only was it sad seeing the animals in such small enclosures, but the whole park was run down and trashy. There's debate about zoos in general, and those are the well-funded, fully-staffed, with giant areas for animals to roam kind of zoos. But this zoo is barely a zoo at all, and beyond that it's the saddest thing ever to see these poor animals locked up in small cages with no room to run or play. They barely have room to walk. I felt sad and uneasy the entire time I was there, and I'm not the kind of person who is known for their sensitivity haha. The drive thru experience was actually kinda cool, and the animals seemed a little more free to roam in that area, but still there's still something depressing seeing animals out their natural habitat and confined to this over-crowded area. I'm honestly surprised places like this are legal to own and operate. I definitely won't be back. read more

This place gets citations from the USDA for mistreatment of its animals ~ most recently, monkeys got serious frostbite injuries from being kept in below-freezing temperatures in their shelters. Just last year, the USDA inspector found maggots had eaten the flesh of three wolves. If you love animals, this isn't the place to support. read more

I have never been in a place that neglects the well-being of animals more than this "zoo". Specifically: A 5 month old baby tiger isolated alone in what looks like a window storefront. Giraffes who are only allowed to stick their heads out of barn doors to be fed overpriced carrot snacks, and otherwise caged. Baby foxes and other exotic animals kept in cages in dark sheds. A large iguana kept in a glass box too small for it to move, or for the iguana to receive any sun. Herding and grazing animals were kept on acres of barren land with nothing to graze upon. Now North Carolina has no laws governing the ownership of exotic animals, but for anyone who loves animals and respects exotic animals, this is not a "zoo", but a prison. read more

We love zootastic! I will say though, to get an optimal experience at zootastic, you need to do an animal encounter experience. Not only do you get admission to every bit of the zoo, but with the super safari, you can get 1 on 1 time with 5 different animals! The Lemurs were soooo much fun! They have such amazing personalities, and love to run and jump all over the place! They were even jumping on my head! Our second favorite was the kinkajou honey bear. It was wrapping it's little hands around our fingers, and licking and nibbling on them. We also saw an armadillo, a sloth, and a baby kangaroo. It was such an unforgettable experience that neither myself or my daughter will ever forget! 10/10 recommend! read more

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Visiting family in the Charlotte area and decided to take the kids to this outdoor petting like zoo. It looked great for a quick adventure. There are several animals that I was surprised to see which made it that much better. Feeding the Giraffes and goats was by far the winner. The general store looked amazing with so many different animal items and the only downside was that it was on the way out so we were already exhausted and could not look around and shop with tired little ones. May visit again Here are some suggestions for improvements: It would be nice to see a list of which animals are there before you actually come in through the location. It would be nice to see which animals you can actually feed with the feed that you buy there versus trying to guess which animals you can feed. Also posting cost of feed not just asking wanting to purchase. Also the duck food was out and it looked like you needed charge to dispense it. A tiger feeding time would be nice if posted and the worker with a little mic talking about the animals they are feeding. was a little disappointed that there was no signs advising that the drive-through portion of the zoo was closed while they have zoo lights instead. COVID- It was a little disappointed that wall they have signs stating that North Carolina requires masks but they were not in forcing them and there was plenty of people not wearing masks while others were. Freedom of choice also means I can sue you if I get sick because of your guests as no sign in the front says enter at your own risk. Same goes for sanitizer which was out at multiple locations. Come prepared read more

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Drove over an hour to Zootastic, even though I had read awful reviews and seen a post about the inhumane things going on at this place... thought I would see for myself and give it a chance. We took our two kids 4 and under. They throughly enjoyed it, which was fantastic, but I couldn't get over some things I noticed. 1. There's literally no grass for the animals to eat in the drive through part. In the middle of Summer there should be plenty of grass. If there isn't then you have too many animals on the acreage provided. 2. The animals seemed extremely hungry.. which isn't alarming till you remember how many people are coming through there and how much they "should be eating"?? 3. The otters had NO water exhibit. I have never been to a zoo where the otters didn't have somewhere to swim. They were barely moving which isn't like an otter. The "cage" was VERY small and had a ridiculous amount of poop and pee all in it. It looked like they were actually laying in it. 4. The place they have the giraffes was extremely small for them and for the amount they had. 5. The "bear" was extremely irritated and seemed to be getting very aggressive.. 6. The inclosure for all the exotic animals were way too small and didn't look well kept. 7. The rides definitely need an update. Overall it was near to see the animals especially that up close and personal, but with the amount of money made from this site their living conditions should be better and bigger! I love animals and have never had a problem visiting zoos like most animal lovers, however this just rubbed me the wrong way.. :/ read more

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Purchased tickets to take our grandchildren to the drive through and walk-through portion. After the drive through portion, I was so disappointed with the care of the animals, we did not walk through. Thankfully, our grands were a bit too young to realize what was going on. Many of the animals looked underfed - you could see their ribs. Malnourished looking actually. When we got to the end, the lions were laying in a cage, on a plywood platform. That's it. Sad. Will not go back. If anyone asks, I would tell people NOT to go. read more

First time visitor. We had an amazing time with the family. They have plenty of space and different rides for kids to have fun. The my take care of the animals since all of them looked in great condition. Every staff member I talked to was respectful and friendly. The play ground, recreational and bathroom areas are kept very clean. I highly recommend stop by early and avoid the rush hour traffic especially the drive thru exhibitions. We'll be back! read more

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When I say this place is amazing !!!! I mean it . Me and my family came for my Great Nephews 1st Birthday party with about 30 people when I say the staff was super nice and very accommodating . Everyone was friendly and made sure we were comfortable . The animals came out to play even tho it was super hot this place is a gold mind !!!!! Thanks for making Saige's first birthday unforgettable read more

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