Waccatee Zoo
Waccatee Zoo
3.5
This location was reported permanently closed
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles656 reviews
Excellent
216
Very good
147
Average
69
Poor
51
Terrible
173

Jessica M
Farmingdale, NY25 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Family
I have gone here multiple times now with my 2 small kids. Give the establishment a chance. Talk to the ladies inside the main office...you can donate outgrown kids toys to them. I was pleasantly surprised to see the zoo has cleaned up older areas. If you want to see a modern zoo, you will pay bigger prices. For $12 bucks, the zoo is fine. We love sheeps & goats, so we come here to feed them...
Written April 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bonnie10941@yahoo.com
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
This zoo experience would be improved by being CLOSED down!! The most horrible "zoo" we have ever seen. The (caged) animals (as few animals as there were) were stressed, walking around in circles. We did not see food or drink for any of them and their cages were very small. The entire zoo is literally in the woods, dark, smelly and the entire area was not appealing whatsoever. The admission was $15 per person, so not worth it! We stayed for a little over an hour and needed to leave. It was beyond sad seeing how these poor animals were treated. A field of various deer and one buffalo in the field by the entrance way had the most room to roam; all other animals on the premises not so lucky. An old, musty smelling dark building contained antique cars, as well as other antiques and a few caged animals which were totally out of place. This zoo may have had a "hay day" but no longer. I could write a book on what my husband and I felt about this place. I do NOT recommend wasting your hard earned money for you and your family to be as disappointed as we were. Also, some signs spoke of certain animals in certain areas. They were nowhere to be found....Find a zoo to visit in another area of the state or another state entirely... You'll be glad you did.
Written August 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maureen H
3 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021
Was here in Sept 2021 and left feeling very sad. This place needs to be shut down. Most of the animals didn't even have water in their pens. I read some recent reviews about a bear losing his hair. He's probably dead because I sure never saw a bear there. Witnessed a monkey pacing and seemed very agitated/stressed out, saw another one with something obviously wrong with his eyes. He could barely open them. None of the peacocks had any tail feathers, probably because they were selling them for $1 in their ramshackle entrance building. I guess they're plucking them and selling them. This place was horrible! Did some online research after visiting and cannot believe how long this place has been on the radar and yet nothing can be done to help these poor animals. Sad!!
Written October 11, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brianna Lynne
Staunton, VA1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Couples
I have never seen a zoo so poorly ran or so nasty to their animals. They shouldn’t have not one animal they have there; they are known for many, many violations. They’re not taking care of their sick tiger who needs to be handed over to PETA so they can find somewhere for Lila to get the help she needs. The lions and tiger are all in really tiny cages with no place to go. The cougar is in a small cage to where she just paces back and forth. This place doesn’t even feed or give their animals water to the point where the donkey was begging us for water. This place is so disgusting I reached out to people I never wanted to have to speak to about a zoo. I feel horrible for even giving them money but we had to buy 2 big bags of food and still ran out quick because of how hungry they were. The bear has patches in his fur to where you can see it’s skin & he just kept pacing. The goats were literally fighting over food they were so hungry. The monkeys were in such a small enclosure you could tell there was no way for them to be happy. This place disgusts me and I hope they get closed down very soon. PETA and Animal Wildlife has been contacted with video and picture evidence and will continue to have contact with me until this place shuts down or gets rid of their animals.
Written August 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dianne K
High Point, NC110 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
We went here as it was recommended by the tour guide on the boat tour we went on (boat tour was great). If we would have known it caged wild/exotic animals we would not have given our money to them. Initially we thought it would be more of a petting zoo as there are large fenced fields with herd animals and those animals seem fine (deer Buffalo, zebra) however once we paid and entered the rear of the gift shop I immediately got the hoarder vibe from all the birds and reptiles haphazardly placed around the shop. The poor yellow python had a small unnatural looking enclosure (more like snake prison). But the worst was when we made it through the shop and got the first look/smell of the zoo… it is run down and depressed looking with metal cages that look more like animal prisons than they do nice natural enclosures. My son said it was “spooky”. Now the goats, pony’s and cattle seem okay, but there are a ton of goats. Again, giving off animal hoarder vibes. We were also concerned about the poor black bears. Very small enclosure and the “cave” had dirty water I guess for them to swim in but it needed to be seriously cleaned. The one poor bear looked seriously dejected and had a long patch of missing hair and my husband said it looked like he was clawed by the other bear on the back. The lions looked beautiful but the male looks like it had a 5 or an S tattooed near his right eye. They were separate from each other which seemed odd. The big and small cat enclosures were just chain linked cages and they all seemed too small. To me the most upsetting was the primate enclosures. It seriously looked like something out of a science lab placed in the woods.No primate looked happy, the one poor baboon was swaying back and forth and at first we thought it was dancing but then I read that is a sign of distress. Another odd thing about this place is the amount of lemurs. They are scattered around the park haphazardly in small cages, there was even a baby so they are definitely breeding them (screams animal hoarder). I also developed a major headache after visiting here and the smell did not leave my nose until I woke up. Yuck. One of the workers told me they “take in” primates for owners who were forced to surrender them, she seemed to think that was a good thing. Personally euthanasia for the primate may be better than living here. BTW I am not anti zoo. I just think If you are going to run a Zoo you need to make it as natural and sanctuary like as possible. I know that takes lots of money. The more animals you have the more money it takes. If you can’t do it correctly then don’t do it at all and stop breeding more animals. This place should be shut down or be put under new management. The cats need to be relocated to an actual sanctuary and the other exotic animals relocated to proper zoos. Don’t support this place, I wish we had not, but now I can warn others not to go.
Written July 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Return visitor
Emmaus, Pennsylvania3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
We make Waccatee Zoo a priority every time we come to Myrtle - 3 times a year for the past 9 years. Love this zoo! Its clean and well-kept, the animals seem happy, well fed and have spacious enclosures. Its so relaxing to walk through the paths under the trees and see not only the animals, but a beautiful example of natural low country forest - something rare in the hustle and bustle of Myrtle Beach. I don't know why some people leave bad reviews, in all of our visits here we've never seen anything negative, and the reports of abuse are just ridiculous, its apparent that these people love and care for their animals like family. This is a fun and relaxing way to spend a couple of hours,
Written December 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Diana S
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2021 • Couples
If you have children and are visiting the Myrtle Beach area, this “zoo” is a must visit. Not your typical zoo, much much better. You walk dirt trails and see all kinds of animals in cages from black bears to birds to goats to lions to deer etc. Be sure and purchase food to feed some animals. Lots of snakes and other animals in cages inside the store. Also have several antique cars to view.
Written April 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stardust freedo... J
Myrtle Beach, SC1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
This "zoo" seemed to me like a "house of torture" and neglect for these poor animals. OMG, I am so sorry I took my young children here, even my 5 year old Daughter cried, she said this well "hell" for the animals. Way overpriced...they could not pay me to visit Waccatee Zoo again.
Written March 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tonya
Maryville, TN20 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020 • Family
We visited the zoo the second week of June on vacation. We enjoyed the animals, being able to feed them, and to be close to them. The animals seem well taken care of but some of the property needs a lot of maintenance. That did not dampen our visit though! Would recommend and we will visit again.
Written June 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Barbara U
9 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
I have mixed feelings about our visit. This place has a lot of potential. We took our 6 year old granddaughter. She loved feeding the different animals. This is not a normal zoo. There are several kinds of goats and other domestic animals, black bears, different kinds of monkeys, zebras, bison, deer and more. The exhibits are not well marked so there’s a lot of guessing. The employees are very nice and obviously care about the animals. Exhibits are a bit run down and several are empty. Take the time to walk around the fenced area out front. Although further away than the other exhibits the animals are in clear sight. The website is out dated. Fees are $15 for adults kids were still $5. We’re glad we went if for no other reason than the support.
Written June 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Waccatee Zoo - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)