This was ok, but quite expensive for what it was. We were met at the gate by a staff member who had his mask pulled down below his nose. Several others at the place were wearing their masks similarly - so they just don’t get the COVID safety issue. Price of lettuce or carrot for animals should be included given the crazy price of admission. There also was a huge backlog of cars, so we waited 10 min behind in a line of cars as the ones in front basically just parked to watch the animals and talk to a staff member. When the car started moving, the staff member had the nerve tell is us to hurry up because there was a now a long line. He had an annoying attitude, even though he was part of the delay. Didn’t appreciate an attitude for the crazy price we paid. Other staff were better, thought. Overall, it was a decent COVID activity, even if they didn’t mask correctly. Likely won’t be going back, though, nor would we recommend it given the high price.

This review is for the cheetah experience. I highly recommend-the handler was fantastic; really nice and super informative. I’m obsessed with cheetahs, so I knew a fair amount going in, but still learned a ton. Seeing these gorgeous creatures close enough to hear them purr and chirp was wonderful. Note that you are still behind a fence, and you don’t touch them, so it’s very safe. Also, while this would be an amazing experience for an older child (I say older because part of what makes it worthwhile is the education, so old enough to appreciate that) I’m a middle aged woman and I adored every minute. You get to see the handlers engage in some training, learn all about cheetahs, ask questions, take pictures and they will take pictures of you, too. My only quibble would be that I think if you pay for an experience, it’d be nice to have a few tokens so that you can feed the animals in the rest of the zoo-it’s a fair amount of money to pay on top of admission to the zoo. But, there aren’t many places you can do something like this, and most places that offer encounters charge an arm and a leg, so I do still think it was reasonable. Plus, I appreciated that they were attentive to what was safe for you and the animals. Other less reputable places might get you even closer, but this zoo is legitimate and knowing you’re not supporting unethical practices is important.

Too expensive for what it has to offer. It would make sense to offer reduced entry fee later in the day since several exhibits/attractions are unavailable such as the camel rides and safari ending before the 4:00 closing time, and the availability of bird food since the birds have "had their fill for the day". The gift shop ran out of spoons for the Dippin' Dots so the kids had to squeeze the ice cream out of the pouch which was quite messy. They only offer their Veteran discount to the service member, not dependents. The camel ride is one small lap around the enclosure; 5 minutes at the most. The front desk staff was not overly friendly but the aviary woman was extremely friendly and kind.

I went to zoofari at July 25 with a party of 6. Before we did the driving tour we bought some animal food which was just overpriced carrots and lettuce for $7. Starting the driving tour there were ostrich, emu , buffalos, alpacas, deer all together in a small enclosure for all those animals to be together. The zebras were separated from all the other animals. The enclosure was behind a subdivision in Vienna so not that much space for all the animals I just listed above. We start the walking tour going throughout you can tell/see the animals very sedated and docile and didn’t seem happy. The animals for both the driving and walking tour seemed like they weren’t getting feed. They way the animals were begging for food. The different enclosures didn’t seem like a good environment they were small, wasn’t being taken cared of and the different pairs of animals together seemed strange Ex. goats and deer together, turtles and kangaroos, turkeys and peacocks. The enclosures didn’t seem like people were monitoring them. Another example: the children were trying feed the birds which they’re placed with turkeys and peacocks. The kids are running around and not being spacial aware between them and the animals. Now the animals are stressed. Also unsafe for the kids as well. The main reason I came was the capybaras even they didn’t have a lot of water in the pool that was in their enclosure so they couldn’t fully submerged themselves in water as they supposed to. Also, the pool didn’t seemed maintained. Throughout the driving and walking tour all the animals seemed very sedated and docile. From the pricing of it,the terrible living conditions for the animals and treatment. I woundnt recommend coming here. My party of 6 and I wasn’t please and actually really concerned for these animals. From another review someone which I wasn’t aware before going stated “ Roers is also not an AZA accredited zoo so take that for what you will in how their standards fall short of providing the animals what they need in captivity” If you care and love animals please don’t go here they need to be shutdown

Customer services has diminished almost completely from this place, it is quite sad. We have been coming to this zoo with our family for over 10 years and this past weekend was just the cherry on top. We had called 2 times over the last 10 days to confirm we do not need to book tickets for Easter in advanced and they said we do not, we can just come in as general admission and purchase at the door. We drove 1.5 hours and had family from out of the country just to be told that they are sold out for the next 2 hours and tickets can only be purchased online. When I went inside to tell the employee that I was directed to the same story (not sure why I was sent to this individual) he literally proceeded to laugh and tell me "I don't know what to tell you". Nonetheless, since there were children involved, we drove around and went to Lake Fairfax and killed some time and came back 2 hours later. When we got in, it wasn't the same fun staff, educational staff that it once was. It was really really sad. But the point was to see the animals and that was accomplished. Really wish they would have better customer service, friendlier staff and a more educational approach to the whole experience.

My husband and I were looking for a unique experience to celebrate our anniversary. We both love zoos and when we saw that NOVA Wild offers private animal encounters, we were excited to sign up. Overall, we had a great time, but there were some snags along the way. As other reviews have mentioned, the zoo is under new ownership and while I think there is a lot of potential here, they are definitely going through some growing pains. Because we booked two encounters online, we also paid for our admission ahead of time. But upon arrival, we had no clue where to go. The entrance wasn't well marked, and we wandered all the way through the gift shop and into the main zoo before we realized we needed to go back and ask for help. They suggested we start our visit with the drive-through safari, which was also not well marked (the worker in the gift shop said to look for the shed with the blue roof, which we "couldn't miss," except we did miss it...because there was a school bus parked in front of it), and no one mentioned that we should buy zoo food before our safari, so there were a lot of disappointed animals sticking their heads into our car windows wondering why we didn't have anything to feed them. After our safari, there was a different worker in the gift shop who hooked us up with zoo food and wristbands, and we had some time to check out the zoo before our animal encounters. It's a manageable size with lots of shade and a variety of enclosures. Food and beverage options are pretty limited. Our animal encounters, which were the whole reason for our trip, were great. (Again, we weren't given good info about where to meet our guide, so that was another frustrating miscommunication.) We booked encounters with a capybara and a kangaroo, which were done in small group settings with plenty of time to take pictures and ask questions. Our guide was very personable and knowledgeable. These types of tours are always a crapshoot because you're dealing with unpredictable animals, but we went in with a lot of patience and low expectations, and we were both really happy with the experience. We also really enjoyed the exhibit where you can feed budgies and other birds. Again, the staffer working in the exhibit was very knowledgeable. There were definitely some hiccups, but we enjoyed our afternoon at the zoo and look forward to visiting again some day to see how it grows.

What a fun time! My son has been begging to go to a zoo, so we went to the Reston zoo. The safari was fun and exciting especially since the animals are friendly and walk over to greet you, and eat from your hands. My kids were excited the entire safari drive! Walking around and seeing all the animals was also fun for the kids. Bottle feeding the baby goats was a highlight as well as the bird enclosure. The birds landed on our hands while we fed them. On top of that, the staff was so friendly. We are season pass holders and will be going back!

I have been going to this animal park for 30+ years and love taking visitors there. We always get a kick out of the baby goats! Most recently, I signed up for the Cheetah Experience, and it was exceptional! Talk about close up photos! The handlers were very knowledgeable about the animals, so it's always good to learn something new. This is a great place for adults (traveling solo or with others) as well as children. It's a bonding experience with whoever you enjoy the trip with. It will be a lot of "Remember when...?" moments to share years down the road. I am a major fan! It's exciting and unusual but I would not say risky. The pathways for foot traffic are safe and would accommodate a wheelchair or walking device with ease.

It's a great little zoo with lots of animals. The staff is friendly and informative. We had a fantastic day feeding the animals and seeing all the exhibits. We are looking forward to going again and participating in their new animal encounters and the upcoming Butterfly adventure "Wings of Wonder."

It was a very enjoyable day at Zoofari! Kids, parents and grandparents all enjoyed it! You are able to feed many of the animals. Many of these allow you to come to the animal’s dwelling and in other cases, the animals come to you (while you are on the bus ride). The grounds are very clean. It was very relaxing and the kids were so happy 😀.