1. Zoo World

1. Zoo World

0

Panama City Beach, FL

Cancel

Open app

Search

Zoo World

3.8 (194 reviews)
Closed 9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Zoo World Photos

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - Zoo World

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Sloth

We paid $90 for two sloth experiences where you could 'pet a sloth'. All we got to do was stare at the sloth which we could've done through the window for free. They do not tell you this when you purchase that if the sloth is sleeping you don't get to touch. AND they sleep like 20 hrs a day. We should've been refunded. I would definitely pick a different encounter

Chunky buddies!
Rebecca M.

This is not your typical big city zoo. It's small but well maintained. They still have plenty of cute animals to go around. They are known for their 15 min encounters with different animals. First time I visited I did the sloth encounter and it was amazing! To be so close and feed these guys was something else! I went back in May of this year (2025) and was sad to discover their enclosure was being remodeled and the encounter for them was unavailable. Im sure it will be nice when their new home is done! The birds were hilarious but be prepared they may land on your head! The gift shop was nice and the parking was free and plentiful

Izzy A.

Fantastic experience feeding the goats, mini donkey, Lamar, deers, birds, giraffe and alligators. Highly recommend this place, is not too big not to small and they have lots of animals. You will have very nice memories with your family.

Sloth experience
Jacey P.

The zoo was very fun! We did the kangaroo and sloth experience. They were very fun and worth the $45. We bought the full food bucket and it was very fun to feed the animals. I would recommend for any age, it was very fun and with the money!

Andrea M.

Went here while visiting PCB, my 7 yo daughter had a great time, she loves animals. You can tell the animals are well taken care of and happy! You also get to feed a lot of them! Very nice experience!

Lemur experience! $45 per person for 15 mins
Deanna H.

Such a fun place! We've been in town for 3 months and have been to Zoo World three times! Just to come as general admission you'll probably spend about an hour checking out all the animals. You can pay $45 per person for a 15 minute experience with animals (lemurs, cabybara, kangaroos, tapir, a baby alligator, etc) which was super fun! There can be long lines, and if you show up after 3pm you may not be admitted (since they close at 4pm). The workers were all nice and the person leading our animal experiences was super knowledgeable!

Tony the giraffe
A S.

Awesome affordable experience when you're tired of the beach! The best part was feeding the budgies and Tony the giraffe! Capybaras are in multiple exhibits and they even have a 15 minute baby experience for an additional $45 if you want to splurge! The staff were friendly and helpful. I definitely recommend this cute zoo.

Lynnsie S.

The rating is based on their ticket system.. there were two lines and the employees didn't know where we should go. It was hot and sunny and we stood there for 15 minutes with about 100 other people before we left. We came back later and their computers moved so slowly we would have been in line for an hour. They should mark the lines for memberships and need to purchase tickets. Once we were inside it was a cute little zoo. It was definitely a little overpriced but we were in a tourist destination so that's why the price was so high.

Fantastic experience! We are a "zoo family" and was unsure of how this one would compare to others since it is a little smaller than the "big city zoos". We had a BLAST! Our kids (2 & 4) loved the interactions with animals, close viewing options/angles, and uniqueness of this zoo. We were satisfied with general admission and only added on the "animal feed combo". Spent around 3 hours in total and revisited the budgie feeding area! Top exhibits/experiences were the giraffe feeding, budgie feeding, lion exhibit, and alligator swamp.

Giraffe feeding
Kevin Y.

Exceeded expectations, small space but lots to do for kids, especially if you go early and are willing to spend on some of the extras. My 3 year old really enjoyed feeding the leaves to the giraffe. Yes it's expensive for lettuce but also a pretty unique experience. We spent about an hour feeding the rest of the animals then onto the birds. Some cool alligator and flamingos to see as well! Perfect 2+ hour activity that was very memorable for both kids.

When I pulled up to this establishment I was weary of what we were getting ourselves into because the outside looked sketchy. Once we walked in we were greeted by friendly staff members. You definitely get your money's worth. We did the kangaroo experience. It was AMAZING! The staff members are so friendly and care for the animals. Would recommend to everyone and hope to go back again!

Pavel V.

I had a very fun time at this zoo. I saw animals not available at my local zoo, and even got to interact with some. The entrance of the zoo is at the gift shop, where you can purchase personal animal experiences with animals such as sloths, kangaroos, and lemurs. These experiences are pricey, and one thing to be cautious of is that some of the experiences don't allow touching the animal, so you're just paying to see them close up. I purchased the sloth experience and luckily got to pet and feed them. You can also purchase food pellets around the park to feed animals throughout the park. This is a more interactive zoo than the others I have experienced, and recommend it if visiting Panama City beach.

Zoo
L F.

It's a nice zoo that seems to be taking good care of their animals. We were there on 1-1-25, the parking lot was full but the zoo really wasn't that crowded inside. It's a great place to bring the whole family.

Parakeet enclosure

See all

1 month ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 months ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 2
Love this 3
Oh no 0

10 days ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 day ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

11 months ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 3
Oh no 2
Photo of Izzy A.
116
72
88

2 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 1

4 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of A S.
29
15
19

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of D F.
53
51
0

4 months ago

We came here before heading to the ocean and it did not disappoint. Loved feeding the emus, llamas, goats, etc. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Ava D.
0
13
13

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of L F.
0
110
32

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Kayte H.

Kayte H.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

It's a Little pricey but definitely one my favorite zoo's ever. I'd definitely go back I would say it's worth the money!

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Robert H.
0
31
106

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of M W.
0
49
11

5 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Dawn V.
162
16
32

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of dan p.
62
67
12

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Curtis H.
11
21
45

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 3
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of Kayte H.

Kayte H.

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 1
Photo of Eric K.
49
48
35

3 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

4 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Page 1 of 5

Ask the Community - Zoo World

How long does it take to get through the zoo?

A couple hours!

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

Review Highlights - Zoo World

We did the Lemur encounter, which I highly recommend if you are not afraid of potentially having one sit on your head.

Mentioned in 8 reviews

Read more highlights

Emerald Coast Zoo

Emerald Coast Zoo

4.7
(58 reviews)
55.6 mi

Great small experience zoo, this isn't your big zoo where they really push spending on you and…read moreeating places. 1/4 of it is designed for you to feed all sorts of animals and have an alpaca cut all the other animals off when feeding them lol. The giraffe feeding was fun and they have a great small display of all sorts of animals. If you want a quick 2 hours zoo and have some kind people to talk to where your time is yours alone. This place is perfect and local.

Every time we go on vacation, we have to find a zoo. The Emerald Coast zoo did not disappoint. You…read morecan tell the animals are well cared for and the zoo grounds are extremely clean and well kept. This does not seem to be the norm with many small family run zoos in the US There is a large variety of animals some of which we've never seen in enlarged shoes and this is one of the few zoos we've been to where the animals are active and almost interact with visitors. While we were there, the lions that are penned together or playful and seemed interested in the humans on the other side of the fence. We fed the giraffes which include a young one who is very adorable. We also had a nice interaction with one of the zoo staff who was cleaning out the porcupine pen. She was very informative and was willing to answer questions about the porcupines and gave us some information about other animals that we would encounter in the zoo. Overall, it was a good experience and we would highly recommend the zoo to people who enjoy learning about animals or just want something different to do. On a fun note we appreciated that the signage told us the names of some of the animals like two emus named Karen and water buffaloes named fast and slow, if you're a fan of Veggietales, you'll get that last reference.

Photos
Spending the day with my friends.
Spending the day with my friends.
Emerald Coast Zoo
Kookaburra

See all

Kookaburra
Gulf World

Gulf World

3.5
(360 reviews)
5.2 mi

Great place for a hands on experience with animals and trainers. Loved getting up close to animals…read moreyou man never see normally. My kids loved the stingray exhibit where you had the opportunity to not only touch them but also feed them ($5). The trainers did wonderful timed presentations on each animal throughout the facility. Loved hearing their names and the back story of how the animals came to the facility. The dolphin exhibit is large with a theater like stadium for shows. They offer swim with the dolphins experience for an extra charge. A concession stand and store for souvenirs also available.

I used to enjoy visiting Gulf World, but my recent experience has left me concerned and…read moredisappointed. Unfortunately, the facility is currently under investigation after the tragic deaths of four dolphins within just six months. This alone raises significant red flags about their animal care practices. Additionally, the water quality was horrifically dirty and unacceptable for any marine facility. It's disheartening to hear reports that they have refused inspection requests from local and state officials, further underscoring a lack of transparency and accountability. Gulf World used to be a lovely place where families could appreciate marine life, but it has taken a turn for the worse. There are many better and more responsible places to support marine conservation. Google the recent drone videos showing the facility and look on local Facebook groups.

Photos
Gulf World
Gulf World
Gulf World

See all

Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park

Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park

3.5
(295 reviews)
50.3 mi

We visited the Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach and absolutely loved it! There was so much to see,…read moreincluding sea turtles, stingrays, penguins, alligators, sea lions, dolphins, and many other amazing animals. One of the things my hubby and I loved the most is that the Gulfarium also serves as a rehabilitation center for marine life. Many animals are treated and released back into the ocean whenever possible, while others that could not survive in the wild are given a safe and caring home. We saw a sea turtle with two missing flippers, which was both heartbreaking and made us happy at the same time since it wouldn't stand a chance to live in the wild. We watched both the sea lion and dolphin shows, and they were great. It was so nice to see that the trainers genuinely care about the animals. The animals were rewarded with plenty of treats, attention, and affection throughout the presentations. My favorite part of the entire visit was seeing the manatees. I had only ever seen them in pictures before, and I completely fell in love. They are such gentle, peaceful, and beautiful creatures. I could have watched them all day!

Here's an updated version with your added feedback included:…read more We visited Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Fort Walton Beach and really enjoyed the self-guided walk through the park. We saw stingrays, dolphins, penguins, manatees, turtles, crocodiles, pelicans, snakes, lizards, frogs, and many other animals. Even though we missed the scheduled shows, there was still plenty to see and enjoy at our own pace. One of the best parts was learning that they care for many rescue animals and help rehabilitate and release them back into the ocean when possible. It was great seeing a place focused on marine animal rescue and conservation. The park was family friendly and easy to walk through, with lots of close-up animal encounters. The reason for 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5 is that some of the animal habitats and viewing areas were not very well maintained. A few tanks had noticeable algae buildup, which made it difficult to clearly see some of the animals. Overall though, we still had a good experience and would recommend visiting if you are in the Fort Walton Beach area.

Photos
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park

See all

Zoo World - zoos - Updated July 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...