Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose

This place was so much fun! I had the best time! I went on my birthday and it was just incredible. They say only to feed the giraffes by hand, but we fed everything by hand that would take it from us. Other than getting a fairly nasty bite from a zebra, it was a blast! All the animals are very gentle. The only one not to feed by hand is the zebra. But, it is something worth talking about. Honestly, I didn't mind getting bit because I just had so much fun!

I wish I could have rated the animals, but we never got that far. We arrived at the front gate at 3:30pm on a Wednesday in the winter, which their website clearly says that they close the gates at 3:29pm, but there was no one to be found so I figured that maybe we'd still get a chance to get through in time by going through the exit. Got to the Admin building and it was locked tight with no lights on at 3:33pm. I was pretty frustrated because there were obviously people still in the park. Out from the locked building emerges a woman with a bad attitude who tells me that the park is closed and they just sent the last car through. I asked if she could make an exception because we drove out from the DFW area, which she replied, "No, sorry (not really from her face) but our website says 3:29pm." I again pleaded because it was my wife's birthday today. Again she replied, "No, sorry (not really from her face) but our website says 3:29pm." But our iPhones say it's 3:33pm which she replied, "No, sorry (not really from her face) but our website says 3:29pm." and then closed and locked the door she emerged from. We drove home sad; myself, my wife, my 2 girls and my mother-in-law. So I did what anyone would do, I wrote a letter on their website: "I'm so glad that your organization is doing so well that you can turn away customers during your normal winter hours. We had just arrived today from Plano at 3:25pm and your front gate was already locked. After driving through the exit and arriving on at your office, that was locked too. A short time later an unfriendly woman, with an ungodly amount of eye makeup on, greeted me and told me that the last car of the day had just gone into your park. How can this be? "Sorry, but it's our hours are on the web" is all she said. Even when I pleaded that we had driven 2.5 hours from Plano because my wife wanted to visit your park on her BIRTHDAY!!! So, I am very pleased that you are doing so well. I will make sure to tell all my friends on Facebook, Yelp and all other social media and in person that you are no longer in need of any donations from anyone. Congrats." After the Director of Tourism replied to this as we are sorry you had a rude employee but our hours are posted on the website. Then later I received an email from the SAME RUDE LADY!!! She, not only misspelled my name (grr), proceeded to repeat the hours of their operation and tell me that the security cameras have me clocked into the gate at 3:35pm. Pissed is not the word I would use for how I feel about their organization at this moment and I would strongly deter anyone else who might be wanting to make the trek out there.

This is a great place to visit and take the kids. It is a two hour drive from Fortworth area but was worth getting there. we have been there three times this year with family and friends. Had a great experience, except the last incident in the evening that ruined the drive back home. The park closes at 7.30. We were at the gates, getting ready to drive out at 7.32. The manager started screaming at the ten plus cars getting ready to leave the parking lot and exit the gates.....to get off .I think her name is Patty....the property manager is......totally mean, and has a bad attitude, and was screaming non stop........i can still recall her saying....get off the property...you have one minute or i will call the police. ..................WE TRAVEL A LOT AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A WORST EXPERIENCE THAN THIS FOR BEING LATE BY ONE MINUTE.....THEY ALSO DID NOT LET TWO MINORITY GIRLS WANTING TO USE THE RESTROOM IN, WHILE LET A WHITE COUPLE IN FEW MINUTES LATER TO USE THE RESTROOM.........cant believe my opinion would change so fast off a place, we visited three times in the past three months....and recommended to friends...spend almost 500 dollars and one mean manager would ruin your experience.......will not recommmend to anyone in the future....especially minorities......

if you wanna go i advise you go in the morning, like as soon as they open. it s the best time. mainly only because the animaly are getting hungry do to the fact that no one is there at night. but yes its a wonderfull experience we got to have 3girafes actualy come up to our car and ate from our hands. there were a lot of zebras and what not and then there were some ostrages that attacked our car while we were there.

I went with my two children and we had a great time. We went on a Friday morning and took the 10am guided tour. It was nice because while the bus was open aired, it had a canopy which I was not expecting and it was nice to be in the shade. The tour is expensive, but it was worth it for us. I must admit that I was a bit relieved to not be driving the hilly roads myself. It was not crowded at all and we saw lots and lots of animals and we got to feed giraffes and deer by hand and see ostriches way up close! The guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. Afterwards, we ate at the overview cafe and it was good. We also took the nature trail which took about 20 minutes- it is at the overview also.

We were so disppointed with Fossil Rim. Extremely long waits that had us sitting in the hot car sweating and looking at nothing at times. To make it worse we only saw deers and an ostrich. Not worth it. an aquarium or local zoo would have been better.

We enjoyed the experience very much. The zebras were the most fun. I highly recommend the trip. It was well worth the money and the time. The park is very rustic and beautiful and we didn't want it to end.

Fossil Rim is a unique experience. We took the "Behind the Scences" tour and enjoyed every minute. Even though it was hot, we still had fun. Be prepared to get dusty. I would bring anti-bacterial gel or wipes if I ever visit again. We're glad we brought bottled water too. We saw all the animals they mention on the web site. If I'm ever in the Dallas area again, I would do this again!

Well worth the money! It took 1 1/2 hours to go thru the park. Animals actually came up to the car and ate. We ran out of feed at the end. Highly recommend visiting the park, if you like wild animals.