Zoomars Petting Zoo

Fun for really little ones. If you want to do the train, gold panning, feed tray, or horseback riding, you have to pay extra. Not worth the money.

We recently held our daughter’s second birthday party at Zoomar’s and could not have been more pleased with how wonderful the experience was! Our large party of 67 was a huge success! Their booking process and follow up with planning was amazing! Checking in was a breeze, they helped with setting up tablecloths, and check out was easy too! Their staff was professional, kind, happy, and so helpful!!! EVERYONE at our party commented on how great the space was and how fun the zoo was! I truly could not have better things to say about throwing our daughter’s bday party at Zoomars!

Too expensive for a small place. $ 10/​adult and $ 8/​child is too much for few animals (guinea pig, llamas, goat, ponies and a rooster). $ 4 for a small basket of vegetables to feed the animals is a rip off. Another rip off was a $ 3 train ride that went around 4 times. You can finish the whole place in 10 minutes. Since we are killing time, we can only last 20 minutes and we have to leave. The best part of it was the playground that you can get for free in a park.

My husband and I decided to take our two year to Zoomars when the weather was too gloomy for the beach. Parking is scarce and was not clearly marked. Although our son had a great time, the price for the zoo is too steep. For starters, the zoo is small, each activity has an extra cost (train, pony ride, feed basket) and thier are no bathrooms on site. Great for a toddler and worth checking out but there are far better places to visit in Orange County.

Very busy. I recommend if you go on the weekends to go early. The ladies were very sweet. They offer pony rides and and horse riding and animals galore to pet and feed. My daughter is 18 months old and she loved it!

We had family get together cookout, birthday party for my grandson, yesterday and can’t say enough good things about the people who work this place. There’s so much for the kids to do, pony rides, petting zoo, jungle gym setup, there’s plenty of activities for them to have fun. The employees couldn’t be more helpful unloading, then later reloading our cars and helping cleanup our cookout area. Plenty of space for a good size family party, gas grills, refrigerators, lots of seating, all in all amazing set up to help guests enjoy the day. It was a fun filled 3 hours and one that I recommend to anyone planning a special event of this type. Can’t thank them enough.

We LOVE Zoomars! Came here for a first birthday party and it was amazing! We’ve been back a few times since and my kiddos always have fun! There’s enough to keep you busy for a full morning; petting/​brushing the goats, feeding the rabbits, Guinea pigs, goats, holding the Guinea pigs, riding the train, riding the horses, playing in the corn pit, playing on the playground and panning for «gold». My toddler absolutely loves this place and we took my 11 month old for the first time last week and he had a blast too. If you’ve never been here, check it out! It’s worth the drive. Oh, and make sure you check Groupon for specials and check in on Unilocal to get your free train ride!

I’m an adult and went with a friend since I love goats. Yes. I’m being honest. We had a blast. The goats were so friendly and the other animals were cute too.
I do have some cons but most wouldn’t stop me from going again. It’s fairly pricy, $ 10/​adult $ 8/​kid. There were alot of closed attractions. They are currently remodeling so many areas were closed off. One staff member was really rude and ruined the whole experience.
However, my biggest concern was rumors I heard of animal abuse or mistreatment. I’m a huge animal lover and even rumors of mistreatment make me stop wanting to go here ever again. I didn’t witness any mistreatment during my visit but would love to hear the company comments on other posts of animal mistreatment until that time I do have mixed feelings about this place.

It’s possible that the rain is at fault for how underwhelming this place was, but I can’t see myself going back anytime soon. We arrived on a Friday morning at 9am. The open areas to actually walk into were the Guinea pigs and goats. You could also feed the rabbits, pigs, and llamas. There was no way to get to the horses unless you paid for a pony ride, and the ostrich could only be viewed from afar.
The signage could definitely be better — I was confused about which gates we were allowed to enter through and which we weren’t, but the staff was friendly enough when we accidentally walked through an employee only area. Big minus points for multiple antibacterial hand gel stations being out of soap.
It was fun to get in close and feed the Guinea pigs and to see the other animals, but I guess I was just a little disappointed by the size of the place. I anticipated more animals and the opportunity to get closer to some of the animals — like the horses. We had a fun time and our kids enjoyed it, but I don’t feel like the quality of the experience quite matched the price.

I had no idea there was a petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano! My family and I had a great experience! It was my first time visiting a proper petting zoo so I really don’t have anything to compare it to. I thought there was a good variety and amount of animals and the value for the Groupon I used was great. We were greeted in a friendly manner upon arriving to the entrance gate. The cashier was efficient and pleasant. We had fun feeding the animals the fresh veggies that were included in the Groupon deal.
What I really want to highlight is the «Gold Panning» experience. This had an extra cost of $ 8 and it was worth every penny to see the enthusiasm my nephew had when participating in the activity. I attribute this, in part, to his interest in rocks, geodes and crystals, which is what kids are «panning» for. The other, more important, component to this activity being so memorable and special is Gianna. She runs the «panning» operation! My whole family was sincerely touched at her personalized care and attention to our nephew (and every kiddo who participated in this activity). She listened attentively to our nephew and his honestly shared in his excitement of finding neat rocks and crystals in the pans/​screens. Gianna made sure to tell our nephew what each rock/​crystal was called. Again, Gianna’s personal attention and kindness really made my whole family’s day! Zoomars is extremely lucky to have her as an employee. We can’t wait to visit again.

Pros:
Fair prices
A fair amount of animals to feed and pet
Not crowded (even on a Sunday)
Private events available
Great location (Metrolink station, coffee houses, restaurants, etc.)
Small gift shop
Small playground
Small train
Cons:
None (even the porta potties are fairly clean)

Came here for a kids 2 year old party, it was my first time at Zoomars. If I had children I would probably take them here at one point but I would much rather go somewhere MUCH nicer like Irvine Park A few things though, with how many animals there are (not that many) being surrounded by little kids you would think the staff would be cleaning it more frequently. Also the staff didn’t seem to be walking around to check on things, it was more of a chaotic free for all. And finally there are no restrooms here other than porta potties UGH!!! They did say that there was a restroom in a coffee shop down the block, I guess that helps so they don’t have their own restroom to clean.
If you don’t have kids it’s stinky, dirty, small with no toilets. However im sure kids love it.

Bought a groupon and decided to take my kids on a Saturday afternoon. They both had a great time feeding the different animals. They had the most fun with the guinea pigs. My kids are only 21 months, so were still a bit intimidated by the goats. After feeding the animals, we moved along to the corn pit which my kids also enjoyed. I didn’t like the other older children catapulting in the pit with the younger kids around. There was also no employees to enforce the pit rules so if you have a younger one, make sure to keep a close eye.
Otherwise staff was really nice and went out of their way so you have a great experience.
Its a fairly small petting zoo, so I would set aside maybe an hour max. I took 1 star off becase it was so incredibly hard to find. GPS did not help. We just circled around until we saw people walking in that direction.

I have visited ZOOMARS almost every weekend for several years, but have never paid to go inside because I was usually walking Kaya and she just loved to see the alpacas and llamas (can’t say the alpacas felt the same about seeing her).
ZOOMARS has been in business for over 30 years and 3 million plus people have visited during this time. In 1776, the 2 acre site was part of the Mission San Juan Capistrano and in the 1800’s two homes were built on the property near the train tracks. Defina Olivares moved onto the property in 1947, raising chicken and boarding horses until 1976 when she passed away. Gil and Millie Jones bought the property in 1980 and started The Jones Family Mini Farm with a pig, llamas, goats and guinea pigs. In 2005, the Jones retired and sold the farm to Carolyn Franks, who renamed the popular landmark ZOOMARS.
From the ZOOMARS website: «We believe that being with animals makes us better people. We believe that spending time with family and friends makes the world a better place. We believe that fresh air, sunshine, celebrations and laughter are good for the soul. That’s why we’re here.»
The prices break down as follows:
(
)
$ 10 for Adults
$ 9 for Seniors
$ 8 for Children
$ 7 for Military
$ 5 for Horse and Pony Rides
$ 4 for Animal Feed (You are not allowed to bring your own Animal Feed)
$ 3 for Mini Train Ride
$ 8 — $ 10 for Gemstone and Fossil Bags
$ 20 for Gold Panning Kit
There are also a ZAP Pass (18 admissions at $ 7 per admission), CHEEP Pass (25 percent discount on 10 admissions, 8 feed baskets, 5 pony rides and 5 train rides) and discounts for parties of 20 or larger.
Rohlinism: You can’t place a price on a child’s happiness, but it doesn’t hurt to get a discount!
ZOOMARS has several animals available for interactions including Llamas (
), Kunekune pigs (
), Goats, Sheep, Chickens, Alpacas (
), Cows, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Donkeys and an Emu.
If you want some interaction without paying the entrance fee, you can walk along the fence and usually a llama will come up and say «hello.» You are more likely to have a llama encounter if you are walking a dog and the alpacas are a little skittish and you probably won’t get their attention unless you have a basket of food.
There is also a playground (
) for the kids and some picnic benches (
) available for special events. Special events seem to be ZOOMARS bread and butter, I have been going to the Historic District for years and can count on one hand the times I haven’t seen someone setting up for a birthday /​event when walking through ZOOMARS. I am not sure how much is costs to reserve the picnic tables (probably can find pricing online), but I know they allow you to cater your own food.
The staff at ZOOMARS seems very friendly for the most part and they do a very good job of keeping the area clean and the smell isn’t nearly as bad as you would expect!
The main detractor for ZOOMARS is the attractions are geared towards children. I think the majority of the excitement for adults is watching their children interact with all the animals.
If your children are preteen and interested in animals, I would recommend taking a trip to ZOOMARS and let them have some fun down on the farm!

We ran across this petting zoo while strolling through the neighborhood! It’s not very eye-​catching and you won’t be able to see it from the main road. We only ventured down this foot path because there was a sign with stars on it pointing in the direction of the petting zoo, not even a real sign!
The animals here are SOO CUTE. They have horses, llamas, bunnies, chickens, guinea pigs, goats, and even an ostrich! It’s free to walk around, but I think you have to pay to go inside and play with the animals. Your kids can even get mini horseback rides!
There’s a playground right next to the petting zoo and even a train ride for the kids. Check in on Unilocal for a free ride!

I know this place is really meant for little kids and babies with families… but I have no shame and totally admit I had tons of fun here! The fun isn’t just limited to toddlers so as long as you love animals, this is a fun place to be, besides going to the zoo.
What you’ll get to see/​play with: guinea pigs, bunnies, goats, alpacas/​llamas, pigs, sheep, and some chickens! You can also get some veggie baskets to feed the animals. Be very careful when entering any of the animal pens, especially them goats, because they’re surprisingly strong and know how to get past the fence when given the right opportunity! Sneaky sneaky.
Overall, a fun little activity in this small touristy area next to Mission San Juan Capistrano. Take your little ones or spend a date here! It feels good to be like a kid again :)

My husband and I made a last minute decision to take our two toddlers to Zoomars on a Saturday morning (3÷19÷16).
I was concerned there would be tons of people with spring breaks approaching, birthdays, and whatnot, but it wasn’t that bad even at around 10:30 a.m.
In fact, the only two complaints I have are 1) the parking and 2) lack of real restrooms.
PARKING
There are a few different lots if the main one is packed. We ended up at a gravel lot just beyond the Los Rios Park. It had free parking up to 5 hours.
RESTROOMS
Porta-​potties are available near the Zoomars parking lot. We used the mostly clean restrooms at the Los Rios Park. It had a baby changing station, but no paper towels and I didn’t see a hand dryer. ALSO, there is a baby changing station near the sink at Zoomars, but it’s kind of out in the open. These situations combined aren’t that swell for a potty-​training toddler, but luckily the guinea pigs and corn pit were a huge distraction.
GREAT FOR TODDLERS
This petting zoo is fantastic — aside from the restroom situation — for toddlers and lower grade school children. Our own kids, ages 1 and 2, could have spent more than the two hours that we did there, but I would imagine that any child older than about 6 would become bored by then.
There were numerous animals… Guinea pigs for days — DAYS! Also… a chicken, rabbits, pigs, alpacas, goats, a sheep, cows & donkeys.
There is also a dry corn pit, playground, horse rides, train rides, craft activities, gold panning… most at an extra charge.
EMPLOYEES
They were all friendly and showed great care for the animals.
TIPS
— it can get fairly pricey without a Groupon or other deal
— $ 4 for a basket of veggies
— wear jeans and comfortable shoes… after all it is a farm
— hand sanitizers are in various places plus there is a very large sink with plenty of soap & towels near the guinea pig pen
OVERALL
I grew up on a farm. Had my own horse. My own kids will probably never get the chance to do the things I did, but aside from that I would definitely recommend taking your city kids here. It would be a great venue for a birthday party plus it’s well-​maintained. I can understand where Dale P. is coming from in his review from 11÷2÷15, but it wasn’t THAT melancholy.
Review #457
’16 Challenge #20

Zoomars is a guaranteed good time for toddler-​aged kids. Not great for babies or the teen crowd. They can get hands-​on with guinea pigs and chickens in the feeding corral, feed goats and bunnies and lamas through a fence, and play in the giant corn kernel bin. There’s also a playground, which has no shade, and a panning for gold exhibit — that I’ve never seen actually open and functioning. You can pay extra for pony rides and an extremely dinky train that just goes around in a circle. Please note that there is NO BATHROOM on site, you’ll have to use the park restroom next door, kind of a annoying … Also, don’t be a fool and pay full price, there’s always a groupon or living social deal for this place, so check before you go. Have fun!

Well organized for day trips and parties
This was our first time here– came for a birthday party with the kids. The location is great– you can either take the train if you live out of town or park in the public parking structure near the train station.
There are a number of activities to do besides just petting animals– «panning» for jewels, riding ponies, train ride, feeding veggies to animals, etc.
Just be prepared to pay for all these «extras”– each item is an average of $ 3 – 5 so it adds up. We paid for the pony ride– it was very cute and provided a nice photo op.
My only big complaint was the restrooms– oh yeah. There aren’t any restrooms. Just outhouses. Which happened to be very dirty and literally full. My potty-​training preschooler refused to go– no wonder!
So it’s a nice place to visit now and then– find a discount before you go!

3.5 Stars for Zoomars!
I had heard mixed reviews on Zoomars and after having it on my list of places to go with my kids for years, we finally tried it.
There were some things that I really liked about it:
— Super clean. Hand sanitizer dispensers all over and a huge hand washing station. Employees were constantly sweeping up poop in the different animal corrals.
— Good variety of animals. Chickens, rabbits, an emu, ponies, miniature ponies, llamas, guinea pigs, cows, pigs, goats, and the classic donkey painted to look like a zebra ;)
— Really friendly employees. Happy to help, even without being asked. We were in the guinea pig area and my boys were trying to get a guinea pig’s attention, and an employee just appeared, carrying one and put it right down next to my kids.
— Animals seem happy and well taken care of.
— Train ride! Worth the $ 3 and then some! I think it was the longest train ride my kids have ever been on. I expected it to go around 3 – 5 times, but the thing kept going and going and going.
Things that were not so hot:
— Admission price. Kinda steep, in my opinion, at $ 10 for adults, $ 8 for kids, especially considering there isn’t really much to do inside, that doesn’t also cost money (train, panning for gold, feeding animals, pony rides). The only free things were just petting the animals and playing on the play structure, which are fun, but shouldn’t cost that much. $ 5 and $ 3 or $ 4, respectively seems little more appropriate.
— Not a ton to do. After about 1 ½ hours, my kids were bored and ready to go.
Bottom line is there are some great things about Zoomars and I think it is fun, once. But probably not somewhere we will go for frequent visits.