Franklin Drive Thru Reviews

Several animals were limping or had some sort of injury. Many looked sick. Very sad for the animals. Wasn't enjoying it. Only felt bad for the animals. Cages were really dirty and small. Gift shop was nasty. Bathroom had no soap or paper towels. No one seemed to be caring for these poor animals. Wish there was something I could do for them.

Had a great time. Nice variety of animals. A little pricey though.

This is my favorite zoo!! i wouldn't go anywhere else just love all the animals especially the baby room where you can actually hold them .i couldn't imagine a better family day .we enjoyed it so much and plan to come a few times a year .the people working there are kind and amazing as well .Thank you for all the love you show to eachother and the animals. They are truly Blessed to have each one of you .God Bless you all.

Had a great time! You should definitely go into the baby room it's precious!!!!

Came here with the fam after seeing good reviews, was first time coming here and was not impressed. No toliet paper in bathroom, and it was fithy. Had to wait an hr30 as they let to many people in at the same time had over 200 cars in and was bumper to bumper. Feed was in a very small cup that the animals could not eat out of i they ate it at all. Maybe it would b better in the morning.

Super fun and warning don't feed the camel's because they will follow you around the whole thing feeding the monkies was fun so many activities

My 6 year old granddaughter enjoyed it, but it was stressful driving through park as the animals big and small just stopped in middle of road. Don't think we saw all the animals they show listed. Regardless it was fun to go and see.

Awesome day spent here. So much care to animals from caretaker. I would highly recommend this incredible place to all. We had some much fun. The price is right also, lots of things to see, better than zoo, you can see animals up close take pictures. Highly recommend. Loved it !

If you like the outdoors and feeding animals this place is for you

Not bad for a drive through safari out in the country. Kids loved it, pet a zebra, pretty neat.

Awesome place to take the whole family put it in your to do list

So much fun for the kids. Lots of interaction with the animls!

I am unsure how they treat the animals on site, however they have not guaranteed safety for their animals when "loaning" them to reality tv shows. The following is about a zebra "loaned" from Franklin Drive Thru Safari to the animal planet show 'Call of the Wildman':

"The Woozy Zebra and the Wild Mink
In another Texas-based episode, Lone Stars and Stripes, Turtleman chases a zebra that has supposedly escaped from its fenced-in yard at a ranch. He rides in hot pursuit of the animal in the flatbed of his pickup, brandishing a lasso; eventually he corners the zebra and tackles it.

But behind the scenes, things were far murkier. Production sources told me that the zebra seemed woozy during filming; it could barely walk. Animal Planet and Sharp obtained the zebra from the Franklin Drive Thru Safari, an animal park run by a businessman named Jason Clay. In a phone interview, Clay confirmed that he supplied the zebra, but denied using sedatives. Clay is licensed under the federal regulations for animal exhibitors, which specify that drugs, such as tranquilizers, shall not be used to facilitate, allow, or provide for public handling of the animals, and that handling of animals should not cause trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, or unnecessary discomfort.

Despite Clay s denial, Animal Planet and Sharp confirmed to Mother Jones that the zebra was drugged before filming, but they say it happened behind their backs. However, Jamie and other sources say that the crew was aware of the zebra s sedation during filming, especially since the animal nearly fell over several times. I heard about the zebra being almost unusable, says another source. They sedated it, to get it to be less crazy. Another confirmed that the zebra looked out of it. Animal Planet admits that producers used an additional, unsedated zebra for supplemental footage."

Full Article "Drugs, Death, Neglect: Behind the Scenes at Animal Planet" can be found at mother jones.

The drive through is short, but the experience is great!
Our first time in a safari and we loved it.
Entrance is $15 per person, the feeding bucket is $5 (it's not bad and the bucket is big).
The camels are really friendly, one got his head the car while we were looking at the opposite direction.
We will come again next time we are in Texas.

We loved it...great experience...nice people..its worth the drive & the money..

My family loved this place. We laughed an had the best time ever!

excellent experience, up close & personal with a large variety of well cared for animals, most of which you can feed right out of your hand. Giraffes were really cool. $15 entry per person, lettuce leaves a $1 each to feed giraffes. Feed buckets were $5, for other animals.

Loved it so much and can't wait to go back. Went to the baby room and got to play with some baby lemurs and a macaque. So much fun driving thru the safari and feeding the animals that came up. Can't wait to go again.

I'm not sure how to feel. Yes, it was nice seeing the different animals, but I hated having to explain to my 8 year old why the animals were so skinny, and a few were injured and limping. Some were so bad they just layed there not moving other than the rise and fall of their chest. They seem to have overwhelmed themselves in too many animals. If they had less animals they could afford proper food and vet care when necessary. It really would be an awesome place if they cut back on animals, added fresh hay that the animals that are to scared to come up to the car could eat so they aren't starving. Maybe if they added some fresh fruit trees they could use them to feed the animals too. There are so many things they could change just a little and become an amazing place.

We love this very nice place for children and adults.

Amazing experience. The animals came right up to my car and ate out of my hand! The staff was also friendly and the animals looked well cared for. Price was also not too shabby for the whole experience. Will return.

We do everything every time we go and can t get enough of how amazing it is, by far my favorite place to visit

Awesome place! Pay the money to go in the baby room. So worth it!

It was definitely fun and suggest everyone to try at least once... the only thing didn't like about it was the situation of animals living in the cages! Specially in the hot weather and they don't seem really happy.... i wish there was no animals in the cage! Or at least i wish they had more trees in the cages...

If you value your vehicle do not, do not, do not, bring it here. If u have an old beater that would be great for this. They have a lot of different animals and it is a very good experience for children

It was a cool thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. I was alone so was hard getting good pics and videos and managing driving while feeding animals. It was kind of scary how the animals came right up to you poking their heads in the car for food. I'd go again with company next time.

Went with my wife for a little honeymoon trip and it was amazing. Animals get so close that they even put their heads and noses inside the car if you let them. They also have giraffes you can feed

Was an AWESOME experience for both kids and parents alike!

The kids loved it. Get an extra bowl of food because you can never have enough. The animals are definitely car and ppl friendly.

Great for groups! Staff was friendly, knowledgable, and gave a very entertaining group tour - Lots to see!

Best drive through zoo with tons to do out of the car

LOVED the Franklin Drive Thru Safari! A lot of the animals came up to be fed! The giraffes at the gift shop we're awesome. The baby giraffe kept chewing on my hair and shirt! So cute!!

Amazing place for families and couples or just a get away with the crew. Always fun and exciting and new critters appearing. A must see if just passing through or if you have time. The staff are full of energy and helpful.

This is our absolute favorite place to visit! We've been probably close to 15 times in the 2 years since we found it. This place is so interactive and reasonably priced! When you enter the zoo you park your car and go to the gift shop to buy buckets of feed for the safari or special feed for the giraffes and monkeys. You can also get special tickets to go into the baby room there. It's a 15 minute experience but you're in a full of animal babies that you get to oet and play with, so worth it! We always walk around after getting our feed and see the exhibits they have and then drive through the safari part. You drive your own vehicle through the safari so you are able to spend as much time with the animals of your choosing as you want! You also have the option of driving through the safari as many times as you like if you feel you missed something or just weren't ready to go. When we are finished driving I always take the kids to the petting zoo area which is generally goats and occasionally small deer to let them run around for a little before we drive home. There's a little playground too the kids always love playing on! I recommend this place to everyone! Its definitely an unique experience everyone should have at least once!!

It was ok. Signs were not placed telling you which way to drive. Does the road continue or does the road end??? Restrooms were unclean and horrible!!! First and last time there.

Hands-down one of the best places to take your kids take your cameras because you will make memories that you won t wanna forget!! The staff was super friendly and nice it took about an hour to get through the whole thing

It is definitely worth going to and doing some thing with your family!!!

Great Place for kids who love animals or if your just looking for a drive and some adventures.

For the people complaining about the well being of the animals They are all very well taken care of. I am an exotic animal owner myself. You should speak to one of the 10+ caretakers that are there. You probably don't notice them because they are dressed like everyone else and are caring for the animals all day. This park is family owned and operated. The kids you see helping out at the front or in the baby room literally grew up in this park. The family lives way in the back where there are also several more acres for all of the animals to go. It is a family run business. Being an animal caretaker is in their blood. What you pick up on in 45 minutes of driving through the park and looking for things to be wrong is invalid.

This park saves animals that are unwanted by hunting ranches and breeders or that have been abused. That is why you will see deformed horns, broken tails, or other problems. These animals were either born that way or poorly taken care of by their previous owners. For Someone to expect all animals to be beautiful and perfect is the same as expecting every human to be be beautiful and perfect. Let me also add that all hoofed animals (buffalo, camel, cows, zebra, deer etc) scratch on trees and rocks to itch themselves. They always cause wounds on themselves and there is nothing anyone can do about that. It happens in the wild and in captivity.

Yes, some of the primates have smaller cages but I have personally experienced after hours when the otters and tame primates get "play time." There is no way that you could have these animals out of their cages all day without them fighting each other or hurting one of the guests. Lemurs and monkeys are VERY smart. Too smart for their own good. During the open hours, these animals have to be caged to keep them safe and to keep the guests safe. They don't mind it. it is their comfort zone. Their cage is their home. We all have homes right? These animals grew up in a home (cage). To let them out in the wild would be like a human being homeless. In fact, in the wild, most primates live in a small group inside a small territory. They expand their territory by fighting neighboring groups in other territories when food is scares. Guess what though The primates at Franklin's get more than enough food so there is no desire for more room to live.

Please do more research before you spout off wrong information. I realize that raising exotic animals is not everyones expertise, but don't assume and make irrational accusations about the wellbeing of animals unless you know your facts. These comments are uneducated. They remind me of someone walking into a school and seeing a few kids with scratches on their knee and assuming that their parents abuse them. That is ridiculous. When you assume, you make an ass out of yourself End Rant.

This place was amazing. Having a special needs child and being able to show him the animals this close with no crowds. He was able to feed the giraffes from the platform and loved it. Thank you for such a great place.

Great family fun. Tons on unique and exotic animals to feed. Didn t buy enough food first time thru. Giraffe exhibit was awesome. Can t wait to take family back again.

Had a blast. Enjoyed seeing all the animals. Took my 15 year old granddaughter and it was a day to remember.

It was really nice, my lill one got a chance to feed & pet the animals. We had a nice time there.

Very family friendly and an entertaining way to spend the day

Great family outing especially during a pandemic. Drive thru in own vehicle. Great variety of animals. Watch out for the emus and ostrich they will get all in your face. Had a blast. The feed is$2 a cup we got 4 and that lasted

This was a fun place to go for a day trip. There are extra things to here besides the safari itself. The baby room was a fun little extra that we paid for, there was a couple of monkeys, lemurs, armadillos and a few others. I don't recall seeing anything to eat there, so either pack a lunch or call them to see if they have anything.

Loved it. A great place for kids to see animals up close. Seemed a little pricey for 15.00 per person (all ages). Lettuce was 1.00 per leaf.

Mixed review here - I'll start with the bad. I wouldn't recommend the so called "Baby Room." One of the ring tailed lemurs jumped onto my daughter's face and scratched her quite badly. They do tell you that you may be scratched, but I was thinking it would be from little baby claws. These seemed to be adults or close to adults, and they were fairly food aggressive. We're no novices when it comes to animals and we understand that scratches happen, but having animals that jump onto to people to grab food was not what I was expecting.

The rest of the afternoon was a lot of fun. We paid for a guided tour and I think it was well worth the cost. Our guide was knowledgeable and could often give us stories about individual animals. She did her best to get us as close as she could and I think we saw some animals and sites that we never would have if we had been driving ourselves. The animals seemed to be in good condition.

I'd go again, and I'd probably even pay for the guided tour again, but not the baby room.

The drive through part was alright, could definitely use some parasite control and better animal enrichment. The "baby room" is basically animal cruelty. Small room, filthy, and stressed out juvenile animals.

I went with a group of veterinary students, we were not impressed

A spectacular place for adults and children. You don't have to get out of your car unless you want to go buy reminders. Children are free. Not only are the animals divine and free but also the place is a paradise, full of trees and shade
Very well cared for and very friendly employees. I recommend it 100%

This place was so fun Good service and polite kind people

I always love coming here. Connecting with the animals and playing with them in the baby room is always a great time. Bringing a group of friends to walk around and feed grapes to monkeys is so fun and watching the monkeys swing and climb around is cute too.
I wish I could work here, seems like heaven to me.

If you get to meet Popcorn, you're in for a treat!

There are a lot of animals to feed. Sons first time and he was thrilled by the experience.

It was fun loved the experience. Just wish they took better care of their animals. When I went I saw very sickly animals. And and animal with its horn growing downward into its eye and infected. They had plenty of business and seem to thrive with customers. DO BETTER in taking care of you animals if your going to have them!!!

I went to the zoo may right after mothers day.. I had no traffic.. I also had fun.. I cant wait to go back... The kids had fun as well...
We also bought there food for the animals. It was fun with the car full of family and with the animals....

Eventhough it was raining the whole time, the kids had a blast. Highly recommended.

I do not recommend this place. The first reason is because the people at the gift shop are quite rude and disrespectful. We were feeding Cheerios to the monkeys and you couldn t even throw it to the cage because it wouldn t reach. There are flies everywhere . And almost every animal has a ton on flies on them. Makes me feel sorry for them. One animal seemed as if though it has an eye infection. It is not worth going to the baby room. There are huge swarms of flies in there and all different baby animals are stuck in a small room with barely any sunlight. It was nice looking at different animals but overall disappointed with the service and how the baby room is.

Extremely mean people. We drove 3 hours to get there and only 8 mins late but they didnt take us in. They took all other cars but not ours. Extremely mean and disrespectful people.

Entry for 3: $54 ($18ea)
Feedcups for 3: $6 ($2 ea)
Feed bucket for giraffes: $5 or $1 PER LEAF

PROS: We honestly enjoyed our visit. There was a huge variety of animals on the driving trail and the staff that we encountered were genuinely friendly. It was amazing seeing so many exotic animals up close and I liked how much land there was for them to roam. So much better than animals being cooped up in cages like in a traditional zoo. And if you drove from ATX, the scenery to and from the safari will be an added bonus.

CONS: The water that the animals had to drink/swim in was a cesspool! I was legitimately concerned because it was green and murky. Also, some animals seem to be fed better than others and that bothered me. In general they look well taken care of, but the longhorns and a couple of regular cows looked emaciated. I shouldn't be able to see such a huge beast's ribcage! It made me question if the food from guests is the only food they get. Also, I felt bad for the animals near the end of the safari because by the time you make it through you're all out of food. Also, the gift shop smelled like manure.

Soooo FUN! We came with no expectations. Just thought it would be a cool little day trip for the fam. The animals were up close and friendly. I definately recommend driving a truck or suv through the park. Its gravel and a little bumpy in some places. We fed the giraffes and held the baby animals (which cost extra but it very worth it).

So fun! All kinds of animals walk right up to your vehicle (and peek in) and eat out of your hand! 15$ a person but worth it!

Affordable and not so crowed. You really interact with the animals.

Great Zoo! Enjoy the animals and atmosphere. Will definitely be going back great family activity to do to get out of the house.

It's a really nice place to take your kids to. Llama, zebra, deer, monkeys, snakes, parrots giraffes you can feed lettuce to ($1 a peice) it's $15 a person and $5 per bucket of feed. The baby petting room is also $15 a person there are side trails you can take ( one was closed when we went the other was a no feeding zone with some awesome bulls and water buffalo). The llamas are a little pushy . Over all it's a really nice place that you can stay in your car and drive around ( when it's hot and you don't want to do the whole walking around thing ) . The bathrooms could use .... Work ....

Very cool place. Fun environment and the kids loved it. Less than friendly staff in my opinion so taking one star but still a fun day.

We're from about 4 hours out of town and this is our second time coming and we love it. Pretty, wide open spaces for plenty of room for the critters to roam. We'll be back for sure!

The animals were great. The people working there were friendly and attentive. 45$ for 3 people was a little steap but i think it was worth it. You're not forced to buy feed but i suggest it. You can also buy lettuce for one dollar per head, and you can feed the giraffes. It was amazing seeing these animals because you can never see them anywhere else unless you travel immensely or own your zoo. Go when its 70 and above that will make it more enjoyable. If you're up for the price i recommend it.

Great place for clean family fun!!!! You get to feed giraffes!!!!

Drive-thru was packed with greedy critters who fear not your vehicle. This was the best part of the trip. Other areas were okay, but below average compared to other similar destinations.

I highly recommend this safari! We had so much fun. Compared to other safaris this is reasonably priced and has a lot of animals. One of my favorite things was the baby room. They had a beautiful baby monkey. Also you can feed the giraffes. Its an incredible experience.The customer service is excellent. The lady who was attending us was very nice and sweet. Inside the gift shop they had their great dane! Such a beautiful dog. Planning on going back with a big group soon!

A nice place, but every year they keep increasing the prices, and have no discount for kids

The animals in the safari were very calm. compared to other places I went they had more animals but the animals were pretty distant here. I really enjoyed the baby room it was worth the extra bucks.

A-MA-ZI-NNNNNG!! We had baby lemurs playing with our hair, gently biting the fingers and licking ears. Get the tickets to baby animals room, and get there early, before the crowds. You will love it!
And we fed from our hands bunch of zebras, yacks, deers, camels, ponies and donkeys! They love tourists on cars, and they all want your attention.
Giraffes are super friendly and lovely .
The staff is absolutely fantastic. They made our day! Thank you guys for awesome work!

I had so much fun. The staff is amazing and the animals are friendly and well taken care of. Speaking with the employees they love their jobs and enjoy being around all the exotic animals as much as we did. Even tho it was over a 3 hour drive, it was completely worth the experience and we can't wait to go back.