On Father’s Day 2025 we had the chance to experience the Discovery Tours – Swamp Tour at Wild Adventures Theme Park. This is not a “tour” in the traditional sense where you’ll be walking around, but instead a small and intimate show limited to just 20 people where you’ll have the chance to see, touch, feed and hold some of the park’s amazing animal ambassadors. It really feels more like an animal encounter than a show. However, instead of just one animal, you’ll get to meet several. From feeding an African bullfrog to holding a snake, you’ll certainly leave this experience with great memories and probably some great pictures too!

The Swamp Tour is lead by the park’s zoo staff and takes place in the Alapaha Theater, typically on weekend days at 2pm. We’ve been to Wild Adventures many times and have done a couple other animal encounters, but never the swamp tour, although it’s been on our list of things to do. It’s priced at $29.99/person, but if you look at it as a 30-45 minute animal encounter it is very reasonably priced. This is especially true given that in addition to the animal experience, guests will also receive a Discovery Tours safari hat and a 6″x8″ souvenir photo. We also left with a beautiful colored feather from one of the park’s birds. Our tour was small with only 3 of us, so that made it very special with lots of time with each animal.

The tour is essentially a chance to meet several of the park’s more “swampy” reptile creatures. Some you just look at, some you can touch, some you can feed and several you can even hold. The park’s animal care staff will give you lots of great information about each animal and answer any questions you might have along the way too. There will also be a park photographer there to snap pictures of you doing all of these activities. The park’s zoo staff is awesome, they’re friendly, funny and knowledgeable which makes the tour even better.

We got to meet 6 creatures on our tour including a tarantula, an African bullfrog, a bunch of isopods, a skink and two snakes. The tarantula and isopods were just for looking at, but we got to feed the bullfrog some cockroaches, pet the skink and hold both snakes. Watching a bullfrog snatch a cockroach at lightning speed is quite something as is touching the strange skin of a skink. Snakes are not exactly a family favorite in our household, but the two they brought out were small and very chill so that we felt comfortable holding them. Our tour took about 30 minutes, but I imagine if could take up to the advertised 45 minutes with larger groups.

Overall I couldn’t recommend the tour more for people that want a unique animal experience. Animal encounters cost a little extra, but you’ll leave with some memories (and pictures) that will last for a long time. In terms of value it’s hard to beat $30 for an intimate 30-45 minute encounter with 6 animals, a hat and a printed picture. If you’re a more frequent visitor to Wild Adventures this could be a way to experience something new at the park. Several of the animal encounters are Safari Campground exclusives, but the Swamp Tour is open to anyone. If you’re a fan of reptiles you’ll especially love this tour, but even if you’re not you’ll probably walk away with a new found respect and appreciation for these amazing creatures.