Got a steal on Groupon! This place is cool! Lots of neat animals you can feed and pet, mini golf, zip line, bumper boats...good times!

This place is so fun for adults and kids. The outdoor zoo is perfect for having something fun to do during covid. Everyone wore masks as asked and people distanced. I’d recommend it for everyone. The stores were clean. (The bathroom wasn’t great but I don’t fault them, people can be gross) We watched an outdoor band while having a drink too. Just a great day all around. Thanks.

Wait till after COVID is over to go!Food service staff had zero masks and zero precautions taken, despite daily records in virus cases in FL. They were all friendly at least.But specifically, I wanted to thank the staff in the animal encounter area. They went out of their way to be sure my kids had an amazing time. So if there wasnt a pandemic, this would be an amazing place to visit.

The nature park is unique and special. While theyve changed the experience over the years, due to visitor issues, we still enjoy our time here immensely. The shop has any tourist gift you could imagine, especially Shells, of course. We try to visit once a year!

The animal park was awesome! My family and I had a great time! My only complaint would be that the mini golf course was not taken care of very well. There were little ants on a lot of the holes and there was even one hole that had animal poo on it. Other than that, I had a great time

I thought Id just run in, a lil tourist spot for max an hour... Im NO ! This Place is an Amazing Awesome Attraction. Actually, Several smaller Combined !! Can Easily spend at least 2 Entire Days Here !

We loved the nature park. The Shell Factory is one of those places everyone should see once.

We had a wonderful time for nearly nothing. Spent 24 dollars for the 3 of us. Our 3yr old got a 2 buckets of food to feed the gators, birds and other animals that are in their short but very impressive nature walk.

Lotta different animals. Very cool bird interaction area. Feeding the peacocks was neat. Feeding the other stuff was odd. You put food through a tube that rolled down to the animals. Some of the tubes were clogged and nothing got through. Others just fell on the ground because the buckets were knocked over or just not there all. It was as clean as an animal sanctuary can be but many of the enclosures were way too small for the animals in them. Also many of the animals were behind THICK layers of mesh and wire which seemed unnecessary to keep in things like owls, bats and sloths. All it did was keep you from being able to see them. A few things looked distressed and sad. But thats how zoos and sanctuaries are. No matter how well meaning the people or how well cared for the animals are, stuffs never totally happy.

Thanks for the wonderful experience. We haven’t been there in years and there are so many animals there. There’s also a small but informative area about dinosaurs. Great! We haven’t tried the miniature golf, Merry go round, rock wall or the restaurant. And we also enjoyed the indoor shopping area. Lots to look at and the staff were very friendly and made us feel welcome.

It is a great.place to come spend the day and NOT go broke. My grandson loves to come feed his fish. They are HUGE. They do sell the fish food, 3 lil cups for $1. He also love the carousel which is very affordable. An order of french fries and a med soda is less than $6. and there is enough fries for 2 people! Bumper boats are only $5 a boat! Kids love it here.

I, along with my family, had a very enjoyable time at the shell factory. My only complaint is that some of the animal cages are a bit too small or too badly kept. It only applies to a few bird or mammal cages but it was still noticeable(reptile/amphibian exhibit was perfect). Give some of the animals better treatment then what you’ve got right now, touch up some of the old stuff, and bam! You’ve got yourself a 5 star attraction. So all in all, it’s a great place that I’d recommend. The animal area just needs a little more care. (Everywhere else there is fine. Just a little old)

It is an obvious tourist trap, but they are very friendly and took great care at packing my delicate souvenirs. You can find anything Florida or Beach related here and the prices are very reasonable. The bulk shells for DIY projects were impressive in their scope and price. If you have time to wander the beach go for it, but if you dont hey have you covered.

Dated and terrible... Needs a complete renovation inside and out... Food choices are terrible... This place should be a tourist stop that truly represents SW Florida... Not a side show that resembles a third world country... The community, and the employees deserve better!

A nice little gem. Up close and personal encounters with animals. Little birds will land on you and eat seed. Theres air-conditioned indoor shopping with Florida knickknacks, places to eat, mini golf, bumper boats, small walking trails. Its a fun afternoon for the kids.

Great family day, took our children mini golfing for the first time, on a carousel ride, snowcones, arcade games, nature park, dinner at southern grille ! It was a blast and still plenty more to do! Cant wait to do it again next weekend

Had a blast today. Animals were very active and mini golf was fun

Nice place to visit when you are in the area. Its a bit tourist trappy, but if you can accept that, then you will enjoy yourself. The nature park is nice, they have a good variety of animals and you can get up close in the aviary. The gift shop is very large, they claim to be the biggest.Recommend place to visit.

We have fun here as a family. Each visit tends to be different as they open/close habitats and update animals and areas. We havent tried the extras they have outside of the nature park so I cant speak to them much, but when everything is up and going (seems some has changed with covid) it is a good day, entertaining, and full of selection. My kiddos love the atriums where you can pet the animals. I also love that they have a playground in the center of the park for when you want to just take a break. Groupon usually has a special that you just cant beat. Id recommend for anyone looking for something to do with the family for the day.

Dog Bar is Open! But Beware of Management!We have been bringing our dog(s) here for years. Our first time back was early this afternoon. Bartender was great. After 15 minutes sitting at the bar enjoying our beer and our dog strolling around we were told by a tall dark haired woman who was management/owner “dogs need to be leashed.”The leashed isn’t the issue. It was the way she handled it. Honestly, we felt like leaving. She was so unprofessional and nasty. Do they really not need our business now???

Wow this place has so much!! Bumper boats, petting farm, dining and a huge Shell and Christmas store!! Great place to take your kids!

I take my grandson there as often as I can. We love it.

Its was really fun lots to see and the animals are so friendly

Nice place to get away without having to pay too much. We had a lot of fun feeding the animals. This place is just small enough to fill a day without making you run to get it all in.

The factory was fun; I really like the Nature Park and the horse carousel. The kids love it! On the plus side, we have been to the restaurant with an outdoor bar and the burgers we ordered (flame boiled something) was not really to our taste. It was our first time having that kind of burgers, so someone else may like it. But second day, we went to Hunts Pizza, which is indoor at the retail store. And that was delicious!!! We had cheese pizza with spicy chicken and I felt they were better than Papas John or other big brand pizza places. Overall, it was fun. I must say though, the factory isnt well kept as it should if its the biggest shell factory in the world. A lot of dust, cracks, broken ceilings, the animals cages seem to lack enough imagination for the animals to feel at home.

Did the Friday fish special. All you can eat. Process up a dollar from last year. All good food, seconds no problem.

Most of the place is closed down. It’s still has the character of the old Florida tourist stop it was 30 - 40 years ago. The shell shop is very large and it has every Florida souvenir a person would want including big alligator heads. The prices for shells a bit high but that is to be expected.

Always have an enjoyable time with my family here, we love the animals and putt putt!

Great tourist stop. I have never seen so much under one roof. I purchased several gifts for family and a Christmas ornament for me.

We had very good time.But we were so impressed with the butterfly garden and the lady in charge of the project (Ms Joyce), shes very knowledgeable of the butterfly world. She was very friendly and kind and spent lots of time giving my son and I most interesting and knowledge of the butrflies world. We we so impressed of her knowledge and easy explanations

Great local attraction. Variety of critters to enjoy, very low key, the kids will love it.

Great place to be with your family and friends! Lots of animals. My kids were so excited to be able to touch and pet some!!!Honestly, I was excited as much as my kids! Amazing. Will come back again!

A lot of fun, cant complain. Inexpensive, something for everyone.

If you come to the fort Myer area and you do not stop at the shelf factory, theres a problem. This is a bucket list attraction and must see!!

Newly remodeled restaurant, now called Southern Grille. Great fish dinner tonight. Outside seating and music.

The nature park was really nice. Very interactive and the kids really enjoyed walking into most of the enclosures and interacting and feeding the animals up close and in person. Unfortunately the woman working the ticket booth was extremely rude and not accommodating at all. Theres plenty to see if you look hard enough. Some things are kind of hidden and/or appear abandoned until you look around just let yourself in.

I only went to the nature park. It was a fun walk around. The birds are beautiful. We enjoyed the reptiles. The staff was fun and helpful. You can go through the park in a few hours.

Awesome place for bringing family and kids. Lots of fun and awesome animals.

Great kid place! Opportunity to see exotic animals; we loved feeding the birds, sand sift for Crystals and many other activities. Gift shops are awesome! So many unique items to choose from.

One of the treasures of Florida Great flea market Tue Thur Sat

Used to love when they had the room of all the stuffed “real animals”, great place to visit around Christmas time!

Great assortment of gifts for anyone on your list!!Lots of outside entertainment to make the time fly!

The walk tru the Animal is very NiceAnd the Dinosaurs Sounds are amazing.

I thought it was very interesting. It was small but it was intriguing. The information about JFKs assasination was food for thought.

This place has so many things to look at and buy. I love the shells and other beach items.

Had a better experience today lol peacocks were friendly and the butterfly garden is beautiful. Miss feeding the Cockatoos though ):

Now a days getting your kids to grow up with nature and animals isnt easy.But at the shell factory i dont have to feel guilty about not giving my kids a real animal safari.

Found a shell night light that matches my bathroom color perfectly.

The former dance hall is now a wonderful theater

Fun filled place for all. Rides, shells, food, candy, history. Dont think its just another shell place cause it is not. Go visit and see for yourself.

Enjoy the Shell Factory Animal Zoo yearly and will continue to return.

Very nice staff, kids loved the zoo.

Everytime I visit my family i come here, always will. They keep this place going on donations and ppl helping out. Its amazing. Some animals need rehabilitation and they do that. Its nice to walk around, feed the animals, walk amoung some of them, pet and touch them also play mini golf, have a cold one or bite to eat, some ice cream and dont forget the silverniers, THEY HAVE IT ALL...IM NOT KIDDING. CAN BE A bit overwhelming but nice gifts as well and dont forget the fudge. Its yummy!!!

Good souvenirs, but this place has really stiffened up. It use to be more fun and laid back

Was fun for grandkidsvseveral rides down due to Covid

We enjoyed this GIANT souvenir shop! Saw MANY interesting things! ALOT for family fun! I wish there was at least a video showing how shells are harvestedcfor commercial user and salr. Woildve LOVED a little more FACTORY!

It is free to park and enter the gigantic store. The store sells much more than shells, and is really worth a visit. That said, there are many fun activities here, and you pay to participate. The nature center is my favorite! You can buy food and feed the animals. It is a lovely way to while away a morning. Highly recommend.

Awesome for the kids!!Eben diring the Covid 19

Great stop to do with family. All kinds of treasures to purchase. Large Christmas section with Dept.56 villages and if your a Santa collector this is the place to go! Outdoors is a wonderful animal area and you can purchase food to feed live crocodiles! Had a great time here.

Love the shopping! Dinner and entertainment completed our evening!

The shop is all encompassing, very much geared towards tourism.The nature walk was cool, lots of animals with plenty of areas for animal interaction. The carousel was a staple for my young kids, they rode numerous times. Good for young families for sure

Great place, lots to learn, tons of world history, great family history!!!!

Friendly staff, excellent care for the animals, and wide variety of merchandise.

Something for the family great fudge pot roast and music at 4 pm

We spent a fun morning at Shell Factory this morning. It was nice to see all the animals. The kids enjoyed themselves too. Typical touristy stuff, but still enjoyable.

Very nice place for anyone to take a walk and relax or take the whole family, they have decent playground, and so many animals to see, there’s subway inside the building, I bring the family here every year and we do have lots of fun every time.

What a novel place to go and explore, and it is hhhuuugggeeeee with many themes and a wonderful little museum of shells, sharks teeth, and more. If your looking for a fun, out of the way place to spend some time...this is your place.

I have always loved shell factory. Any shell you want.

Lots to do. Have everything shell related you may need. Zoo needs to be updated and cleaned better. We didnt go to the mini golf. The pond is full of Coi fish. Bring good and your camera.

Awesome place to take little kids to go see the animals up close

We had an amazing time here today! We started out in the gift shop, where my son picked out quite a few awesome shells! We chose the $25 (each) Fun Park package for my son and I. It included admission to the Nature Park (where my son got to pet a baby oppossum and a baby alligator as well as turtles and up close encounters with peacocks, ducks, a turkey and many other animals!), a round of mini golf (18 holes), gem mining, we each got a $5 arcade game card (of course they both went to my son ) and we chose to do the Water Wars (10 water balloons each that we launched from slingshot contraptions). (The other two options were bumper boats or paddle boats.) Will DEFINITELY be going back here again!!

Amazing experience my kids loved it.

Interesting place to go through and look around :O

Its alittle run down looking but still pretty neat. My toddlers loved feeding the animals. And it was cool to be able to get closer to the animals then a regular zoo. Was worth the money to get in . The food to feed them was alittle price but it goes to buy more food for the animals so it was worth it.

We have a membership and my kids love it!! And besides I think preserves should be supported by the community especially good ones like this one.

It was pretty cool enjoyed the time there.Had lunch at the restaurant, and it was very good.Would eat there again..

Fun place for souvenirs pictures, feeding the giftt and turtles. The monthly flea market has some great finds too.

The shell Factory has some pretty awesome things to shop for. employees are not friendly, pretty grumpy, not very helpful as to help you look for items. Otherwise it was a great place to find things you wont find anywhere else

Great family fun! Reasonable prices, friendly staff, good variety of things to do & see in one location!

Ive loved going here for years something for everyone.

We enjoyed our meals. Most of us had the Friday fish fry which was ok. Others had pot roast and chicken salad which was good. Waitress serving us was a bit abrupt but was busy. Rest of wait staff was prompt in bringing out food.The shell store was huge. Plenty to look at for sure. Fudge shop inside, was our favorite part of the trip.

Was great for the kids. Affordable and educational

Inside and out, they are continuing to make improvements. Outside is much cleaner than previous visit.

Great place for the family . Different activities to do for everyone very hot bring waters . I had as young as 1 an kids 16 an we all enjoyed are time there definitely would go again

So much to see. Many choices. Full of gifts. Several food choices. Very good. Staff very efficient, friendly & helpful. Carousel, bumper boats, zip line...so much fun. Very full day.

Lots of fun lots of stuff kind of disappointed they took out the best parts the Pirates and all the animals but its a lot of fun for the kids

Fun family memories made at this must stop and see place! We live close by and it is a definite for us and our visitors every time!! Thank you staff and owners!!!

Nice place! Kids love it!

Nice things to see and interesting. The place is clean and staff is friendly

We use to love coming here with the kids when we visited Florida. They use to have a zoo of animals that had been stuffed. But this time they were gone. The lady informed us they were rented and had to be returned. They had been there sense my husband was little. Things change tho. They have an amazing assortment of gifts and lots and lots of shells! Great place to bring home souvenirs! Theres also a nature place, mini golfing, restaurants, gem mining and some rides on the grounds and also certain days they have a flea market/garage sale day. Lots of stuff to do still.

Beautiful park

Nicevariety of shells we took our granddaughter and rode the Merry-Go-Round on the horses theres putt putt golf and theres this water sport thing that you can ride on its $13 or $25 if you want to do the little miniature golf and the other arrangements their nice little half-day venture

It was pretty nice and everyone was very friendly. They have a large gift shop, actually the largest in the USA. We played mini golf and the pricing was great. The course was a little messy and doesnt look like it well taken care of but overall good experience.

An interesting place to spend an afternoon. It claims to be Floridas biggest souvenir shop & probably is. It also has a decent Nature Park with a good variety of animals & 2 Aviaries where you can interact with some beautiful birds. For the kids theres also a zip line & feeding the turtles is always fun!

It was not that good today because they dont feed the animals and they dont feed the animals enough food and also the animals were starving because the people dont give them alot of food and the bird that was on my moms shoulder didnt want us to leave him because they dint feed the animals

Great fun for a portion of time....what a flash to the past....

Nice, though under construction. Sandwiches were plentiful. Once the construction is finished, it will be a nice place to eat, drink. The store is like aWall Drug..

Quirky...1950s vibe. Good day trip.

Today we did the mini golf. A little disappointed with the coarse. Maybe we were just too early.

Awesome gift store !! Good zoo,!! We skipped the play park due to a crabby worker!!