Wisconsin Dells - Story Book Gardens and Timbavati Wildlife Park
25 07 2007The Story Book Gardens and Timbavati Wildlife Park at Wisconsin Dells was probably the attraction that we were the least thrilled about of the places we visited while at the Dells.
The reason for the name “Story Book Gardens” is because there are various spots throughout the park where a large wooden book is open to a certain page containing an exerpt from a fairy tale or other children’s story. Then, there is a small scene located next to the book. For example, there was one place with a giant shoe and children around it for the Old Lady that lived in a shoe. My family teases me and calls me “Shoe” because of that rhyme and because I have four kids, so I had to take a picture of that one.
All in all, however, the story book statues looked a bit ratty and were unimpressive. Also, the landscaping was quite bare when we were there. There was a lady outside planting some annuals. So, I don’t know if we were just too early in the season to see it in its full glory or what. If that was the case, we should have received a discount because this was also one of the most expensive attractions we visited.
We were looking forward to the wildlife park part of this attraction, but the cages were very tiny and they were not created to look like the animal’s natural habitat. We have been to so many wonderful zoos, that this was really quite sad by comparison. On the bright side, there were plenty of opportunities for feeding the animals, including feeding giraffes. You can purchase food in the store that you have to pass through in order to enter the park. We bought two cups and probably could have used more.
I will say this, the park did make for some cute photo opps, so I guess it was worth it for that reason. I will be sharing photos in my next post. But, as far as wildlife parks are concerned, our visit to the Virigina Safari Park was a far cooler experience - I will share more on that at another time!
