Woodland Park Zoo is giving its longtime Family Farm a full-on glow up, transforming it into Wild Encounters, a phased, hands-on zone built for face-to-face time with animals and their keepers. The makeover will add a paid lorikeet walk-through aviary, bring in Aldabra giant tortoises and refresh the contact area where goats and other ambassador animals meet guests. Work will roll out in stages, with a first-phase opening targeted for summer 2026 and a larger expansion in 2027.
What’s Changing At The Family Farm
Phase 1 will debut Lorikeet Landing, an all-season, ticketed aviary where guests can hold nectar cups for lories and lorikeets, along with an expanded Animal Encounters area that keeps the ever-popular goat contact experience and upgrades the indoor and outdoor spaces for animal care, according to Woodland Park Zoo. The redesign is meant to modernize aging facilities and lean into keeper-led learning and empathy-focused programming for families. Lorikeet Landing is described as a paid walk-through experience, while Animal Encounters will remain free with general admission.
Aldabra Tortoises And The Empathy Angle
“Wild Encounters will help children and families forge social and emotional connections with animals,” Dr. Luis Neves, the zoo’s senior director of animal care, said in media coverage of the plan, underscoring the project’s empathy-driven mission. The initial animal lineup will include two Aldabra giant tortoises, Mary, 23, and Elise, 15, who were brought to the zoo with support from longtime backers Madeline and Geoff Haydon. Officials say the tortoises will be viewable once construction wraps. Madeline Haydon said the pair needed a suitable home and could serve as ambassadors for a vulnerable species, as reported by FOX 13 Seattle.
Timeline And How To Chip In
Woodland Park Zoo lists Phase 1 of Wild Encounters as opening in Summer 2026, with Phase 2 slated for Summer 2027 as a larger expansion that will bring ambassador animals into flexible, rotating habitats with keeper-led programs, per Woodland Park Zoo. The project is being funded in part through a Wild Encounters campaign that lays out donor benefits, including recognition on a donor wall for qualifying gifts made in 2026. Woodland Park Zoo
What Visitors Should Know
Some pieces of Wild Encounters will be ticketed, such as Lorikeet Landing, while other animal interactions stay included with admission. The zoo says construction schedules will ultimately dictate the exact opening windows. Local reporting notes the tortoises may be viewable early this year once their habitat work is complete, so visitors might want to keep an eye on the zoo’s website and the Wild Encounters campaign page for the latest on ticketing, animal lineups and program details.
