Big Red's Barn Indoor Animal Experience and Education
Overview
Expert Summary
Detailed Insights
Big Red's Barn offers a highly interactive indoor animal experience featuring diverse species from petting animals to reptiles, sloths, and scorpions, with a strong emphasis on direct animal feeding and engagement. It particularly excels as a birthday party venue, providing comprehensive packages with dedicated rooms, extensive staff support for setup and entertainment, and generous animal food provisions, making it a memorable and high-value experience for families.
Key Highlights
- ✓Engaging indoor animal experience with three distinct zones: one for petting animals, one for reptiles, and another featuring a sloth, scorpions, snakes, and frogs.
- ✓Highly interactive animal encounters, including a mischievous 'Black Llama' that actively tries to sneak vegetables from guest buckets, and super-friendly guinea pigs that enjoy soft lettuce.
- ✓Birthday party packages are comprehensive, offering 90 minutes in a spacious party room, followed by full access to the animal areas until closing time.
- ✓Exceptional staff noted for being flexible, very helpful, incredibly friendly, and wonderful to work with, even assisting with party room decorations (e.g., providing roses and a happy birthday balloon).
- ✓Generous provision of animal food buckets for parties (e.g., 15 buckets even for smaller groups of 11 attendees), allowing kids to feed animals extensively.
- ✓Animals are described as very friendly and clearly well taken care of, contributing to a positive experience.
- ✓The entire building is consistently reported as incredibly clean and organized.
- ✓Birthday parties include special perks like the birthday child picking out a birthday stuffie at the end of the day.
Standout Features
- ⭐Dedicated and well-sized party room equipped with everything needed for celebrations, including space for presents, lunch, and cake.
- ⭐Interactive feeding opportunities with various animals, highlighted by unique personalities like the 'Black Llama'.
- ⭐Staff's proactive assistance with party decorations and overall helpfulness significantly eases parental planning.
- ⭐Facility's cleanliness and organization despite being an animal venue.
- ⭐Birthday package offers extended access to animal exhibits beyond the party room time, maximizing value.
Perfect For
Ideal For
💡Pro Tips from Reviews
- →For birthday parties, consider the value of the $350 package which includes 90 minutes in a party room and full access to animals; planning and budgeting several months in advance is recommended if cost is a concern (e.g., 5 months for a single-income family).
- →Be prepared for an authentic animal smell, particularly in the party room, which is part of the experience.
- →Engage actively with animals, especially the 'Black Llama,' who is known for cleverly trying to get food from buckets.
- →Take advantage of the staff's willingness to assist with party setup and decoration to minimize parental effort.
Things to Consider
- ⚠The party room can smell distinctly of animals, which is noted as part of a 'true animal experience' but might be off-putting for those not accustomed to it.
Price & Value
General admission tickets are $15 per person. Birthday party packages cost $350 and include 90 minutes in a private party room, full access to the main animal room until closing, and 15 food buckets. The $350 party package is considered 'absolutely worth it' and 'very reasonable' by parents, even for smaller groups and single-income families, due to the extensive time, joy, and services provided.
♿Accessibility & Special Needs
- •No specific accommodations for special needs or wheelchair accessibility were mentioned in the reviews.
🍎Food & Drink Policy
- •Birthday party packages allow for outside food for lunch and cake within the party room.
- •Animal food buckets are included in party packages and are a core part of the interactive experience (cost of buckets for general admission not specified but implied).
🚗Parking Info
- •No information about parking was mentioned in the reviews.
👥Crowd Levels
- •No specific information on crowd levels was provided, but the 'clean and organized' environment suggests good management.
🛡️Safety Features
- •Animals are described as 'friendly' and 'very clearly well taken care of', implying a safe environment for interaction, with helpful and pleasant staff on hand.
⏰When to Avoid
- • Individuals or groups highly sensitive to animal smells, as the party room and potentially other areas will have a distinct animal odor.
Pricing/Package/Events
Events & Schedule
Special Events(Last 2 months - Next 6 months)
Private Party Room Rental
Available during operating hours
Not specified in provided content.
A private room available for parties such as birthdays, reunions, staff meetings, and holiday events. Voted #1 Kids Birthday Party 2024 by the North Idaho Business Journal. Guests can bring their own food for the party, which must stay within the party room.
Private After Hours Party Rental
After regular operating hours
Not specified in provided content.
Private after-hours party rentals available for any type of party or celebration.
🍎Food Policy
- • No outside food or drinks allowed in the animal areas for the safety and comfort of the animals.
- • No outside food is allowed for the animals themselves, due to safety and legal reasons (to track food origin and quantities).
- • Outside food is permitted when renting a Party Room, but it must stay within the party room.
🛡️Safety Policy
- • Licensed and inspected by the USDA.
- • Animals are under regular veterinary care and inspection.
📅Booking Policy
- • No appointment is needed for general admission during business hours.
- • Private encounters with animals are offered; details can be found under the 'BOOK NOW' tab (not provided in content).
Photos
What People Say
What's Great
- Friendly and helpful staff (mentioned in 9 reviews)
- Fun and entertaining activities (mentioned in 3 reviews)
- Great for birthday parties (mentioned in 6 reviews)
- Spacious play areas (mentioned in 6 reviews)
Recent Reviews
Jessica Small
a month agoHad our daughter’s birthday party here and loved it! The kids had a blast and the party room was a great size with everything we needed. The staff were flexible and very helpful. Will definitely be doing another party here again. For those who aren’t used to animals it will smell like animals in the party room. It didn’t bother us but something to know about a true animal experience.
Prapti Sims
3 weeks agoWe enjoy an exciting indoor animal experience perfect for all ages—tickets are just $15! Discover three different areas to explore: one for petting animals, one for reptiles, and one featuring a sloth, scorpions, snakes, frogs, and reptiles. Our star of the show is Black Llama, the mischievous barn leader who watches every guest entering, ready to sneak some veggies from your bucket! Interacting with him (and trying to outsmart him!) is always a highlight. I tried my best so he couldn't see what I was holding, but he followed me until he found out I had carrot on my hand. Super-friendly guinea pig—he especially enjoys the soft parts of lettuce. Parrot said hi sometimes when he is in a mood.
Mikayla Kleinsasser
3 months agoI don’t usually write reviews, but after my recent experience—and after seeing a previous review—I felt compelled to share my perspective. I hosted a birthday party for my daughter with 11 attendees, including adults, and it was absolutely worth it. For $350, we got 90 minutes in the party room where we opened presents, had lunch, and enjoyed cake. Afterward, we had full access to the main room with the animals until closing time. I was impressed that, even though we had fewer guests, they provided the full 15 buckets of food instead of just 11. This allowed the kids to feed the animals more, which they absolutely loved. The staff was incredibly friendly and wonderful to work with, making the experience even better. While $350 might seem like a lot, when I consider the time we spent there and the joy it brought everyone, it felt very reasonable. I’m not from a wealthy household—I’m a single-income family—but knowing how much my daughter wanted her party here, I started planning and budgeting five months in advance. I highly recommend this venue, even if your party is on the smaller side. The experience is well worth it!
Missy June
3 months agoWe just had the most amazing birthday party at The Big Red Barn! It went so well I had to write a review IMMEDIATELY to share with the world. We celebrated my daughter’s 8th birthday with all our family and friends and our package came with 15 food buckets to feed all the happy lil animals they had. The employees were so welcoming in decorating the room so I had very minimal decorations to add. They got her roses for the table with a cute happy birthday balloon and let her pick out a birthday stuffie at the end of the day. It truly was magical. Thank you everyone at big red barn for all your help and hosting one of the most epic birthday parties ever.
Kiley Nance
a month agoOur family had so much fun at Big Red’s Barn! The animals were so friendly and very clearly well taken care of. The entire building was incredibly clean and organized. All of the staff that we interacted with were incredibly helpful and pleasant to talk with. We will definitely come back in the future!