Tanganyika Wildlife Park becoming all-inclusive, changing cost

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Tanganyika Wildlife Park has a unique problem — it is too popular. It says increased attendance has eroded the guest experience. So, it is making changes for 2025.

It plans to limit admission and offer new pricing that includes unlimited food, drink and animal feedings.

Tanganyika Wildlife Park in Goddard is a zoo with a twist. Visitors can interact with animals , including swimming with penguins, feeding giraffes, rhinos, lions, lemurs and lorikeets, and touching kangaroos.

Many of the up-close encounters can be added to your visit for an additional fee.

In 2025, Tanganyika Wildlife Park will become an all-inclusive destination, offering unlimited animal feedings , unlimited food and drink, and “more interactive animal experiences than anywhere in the world.” Some of the interactive experiences will cost extra.

The change will also mean a change in the admission price.

“Our goal is to make things more simple, more exclusive, and increase the time our guests can spend with the animals,” Matt Fouts, Tanganyika Wildlife Park director, said.

The current single-day price is $45, but it is not all-inclusive. Fouts says the new single-day price in 2025 will be $99 in the spring and fall and $149 in the summer. People who live in Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties will get a 40% discount.

Fouts says they are still working on pricing and options for season passes.

“We are hosting a few town halls for our current pass holders over the next month to solicit feedback before we finalize those decisions,” he said.

Tanganyika’s goal is to inspire others to care about wildlife. It does not want people to have to wait in line. Attendance is being capped to reduce wait times and ensure more time with the animals.

“We aren’t built for volume,” LynnLee Schmidt, Tanganyika Wildlife Park, said in a news release. “Over the last couple years, we’ve seen the struggles of our team trying to balance the lines with sharing their passion for the animals. They don’t want to just hand you a piece of lettuce and then push you along so the next guest can get in. They want to introduce you to Kenzie, the giraffe, tell you about how she’s a leap-year baby, share with you that she has the same number of vertebrae as you do, and her tongue is purple, so it doesn’t get sunburned. We want you to fall in love with our animals, and we want the time to do that.”

Next year, when it opens for the season in March, officials say Tanganyika will be the world’s first wildlife destination.

Tanganyika says people travel from all over the country to enjoy the animal encounters it offers. Nearly 60% of its daily admission sales are from guests outside Wichita.

The playground and splash park will still be included with admission.

The unlimited animal feedings will be for feeding the giraffes, Indian rhinos, pygmy hippos, ring-tailed lemurs, Sulcata tortoises, rainbow lorikeets, rabbits, and guinea pigs, and touching the kangaroos.

The park will offer breakfast, lunch, snacks, and drinks.

Click here to learn more about the animal encounters and other changes coming to Tanganyika.

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