Treetop Trek

We had a great experience at Tree Top Trek today. It was completely opposite of the first reviewer. We arrived to a very full parking lot as to be expected on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Yes, you could park near the main road and walk a distance or you could patiently wait as cars pulled out of their spaces. We chose the latter and had a spot steps away from the entrance.
When I signed the waiver for my son we were told the next group would be taken in about 15 minutes. The instructor actually began in about 10. There was a wide range of expertise so those that had experience did need to wait to be harnessed and for questions to be answered. The entire process from paying to on the course was approximately 30 minutes.
My 13 year old son chose the black diamond course. I did not have to purchase any wristbands or zoo admissions to follow under him. The reason you can’t follow underneath the entire course is because there are no paths to do so. My son has had a lot of experience doing these types of activities so I had confidence in his abilities out of my sight. My feeling is if you are not comfortable with your child participating on a level where you can’t see them then they are probably not ready for that difficulty.
All of the employees from check-​in, instructors, photographers, etc… were nothing but professional and helpful. They have to move a lot (A LOT!!) of people and everyone looked like they were having a great time like ourselves.
The reason I only gave 4 stars is because I do think they should limit the number of tickets they sell for a given hour. It became extremely clogged in the trees at times so there was plenty of standing around waiting. My son didn’t mind because he enjoyed seeing the zoo animals from above. He also had fun conversing with the people below him. Overall it is a fun activity for people of all ages!

We arrived at 10:15am. With little parking available be prepared to park on the side of the road and walk… a long way.
Once in, the customer service we received was terrible. It began when my friends daughter was asked to stand up next to the measuring pole to see if she could go on the canopy experience. Unfortunately they measured her just right below the 54″ mark. I asked if they had a real measuring tape and could they measure her again. We were told yes, they have a measuring tape but that no, they would not re-​measure her because the manager said no.
We paid for her and my son to do the Chutes and Ladders experience and the Canopy experience for my son only. They finished Chutes and Ladders in under 10-​minutes then we waited for the Canopy instruction to begin. At no point were we told (nor did I have the sense to ask) how long the wait would be (10-​minutes), how long the instruction would be or how long the experience would take. The instruction took 45-​minutes (way to long and far too detailed for the layperson to really comprehend) which included having everyone, on their own, read the terms and conditions (Legalese). Once everyone went through the instruction and test drove the zip line, the journey began. This is a self-​guided tour but they do have instructors that are walking around answering questions.
This is where I should of had the sense (again) to ask more questions. So unless you purchase an entrance pass into the Zoo or are doing the Canopy experience yourself, you cannot walk underneath or alongside your child, spouse, friend, guest, etc. They did not share this, so when I asked which pathway do I take to follow my son, the guide told me (twice) since I did not pay for admission into the Zoo, I could not follow him. I was never even given the option when I paid for the experience nor did I know to ask since it was our first time there. I then asked how long does the canopy experience take and was told 1hr to 1hr 15 minutes. I went a good 45-​minutes before I ever saw my son again and when I finally did, he asked me why I was not following underneath him (apparently they did not tell him that since I did not pay for Zoo admission, I could not follow him).
At this point my friend and her daughter were beside themselves too and went to see if they could pay for her to go on Chutes and Ladders one more time. They were told no as there were too many other people waiting. Funny thing is that we looked at the list and there were only two (2) children signed up and waiting for their turn.
When my son was getting ready to go on one of the zip lines, there was an employee taking pictures of the guests as they come down the wire. My son was taking a bit long to hook himself up to the zip line, so the employee decided it would be okay to take selfies and take a call on her cell phone.
Once he finally finished the canopy trail, we went to turn in the harness. There were several people waiting to turn theirs in too. Several employees were just walking by, not offering to help, nor saying thank you for our business. I never shared any feedback with the manager because of the way she treated us from the beginning.
Although my experience along with my friend and her daughter was horrible, my son had a wonderful time so it took some of the sting out of the day for me. By the way, there are no restrooms only port-​a-​johns so bring your sanitizer (theirs was empty).
There were many other issues throughout our time there but I have to go now.