After taking our two toddlers to Lazy 5 Ranch last weekend, I thought I would share our experience with anyone who might be considering going to this unique animal park. Our son, Noah, who is 17 months old, LOVES animals- whether it is an animal on TV, in person or even on the front of a dog food bag. Maddie, our 3 year old, is a little more cautious but both kids had a blast at the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. Located between Mooresville and Salisbury, Lazy 5 Ranch offers kids of all ages a special opportunity to come face to face with animals of all sizes in a natural environment. You can either drive your own car or take a wagon ride through the 3.5 mile tour and see over 750 animals from all over the world. It’s a really fun day but you should definitely prepare for your visit- here are “The Fisher Family’s Five Tips for Lazy 5 Ranch”
1. CALL AHEAD TO RESERVE A PLACE ON THE WAGON! After my unofficial poll on Facebook as to whether or not to do the car or wagon tour, we were sold on the wagon tour. We planned lunch, naps, and the whole day around arriving at 2pm, doing the tour, and petting farm and then wrapping up by 4 or so. Imagine our surprise (because I didn’t thoroughly read the information on the website) that we get there at 2 and the next wagon ride wasn’t until 4:30. We put our names on the list and (because we are realtors) took the extra 2 hours to get some materials at Lowe’s to fix an inspection item on a customer’s house & drive around neighborhoods in Mooresville while the kids napped in the car.
2. BRING CASH! They don’t accept credit or debit cards at the Lazy 5 Ranch. Luckily we were ok on that one as we had just enough for the day… Though another scenario just as bad would have been to have the reservation and no cash.
3. BRING HAND SANITIZER! You can imagine that buffalo, goats and pigs are not the cleanest of animals and they don’t brush their teeth in between the wagon rides. They like to drool over the tasty morsels and some like to drool a lot! Toddlers and big kids alike have a hard time understanding why they can’t feed the animals because of a little drool for those who have parents that are germaphobes.
4. BRING WATER! You don’t want to be tempted to jump in with the water buffalo to get a drink, and we went through our one bottle fairly quickly. It can get hot on the trail!
5. DON’T WEAR YELLOW! Admittedly, I did not grow up in the Robertson family (for you who watch Duck Dynasty will understand the reference) so it is probably common sense to most of you, but dressing a one year old in a bright yellow shirt for a day on the ranch is NOT a good idea. After the first five minutes, 100 yellow jackets later and a sting we headed to the gift shop to buy a gray Lazy 5 t-shirt…Noah loved his new gray shirt and it was only $10!
Follow these tips and you will be ahead of the game! If you have any of your own tips or photos, feel free to share them. It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun. To learn more, call 704-663-5100 or visit www.lazy5ranch.com.
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