Family Fun Day at the Maine Wildlife Park

Last month, the company I work for put on a family fun day event at the Maine Wildlife Park which was open to the entire staff, their families, and the families we serve within our community. It was a day where families could all mingle with one another so I was really looking forward to having a day with my family while also spending some time with my co-workers and the families I work with.

*For those who don’t know (or who may be curious), I work for an agency here in the Greater Portland area, working with children with Autism and other disabilities. The company I work for is phenomenal so if any of you are in the Portland area and looking for a new career, feel free to reach out! We’re always hiring!!

This event included free admission to the park for my entire family along with a free lunch so I, of course, decided to bring Allie. Unfortunately, Zack had to work, but my dad, sisters, my brother-in-law, and his girlfriend all joined us for the day.

The event began at 9 am and I opted to meet everyone there around 10 o’clock. When I arrived, the parking lot was far more packed than I anticipated it being. We have a rather large agency and we work with A LOT of families within the community (I believe we serve 1,500+ children, youth, and adults!), but I honestly didn’t think we’d have such an awesome turnout. It was exciting to see so many people show up.

*Pro Tip: If your children use a stroller, bring a jogger! While parts of the park are paved, there are plenty of trails that are not and a regular stroller may have a tough time with them. We’ve always had better luck bringing our jogger with us!

Once we had our name tags and were through the gate, I decided to let Allie walk as much as she wanted. The park is very open so it doesn’t get crowded easily so it’s the perfect outing for toddlers wanting to run around. I obviously made sure someone held her hand at all times, but with the supervision, she was welcome to explore as she wanted without us having to worry about her getting lost in a crowd.

Our first stop on our outing was the nocturnal creatures. The room was very dark so Allie was a little unsure about it at first, but she ended up loving the flying squirrels and field mice that were running around the habitat. Next, we made our way to the backyard animals like porcupines, deer, raccoons, skunks, woodchucks, and other miscellaneous animals you’d find in your backyard here in Maine.

*Side note: For those who haven’t been, The Maine Wildlife Park isn’t a true “zoo” with zebras and elephants and things like that. This park is home to over 30 species of animals that all live here in the state of Maine. All of which are unable to return to their natural habits for various reasons (i.e. some may have been injured or orphaned). So this is a great way to learn about Maine wildlife! I highly recommend stopping by sometime!

After the backyard animals, we shifted to the other side of the park where we could see owls, moose, cougars, the red fox, bobcats, bears, and many other animals that call Maine home, but aren’t as common to see. Allie especially loved the cougar and moose. She thought it was super cool when the cougar would come up to the glass and she kept meowing at it when I told her it was a big cat! ha!

By 11:30, we decided to head back to the front of the park for some lunch. The event technically ended at noon (even though we had access to the park all day either way) so we wanted to make sure we had time to eat before they cleaned everything up. Allie wasn’t big on the Subway sandwiches, but she did love the ice cream sandwich she got at the end (I don’t blame her. Ice cream is always better!).

Related: Blueberry Picking at Gillespie Farms

Once we were cleaned up from eating, we continued on to the rest of the animals. At this point, all we really had left were the birds and fish. We saw owls, vultures, turkey, peacocks, and many other birds. Allie was slowly crashing since we had gone into nap time so we opted to finish up the birds and skip the fish so she could get home and rest.

By the time we left the park, all Allie wanted was to be carried out by her Grandpa. She was completely exhausted and passed right out once we got into the car (which totally messed up naptime, but at least she had a good day!). Since the Maine Wildlife Park is just a short 30-minute drive for us, I know we’ll be back again very soon!

Have you been to the Maine Wildlife Park with your little ones?