San Maximum: Wonder World Park

By Austin Cowan
Assistant Web Content Manager

Wonder World Park is one of the most fun tourist attractions within San Marcos, Texas. They do not just have one of the most interesting caves found in Texas, but they also possess a petting zoo, anti-gravity house and much more. Wonder World Park has long attracted people to San Marcos, so there is no need to wonder why local San Martians love this park. Anyone wishing to achieve the maximum San Marcos experience needs to visit the wonders of this park.

The Cave is by far my favorite part of the Wonder World tour. The cave stays at a constant temperature 72-degrees fahrenheit. Which makes it a great vacation stop, especially in the summer, to escape the Texas heat. When entering the cave my eyes had to take a moment to adjust to the darkness. Now the cave is well lit from all the lights inside it, however artificial lighting will never compare to natural light. When entering the cave be sure to wear clothes you are not afraid of getting wet. The cave drips with water so tourist will get a little bit wet. Be careful when walking on the path the steps are slippery and the cave ceiling is low in a few areas. So tall people may have trouble not hitting their heads within the cave, while short people like me have no problem at all. Last time I visited this park, my tour guide was excellent! Darby did a fantastic job making sure everyone got through the cave safely while making us laugh the entire time. She once turned off all the lights inside one room of the cave which allowed all the tourist to experience the darkness of the cave just like all the people who used to go down there hundreds of years ago. I have not been afraid of the dark since about the age three, but it does get pretty spooky down there. Nevertheless, the cave was a fun underground adventure which I would most definitely do again. If anyone is interested in underground in San Marcos then this is the place to be.

Tourists ride the Wonder World Train to the petting zoo. This little aspect of the trip was actually quite exciting. The beginning of the ride starts with the train entering a tunnel within a mountain, and a waterfall. (Sidenote: There is a roof on top of the train carriages, so tourists will not get too wet.) Once you are out of the tunnel, the animals begin to appear everywhere at once. Peacocks, deer, emus, goats, funny looking chickens and more, surround the train in hope of getting some food. The train stops at the end of the animal area so tourist can spend a decent amount of time feeding the animals before exiting this part of the park. I loved how unafraid of humans the animals were. We had a few emus walk right up to the train close enough for us to pet them. While animals surrounded the train, my tour guide, Darby, gave out all the information about the animals that we could’ve hoped for.

To be honest, the Anti-Gravity house is one place I will never forget! Spoiler alert: this house does not actually defy gravity, it uses an optical illusion to make people feel like it is. The entire structure is built on a slope while the lines on the walls are painted perpendicular to the walls of the building. This creates an illusion which tricks people minds into thinking that what they perceive is up is up, when in reality they are walking on a slope. I ended up leaving the house quickly because the illusion made me feel sick. However, it was a cool experience walking around inside the house.

Other activities include: the tower, bird cages, and a gift shop. The tower is part of the tour which allows tourist to look over all of San Marcos with a view that can only be rivaled by some of the buildings at Texas State University. However, this tower has a unique view of the Historic District in San Marcos and I was actually able to see my house from here. The bird cages are outside of the main building for people to look at while waiting for their tour to begin. They have peacocks and parrots. Lastly, the gift shop is filled with numerous souvenirs for people to purchase alongside some of the finest gift-shop food in town. The hot dogs are a must!

Wonder World Park contains activities fun for people of all ages all while informing people about the history of San Marcos in a way that is unique and entertaining. Wonder World Park is definitely a stop a person must make in order to obtain the full San Marcos experience.

Featured image by Austin Cowan.