we were there last August and had a guide who made sure we were there early in the day. I forget the exact time but it was probably around 9 in the morning. When we arrived, the pandas had just been fed and were amazingly active. It was the experience of a lifetime, you will take a thousand photos easily in a couple of hours! You can hold a 'baby' panda (actually quite large). The price seems steep, but it is worth EVERY PENNY. I burst into tears from the experience. If you are a panda lover, you must plan on spending at least a half day here. Even so, it will be hard to tear yourself away at the end of the visit.

best time is feeding time in the morning around 8:00 AM