Longleat - waste of money in my opinion!!

blue_monkey_2

But, at all of the other places you are free to go round and round again from 10am until they close. The point I was making was that I feel it is a waste of money to only be able to see things just the once and the day was over within 4 hours including lunch time which took an hour and a half. We have been to Woburn and went round the safari park twice in the same day. Whipsnade is one of the better ones, Marwell you can go round and look at the animals different times of day - animals are more active at different times of day - if they have just eaten then they are sleeping, then you don't get to see the animals. My point in all of this was yes, it is a full day out for some but it was not for us and I was really disappointed and felt it a waste of money. I got to see the bats for 30 seconds and that was it. I could not go back in again but my son didn't like the dark so we took him out. How is this the right way to lure your visitors back again? I would have been pretty annoyed if I had paid £2 each for that I can tell you!! If it was a place where you could go round and see the animals again (in the same day) then yes, value for money, but as you were only allowed to see things the once then no, it is not value for money. I would rather have been allowed free roam of the park and pay for the train. It depends on what you want out of a day out I guess and every family is different.

montycat_2

Yes true ,it does depend on the family .I know that we spent alot longer than 4 hours in there.We always do the safari park last and take as long as we like to look at the animals .
we Didn't have time to see things more than once .In fact we go back later in the season to do the rest .
For that reason ,we find it good value as ,you can back on the same passport and ,see the rest .
Have you raised your comments with Longleat ?They won't know youir concerns if you are not prepared to tell them .

Did you have a good holiday otherwise ?

Ellie2758

Astaroth wrote:

Many places charge that and more though... but at the same time they have constant offers with the likes of Tesco, Nector or Railway 2-4-1... prehaps the prices are inflated to cover the cost of all these promotions?

Went to Leeds Castle, Kent the otherday and was impressed that after getting the 2-4-1 offer from the railway (though I did drive) the ticket lasts 1 year excluding 3 bank holidays so it will be a nice place just to go back for a picnic or such

You can get into the grounds of Leeds Castle for free if you are canny enough. It is on the route of a right-of-way. Park in the pub car park on the A20 next to the Golf Club. Walk along the grass verge - careful, it's a busy road, and follow the footpath sign across the golf course. Turn left at the pathway for the castle grounds. Obviously you cant get into the castle itself but you can do everything else.

enor

wobbley wrote:

Eeeeek ! - That would be £68 for a family of four !!!! I dunno if it's because I'm 'up Norf' and we are all poor up here,but that is an AWFUL lot of money to pay for an entrance fee.When you ad travelling costs, meals and other bits and bats it would have to be an absolutely fantastic day out to be worth that much.

Legoland is my favourite at £106 for a family of four

nej

We had mixed opinions on our visit. Some of the things were good (the adventure playground was excellent) but some were poor. Overall I don't think I'll go again.

The Safari Park was the biggest disappointment (at least when we went). It's like there's a sleeping rhino, there's a sleeping giraffe, there's a sleeping lion etc.

My wife, having been brought up in Zimbabwe and South Africa was even more disappointed, I think she was expecting a huge reserve like they get out there.

Davidboy

We had some relatives round the weeekend a week ago, we thought it a good idea to go to Longleat for the day. The cost for 5 adults, 1 OAP and 1 Child....£129!!!!!!!! And as already stated, a couple of hours and your done. Didn't see that many animals, had to wait for 2 hours to get a ride on the boat, we could not feed the seals, (Mating season!!), I think we saw 1 seal and a hippo....wow.

Yes we did take a look at the house, not much to see, not allowed to see many rooms, just a few.

Yep sorry Longleat a complete waste of money. For a better view of things watch Animal Park on TV and let Ben shows the best bits!!

tawnyowls

montycat wrote:

we Didn't have time to see things more than once .In fact we go back later in the season to do the rest . For that reason ,we find it good value as ,you can back on the same passport and ,see the rest .

I think this particular feature of it makes it excellent value - it's quite a big place and if you take the time to look at each feature properly, you're unlikely to get all the way round it, especially with small kids. Admittedly, it's better if you live nearby, because it's a lot easier to pop down if you're an hour up the road rather than having to make a long trip, but I thought it was excellent value. I took a child there and she particularly enjoyed the adventure playground and spent ages looking at the butterflies. We didn't get around half the attractions in the 5 hours were wree there.

The animals certainly weren't sleeping while we were there - there were loads of flamingoes out; the monkeys were everywhere, clambering over cars, pulling at aerials, etc.; the wolves were right down by the fence; and one of the lions decided it was a good time for a spot of bonking (female looked thoroughly bored).

samcat_2

One of our best family memories is feeding deer out of our cupped hands at Longleat, soft noses knuzzling through the car windows, later a white tiger strolling next to us, eating a picnic under huge trees 100's years old, next to the mansion house, before going off to handle a live snake!

Looking at Blue Monkey's post, they should have been more understanding/lenient, its a shame that lack of understanding toddler needs ruined the day.

Louisa_Jane_2

As for Legoland, yes, I absolutley agree with you and we rarely go places like that. I have never been to Legoland. However, don't get me started on Digglerland which was Closed when we got there with 2 kids screaming with excitment in the back of the car... in May and at the start of the holiday season in Devon which is where loads of people go for a holiday. You have to wonder!![/QUOTE]
Don't knock Legoland if you've never been! - It's a fantastic day out, especially for toddlers and small children. I've never paid full price to go in, there always seems to be free kids vouchers etc. available ( I think on https://www.lastminute.com they are £10 or £15 each until the end of June)

brenmcc1

I've been to Longleat once. Last summer for the red bull air race. Pretty awsome and a good free day out not quite the propper longleat though...