Thoughts on Safari Parks

rchddap1

Looking to go to a safari park this summer using tesco vouchers. The choices are Longleat, West Midlands, Woburn and Whipsnade. Now we've been to Longleat before and enjoyed it. But we're wondering if any of the other's are any better.

One of the things we liked at Longleat is that instead of taking the car round the park to be vandalised by monkeys we could get on a bus that took us round. I know that West Midlands have something similar for people who turn up to the park on foot.....but is it possible to park the car somewhere and get this ride round?

All of them are similar distances for us to get to, except West Midlands is a bit further....but I think it would be easier on our clubcard vouchers.

So, comments on the parks please and thoughts as to which is the best.

Raksha

Whipsnade is more a zoo than a safari park - generally you can't get in the enclosures with the animal (even if in a car). You can pay a little extra and take your car inside the park rather than leave it in the car park though - which is great to have a 'base' for a picnic, or if you have small people with little legs that get tired easily - it's a very long walk around the whole park.....

rchddap1

Thanks for the info....sounds like I can strike whipsnade off the list. I'll be around 5 months pregnant when we go and I don't do long walks in the sun any more.

That leaves me with Longleat, Woburn and West Midlands.

rchddap1

Still looking for comments on the other three parks.

Sarahjovi

We went to Woburn Safari Park for my daughter's birthday this year. You take the car in and drive around (the monkeys didn't come near the cars, although there has been reports in the local paper of England Flags being nicked by the cheeky chaps recently). When you get to the end you park up and explore the rest. One thing the kids really enjoyed was the huge play arc, with giant slides, ball ponds etc., There is quite a bit to walk around, but plenty of places to sit if you want a rest.

We all enjoyed the day! and paid with club card vouchers, which takes the edge off the expence thing. And we left when it was closing! So must have been plenty to keep us occupide!

We went there because it is the nearest to us, so I haven't been to any others (Other than Whipsnade, which is a Zoo on a Windy Hill Top) to compere it too!

Sarah:D

jenniferpa

I went to west midlands about 4 weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was a half term holiday so it was packed. Anyway, while there are no monkeys to destroy your car, there are wild dogs whose main game seems to be trying to bite the covers off trailer hitches (or whatever they're called). The car in front of us had one, and the dog was essentially attached to it as it tried to bite it. Not successful, but there was ample evidence lying around to show that they are normally quite adept at it! Its a much smaller park than Longleat (the only other one I've ever been to) and that means that, on the whole, the animals are much closer (reach out and touch a Rhino, anyone?)
I did not visit the play areas etc, so I can't speak to those.

It was a much more manageable experience than Longleat, but it did feel a trifle exploitative - I'm not sure why. Incidentally, when we went, they were giving out coupons for a free return visit.

monkeyspanner

Advantage of W.Midlands is you can go round the safari more than once and you can get a return visit in the same season & in the same vehicle free. Its a lot more compact than Longleat with a car park near the entrance. From this car park you can visit the attractions other than the safari, fairground type rides in this section are at an extra charge to your entrance ticket but there are some zoo type exhibits and quite a good seal show but audience capacity on this is limited. These extra animal exhibits are included in the price. To avoid the crowds in the safari part get there early and do it straight away or wait until mid-afternoon when people start to go home (or both if you have the stamina). You can get very close to the animals and there is a good variety (better than Longleat) some of the big cats (mainly Tigers) can only be veiwed from your car through enclosure wire so its a bit more like a traditional zoo in parts but most animals including the white lions are in open enclosures. The most attention our car got was from the emus but this wasn't like the monkeys in Longleat.

Like Jenniferpa I did have a slightly more uncomfortable feeling about W.Mids but I think its purely the more zoo-like feel. The only animals that I thought were exhibiting any adverse effects of captivity were the Tigers which were doing that repetitive prowling up and down the wire of their enclosures. All the other animals looked pretty relaxed and unconcerned.

You can picnic in the car park area which has food stands but it doesn't have the large open areas that Longleat has.

Can't comment on the other two venues but if you have been to Longleat I'd say W.Mids is a good bet at £8.95 each, plus any rides the kids want to go on.