Flamingo Land Review
Flamingo Land
Malton, Yorkshire
Reviewed By Lisa Lambert
Flamingo Land is near Malton in North Yorkshire and is just of the A64. It was really easy to get to from Manchester and had the motorway not been closed and us having to take a detour round through Oldham and Huddersfield the journey would have been just under 2 hours so a great distance for a day out.
The weather hadn’t been great in the lead up to us going and had forecast showers so we made sure we all went wrapped up and so glad we did although it was dry the wind was bitterly cold and there isn’t much shelter from the wind in the park so if you know the weather is not going to be blue skies and sunny make sure you wrap up warm.
We arrived at the park and there was a large concrete carpark and to the left you could see fields that were clearly used as overflow parking in the busy periods. We parked really easily quite near the entrance gates which was great as we had already checked about leaving the picnic in the car and this would make it easier to get later on.
We gained access to the park really quickly and easily and had been given a map when entering so we could navigate were we wanted to go. We walked around a little to begin with and had a look at the rides and got our bearings as we needed to get warm as it was bitterly cold when in the wind.
We made our way round and decided to have a go on Voodoo (pirate ship), my daughter isn’t great with rides so just I and my son went on and had a great time sat at the back, he loved it.
After we tried this we went for a walk to see the giraffes that we could see from the path and we were then pleasantly surprised by the large Zoo at the back of the park. The list of animals in the zoo is just too long to list (birds, farm animals, mammals and reptiles & amphibians). We made our way through looking at tortoise, lions, ostrich, rhinos and loads more. They were all very well looked after that was very clear and you could actually get really close to some of the animals and have a really good look. There was also information on each animal, the various types of animal and key facts to know which was good as the kids were asking what it was and what does it eat and we could point them to board to read and learn more. The zoo was great and loads to see.
Before we knew it we had walked all the way round the zoo and it was lunch time, time had gone quickly as we were just in our world exploring what there was to see. We made our way back to the car to have lunch as it was too cold to sit outside. There was however loads and loads of picnic benches all around the park both near the rides and in the zoo so plenty of space to take a picnic. Also we noticed the endless places to eat and not just you normal burger bars, we came across some nice pubs and restaurants as well a fish and chips and burgers so lots of choice to suit your budget and choice.
It was easy to get in and out of the park we just got a stamp from security on the way out and showed it on the way back in. Also the car park is right outside the park so really easy to get back to should you need to take something back or go grab some coats if the weather changed to save you having to carry it all with you.
We had lunch and we ready to hit the rides, the kids started off with some of the smaller rides and were able to go on these on their own whilst we just watched (Twistosaurus, People Mover, Splash Battle, Zooom). We then decided to hit some of the larger rides, my daughter isn’t great with heights and the larger rollercoaster type rides so stayed on the side lines for these whilst me and my son took advantage of no queues we went on Hero 5 times, Kumali 6 times and Mumbo Jumbo 6 times. He loved every second of it, he was a little scared to begin with as it was his first time on rides of this size but after the first time round that was it “again mum again” so whilst the park was quiet we took advantage and didn’t cue for more than a few minutes to get on each time.
Kumali – mim height 1.3m (just tall enough for this)
Mumbo Jumbo – min height 1.22m
Hero – min height 1.27m
We saved the Lost River ride until the last ride of the day as we knew we would be getting wet and boy did we get wet. You start off nice and tranquil going through the zoo and you get to see the lions, birds, ostrich, zebra’s and hippos on your way round and then it takes you up the ramp like the log flume would and then oh my word the biggest ever splash of water we got drenched, so glad it was the last ride as we were sopping wet through.
Well actually it wasn’t quite the last ride on the way out my daughter decided she had plucked up the courage to try Velocity (super-fast motorbikes on rollercoaster kind of ride) so I took her on and she screamed so loudly all the way through the ride but as we suspected she loved it and her first words “can we go on again mum”. We had been trying to encourage her to go on rides all day but she is feared when she sees they go upside down but we know that once she has been on like my son did after the first time she would love them.
We noticed all around the park various places were shows took place at various times throughout the day. This is not something we took part in as my kids are not great with things like this they are way to active however we did see the tail end of the show at the Bongo Warriors and it was some amazing acrobats and we have seen something similar in the past and they are amazing and I would highly recommend going to see them if you visit the park.
We had a great day out, made even better by the fact it wasn’t overly busy and we didn’t queue for more than 5 minutes to get on any of the rides. My son loved the rollercoasters and is asking when we will next be doing something like this again.
I would plan your day if you are going to make sure you can take in some of the shows if that’s what your family like to do and still be able to get full enjoyment out of the rides and the zoo. The animals are fab and for me having the theme park and zoo together made it such a different day out as it wasn’t all noise and being shaken about, we could have some special family time talking and playing together. The website is really good and you can download a map and also look at height restrictions on the rides which we did so I knew exactly what we could and couldn’t go on so there was no disappointment when we got there.
Taking everything into account we would give Flamingo Land a 4 out of 5.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost: £37 (adults and children over 4 years), £116 (family – 2 adults, 2 children or 1 adult, 3 children). Save money by booking online in advance.
For more information or to book tickets visit www.flamingoland.co.uk.
Flamingo Land Ltd. Kirby Misperton, Malton, North Yorkshire, YO17 6UX | 0871 9118000
