Attractions

West Midland Safari Park Summer 2017 Review

Reviewed by Zoey Caldwell

West Midland Safari Park is located in Bewdley, Worcestershire and was easy enough to find using the Satnav. We travelled from Northampton and had no problems at all finding it.

The entrance to park gives a great first impression. Our first impression was that the park is well maintained. Driving to the booths there were several lanes of queuing cars and a number of members of staff amongst the cars selling the parks souvenir brochure, £4 for a high quality informative booklet that for my animal mad 6-year-old was a must buy. As we had tickets already I questioned as to whether we needed to join the queuing cars or if there was a fast track lane, we were directed to a booth that was serving it’s one other customer, so we didn’t have to wait too long.

We decided as the sun was shining we would do the walking part of the Safari Park first so followed the clear signs to toilets and parking.

Our first stop was the toilet block, not going to talk too much about these. They are not the nicest of facilities but seem to have staff visit regularly. With the footfall there on a daily basis it would be very hard to have high standards. My partner did mention a door had been kicked in, in the men’s room.

Just outside the amenities these are 2 mobile food units so drinks and burgers are right on hand as soon as you arrive.

We walked through the Lost City Food Court and stopped off for a pick and mix selection for the children, it was quite early in the day and we were the only customers in the shop – staff were restocking shelves and popping in and out. We were left for a minute or 2 waiting to pay but the staff member was apologetic for this.

Onto our adventure, Twilight Cave! A walkthrough experience, sadly I didn’t get passed the door. One step into the darkened room and my youngest son (6) decided it was too scary and he didn’t want a bat landing on him giving him ticks so sadly had to leave. My eldest and partner walked through and my son was eager to point out that he had seen a monkey but all the bats were asleep. He was a little disappointed by this, but such is life! He was more annoyed by the ignorance of other visitors ignoring the keep quiet signs.

Creepy Crawlies next, another walk-through experience with a number of different breeds of creepy crawlies – hissing cockroaches, locust, tarantula, leaf cutter ants are amongst the critters you can find here. Some are easier to find than others.

A short walk across to Lorikeet Landing and again only 2 of us experienced this as soon as one of the birds flew near him the youngest was gone! We decided to buy nectar for £1.50 and boy does that little pot of gold bring the birds to you. Within seconds of the eldest walking in with it, he had 3 birds on him. This was highly amusing and he was chuffed! He did get a little peck on the ear but it is wild animals so to be expected. He wasn’t hurt at all. The 2 of us stayed in here for about 5 minutes and really enjoyed it – it is quite noisy and the fear of being pooped on urged us out. These birds are stunning. What a fantastic chance to get up close!

Right to this is Land of the Living Dinosaur. Taking advantage of a photo opportunity with a skull, 2 members of staff started talking to my youngest. Seeing that beloved bag of pick & mix they questioned him as to whether he would keep the sweets away from their T-Rex as he is getting a little bit fat! This was a lovely touch by 2 young female members of staff that could have just walked past and ignored us. So thank you, for taking that time out of your working day. You made us all smile.

The experience itself is informative and the animatronic dinosaurs kept the boys amused. Dinosaurs are very popular in our home. Both were bitten by the bug. We have been to quite a few dinosaur experiences and this was quite good. There is a shop and a Dino dig area as you make your way around.

Next up the Reptile House this is home to lizards and snakes large and small. An alligator sat motionless on the edge of his pool, a magnificent species and was great to be able to see one so close up. My son was concerned for the snapping turtle that shares the pool! I assured him that it would be just fine. Just at the other side of its pool there is a crocodile and we were stumped as to how those jaws weren’t in agony as sat perfectly still with mouth wide open – just letting us all see the fabulous teeth. We decided to carry on past the Explorers restaurant (this is a sit-down meal eatery) as not quite ready for food yet and onto the amusements and rides. Very cleverly the walk way to the hippos is through the shop, marketing heaven I imagine. We escaped wallets intact and having watched a family of hippos basking in the sun. They were all asleep and all with their backs towards us. What a sight a hippo bottom is!

The rides can be paid for individually but you can also purchase wristbands that mean if you have small ones that cannot access many rides you are not paying a premium price. Surprisingly yesterday neither of the boys wanted to go on any rides. This is unheard of! There is a mixture of rides for smaller ones and tummy churning ones in this small amusement park. We missed this but if you walk through to the end there are Meerkats, Lemurs and a Goat park. We instead decided to walk back and head towards Sea lion show. We were a little early and it being 1pm now decided to grab something to eat. We chose pizza from the Lost City Plaza. You are able to but a whole pizza or by the slice which is handy when everybody likes something different. Chicken is also available here. We had 4 slices pizza, 2 fries, chilli cheese bites and a coffee and it came to just over £20 so not too bad compared to other days out we have encountered.

Now I have to say with sadness I was disappointed with the Sea lion show. I was a bit bored. My youngest enjoyed it but my eldest sat pretty much expressionless the whole way through. I felt the show was so scripted and was more about the banter between the 2 girl keepers than the wonderfulness of the Sea lions. I have been to other shows and been more entertained.

Onto the main event… the SAFARI. We left this for later in the day for a couple of reasons, the sunny weather in the morning and we could see all the vehicles queuing around the first enclosure. We were so excited about seeing the animals – my favourite part of this experience would be being able to hand feed the giraffes.

The road is split into different areas of the world and what animals would habitat these areas. There are certain areas that you can feed the animals and other where the car must have windows up and sun roofs closed. These are the areas with the big cats or the African Wild Dogs. These magnificent animals are fast and wild so having the windows up is a MUST. It astounded us the number of cars that wound their windows down in these enclosures to get a great photo! This angers me so much because what would happen to the animal if it did what it instinctively is bred to do? I am not sure what more the Safari park can do to stop this. There were tannoy announcements and all around the drive through areas they had lookout posts and off-road vehicles. I tried not to let this fact tarnish the wonder of seeing such beautiful animals so close up.

Animals, my own grandchildren if I am blessed, will possibly only ever see in a book or online. The White Lions and Tigers are stunning. The White Tigers slept whilst an agitated looking Sumatran Tiger paced back and forth along the dividing fence. I did not like seeing this. This animal did not seem relaxed at all – its’ companion slept in the sun so I am not sure what irritated it.

Sometimes we seemed to sit in a queue for a long time, waiting for the secure gates to open and let us through only to be scouring the enclosure for the anticipated animals. This is certainly true of the Cheetahs and the African Wild Dogs. They were hiding in the shade on the outskirts of their enclosures. That is fantastic they have the space to be able to roam but a tad frustrating for those so excited to see them. This is just part and parcel of a day out like this and in no way a reflection on the Safari Park at all.

We saw Zebra, Rhinoceros, Ostriches, Camels, Lions, Tigers, and many more. The Giraffes were not going to play ball with us and we looped around twice before my eldest and my partner had the chance to feed these stunning animals by hand. WOW. What an opportunity! This is the highlight of the whole day for me. My youngest and I managed to feed some Addax – feeding these amazing wild animals is an honour and memories were made so thank you immensely.

We would like to thank the Safari Park for its efforts into conservation. There are several species that are endangered or close to extinction. Breeding and conserving numbers of natures’ own wonders is an amazing job and I am so thankful we were part of it. A young elephant walks with its herd – magical.

In summary for a fantastic family day out West Midland Safari Park is up there with the best. My children both had an EPIC day (their words)

The park do accept Tesco Club card Vouchers but this does not include a return visit or Safari Gift.

We were at the park for 8 hours so the whole day! That is a great day out in my book.

Thank you again for a brilliant day, with brilliant staff and wonderful animals!

Rating: 5/5

Standard admission prices: £23 Adult / £18 Child (3-15 years) / Under 3s are free – dicounts are available if booked online in advance.

Standard tickets includes admission to: Drive-Through Safari, Land of the Living Dinosaur, Boj’s Giggly Park, Sea Lion Show, Reptile World, Penguin Cove, African Village, Hippo Lakes, SeaQuarium, Creepy Crawlies, Twilight Cave, Meerkat Mayhem, Lemur Woods, Daily feeds, talks & animal encounters.

Rides in the Adventure Theme Park are an extra cost, wristbands cost £14 for an adult and £11 for a child.

For more information or to book tickets online visit www.wmsp.co.uk.

West Midland Safari Park. Bewdley, Worcs, DY12 1LF | 01299 402114

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