Whipsnade Hullabazoo Adventure Play Review
Hullabazoo Adventure Play
Whipsnade Zoo, Bedfordshire
Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire are opening Hullabazoo, a new outdoor adventure play area this May half-term. Opening from 25 May Hullabazoo is designed around animal movement, giving youngsters the chance to slither and slide as they run wild and test their agility against one another.
Hullabazoo Adventure Play, located at the heart of the Zoo next to Hullabazoo Indoor Play and the farm, is suitable for children of all ages, and will be open 364 days of the year.
We were invited to send several reviewers and their families to test it out before opening and here are their reviews:
Reviewed by Charlotte Green
I was invited to take my daughter and her friend to Hullabazoo, the new outdoor adventure play area at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. When we arrived at the play area I was very impressed with how lovely it looked. It was much bigger than I expected and was mostly made from wood, which gave it a beautiful natural look. The main feature of the play area was 'Whipsnade Heights'. This is made up of 6 towers, which are joined by cargo nets, tunnels and bridges, so the children can climb from one tower to the next. There were a few different slides to come down, including spiral tunnel slides and also a fireman’s pole.
Also in the play area were monkey bars, balance beams, climbing frames, swings, a zip wire and a small climbing wall. And there was an area dedicated especially to younger children with a small bridge, slide, roundabout and swings. There were colourful picnic benches around the park for adults to sit and relax while the children played, or to sit and have a picnic inbetween play.
The whole play area has been very well built and is finished off with fresh new grass and lovely plants. It all looks very pretty. All the play equipment is surrounded by a bouncy, rubbery floor to make it safe for the children. And the play area is fenced off so that the children can't wander off. I was very impressed with this new adventure play area and I think it makes a perfect addition to a wonderful day out at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. My daughter and her friend had a fantastic time playing there. My daughters favourite bit was the zip wire. She said "That playground was lots of fun. I liked climbing up high and I could see far away in the zoo. Can we go there again every day?" Well I’m not sure about going every day but I will definitely be taking her back there again. We had a lovely day.
Rating: 5/5 
Reviewed by Lee Anderson
Thank you so much for the opportunity to explore the new Hullabazoo Adventure playground on Saturday. We were so lucky with the weather after the forecast was for rain but the sun decided to make an appearance in the afternoon! When we got to the zoo the lady on the gate gave us directions to the playground and as we turned the corner around the bug house the children spied the playground in the distance and literally ran whooping with joy towards it! The words 'awesome, fabulous and amazing' were being bandied about! Within seconds of walking through the gate into the play area we lost them up into the heights of the wooden climbing frames. We were amazed that Sam managed as well as he did as his left arm was in plaster but a little thing like that was not going to stop him! The children really liked the zip wire and actually shared turns! Mum really liked the clear plastic on the slides so you can see if it's your child crying at the top or getting ready to take the important action shot at the bottom! The children did a great circuit round the climbing walls and nets. A big improvement on the previous playground was the removal of the loose bark which always managed to get into shoes. There also seems to be plenty of grassy hills and picnic benches for mums to perch on with a cuppa or an ice- cream watching the children play. Everything seems nicely spaced out and now there are no 'escape routes' for little ones as the play area is fenced and gated which is a great help for busy mums that need 3 pairs of eyes! Although my children are too old for the toddler/younger kid area we did go for a look round and the only complaint the children had was that there are no swings for them apart from the circular one in the toddler area. All in all a great addition which will always round off a great day out or if you are as lucky as us to live close by and hold a season ticket you can just pop over for a couple of hours to catch a show and have a run around the playground. Thanks for a great afternoon, the Anderson Family.
Rating: 5/5
For more information or to book tickets visit www.zsl.org/zsl-whipsnade-zoo
