AIBU to be miffed about Chester Zoo?

Why do you keep saying “we are all struggling” and then qualify it with except the mega rich and politicians. We aren’t all struggling. I’m not mega rich or a politician and I don’t qualify for any benefits. I’m not struggling and I recognise I am a lot better off than those who are on benefits. You are the sort of person who complains about the pay what you can pantomime by bleating on about how you paid over £200 for a family of 4 and you work very hard blah blah blah. How about you think about all the lovely things you have instead of feeling bitter about a lovely thing someone else has.

Op is this 1 pound deal available as a one off? Or is it available all year around and? I have a membership and I’d be cancelling if I’m subsidising yet another scheme.

Quit your job and sign on, if you think you’ll be better off.

Earlier today a work colleague of mine proudly stated what there UC monthly take home was, which was around £700 higher than my wages at a job I work hard on. I do not begrudge benefits but when someone is better off than someone who has worked hard and sacrifices to ensure the kid has an enriched life, I find that unfair.
For clarity this colleague does earn less at work than I do due to their role. They have 2 children and I have one. My wage is my total household income as a single parent

It is first come first served, the tickets sell out quickly

Lots of people who work get universal credit

During the Covid pandemic, and particularly the lockdowns I gave a voluntary monetary gift to Chester Zoo, and a couple of others. It is many, many years since I was able to visit any of the zoos I donated to as I am bed/wheelchair bound. At the time I donated the money we were just living on my husband's pension and my PIP payment - I have since reached retirement age so now get my state pension as well. I gave the donations for the sake of the animals, and because when I was a child, and then a young adult, I had some magical visits to those zoos.

By the way, we only ever visited one zoo per year, it was a special treat, and I think you said that you can only visit the zoo once a year due to the cost, well isn't that the norm for most people? It is possible that I may be able to visit Chester Zoo next year as we recently moved 'up North' because of the cheaper house rental prices in some places up here. If Chester Zoo are still doing the same offer in the warmer months eg May, my husband and I might be able to go there one more time. Would you really resent me being able to enjoy a day at my favourite zoo @Stillinshock123 - it must be nearly 30 years since I was last able to visit it?

Do you have any friends / family who claim? If it’s a six ticket limit then I’m sure they could book for you all just so your children get an equal opportunity to go? Obviously this shouldn’t be the way but zoo trips are out of budget for so many families at the moment, whether they claim UC or not.

What reasons can't you claim?

For anyone considering the Tower of London (though it is the income based benefits only - not DLA and PIP) - you also get 50% off in the restaurant and two kids eat free with each adult meal as well.

The £1 tickets (the income related benefits ones) are also available for Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the King's Galleries and Palace of Holyrood as well

Puzzled about not “daring” to claim. Surely there’s something you can do about that?

It's a lovely idea. All children should go on trips. It widens their horizons, develops their vocabulary, pushes their thinking forward.

I feel the same way. I work, dh works we are on our knees. We are struggling to afford our rent and bills. We probably would qualify for uc but due to reasons outside my control we dont dare claim. All the children in our family have been to the zoo apart from our children because we cant afford to take them.

I’m shocked you want to rant about people on low incomes getting a limited opportunity to take their kids to the zoo. Really? A rant? Zoos are expensive but some kids never get the chance to go. Education for all children should be a priority for every one of us. They are our future after all.

Not as good as the £1 offer but Edinburgh Zoo charges £7 a ticket (instead of something like £25!) for those on Universal Credit. That’s on all year.

It’s awesome this is available and so pleased people are learning about it through this post.

I can see if you really struggle while being on slightly more money than the UC cutoff it must feel hard you just miss the option to do this. I can also see that for organisations making this kind of offer it’s tricky to do it in any other way.

Ultimately although it would arguably be better extended to a wider group it’s still fantastic the scheme exists.

Another “I want what those poor people have.” post. 🙄

Although I dislike zoos, I think it’s a wonderful idea. Why deny children who live in families with low incomes the same experiences afforded to children who have parents who are from affluent homes?

We pay for family membership of the zoo and it’s worth every penny to us as it’s close enough for us to visit for just an hour or two whenever we want. That way we can go and just see a few of the animals at a time rather than feel we’ve got to get value for the days entry fee by trying see every single one. Trust me a whole day at the zoo is absolutely knackering for everyone.
My advice to anyone going on the £1 entry is plan your day carefully with a list of the animals you’d ideally see. and wear sensible shoes. If you’re not careful you can end up walking miles and seeing not much at all. Animal feeding times can be chaotic and believe me you’ll see plenty of inconsiderate adults who give no thought to the little ones they barge in front of meaning they end up seeing nothing at all.

Another thing- first come first served excludes those who need to wait till payday to purchase a cheaper ticket.

It's for two weeks...

Fantastic advertisement, OP! I knew nothing about this. If I lived closer I might have taken advantage of this lovely opportunity. I hope some families go and have a lovely affordable day out now because they’ve seen this. A day out they wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise.

I don’t know why you would ever feel miffed about children going to see lots of different animals when usually they might not get to.

They still need to pay the bills for the animals, security, insurance, maintenance, catering, facilities, staff, outreach programmes, repairs and upgrades. A charitable grant specifically for people who fit within a specific range of circumstances that are characterised by limited opportunities to visit such places is not one that can be repurposed into making middle class families feel happier about how much they are wanted at a place they already go to.

We take kids to a zoo as part of the curriculum once a year. The vast majority of children with pupil premium funding have never been further than home, school or a local supermarket, possibly a library if they haven't been closed down. Many have never been on any public transport other than a bus (and not because their parents have big cars, whether through using a higher rate mobility component to part fund a vehicle or not, but because the family does not have the money to be able to travel or go on trips). Same way that outward bound/activity centre trips mean that children who have never seen the countryside, farm animals, the sea, gone on a boat and seen native grey seals or what a mountain really looks like have the chance to do so, and trips to museums, art galleries or concerts can give an experience that they would never have had otherwise.

I live close by and never go because of how expensive it is. In half term though they offered £10 off adult tickets and £10 tickets for children and teens, for everyone, so we went then.

I'm glad this shitty thread turned into tips for people.

What’s that supposed to mean?