To want a refund... Longleat safari.

[Mrsweasley123]

Visited longleat for the festival of lights yesterday, have been before for the christmas event and loved it. It was an absolute disaster. Sat stuck in the safari for 4 hours, staff had to put all the animals away so the gates could be kept open to ease traffic so nothing to look at. We were standstill in an enclosure for an hour, nose to nose traffic of idling cars, my 6 year old niece wet herself because we were stuck for so long with no access to get out. Made it out eventually, another 30 minute queue to access filthy toilets. 45 min- 1hr queues for food. On foot attractions closed. The lights themselves were impressive but it was so overcrowded people were getting crushed, children crying. It was honestly horrendous. We complained to guest services who acknowledged they were over capacity. I expect christmas events to be busy and expect to queue but aibu to think this is ridiculous and expect a refund?

All I can think is poor animals :(

We went to Longleat in February when they opened after the winter. It was incredibly busy in the safari then. Took hours to do the safari and we were bumper to bumper the whole way through. Chaos.

Lots of broken rides in the main area around the house as well.

I went years ago and it was a much more relaxed experience.

I'd be on Twitter and leaving a bad review on TripAdvisor. That sounds appalling. Poor animals too.

I wouldn't be too fast to jump to a public complaint- like twitter, facebook or tripadvisor.
That can annoy companies and service providers.
Fine if you want a loud complaint, but may not be the best way if you are looking for a refund.
I find a private message to begin with is more effective for a refund.
You still have the option of a public post if that doesn't work.

That sounds awful OP I expect they’re having to sell more tickets to make it cost effective putting it on, with the prices of everything at the moment. If everyone requests refunds though then that thinking is going to backfire on them. Maybe these sorts of events are a thing of the past unfortunately with the cost of everything.

They had to close last week due to snow, so they refused refunds and I think people went on another day.

I know of a couple of families who went to this over the years and they said the same thing. There are smaller places now doing the exact same thing and they are amazing and probably cheaper too.

Looks like they have H&S problems as well as greed.
Not only ask for a refund but complain to local council to report H&S concerns
“If you are unable to use any documents or require alternative formats, please contact us on 0300 456 0107 or email at [email protected] for assistance.”

Health and Safety executive www.hse.gov.uk/contact/tell-us-about-a-health-and-safety-issue.htm

Poor animals polluted by hundreds of vehicles at night when they should have a bit of peace. You can report concerns www.bornfree.org.uk/red-flag-report

Weve had annual passes for Longleat for a few years but very rarely bother with the safari, especially now both children at school so only go weekends or holidays as it can take so long - was ok midweek in termtime when they were toddlers. We never go for the seasonal events as it's always packed, but always enjoy visiting the on foot bits at quieter times

We went at the very end of November. Booked it months beforehand and then, after reading Trip Advisor reviews the night beforehand, was absolutely dreading it. So many people reporting problems similar to yours. However, i have to say that we had an amazing time. No crowds at all. The light displays were out of this world, really fantastic. But, we had a random inset day so I think it helped not going at a weekend or too close to Christmas. Based on my experience I would definitely go back, although for the Festival of Light only (not comfortable with the animal bit really) and not at a weekend close to Christmas.

If I was an animal there with all these gormless humans gawping at me from their noisy ,polluting cars I would be tempted to break off windscreen wipers and crap on their cars as well. Horrible places as are all zoos.

I would guess that their customer services are behind, they closed for a number of days last week because of the snow. We were able to go for the Santa train and lights only as they’d closed the safari so are receiving a partial refund. I’m sure they will get to you!

YANBU to have found it horrible and to want a refund..
YABU to expect anything that is supposedly a lovely Christmas event to be anything other than absolute rubbish.

Of course you should ask for a refund.
you didn’t get the experience they offered.

I went to a fireworks display at a cricket ground once. Half the spectators were sat - under a canopy! So we saw no fireworks! Complained and had a refund. Was ridiculous..

Yes, I would at least expect a partial refund for that.

Im so fed up of attractions completely overbooking tickets to the point where the conditions are unenjoyable at best and bloody dangerous at worst. Case in point, I went ice skating on the weekend (pre booked) and the queue to get in was out the door, then the queue to get skates meant we were 30 minutes into our time slot before we were even on the ice yet they were still taking walk in bookings. Once on the ice it was basically impossible to do any actual skating as it was so crowded, just pointless. I wish they would limit the amount of tickets they sell to these things even if it means paying a bit more.

Absolutely this! Such a miserable existence for all these animals just so that rich westeners can see exotic animals without even having to get off their backsides.

Sounds awful for the welfare of the animals and a health and safety issue if they're going above capacity. Clearly all about money.

I'd complain then avoid going in the future.

I am always confused by people who claim to love animals, then support zoos and these type of 'safari'

Got nothing nice to say…..

The usual tacky, mediocre rubbish that comes from prioritising profits over experience or customer service.

This country excels at it. It's the poor animals I feel sorry for.

We went a few years ago, and I was horrified by how the animals were kept.

Please stop letting places like this make millions from animal cruelty, lights or no lights.

It sounds awful. We went last year and it was amazing. But numbers were obviously reduced due to Covid then and there were no lanterns, just Christmas lights.

I went a couple of weeks ago, first time I’d ever been to Longleat. Had a similar experience to you - although 3 hours to get through the safari rather than 4 and I was really worried that the car was going to break down. The traffic wasn’t even static, it was people who decided they want to go in the overtaking lane, then spotted an animal and just stopped there for 15 minutes.

Related to OP, we have been to Kenya, Australia, Indonesia, the Middle East and many other places to see animals in their natural habitat. Unfortunately it’s not quite as cost effective as going to a zoo/safari park when you have children as young as one. Your response has nothing to do with the question asked, why don’t you stay on your backside and keep your negative comments to yourself.

You do realise that without modern zoos and wildlife parks and their breeding programs, a very large number of species of animals would have died out?

There are some animals and birds that only exist in zoos and wildlife parks now, and others who now have healthy numbers in the wild due to captive breeding and reintroduction programs. Yes not all zoos are great, but they do have a critical importance in keeping alive species who are endangered.