West Midland Safari Park - has anyone been recently?

[Sue372]

We're going to stay with a friend who has suggested this for a day out with dc (almost 4yrs and 2yrs). What do you think? DD (almost 4yrs)is quite easily frightened and i wondered if having animals up close would be scary or if they (conversly) would get bored being in a v. slow moving car for an hour and a bit when ds will probably not be good at spotting things in the distance! Argh, our friend is being so kind trying to arrange activities for us but I'm not sure about this. Any feedback from someone who has been recently (I haven't been for about 20yrs!) would be brilliant. Thanks.

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I went last year, and the slow queues around the animal enclosures were hell! All those exhaust fumes, especially if it's a hot day! The rides were great though - queues were small and quick. What about the Cotswold wildlife park- that is nice, or is it too far? Although you are close to the animals there, so I guess you don't want that!

How close were the animals to you though? How did your dc find that (and how old are they)?! Hopefully we can avoid the fume problem as we have air conditioning. Thanks

Oh but Sue if you have the windows closed how will you feed the animals ???

DH and I took DS a couple of months ago, spose he was about 19mths. He loved it - sat in the front of the car with us all the way around.

We always avoid weekends and major school hols though; there aren't usually too many queues during the week. It is much better to go if it is NOT sunny though as the animals all hide away in the shade.

I do prefer the Cotswold Wildlife Park for a lovely day out though - great for picnics!

You can feed them???!!! Is your ds quite confident? I REALLY want to go but don't want to scare the cr*p out of dd!

I live near the safari park.
Do not visit at peak periods ,traffic is hellish.
Animals-they have lots
Yes you can feed some of them with your overpriced box of pellets,some of the animals will come close,normally the non scary ones.The speed you go round the enclosures will obviously depend on how many cars are visiting.If it is pretty quiet then you can go round at your own pace.
A word of advice it is cheaper to buy the wristband than the tickets for the rides.
Food is pretty basic.
It is now £9.50 per person entry fee,i think under 3's are free.
Have a nice time if you decide to go

We did Longleat with DS at 2 - he was fascinated.

Hiya, took ds in feb, was a lovely afternoon out and you can always keep windows shut. ds enjoyed it and kept trying to touch the animals. sealion show was gr8 too x

I live near too

Food is poo

Buy a wrist band

Animals are cool (especially the giraffes)

Rides are great fun with a lot for littlies too

You can get a whole day out of it

TBH, it's one of the few places we can go as a family as our kids have big age gaps and if we go places that'll please 4yo DD, then 15 & 13yo DS1 & DS2 will be bored witless. WMSP is a great compromise, it's close and good value

Ah, thank you - so it won't be the stuff of nightmares for dd then! Ok, wristbands, crap food, don't go at peak times. Anything else I need to know?!

It does seem to be a real suntrap (or at least it has whenever I've been), so do be careful with sun protection.

Get there as early as you can so you don;t have park a squillion miles away from the entrance

I love West Midlands (or West Millions, as my nephew calls it).

My tip would be, in the morning go on all the rides, see the sealion show, hold the snakes etc. Then in the afternoon do the safari. Everyone seems to do it the other way around, so this way you miss all the queues

You will also get a free entry pass for your next trip (within the same opening season).

cat, you get a free pass (with the no plate of your vehicle and the number of adults & children on it) which entitles you to come back again and again. I think for a whole day's entertainment the price is pretty reasonable. Plus the fact that Sue's kids would both get in free.

sorry, not again and again. Just again ! It entitles you to free park entrance for the same sized party in the same vehicle

"Don't Feed The Giraffes!" is the cry in our house whenever anyone mentions West Midlands Safari Park.

I fed a giraffe. It was fab. It leant right down and gently nuzzled some food from my hand. It was really exciting to be so close to one. DH thought he'd have a go. His giraffe must have had a cold or something.... I haven't laughed so much in ages. There was green gooey stuff ALL over DH's hand. It even dripped off on to the car door. He sat there aghast and thankfully seeing the funny side but we were very glad to have a full packet of wipes in the car. I guess it was bad luck as everyone else was feeding the giraffes without any shrieks of horror...

Mia Wallace is probably right about doing it that way round.

And DS, who was just 5, sat on my lap all the way round (you don't go beyond 5 miles an hour) so we could really chat to him and point things out. He loved it. Hopefully you will too!