Excellent full day out for all ages! (West Midland Safari and Leisure Park)

Member Name: cdsmiler81

Product:	West Midland Safari and Leisure Park
Date:	15/09/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty to do, healthy animals, family friendly.

Disadvantages: Rides a bit expensive.

Myself and my husband are big animal lovers. We've been to Longleat Safari park, but neither of us had been to West Midlands Safari park for many many years. So, as part of a big group camping trip this summer, we decided to take advantage of the proximity to the safari park, and spent the day there.

There were the two of us, another adult, and her 1 year old daughter. Upon arriving at the safari park we were immediately given a voucher to use within the same season for a free return visit. Bargain! The only condition was that it had to be the same number plated car, and no more than 3 adults (the 1 year old was free entry anyway!).

We decided not the follow the crowds who were heading into the main safari park drive around first, and instead headed to the parking area to take a good look around the other attractions first. Besides, the 1 year old needed a quick change!

We headed into the Discovery Trail section of the park, which includes exhibitions, food, displays and the rides. We avoided the rides mainly because we were with a little one (and my husband doesn't like rides!), but also because you have to pay extra. There's a good deal on wrist bands - ideal for ride loving older children, but for the odd ride here and there it's a bit expensive. Due to the time we arrived, we decided to first head down to the hippo pool to see the feeding and listen to the talk. The lady leading the talk was a bit quiet unfortunately, but the feeding was great in the sense that the public were permitted to feed the hippos themselves! Great...except that as the sun was out, the large family of hippos were more than happy to just continue to sunbathe! Not much anyone can do about that I know, and luckily one greedy hippo did decide to swim out and eat as much of the food as he could.

We then headed back up to walk through some of the exhibitions - reptiles, creepy crawlies, sea life, and the twighlight cave - which myself and my friend loved. There's bats flying all around you. Granted, they are smelly little beasts, but the exhibition is impressive. Unfortunately, neither my husband or the 1 year old liked it at all!!

We then headed to the sea lion show. A well thought out display, highlighting the excellent partnership between the staff member leading the talk and the two performing sea lions. They looked happy and healthy (the sea lions too!! Hehe!). The tricks weren't anything outstandingly different, but well done otherwise.

We noticed that there were ample activities for families throughout the Discover Trail area - animal encounters, painting sessions... they really have made the effort to cater for the entire family.

The Discovery Trail area was now getting very busy. After a spot of lunch, we jumped back in the car, and headed to the drive through safari. An excellent plan, as compared to the queues we saw earlier, the safari was quiet and you could take your time travelling around.

The safari itself is impressive. Not only does it feel significantly longer than the Longleat drive around, but they also sell animal food so you can get up close and personal with some of the calmer animals. An excellent idea - as there's always likely to be some idiot trying to feed a camel a packet of cheesy crisps or something! One hint for you though - take wet wipes and anti bacterial hand gel, as although they rightly advise you to wash your hands after the safari, it's 4 miles long and a long time to wait while you have deer slobber over your hands. Oh, and make sure if feeding that you leave your hand well outside your car window - you don't want a deer with it's horns trying to get inside!

For the most part the animals looked very healthy, content, and the enclosures - where used - were generous and enriching. There was a tiger that looked a little annoyed about his smaller cage, but to be fair, there could have been a legitimate reason for his separation from the others (health, injury, about to be moved to another park, only just arrived...the list goes on).

Overall, a great day out for all the family. At just £11.50 per adult, West Midlands Safari Park is excellent value and easily a full day out. We'll be going again, with our own children, in the years to come.

Summary: Save the safari for the afternoon to fully benefit the whole site!