Fun family day out (West Midland Safari and Leisure Park)

Member Name: simbanewt

Product:	West Midland Safari and Leisure Park
Date:	03/11/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Family fun

Disadvantages: Crowded at peak times

As it was half term last week we were looking for a destination for a family day out. We settled on a visit to the West Midlands Safari and Leisure Park in Bewdley, Worcestersire. The park combines the drive-through animal reserves typical of a safari park with a 'discovery trail' (animals which you can see on foot) and a large amusement area.

As we knew the park would be busy during half term, we arrived just after opening (at 10) and were met by queues at the ticket booths. These queues went down quickly though and we were waiting no more than 5 minutes to pay. Entry to the park is not cheap- as there are four of us we purchased a family ticket (which admits 2 adults and 2 children)
for £40. Other ticket prices are as follows:

Adults - £11.50
Children - £10.50
Under 3's - Free
Senior Citizens - £10.50
Disabled - £10.50
Students - £10.50

This admission price includes access to all of the animal exhibits, but does not include any rides in the amusement area. As my sons are only 3 we did not visit the amusements and just stuck to the animals. If you do want to use the rides, you can buy individual tickets (at a minimum of £5 for three), or better value, buy a wristband for unlimited rides. Wristbands cost £10.25 for an adult, £9.75 for a child, or £38 for a family wristband. If you go for a family day out and want to use the rides and see the animals it is definately not a cheap day out! One good point regarding our entrance fee though is that it does entitle us to return to the park for free over the winter season. This makes it much better value, and we hope to make use of this ticket in the next couple of months (hopefuly when it will be a little quieter, but more of that later!).

When you enter the park you have the option to head straight into the animal reserves, which we did on our visit, or park up and look around the rest of the attractions first. The guide to the park advises that if you arrive at peak time, between 11 am-2 pm, you park the car and visit other attractions first, leaving the animal reserves until later when they are quieter. As we were early though, we thought we would be safe to head straight to the animal reserves. It turned out once we were in that the trail was very very busy- it was still a nice experience, however it was over two hours before we reached the end of the reserve and were able to stretch our legs and get out of the car. For two 3-year olds this was a little too long in the car and by the end of the drive they were very tetchy! Congestion aside however, the boys really enjoyed the animal reserves- we got up close to lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, rhinos and camels to name just a few. If you buy the animal food available at the entrance you are able to feed many of the animals from your car, and can have giraffes eating out of your hand!

After the animal reserves, we parked the car and headed to the 'discovery trail'. We enjoyed looking around the creepy crawlie house and the reptile house, with some huge snakes! There is a twilight cave, with free flying bats, however we had to miss this one as it proved a bit too dark and smelly for our sons, who insisted we leave! We visited the sea lions, although we didn't manage to catch a show in the sea lion theatre, which are on three times a day. Finally, a walk through the amusement area took us to the hippo lake, where a wooden walkway and viewing platform gives you a great view down onto the huge hippos wallowing below. As I mentioned earlier, we didn't try out any of the rides available at the safari park, however they included a couple of roller coasters, log flume, and wild river rafting amongst many others.

We didn't use any of the food outlets at the safari park, but there were plenty around if you need to grab a snack- there is a fish and chip stall, burger bar, pizza stall, and a sit-down cafe serving a varied menu.

Overall, we had a good day out at the West Midlands safari park- the boys enjoyed getting up close to the animals, and its not every day that a giraffe trys to stick his head into your car. The only down sides to the visit were the crowds, although this is to be expected anywhere during half term, and the price. I would say though that the free return ticket means the entrance fee is reasonable. If you are looking for a family day out, I would recommend giving the West Midland safari park a try.

The full address for anyone looking to visit is:
West Midland Safari Park,
Spring Grove,
Bewdley,
Worcestershire,
DY12 1LF.

Summary: Worth a visit