WILD WET RAUCOUS FUN (West Midland Safari and Leisure Park)

Member Name: indigojade

Product:	West Midland Safari and Leisure Park
Date:	03/08/02 (1612 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: GREAT FUN FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE

Disadvantages: DONT GO ON TOO HOT A DAY, COOL DAYS ARE BEST

After the dismal day out we had at Gulliver's Kingdom, we decided to try further afield for a day out. Taking advantage of a rare weekday off during the school holidays.

The weather in Derbyshire was dire - slinging it down with rain, but on checking the weather in Bewdley the town West Midlands Safari park is located showed it was going to be an overcast day - perfect for sitting in a car watching animals.

On arrival at the park we were filtered into about 6 lanes waiting to pass the kiosks to pay our entry fee to the park. Whilst waiting in the queue we were approached by staff offering souvenir 'programmes' for sale. Priced at £3 each and packed with information about all the animals in the park, these A4 size glossy magazines were well worth the money. Waiting time in the queue was about 10 minutes, extremely good considering the volume of traffic waiting.

The entry fee was £6.25 per person with under 4's going free. Once you have paid, you are also given a free re entry ticket - sort of buy one get one free. This re entry ticket has your car number plate written on it, and the amount of paying people in the car. The same car has to return and only the amount on the card get in free - but others in the car will have to pay. At the kiosk you are also given the opportunity to buy some animal food - these boxes of pellets will set you back a mere £1.50. Just through the payment area is a sign stating that dogs are not allowed in the safari park - and they even provide kennels at the entrance, just in case! Why anyone should want to take a dog with them I don't know - but the people at the safari park seem to have thought of everything!

Once through the kiosk you can drive directly into the safari park - where large signs remind you NOT to get out of your car, keep windows, and sunroofs shut when not feeding the animals. I was rather disturbed to see children hanging out of the car windows whilst driving throu
gh some of the areas. I am sure the parents would be hot to try and sue the park, should their little treasure have their head bitten off! a rather amusing sign that tells you that Lions and tigers eat spare wheels! Convertibles and 4x4's are NOT allowed in the lion or tiger areas - I wonder why!


In each area of the safari park are explicit signs as to whether the animals bite or whether you can feed them and a brief description of the animals - you can find out more from the glossy magazine you bought on the way in.

The roads through the park are extremely well maintained and at most points are two lanes. There is no 'best' side to be on, as the animals move around quite a lot - quite often standing directly in front of your vehicle in the hope of a small nibble! The animals are wonderfully tame and will, without fear approach your car - at a gallop if the windows are open! They will feed directly from your hand if you offer them your palm with a small amount of pellets on it. Please note that only food bought from the safari park must be fed to the animals, don't give them your sandwiches, crisps or apples - the animals may well appreciate it at the time, but our food is NOT for the animals and may well do them more harm than good.

Whilst driving through the safari park wardens are highly visible driving around in their 'tiger camouflage' jeeps in all the areas. Should you get into trouble whilst in the park, sound your horn and they will come and help you. Often the wardens have to try to persuade the animals out of the road and away from the cars.

There is no specified stopping time whilst watching the animals. Although good manners dictate that when you have a large queue of traffic building up behind you - its time to move on. When the park is busy expect it to take up to two hours to get around the actual safari part. Try if you can NOT to get stuck behind a coach as the fumes from them can m
ake you very nauseous indeed.

When entering the Lion enclosure, you are to drive into a 'cage' like structure and a gate closes behind you, once that is shut, the gate in front of you opens and you are off into lion country. This is a huge enclosure with plenty of lions, cubs and lionesses present. We were lucky to see four cubs at play, which was a magical site and kept James, captivated. There were also some high jinks from a lioness and her mate! The only thing I didn't like about this enclosure was the fencing. I am not talking about the safety of the enclosure - but the fact that the lions could see the rhino and giraffe on the other side of the fence, and one was stalking up and down trying to get at a giraffe on the other side. This was an awesome sight to see - a lion almost in action, but I felt it was a bit cruel to the lions.

The white tigers were in a similar enclosure to the lions, these are stunning animals and I was grateful for it taking so long to pass through the area, as these animals are my true love. The lion and tiger enclosures are the slowest areas of the park to pass through - not only because of the gate security feature, but because it appeared that most people like looking at these big cats. In all honesty they are the best tigers I have seen in artificial surroundings, a tribute to the staff and owners of the safari park.

At intervals around the park are 'drive thru' refreshment areas - log cabin where you can buy drinks, crisps and sweets - an excellent idea if you haven't remembered to pack any drinks in the car. This was welcome relief as we had been in the car an hour and a half. The prices are pretty much as you would expect for a park of this kind. I thought they would be vastly over priced, as we were a captive audience so to speak - but was pleasantly surprised.

Some of the other animals you will encounter when driving round the park are zebra, Gnu, Giraffe, Ankole catt
le, Eland, Wallaby, Nilgai, Emu, Bison, Wolves, camels, Bengal tigers, yak, and deer.

The elephants are in a separate enclosure, so those trunks wont take a fancy to any ornaments on your car! There are no monkeys at the safari park, so car ariels are safe! Just as well really as I was lacking the essential Alan Key to remove mine!

At the end of the safari tour you are advised by signs to wash your hands - especially if you had been touching or feeding any of the animals.

You are able to take a guided tour of the safari park in their own minibus - the cost of this is £3.50 per person - in addition to the entrance fee of £6.25.

Once out of the safari park you find your way to the car park. This was a rather interesting experience as many cars appeared to have been abandoned on the grass verges. The majority of the parking was on grass, but there was a good amount of hard parking. There were plentiful disabled parking spaces close to the entrance of the park.

Toilets
After sitting in a car for such a long time toilets were essential. There was a large toilet block in the car park, catering for disabled as well as male and female facilities. I was amazed to find that they were clean, pleasant smelling and had ample supply of toilet rolls!!

This was something common in all toilets throughout the park - plenty of hand towels, soap and toilet paper. The only problem with the toilets was the lack of anywhere to hang my bag, hardly grounds for complaint.

Eating

You really are spoilt for choice as to what you want to eat here. They cater for all ages and tastes, you can get pizza, southern fried chicken, jacket potatoes, burgers, hot dogs, salads or something with chips. We opted for the family restaurant near to the entrance, as James was looking hungrily at the camels and I feared for their safety. The family restaurant seats 280 people at one time. The queuing time was minimal - at about 12.30 we
queued for 10 minutes to get a hot meal. The children's menu consists of fish shaped whales, chicken animal, or sausages served with either chips or potatoes and either peas or beans and costs £1.99. When you see the size of the portions you wonder how they make any money on food sales, the plateful they gave James, defeated even him! The adult menu consists of sausages (huge), meat pie, chicken Kiev or fish with either potatoes or chips and beans or peas and cost £4.99. For the more health conscious you could have a ploughmans lunch, which really was a plateful with a piece of cheese that would make a charging rhino think twice, all that costs is £3.50. The usual drinks were on offer, tea, coffee and hot chocolate, priced from 70p upwards, also coke, fanta, lemonade were on offer at £1.10 for a regular and £1.30 for a large. James and I managed to wade through a large one, but a regular one would have served the both of us.

In all honesty the food was very good, although the menu is not vast, it served a purpose and filled a hole. The amount of food given and the price was very impressive indeed. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the restaurant - tables were cleared almost as soon as they were vacated and disinfected, ready for the next customer.

The Park

Once in the amusement park itself you are faced with the delighted and terrified screams of people enjoying themselves on the rides. Before you can start to join in the fun you have to purchase either wristbands or tickets to go on the rides.


Height restrictions apply on some rides.
'Giraffe Rides' - Suitable for those over 1.2 metres - £7.50
'Tiger Rides' - Suitable for those below 1.2 metres - £6.00

Some of the rides will allow you to accompany your child; if this is the case you will either need a wristband or ride ticket.

Ride tickets are available from machines situated around the park, close to rides. Each ticket cos
ts £1, please note that some of the rides do need two tickets per person to ride

The wristbands are brightly coloured and are put on at the ticket office, but the staff member. They do try not to put them on too tight, but if in doubt stick your finger on your child?s wrist whilst they put the band on to make sure its not too tight. If you take off your band, then you will not be able to ride. The bands will NOT slip off, even when wet. They do not disintegrate either when wet. In fact you really do need a pair of scissors to get them off - during the two-hour journey home; James tried in vain to remove it - with no joy!
Once you are a fully-fledged giraffe or tiger you are set to ride the rides!

Walls Twister Coaster - a sickening looking ride that James was desperate to go on. It looks similar to a pirate ship, but is round and as you swing to and fro, you are also spun round - bleurgh! I was soooo glad that James was too small, hopefully by the time he is old enough, I wont have to go on with him. From the screams and the race to queue again of those getting off, it is a huge success!

Kilamanjaro Jets - this was more my style, or so I thought! It looks like a small children's ride, but is more hair raising than it looks. You sit in these little jets, which thoughtfully have a little canopy on them. There is a steering wheel inside and a 'gear stick', once you have been fastened in by the attendant the ride starts. As you turn around the roundabout, pulling back on aforementioned stick sends you up in the air at a rate of knots, leaving your stomach on the floor! A recommendation here is NOT to let an over excited 3-year-old be in charge on this stick! This was a superb ride, which went on far to long for me and not long enough for James!

Jungle Cat Dodgems - basically your usual dogems

Dr. Umboto's Ghost Train - this was NOT a success with James, it is very very dark in there, and as you travel rou
nd in the pitch black light suddenly come on to illuminate the scaries! Not THAT scary to me, although the vomiting man did leave an impression!

Zambezi Water Splash - I was dreading the log flume, but this one really took the biscuit. You don't go down one drop, nor two, but three. The drops get steeper and longer as you progress. The final drop feels almost vertical and I was practically lying down in the boat as we dropped. Please please remember keep your mouth firmly closed - a mouthful of water is really NOT pleasant. James thought it huge fun, that I ended up coughing and spluttering and wanted to do it again. We didn't needless to say. The all important thing you want to know - did we get wet? WE GOT BLUDDY SOAKED!! Not the best ride to go on at the beginning! You have been warned! You can however buy rain macs in the gift shops around the park. These blue macs are superb. Costing £1.50 each they have a drawstring hood and cover you to the knees. The only fault I can find with this ride, is the fact that the flumes keep moving whilst you get on and off. There is a sign warning you of this fact and the flumes move quite slowly, it is still a panic getting children on and off though. As you get off the flume, wait for the log behind you to hit the log you are in. If you don't, you will be knocked over with the impact, fortunately I had already got James out of the log before we were hit - sending just me sprawling ? to the hilarity of the attendant!

Pump it Up - this wasn't open when we were at the park.

African Big Apple Coaster - This is fantastic roller coaster that even James could go on on his own, although adults can accompany their children. You climb into a huge goofy green caterpillar and away you go. From the shrieks and screams and smiles it was a hit with all the children.

Flying Lion Kings Ride - the cars are shaped as the characters in the lion king. A ride suitable for the smallest of little &#
39;uns. James found this quite tame, although it did go up in the air, so he was reasonably happy - looking for his next adrenaline rush!

Congo Carousel - Another ride for the little ones.

Pirate Ship - spotted from the above mentioned lions kings ride, this is a firm favourite in James book! As the usual pirate ship - but it seems to go on and on and on and on and on and on.

Tanganyika Tea Cups - once again a ride for the younger children.

Slippery Snake Slide - this proved to be a nightmare. An enormous helter skelter shaped like a snake. You are given a sack at the bottom of the ride, and away you go. Trouble was, James could have filled the sack and had the top tied. On his climb up the tower he became stuck and I had to climb up and fetch him, no mean feat when the steps are made for children's feet! Although not a success with James, the other kids seemed to love it, going back for more!

Simba Express Train - This again is a ride for the littlies. A simple train that runs around a short track, the children can either sit in the engine, or in the carriages behind.

Desert Convoy - this looked quite fun, and I wished I could have a go. Scaled down versions of American trucks roll around a track in a convoy - what more can I say!

Red Baron - once again James took to the skies in his little BI plane, another tame ride that is suitable for all children.

I feel quite exhausted after reliving all that!

All the rides were in superb condition and looked as though there were really well maintained. The attendants on the rides were extremely attentive; stopping rides if children were distressed (adults too on one occasion - not me I hasten to add). All the rides had excellent safety straps or bars fitted and no bloody noses or split lips! The attendants were very vigilant in checking the safety bars and straps were in place, before the ride set off.

The attendants paid close att
ention to the height restrictions, if they were unsure at any point, they made the child stand against the measuring line at the entrance to ALL rides before allowing them to ride. The children that were below the line were NOT admitted to the ride.


All the attendants were smartly turned out, in sweatshirts, trousers and caps with the West Midlands Safari park logo. Although they were all young people, they were all fantastic with the children on the rides, and polite and cheerful looking even though it was persisting down with rain.


As well as the above rides, there were various stalls and games to play around the park, from hook a bag, to lion racing, throwing balls in goldfish bowls and so on. We did manage to win a prize ' a beanie treelo' from Bear in the big Blue House. I was very surprised at the quality of the toys, and to find they were official too! They also have an amusement arcade and for 30p we had three quarters of an hours fun shoving 2ps in slots hoping to win sweeties that fell down with the coins. Just as we were down to the last few coins, another load fell down with another shower of sweeties! We had so many as we left that James gave most of his away to a little girl who was crying because they hadn't won any. I had a tear in my eye too, as James said 'I feel like Santa now cus I made her happy, is that what Santa feels like inside mummy?' Out of the mouths of babes eh?

At the end of the day we caught a little train from the amusement park back to the car park. This was welcome relief as we had been on our feet for most of the day. The train runs every quarter to the hour and takes you past the hippo swamps and through 'lama country' again. The engine driver gave us some pellets to feed the lama - free! Be prepared for the smell of the hippos as you pass them by - they are 'ripe' to say the least! This train is free to all, so anyone without a ticket or wristband need not
worry.

Once off the train you can go into one of the many souvenir shops on the site. Here you will find stuffed animals of most varieties as well as gifts to remember your day. Another little nicety here, one I have never encountered before, is a little machine that, for 51p will give you a lovely momento of your day. Simply place your 50p and your penny in the indicated slots and slide in. You watch as your penny is stretched into a lozenge shape and stamped with the West Midlands Safari Park logo. Before any of you go reporting me to the Royal Mint, they do have permission to do this!

What can I say in summary about West Midlands Safari Park? I think those clever people that run the park have got everything right, they even have a cash point in the park, right next to the restaurant. I can find no real faults at all, with either the safari park or the amusement park. Their staff are superb, their facilities are superb too. Although we James and I had a superb day there I think that teenagers would find the rides rather tame. I think the whole experience is most suitable for families with children up to the age of about 13.


To say I found the actual safari magical is an understatement. I have seen tigers in the wild in India and been very close to them then, this brought back many magical memories of that time and I almost felt as though I was there again. The park, well I think that was the highlight of James' day oh that and stroking a fawn in the petting zoo, which I forgot to mention. I have the most adorable picture of James looking at a fawn looking at him and him surrounded by goats, I also have a wonderful aroma on my trainers from the ingrained 'poop' collected in this area!

I have just been to peek at my little man sprawled out in his bed fast asleep with a smile on his face and I know he is dreaming of the fantastic day out we had at West Midlands Safari park.

Would we go again?

TOMO
RROW!!!!! if James had anything to do with it, perhaps not then, but definitely soon

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