West Midlands Safari Park - Our Review

We have only ever visited safari parks in the summer so when we received tickets from MoneySupermarket  to visit West Midlands Safari Park for their Wild Winter Safari we couldn't wait to discover this whole new experience.  So on a beautiful, clear, crisp winter's day, we wrapped up warmly and headed off for our safari adventure.

We were greeted by cheerful characters, Christmas trees and fake snow.  Festive music played keeping everyone in a Christmassy mood.  Santa has his own grotto with a workshop full of toys and helpful elves.  It's magical!  You can meet a cuddly meerkat and ride on Santa's sleigh adding to the magic of the season.

The fun fair is closed for the winter giving the walk-around area a calmer ambience.  There is lots to see on foot.  The African Village has free roaming lemurs, families of meerkat and friendly goats.  We loved the  village's attention to detail.

The lemurs in Lemur Woods were running around,  jumping from the branches of the trees and scurrying along the fences, acting naturally within the freedom of their woodland home.  We enjoyed the antics of the cute, cuddly Madagascan acrobats.

The meerkats live in enclosures with glass sides so you can see them clearly.  They were cuddling together to keep warm which delighted the children!  Everyone watched mesmerized as they stood up and looked around.  Kizzy swears one was dancing to the Christmas music.

The Goat Walk is a lovely hilltop area with free roaming goats who just love being petted.  Ella and Kizzy channeled their inner 'Heidi the Goat Herd' and spent ages stroking, cuddling and talking to the characterful creatures who loved every moment of the attention.

In Hippo Lake the huge beasts were dozing at the water's edge.  Discovery Cove has lots to explore.  The Reptile House gave us the chance to try our best Parcel Tongue to the snakes on display.  Twilight Cave was fabulous.  The bats were very active and we watched as one climbed up a branch using the claws at the tip of its wings like little hands.  Small bats buzzed around our heads illiciting squeals from the kids.  The penguins in Penguin Cove looked chilly huddled up together...but I'm sure the Antarctic is much colder!  There is a Sea Lion Theatre show but unfortunately we missed it.

The Lost City Plaza has a selection of shops and a fast food outlet. We enjoyed mince pies and mulled wine. The souvenir shop is perfect for a spot of shopping.  The huge array of cuddly toys proved very tempting!

We really enjoyed the walk around the exhibits and loved being entertained and educated.  

                                         

We returned to our car for the Wild Winter Safari.  The four mile drive-through  is home to more than 600 animals including the UK's only pride of rare white lions.  There are opportunities to get up close to the free roaming animals on the lookout for someone to feed them!  Animal food costs £3 a box and is well worth buying.  Feeding the deer is a really incredible experience for little ones.  Freddy gave us some safety advice before we set off.

It was quite late in the afternoon when we started our journey so it was very quiet so we went at our own pace stopping to watch the animals and feed the deer at our leisure.

Freddy was a bit worried initially about animals "eating our face" or "getting in our car" but soon got over his concerns and excitedly watched as deer surrounded our car hoping for a little snack.

It was magical for the children to feed them,  laughing as they nibbled the pellets from their hands.  Freddy's technique was to drop the food but he still watched excitedly as the animals gobbled it up.

As well as goats, cattle, deer, camels, llama, emu, zebra, rhino and giraffes, the drive through has sections with big cats and wild dogs behind fences.  You get very close to them from the safety of your car. The pride of white lions were spectacular.  Some were play fighting over a twig, just like playful kitties...only bigger!  The white tigers and cheetahs were prowling the fences.  We got a great view of some beautiful exotic creatures.

As the sun set on a beautiful day, we felt really close to the animals who were watching us as intently as we were watching them.

West Midlands Safari Park really is a perfect day out. The animals were very active and happy to approach the car which is the magic of safari drive-throughs.  The experiences that the children had were wonderful and unforgettable.  So whatever the weather, whether it is a sunny, summer's day or a chilly winter day, West Midlands Safari Park is a great venue for a family day out.

We visited West Midlands Safari Park as part of the Moneysupermarket competition to find Britain's best family days out.  Take a look at their site to find great deals on family days out!

Silent Sunday

A Brilliant Brummie Birthday Outing!!

Yesterday Ian turned 43 years old...a fine age for a husband who is ageing to perfection!  To celebrate we went for a hotel break with 19 year Megan along with Ella, Kizzy and Freddy.  Our location was not the most exotic of places...a Park Inn off the M6 next to Wallsall FC football ground, purchased as a Groupon Deal from a while back.  But we packed in two day trips and a shopping spree, making it a full on way to enjoy his special day.

My Birthday Boy!!

After our previous visit to West Midlands Safari Park we had free return tickets (it is such a great offer...2 visits for the price of one!) so we had another encounter with nature's finest from the comfort of our car.  Our first drive through was a bit of a nightmare.  The place was so busy it took us nearly 3 hours to negotiate the traffic which was as snarled up as the M25 on a bank holiday weekend.  The animals seemed unimpressed with the constant stream of cars belching out fumes and stalling on the million and one hill starts that were necessary given the flow of the vehicles through the enclosures.  We saw three cars broken down, overheated by the experience...thankfully (for their sake) not in the Lion Enclosure.  Their sorry plight did however lead to us pondering about the prospect of a Final Destination film set in a zoo, where we imagined grisly endings to the characters involving electric fences, elephant tusks, deer antlers and hungry wildcats.  How the imagination runs wild when stuck in a car for 3 hours!

Traffic jam in the drive through!

It was a relief to escape and stretch our legs in a wander around the other exhibits.  The new African Village area had a Goat Walk, the Lemur Woods and a Meerkat enclosure.  We had some real close up animal encounters with a family of gorgeous Ring Tailed Lemurs.  Freddy was particularly overjoyed with seeing the creatures jumping around trees and running around our feet, because he loves the film Madagascar.  Seeing King Julien and his minions in the flesh was a real treat for him!  Ella became a goat whisperer surrounded by Pygmy Goats all intent on licking her hands and nibbling her hoodie.  She was a real magnet to them...I'm thinking she may be a modern day Heidi!  At the end of the day we braved the drive through again.  This time it was virtually empty giving us free rein to stop and look at the animals, who had now woken up and were much more interactive.  We had giraffes, cattle, deer, zebra and camels coming right up to the car having  areal nosey at us through the windows.  Megan was overjoyed to stroke a huge giraffe who bent his majestic head to peer into the car and give her outstretched hand a cheeky lick!  My highlight was two of the cutest baby camels who took a shine to our car and enjoyed being petted so much that they chased after us when we drove away.  They were so soft and cuddly...but I was afraid they might spit at me and the green frothy goo collecting at the corners of their mouths did not look like the sort of substance I wanted in my face!  I'd definitely recommend a late in the day drive through...it was absolutely lovely!

The next day we visited Cadbury World with free pre-booked tickets as part of our Groupon package.  The place was incredibly busy so having our tickets pre-ordered was a godsend allowing us to jump the 2 hour long tour queue and go straight in.  We were given Curly Wurlies, Crunchies, Dairy Milks and pots of molten chocolate on our way round so the kids were pretty impressed.  We sat through various film shows, walked through parts of the plant, pressed buttons on machines, watched nostalgic adverts from my childhood (remember that smutty Flake in the bath ad or Frank Muir's Fruit and Nut case song??) and took a ride on a little car that drove through scenes of dancing cocoa beans which Freddy loved.  We played in a cool play area and made our own concoctions in Essence with melted choccie and sweeties (which I couldn't eat due to the intense pain it gave my sensitive teeth!)  It was a lovely few hours but had I paid full price and had to wait two hours and then queue up for everything inside, I don't think I would have been as impressed.

We ended the day with a trip to the Bullring, grabbing take out food to eat in the sunshine in the Cathedral Park.  It was lovely.  I hope Ian enjoyed his birthday outings...tomorrow we'll be going to Drayton Manor with my last freebie tickets of the Summer.  The last six weeks have been non-stop and lots of fun!  The kids going back to school will undoubtedly put me on a bit of a downer...we've loved having them around and have enjoyed their company so much.

Safari...so good!

I do love a family day out.  It beats a romantic meal for two or a night out anytime!  I love seeing the kids having fun and experiencing new things.  So this weekend we headed off for West Midlands Safari Park.  It was a particularly exciting day because I was also meeting up with the lovely ladies behind The Crazy Kitchen and The Boy and Me!

The award winning West Midlands Safari Park is in Bewdley.  It boasts a 4 mile long, 100 acre drive through safari where you can get up close and personal with a host of wild animals.  It also has a funfair with 26 rides and attractions, a Discovery Trail and the new walk through Lemur Woods.

There are cafes, kiosks and shops that cater for all your needs while you are there.  There are also picnic benches and plenty of grassy spots for relaxing.

When we arrived we went through the drive through admissions' booth for our tickets which was really efficient.  Adult admission is £13.99, children cost £11.99 and under 3's are free.  Each paid for ticket includes a free return ticket for another visit making it excellent value for money! You can also buy animal food to feed the deer and antelopes.  Once you have driven through the gates you are free to enter the safari or park up and go into the rest of the exhibits.  We headed for the drive through safari.

Drive through admissions booth

Animal food at the ready!

The drive through takes approximately one and a quarter hours, but during busy times this can take a lot longer.  A rogue giraffe in the middle of the road can slow down proceedings considerably!

You can come face to face with some of the world's most amazing animals in the open enclosures.  Some come right up to your car looking for food, others brazenly walk down the middle of the road with no regard for the cars!  The kids absolutely loved seeing the animals in such close quarters.

After our encounter with the animals we parked up and entered the Lost City Plaza.   The arcade is full of shops and places to grab some food.  It leads into the Discovery Trail where you can experience a variety of talks, encounters and shows.  We saw a Reptile Encounter featuring some very large snakes!

We went to the Explorers cafe for lunch.  The hot food was a bit school dinnery and the choice was limited for us as vegetarians, but it was OK.  When I go again, I think I'll bring food from home because there are a lot of nice spots to sit on the grass for a picnic, and the car park is close enough so you wouldn't have to lug a picnic basket around all day.

West Midlands Safari Park includes an amusement park for which you need to purchase wristbands for unlimited rides.  Individual tickets (£6 for 3)  can be purchased but at £10.99 for children and £11.50 for adults, the wristbands are better value for money if you are going to hit the rides in a big way.  Our kids did just that!  The price of the rides does make the day a lot more expensive, especially if buying for all the family.

There are 26 rides and attractions and the queues were quite short meaning our children really made the most of their wrist bands.  With rides for all ages including flumes, dodgems and roller coasters there is something to suit all levels of adrenaline junkie!

Pirate Ship

Swings

Rhino Coaster

It would have been nice if there were some rides for toddlers that were free to use.  A wristband for tiny tots costs £7.99.  My son had one go on a ride before bursting into tears and refusing to go on any more.  Toddlers are temperamental little creatures and their behaviour can be unpredictable.  £7.99 is a lot of money to lose if your child doesn't want to go on the rides.  As under threes get into the zoo for free, maybe they should get a few rides for free too.

Help Me Mummy!

We spent a whole day at West Midlands Safari Park.  The kids had a fabulous time and Kizzy certainly had good value from her wristband.  The return ticket is a really nice touch and we're planning a return visit later in the year.

For more details visit www.wmsp.co.uk.  You can also book tickets online and save £1 per ticket!

*I received 2 adult admission tickets in order to do this review.*