Drusillas Park Reviews Summary

Animal Welfare and Enclosures

Pros:

• "The animals all seemed well cared for, and all the keepers we spoke to were kind, friendly, and spoken passionately about the animals in their care."
• "It's lovely seeing this zoo improve over the years adding new exhibits with plenty of space for each set of animals."
• "The animals are clearly very well looked after and the staff all knowledgeable and friendly."
• "The animals look cared for which is the most important thing and seem to thrive in their surroundings."
• "The animals are very well looked after with good size compounds."
• "Animals looked well taken care of and had lots of space."
• "The animals all seemed really happy and I was impressed at how clean the penguin enclosure was."

Cons:

• "Felt over crowded in zoo, with no COVID cleaning on rides."
• "Lots of the enclosures are small and depressing."
• "One thing we wished was a bit better was that some of the enclosures felt small for the animals."
• "An aardvark was in a very small room pacing up and down which was upsetting to see, a fennec fox was quivering outside looking confused and distressed among others."
• "A few animal enclosures looked a bit small, understimulating/synthetic for the animals and overcrowded."
• "Although i thought the bigger animals did not look too happy."
• "Very expensive entry however and I really didn’t like the small, cramped conditions in which most of the animals were kept."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "All the staff we encountered were friendly and smiling."
• "All the staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the animals when my son asked questions."
• "The staff are friendly and helpful."
• "Staff attentive and friendly."
• "Thanks to all the staff."
• "Staff are wonderful."
• "The staff were polite helpful and friendly."

Cons:

• "I wasted too long queuing up whilst staff who look just old enough to work stand about doing nothing."
• "The one time I questioned the pushing in, having had enough, I had to endure some trashy mum of said ferral kids screaming and then getting her tattoo'd and toothless husband to threaten me."
• "I think the staff were a bit overwhelmed with how busy it was as they seemed a bit abrupt."
• "Finally a member of staffs attitude... Her response was covered in a snooty tone making her customer service a big fat ZERO."
• "The staff were lovely especially the lady who was at the hippo ride she was amazing with all the kids."
• "Unfortunately some areas are closed due to maintenance and the division area is not wheelchair friendly as it’s very bumpy, my husband also tipped out twice."
• "For a family of 4 who have paid a lot of money to come here for the first time this was really bad to be treated like this."

Value and Pricing

Pros:

• "The food was reasonably priced for a zoo."
• "But compared to other similar zoo parks it's already a lot cheaper."
• "Reasonable prices in shops and cafes too."
• "Food quality was good and reasonably priced."
• "The annual pass is good value for money."
• "Good quality food outlets at very reasonable prices."
• "Prices were very reasonable for food and the portion of the jacket potato was generous!"

Cons:

• "Not a very good selection of food. Also quite pricey."
• "One star knocked off purely because it is more on the expensive side compared to similar attractions."
• "Only let down was the cost."
• "It might be pricey for £32 each person but if you book through kidsspass you pay only £19 person and open ticket."
• "The park would otherwise have cost too much for us to enter, the average adult price around £33."
• "Again the prices of the food was border-line criminal (£7 for a salad, £2.25 for a slice of cake)."
• "Food costs are extortionate."

Facilities and Cleanliness

Pros:

• "The cleanliness of the place was also second to none."
• "Every toilet we went into was spotless, with freshly mopped floors, and we didn’t see one piece of litter anywhere, the whole place is immaculately clean!"
• "Everywhere is really clean, which is a magnificent feat!"
• "Every toilet was extremely clean, the cleanest toilets I’ve ever experienced!!"
• "The facilities are top-notch, well-maintained, and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable."
• "The changing rooms are amazing size for changing the twins too at the same time."
• "Lovely, well kept park."

Cons:

• "Takes some towels however as there is absolutely no privacy whatsoever to get changed, adults or children which definitely needs attention."
• "We were surprised that there weren't any designated changing areas for kids."
• "Aside from this the bathrooms were gendered and quite dank/cramped, and there was a lack of water fountains."
• "Unfortunately after going through ticket checks everyone is funneled into a close indoors area which is really uncomfortable and seems like a poor design."
• "Not the best idea to have an animal walkthrough as the only way into the park as it just gets over crowded and creates queues getting in."
• "The queue to get food was about 25min."
• "Unfortunately some areas are closed due to maintenance and the division area is not wheelchair friendly as it’s very bumpy, my husband also tipped out twice."

Attractions and Entertainment

Pros:

• "There's a free arcade and rides included in the price."
• "Really great place. It is unbelievable that so many attractions can be packed in a relatively small area."
• "It's just as good, if not better."
• "Kids will definitely love this place given the various options."
• "The adventure playground is really impressive and the children spent quite a bit of time playing there."
• "Most rides, etc are free, which is most refreshing."
• "The amount of personal experiences you can book as well for feeding and petting is brilliant."

Cons:

• "With younger children this is easily a full day experience but I can see with teenagers or just adults it would only take a few hours."
• "Only complaints are that too many people were let in, making social distancing almost impossible at times."
• "Had statues of animals that aren't actually in the park (giraffe, lion, etc)."
• "Also have to mention we had lunch, hot dogs and burgers, really not great for the price and was given coke that tasted like water..."
• "The food wasn't amazing and the best rides had additional charges which I found a bit cheeky."
• "Not many rides about 5 and we're pretty bland."
• "For toddlers the act of going on the train might be fun, but for older children it's naff, frankly, and we thought it was naff too."