West Midlands Safari Park

Our Review

When to visit the West Midlands Safari Park

The WMSP has been running a 'free return visit' for several years - and we hope they continue to do this.

Therefore, we recommend you visit the safari park in the first half of the year to make the most of this return visit. If you think of the entrance price covering two visits, you certainly get more for your money.

The busiest times to visit

Bank Holidays and breaks like Easter will see the park very busy. To be honest, I would avoid visiting the West Midlands Safari Park on those days.

School Holidays will often be a bit busier, but if you stay away from the Bank Holidays, there's no real need to avoid them in the school holidays.

The best weather to visit

Everyone likes days out when the weather is warm and sunny. Unfortunately, this could make WMSP too busy.

We've found that a day with a few showers forecast is best. You'll be in the car for much of the visit anyway, and if you're prepared to get wet, you'll also be ready for the water rides 😉

Best Ticket Prices for West Midlands Safari Park

Book Online and look out for offers

You can make a significant saving if you book online. Paying at the gate is more expensive.

Also, look out for offers and discounts. We got onto their mailing list and returned to WMSP with a 20% off park entrance and 50% off ride wristbands.

Extras

Your park entrance fee lets you drive around the Safari and view the animal shows and demonstrations.

You will need to pay for tickets for the rides or pay for wristbands.

Ride wristbands can be expensive for the family, but so can individual ride tickets. Plan if you will do the rides and budget the wristbands into the day-out cost.

Your car and the free return visit

WMSP records your car's registration, and your free return visit will be associated with that car registration.

Returning with a different vehicle is possible, but I suspect it is a hassle.

Your free return visit only covers the entrance to the safari park and not the 'extras'.  We sometimes only buy ride wristbands on one of the visits.

Getting the most from your free return visit

We often go to WMSP early in the season and then return for their open days in the Autumn school half-term when they run their Halloween open nights, where the rides stay open later.

Tips for driving around the Safari

Before you enter the safari

Visit at the wrong time, and you could spend over 2.5 hours queuing to get around and see all the animals. And there are no toilet stops when you enter the safari.

After you go through the payment booths, you can drive straight into the safari. We recommend that you don't and instead visit the loos beforehand.

Best time to drive around the Safari

Driving through the animal enclosure usually takes 1 hour and 15 minutes **if it's not busy. **

The safari can get very busy between 11:30 and 2:30 pm.  Avoid the safari at those times. You may not come out for nearly 3 hours and will spend much time staring at the car bumper in front.

From our experience, if you get there early, visit the safari first (after a toilet stop).

Once finished, you have plenty of time for a picnic and rides in the theme park before going around the animals again before leaving.

Will my car be damaged by the animals?

What often goes through your mind when planning a visit to a safari park is, 'How much will the damage cost to my car?'.

Rest assured; they're no monkey enclosures to drive through at the West Midlands Safari Park.

Animals will do their own thing, though, and so there's no guarantee that one won't do something. I heard of a rhino once trying to get on the bonnet of a car, but they gave keepers on hand with a watching eye to prevent incidents.

You do drive through a pride of lions, who are rather partial to spare wheels on the outside of 4x4s!

Patience

Unfortunately, too many drivers come with a 'road driving' mindset and appear to want to get around the safari park as quickly as possible, overtaking cars and speeding through the gaps. That's not the way to do it.

Drive slowly, and you won't scare the animals. Some will even stick their head into your car if you have the window down.

Animals will also wander into the lanes and block the traffic, so queues can often build up. Be patient. A keeper will move the animals along as soon as possible.

You'll also get into queues as people stop to look at the animals and take photos. Be patient. Don't beep your horn, wanting them to move on. Everyone is in the park to see the animals, so be patient, and you'll get to see them too.

The safari has a one-way system; you can drive on both lanes.

If you want to get out quickly, there are bypasses for some enclosures.

Remember, animals will do their own thing, and when you visit, there's no guarantee that they'll want to do anything.

Take Snacks, Drinks, and Hand Sanitiser (and potty!)

As you may be in the car for some time, take some snacks. But since there are opportunities to feed the animals, take some hand wipes and anti-bacterial hand gel, and use it before anyone it's anything if they have been touching the animals.

If you have someone that is potty training, you may need that to hand with you in the car as you can't stop to get it out of the boot.

The Animals

The animals are what you go to the safari park for, so what are they like at the West Midlands Safari Park?

When you enter and exit the Safari, you go through the African plains, which have the most roaming animals, though it is often divided in two.

The first part will contain some White Rhinos that roam by your car (if you are lucky).  In some areas like this, you can open your windows and feed some animals.

In other areas, you'll need to shut doors and windows (I can activate the child lock on the doors from the driver's seat, which is great when going through some areas).

I have seen some online reviews where people complain that they must close their windows. Well, you do drive through some dangerous animals. Would you want to see a lion grab your kid from the car window for a quick snack!?!

You must always stay in your car - even in areas that have 'safer' animals. So, get anything out of the boot that you need before you enter the safari.

Some animals are double enclosed and too dangerous to let them wander around the cars. These include the impressive collection of tigers.

Tigers are one of the most powerful predators of humans on the planet. Again, I can't understand why some online reviewers complain that these are kept safely away from your family. You usually still get close enough for some really good views.

They have a large pride of African lions (as well as some extremely rare White Lions, which are double-enclosed for their protection). The pride of African lions often cross in front of your car, and it's quite an experience to have lions roaming around you.

However, all big cats like to spend much of their day sleeping. If you visit after they have been fed or it's a warm day, don't be disappointed if the lions are lying around. Animals do what they do. It's no one's fault.

We just found that the West Midlands Safari Park has just opened an off-road track around the lion enclosure, so if you have a vehicle that's happy at going off-road, this could create more of a real safari experience, especially as it goes near some spots where the lions like to hang out.

You get to see giraffes when your return to the African plains before leaving the safari, and these always are good (especially some of the comical faces they pull!)

Feeding the Animals

In some areas, it is safe to feed the animals. These areas a sign-posted as you drive around. (And obviously, you can't feed the lions!).

You must buy the animal feed at the park's entrance booth.

This is another extra cost, but the animals must be fed the correct food. Do not feed them the leftovers to your picnic, which can make the animals ill and even be fatal.

Feeding the animals is great fun. You put some food in your hand, holding your hand flat, and they'll come up and eat it.

They'll even put their head into your car. This isn't to be encouraged, but animals do their own thing.

Animals outside of the Safari

At the West Midlands Safari Park, there's a large area that contains other animals, rides, and cafes.

Some of the things you can see as you enter this area are bats, penguins, a sea lion show, snakes and reptiles (including crocodiles).

You then walk into the area with the rides, but if you walk past the rides, you can see hippos, an African village with a Lemur walk, and a goat walk (and you can feed these goats).

The lemur walk can be excellent. We were lucky to see some baby lemurs born just a few days before.  However, it can be hit-and-miss. Sometimes we've visited, and the lemurs get right up close. Other times they've huddled away, out of the wind. Don't get disappointed, remember that the animals do their own thing.

The Rides at the West Midlands Safari Park

The WMSP has several rides for children of all ages.

While the number of rides has grown over the years, the WMSP is primarily a safari park and has a smaller collection of rides than some theme parks, which also have a zoo.

If you visit when it's not too busy, you won't have a long time queuing for rides.

There's a separate section for children under 1m high (beyond the main area for rides). Otherwise, rides are marked with the height requirements.

One of our favourites is the wild rapids ride - but bring some clothes you can get wet in.

There are rides to keep our teenager happy, as well as rides for our youngest.

Wristbands or Tickets

You can buy tickets for the rides or a wristband for unlimited rides.

Wristbands are expensive but a lot cheaper than getting tickets.

If you're only going to let little children do a few rides, then a few tickets are the best choice—otherwise, factor in the cost of wristbands for your visit.

Amy's Review of the West Midlands Safari Park, Aged 8

The West Midlands Safari Park is in Kidderminster and has a lovely big safari. One of my favorite animals is the elephants, but I do like white lions too.

Sometimes it is hard to spot the wolves because they are always looking at the deers in the other enclosure. 

Not only do they have a Safari they also have rides.  There are rides for smaller children and rides for older children. My favourite ride is the pirate ship.  By the rides is where you can walk with the lemurs.  It is not easy to spot them. 

Around the Safari park there are some shops and restaurants if you were staying there for a while.

Facilities

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