This is a zoo with bells and whistles too. There is a train, slides, animals, play areas, a maze and all sorts of other things - ideal for children and adults alike, The animal areas were accessible and in good order; the animals looked happy. About £65 for a group of 3 adults and 2 children. A super day out

A super place to take young children for the whole day, plenty to do. We enjoyed our fun filled adventure yet again, making unforgettable memories. The park itself just gets better and better with new exciting rides, animal enclosures etc... The Lory birds are always a favourite of mine, so tame and I have managed to capture some really amazing photos. The staff are exceedingly helpful they went back and beyond engaging with the children about a variety of the well kept species at the park. After having a delightful lunch provided by the café, (very rare my children polish off their food but due to the vast selection we had two very clean plates and two very full tummies). We spent the last stretch of the day in the sensory waterpark. What an absolutely fantastic way to end the day, soaking up the sunshine and watching the children have a blast! Two very contented warn out children by the end. A huge thank you to all at Drusillas, we cant wait for our next visit!

We had a fantastic day at Drusillas topped off by our 10yr old daughters 'sloth encounter'. Our keeper Maria was friendly and full of facts about Sloths and the zoo in general. We loved going behind the scenes and seeing where the food was prepared. The whole encounter was very relaxed and I felt that my daughter was listened to and encouraged in her love of Sloths. I would highly recommend this Xoo and especially an encounter. We will be back!

Drusillas Park is up there with one of the best places to visit in the South East, and if you have children it's a wonderful trip for them especially in the school holidays as they always make such an effort to put on extra events and activities. But would recommend for anyone at any time! The animals are brilliant as well as the rides.

My daughter has an excellent time and was able to see her favourite animal in a Sloth experience. The staff were friendly and very knowledgeable and informative. The zoo seems to have picked species that are best suited to smaller environments and the interpretation was on hand too.
My only is issue is about the lost opportunity for sustainable practice.

1. Most of the species come from areas of the developing world where communities can struggle for income, why can’t products in the cafe and shop be fair trade? Or local produce from food through to gifts?
2. Most of the toys in the gift shop are mass produced, contain plastic and are shipped from the other side of the world, is this good practice or a good message!? Even Star Wars stuff? Not overly relevant, Star Wars is great but it is a Zoo!
3. Plastic water bottles from Wales! There is a company based in the South Downs but how about a water fountain to refill? Also recycling wasnt happening in the cafe and bins weren’t clear.
4. Messaging, what can people do to help wildlife locally and internationally? Missed opportunity when people leave to get their commitment
5. The Zoo is in the South Downs National Park, could there be an opportunity to highlight some of the local and import wildlife in the park with interpretation with the national park authority in partnership. I’d be happy to point you in the right direction on this one
6. Electric car charging points in the car park?

My first visit here was nearly 40 years ago, it’s a magic little zoo which my family are all fond of. I just think a lateral approach to sustainable products in waste, catering and retail could be really beneficial as well as social messaging and economic support for related communities, in Sussex and from where the animals come from.

Drusillas Park seems to add more exciting rides or things to do and see each time we visit. The new carousel was beautiful and the children enjoyed riding on the different animals and birds. Viewing the animals is very easy and you can see them close up and not all behind bars or glass. They seem to be well looked after and we saw several young monkeys which indicates that the animals are happy. Everywhere was very clean and they really cater for young children.

Great experience and a great idea as a birthday present. My daughter got to feed so many different animals and she was sad when the day ended. Billy was great, very calm and good at explaining everything to an excited eight year old.

Let me start by saying that we LOVE Drusillas! We visit regularly as a family with our annual passes (myself, my husband, a 2.5 year old and a newborn) and we have so much fun every time. The animals always look well cared for and the enclosures seem clean, a good size and stimulating. My toddler daughter loves collecting the stamps as she goes round and the zoolympics activities are fun for everyone to have a go at. The play areas are great and there is a wide range of equipment for children of all ages. The Hello Kitty rides are lovely and the new carousel is a gorgeous addition.
What makes this a ‘review of 2 halves’ is the cost of things once you are inside Drusillas. Let me be very clear - you absolutely can go to Drusillas with a picnic and not have to pay for a single thing once you are inside. BUT, if you choose to buy things when you are there be prepared for an expensive day! I paid £1.50 for a can of Diet Coke in the sweet shop which is just ridiculous. It was £6 for my daughter to have her face painted and wrist bands for some of the ‘extras’ are £5 per activity (and I believe there are 4 extras in total that you could pay for!!) It’s a real shame that these costs are so high as I personally feel that the entrance price and price of an annual membership is really good value for money.

Zoo was excellent however experience was soured after smashing my head exiting the maze.
I am only 6ft2 not a giant by any means and was left feeling concussed.
Check your cameras 4th April around 1pm

I have been going to Drussillas for 40 years and have never had a bad day out there. The animals are well cared for, happy and have lots of enrichment in their enclosures and there is loads to do for the kids.
My panda experience was AMAZING - nose to nose with a red panda is something I will always remember!

The keepers and staff are all friendly, polite and very helpful. All in all a lovely day out!

Pleased overall and had a good time. Animals looked happy enough and grandson enjoyed the rides. Food was reasonably priced and well cooked, though it could have been hotter. Fish and chips was 8.50, adult with child's sausage and chips around a fiver. Staff all helpful. Only gave it 4 because it had a slightly half-open feel, with food outlets and other bits being closed, but it is still March... I think we may well return.

Whilst the entrance fee is pretty steep if you take out an annual membership it will save you loads and I would highly recommend this as Christmas Gift for Grand kids it will give them a whole years fun and by fun I mean loads of it from the animals to the play areas and the rides it really is a fantastic day out

Had a lovely day out for my 40th birthday, I booked a meet the sloth experience and wasn't disappointed, was lovely to feed them as they climbed all around you, it was really informative and I had lots of time with them. The Zoo was very well thought out, amazing play areas for kids and even though it was chilly as you could view both the indoor and outdoor enclosures you could see all the animals.

Firstly if you live locally, I highly recommend getting an annual pass. It's such value for money and I regularly take my nearly 2 year old free of charge due to the pass. Drusillas are set up for families who want a day out but have children of various ages and also want to make it a relatively cheap day out, providing benches, high chairs and picnic areas to have a packed lunch.
As an adult that visited Drusillas as a child myself, some areas are a little dated however the park area is by far the best in the area. The under 5s area is a rarity and the 'Cheetah' ride is my daughter's favourite!
There are a few animals which have lovely large enclosures but there are some which do look a little small or not overly stimulating for the animals however all are set up for easy viewing for toddlers.

We’ve just visited Drusillas (last visit 17 years ago!) with 3 year old twin boys. Being out of season it was queue free and peaceful. It was also eye wateringly expensive, (just short of £80) for the age group that we took-a reduced rate for pre-schoolers would be very welcome-as, they don’t have the stamina to spend a whole day there neither can they use most of the rides.

Drusillas is incredibly well laid out, with something to see at every twist and turn, it’s interactive approach was most welcomed by our two boys. However inevitably there are all the little extra “machine rides” there familiar characters and bright colours so instantly attractive to 3 year olds, a ride here and there - soon adding to the initial cost.

The boys loved the bats, farm and smaller animals - the penguins and otters a huge hit. Being out of season we could move at their pace. From an adult perspective I was saddened to see the size of the enclosures for some of the animals, I have no doubt Drusillas meets basic UK requirements for housing wild animals, none the less watching the Servals pacing round and round a small, well worn track was sobering and thought provoking.

The play areas following the Zoo were fabulous, although the area specifically for under 6?? (?12) was fairly compact, out of season this posed no issue, however summer months I should imagine you are packed in like sardines.

The small train ride was loved by all.

Of the 3 cafes, one was closed. We ate at the Amazon adventure cafe complete with soft play. The sandwiches are uninspiring, cheap ingredients and with a generous mark up. My first sandwich was returned, the bread being hard and stale. The second attempt was marginally better, with of one the two halves being edible. The cheese and tomato toasty - shared by the boys had one thin slice of tomato in it.

Toilets needed cleaning-a regular checking roar would minimise soiled toilets, sanitary products on the floor and would ensure that soap dispensers all contained soap.

Staff were universally friendly and approachable . The setting is just glorious.

As I said at the beginning-a little more attention to detail and this would be truly excellent.

Top tips:

Pre book online - as discounted.
Take a picnic
Visit out of season
Enjoy!

It was a really great experience feeding a Linnie's Two Toed Sloth and to speak to a keeper who is as knowledgeable about sloths as me.

We had a great time visiting Drusillas Park on Sunday! Lots of cute animals, and great playground! Monkeys were our favourites!

So we came here on Sunday for the first time with our two boys (5 and 9). People had been saying to me to go for years and that it is great for young children and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We only wish we had come here before our eldest was nine as he had slightly out grown some of it. My youngest had the best time ever, lots of animals and creatures to see, lots to learn and very interactive. Plus the added excitement of large play area and rides. We would recommend to arrive early as it did get busy (although not over busy despite it being half term) and best to go with children 0 to 7 years!
Must just note that the toilet facilities by the play area were immaculately clean too.

Not bad. Great things are nice variety of animals and good play area.
However most disappointing part is number of rides at park for small children especially hello kitty (hardly many)...though each ride was well aimed at kids.
Very disappointed in big Mungo train as most of it felt fenced in and few animal enclosures and few animatronics.
Think park might trying to do too much in small spaces.

My 5 year old son has been desperate to go to Drusillas since he picked up a leaflet at a service station a year or so ago and finally we made it yesterday. I looked online and knew it was classed as off peak (the day before half term) so all the rides were open but only at certain times every hour (we took a photo of the sign with this info on for our reference as it’s not on the website or handed out at the park)

We all had a great time, the animals all seemed content and well cared for. The extra bits - lots of lift the flaps etc - were in good condition and were interesting.

What we did struggle with was the lack of open food/drink outlets open. It turned out we’d been near the open cafe in the soft play area but due to lack of signage and this info not being clear enough for us on the map we’d missed it and walked another 20 minutes to buy a cup of tea. Not the end of the world of course but difficult for me as I have a back problem and needed maybe more opportunity to have a break!

My son loved the whole day - he enjoyed the rides and seeing the animals. The telephone box that you scream into was a particular highlight.

I would definitely go again but not with much older children - I feel most of it is aimed at younger children other than the huge play park! It would be helpful if there was some additional signs like “the only shop open today” “cafe 10m this way”

Had a lovely day at drusillas with family . Park very clean animals well cared for lots to see and do!
Hello kitty world clised but was given half price tickets for anotger visit will deff go again .

This was a family visit and took place on a dull cool day. We started just after 10:00 in the morning and had a quick walk through the tunnel into the main arena. On route through the tunnel, we came across a very large Boa Constrictor in a glass enclosure. This caused two of our number to be upset by this, as both have a bad reaction to snakes of any size or type. On a personal basis I believe that there should be a warning sign for people who do suffer from this aversion, as indeed many animal parks have a reptile house where those who are not disposed to reptiles have an option not to go in! Please note this before visiting. With hindsight I should have pointed this out at the time, but failed to do so as our little granddaughter was so excited about the visit. We had a very good lunch in the main cafe and found it not in the least expensive as some visitors had reported. The staff were all very friendly and helpful too. Overall it was an excellent day and apart from the snake issue I would recommend it to anyone. Keep an eye open for offers on tickets, we were able to enter on a Pay full price for one and take a friend for £5. This makes the cost of going there much more acceptable.

I have visited many times and I always notice something new. Always clean and tidy, staff are welcoming and friendly. The cafe is efficient and reasonable priced. I have lots of great memories here

Came here at the beginning of December with a 1 and a half year old for the Christmas at Drusillas event and can't really fault the day. Each child has to have a ticket to get access to Santa, each ticket costs £11 which is a little on the expensive side especially if you have more than one child. This ticket price is probably the only thing I can say was a negative. Mainly because of the amount of people, they could drop the price slightly. However, the Santa grotto was made out beautifully and Santa was fantastic with the children, certainly the best one I've seen in a while. Each child receives a gift which was a cuddly toy when we went. The rest of the Christmas stuff was good too, the sleigh to sit in and the husky cave to meet the dogs was fab. As it got darker, the Christmas lights display at the back of the Christmas section looked good too.
The rest of the day was spent looking around the animals, a good variety of wild animals and a smaller farm section which is really child friendly. The zoo itself is good for all ages. You can pick up an animal spotter booklet for free at the entrance to the zoo and tick them off with stampers located around the zoo when you see each animal in the book. Each animal has an outdoor and an indoor area which they seemed to be able to move between freely throughout the day. Keepers were seen cleaning the enclosures and feeding the animals throughout the day so you could see they were well looked after.
Some small rides and attractions for both younger and older children which is a good addition to Drusillas as it breaks up the day. Lots of toilet / baby change facilities and places to buy food, drinks and snacks. Also plenty of picnic benches if you're bringing your own foods its you. They have a large play park and a train ride that takes you around a small part of the zoo.
I would suggest that this is somewhere to stay most of the day so not something to do as well as something else in the same day as you wouldn't get round everything.
All in all a really enjoyable day out and I would recommend visiting if you are in the area. We will be returning, maybe in the summer this time to try it at a different time of year.

Had a very good day. With some very good food worth the money spent on the day.