My husband bought me this experience for my birthday and it was a fabulous experience. We were greeted in the morning by very friendly staff in the Animal Encounters Area, who provided us with hot drinks. We then met with the keeper, her name was Pia, who gave us lots of interesting information about the wolves we were going to feed that morning. We then went to both enclosures and fed both of the Norwegian and Iberian wolves. Pia, made the sure that the wolves were comfortable with us being so close and that we were also comfortable being so close to the wolves! It was an amazing experience and I would thoroughly recommend for any animal lovers. I feel like I learnt a lot from my visit.

There is something for everyone here, including great wheelchair access throughout. We were unlucky that the Penguin enclosure had just been closed for refurbishment as both we and our grandchildren were particularly looking forward to seeing them but there was so much more to see that any disappointment was soon forgotten.
My wife and I were both disappointed that despite extensive signage we never did find any birds of paradise, whilst the children didn't see the ducks. The only bird on what we took to be the duck pond was a moorhen.
We ate at the main restaurant, under their large awning. The selection was satisfactory but not great and the prices were as one expects at such venues. For those on a budget or looking for a different experience there are designated picnic areas including a covered area that we did not inspect.

We were Shadow Keepers for the day.
We arrived to a smile and a cup of tea. We then went to the hooved enclosures and met the Alpacas and Camel and to help muck them out. We were then shown around the paddocks.
After a short break we went to the reptile house and had all the animals explained to us. They have two anacondas and the female is huge and still growing. There are only a few in Europe. After holding a python we went onto see the Animal Antics show and helped round up the rats for their part in the show
We then went to fly an African Spotted Owl ourselves and watch the bird show. Lunch followed. It was complementary and the usual fare for a park and plenty of it.
Then came the small mammals and we hand fed the Red Pandas, a Coati and stroked a skunk. They were all so gentle when they took the food from our hands.
We then went to see the primates and again hand fed the Black Limas followed by the Red Ruff Limas. These were more boisterous, but again gentle and cute when we were feeding them. Lastly we want in with the Tapirs which was lovely.
We never really stopped all day and each keeper was ready and waiting for us at each stage. There was no 'corporate' guide. We met the actual keepers for each species of animal, which is what we wanted as they knew their charges and we got an excellent guide every time. Everyone from the receptionist to each keepers were lovely, informative and did everything to make our day go smoothly.
It was a great day for us and we thank everyone for their time and effort to make our day memorable.

We spent a wonderful afternoon looking at well looked after animals with knowledgeable keepers who took the time to answer all our questions. Reasonably priced food - well worth a visit. Only downside was we choose a day when there were an awful lot of school children visiting so a little on the noisy side!

We really enjoyed this. We are all big cat fans and there were plenty to see here. Lots for kids to do. If you go on your own as adults the zoo part is reasonably small , but then it is an attraction aimed at families. We went early and we got to see the cats waking up and eating breakfast. Toilets were nice and clean and they did have lots of toilet facilities and a playground for disabled visitors.

We had a great day, I would recommend!

Went here for a shadow a big cat experience. One word- Amazing!

Our keeper Steve was full of knowledge and super helpful.

It is an experience I would strongly recommend to anyone. It is not everyday you can say you have hand fed lions!

A great day, with great staff and great animals.

My wonderful husband bought me an amazing VIP experience for my birthday. We got to spend 2 days at the park and even stayed overnight in the Tiger Suite. On the first day I fed a white tiger which was incredible. I was helped by a very informative keeper called Shirley who explained exactly what I needed to do. We spent the rest of the day enjoying seeing tigers, snow leopards, lions, meerkats, monkeys, lemurs and many, many more. I think my husbands favorite were the red pandas.
On the second day we had breakfast watching tigers and then had a tour with one of the keepers called Emma who was brilliant and very knowledgeable.
Overall we had a brilliant time.

Early start but well worth it. Well informed guide took us around all the big cats enclosures. Fantastic place for children with plenty to do and see. Worth a visit!

I've wandered round this zoo with family, friends and alone, it's my favourite place, keepers are friendly and informative, place is kept clean, plenty to see and ideal for a family, great for photographers of animals too, most of the animals you can get up really close and personal to, separated in the main by specially toughened glass, access for wheelchairs, buggies etc, even for the higher walkway as specially made ramp for this use, compact and level for all types of mobility and age. Plenty to see and despite my many visits I don't think I've ever seen it all in one go, I imagine if you want a whistle stop tour it's possible but then you could miss out on all the keeper talks, the antics of the various animals, the bird show, etc, etc. All in all, a great day out for everyone

We stayed here as opposed to hotel or B&B for a planned trip to Harry Potter studios. We were so glad we did. Had a lovely day around the park on first day. It was incredibly foggy that weekend and as it was November got dark early. It was excitingly eerie walking around the forest path and then in the morning waking up to the sound of the gibbons and the raw of the lions. Fabulous. The VIP breakfast experience was wonderful, 10 of everything for breakfast, followed by the tour with the keepers. The apartment was comfortable and warm, the kids loved having a TV in their room too. End result was that everyone enjoyed the zoo experience more the Harry Potter Studios - what more can we say. Can't wait to visit again. Not the cheapest of nights away but comparable to a nice hotel and profits go to the animals not some-ones pocket.

We went there with my 80 year old mother. When you arrive at the car park if you have a member of your party that is wheelchair bound you must speak to the staff guiding you into the car park as there is somewhere nearer to park for people who are disabled. Not knowing this my husband had to push my mother all the way up a steep entrance as we didn't know any better? We watched the bird show which was fantastic. All the staff are friendly and very helpful. The food is very basic I feel they could offer better as I am sure there are lots of people who would be happy to pay for a more varied menu. Great day out for the kids they even have indoor class rooms for when it rains

Absolutely fantastic day at Paradise Wildlife Park. Got there just after 10am and was loved every minute of the day. Fed a white lion at 3pm and had a member of staff (Tony) helping me. He was very informative, friendly, and made the whole experience fantastic. Top marks for him. Highly recommended for all

Have been several times now with friends to enjoy the animal experiences. Most recently was with a disabled friend in a wheelchair to feed the White Lions. Staff were very helpful and accommodating. A great atmosphere and wonderful day out and a disabled person still buzzing with the close up encounters with the cheeky Zuri and Moto, the male who graced her with his presence and deigned to take some tidbits from her hand. Don't worry, the whole process is carried out from the other side of a stout fence under excellent supervision of an experienced keeper, but you are literally a matter of inches away and they are so gentle that the worst you will get is a rough lick from their tongue as they take the snack.
Obviously the rest of the day isn't quite as exciting as being close up to a big cat but the Lemurs, Meercats, Monkeys, Otters, Penguins and the Red Panda etc. are all great fun
We had a nice meal in the main cafe which was quickly served but was fresh, with reasonable options inc. vegetarian and plenty of it for a very reasonable price especially compared to other wildlife parks and Zoos.
The park itself is compact but well laid out with good accessibility so all in a great day out that will suit all ages and mobilities.

Being a big fan of a couples day out I went here with my husband on my birthday. I think if we were going with kids (which we don't have yet) it would have been a great day but unfortunately apart from seeing the animals there wasn't much to do for us. The animals there were great to see and it was nicely laid out with great walkways above the big cat areas which were quite special but for the price we paid there really wasn't much to see for a day out. Half the park is massive adventure playground areas, an entertainment area and food hall - great for kids I'm sure and would probably go with nieces and nephews in the future. Think we were here about 2 hours in total and compared to other places like Colchester Zoo which we love I just felt odd being in a "family" place

Used to go here as a kid many moons ago and decided to have a family day out there seeing as it's expanded lots and improved over the years.

Great day out and fairly priced. Has a good range of animals and even some that you're unlikely to see at bigger mainstream zoos.

Plenty to do for the kids including a soft play zone, outdoor park and train ride then the animals and a few shows/talks about them which is good.

This was the first time we've been to Paradise Park since our children were young. It's changed quite a lot although the overall park is how I remember it. It is quite expensive for a family I would think. Particularly if they start charging for parking which was signposted outside although hasn't started yet. Obviously there are loads of animals to see. Mostly asleep when we were there. Typical zoo experience I find. There are outlets selling food which wasn't too bad. There are also picnic areas so you can take your own food to save a bit of money. The site is well set out so you can make your way round and find all the different animals without too much bother. All in all a good day out.

My husband & I had bought an experience to feed the Red Pandas. Even though we both love animals we'd somehow never visited this park before. What a shame! We've been missing out. Our daughter is grown up now but the facilities for small kids looked awesome. Slides, firetrucks, amusements.

More importantly the animals & their welfare appeared to be top notch. They've really put thought into viewing platforms & accessibility whilst keeping happy animals. That is always of utmost importance to us. Watching Misha the wolf being groomed by her keeper & loving every second of it spoke volumes.

The staff were extremely welcoming & knowledgeable. When it came time to feed the red pandas they weren't interested in coming down out the trees. Now we were imagining we'd be told, 'Tough, that's the way the dice rolls.' Obviously we'd never expect the animals to be forced into anything. However we were told to come back in an hour. If the red pandas didn't come down then we'd try again & if that failed we could meet the meerkats instead. We were so impressed with their determination to give us a good experience. As it happens one of the red pandas came down for feeding on our second visit. It was a wonderful experience I'll never forget and I managed to get some awesome close up photos. We also learnt a huge amount about red pandas.

For the record we visited on a school day. I imagine this place gets swarmed with children during the holidays so plan accordingly. You can't blame the park for being popular & busy.

We visited on a quiet, rainy Monday but the day was great!! There's were some great animals to see and because it was raining we were the only people who turned up to the bird show so a lovely keeper called Claire gave us our own personal bird show!! It was fantastic and really made my other half's day!!

We have just been to Paradise Wildlife Park.
It was our first ever visit and we will definitely be coming back.
Everything was so much fun.
My children are 3 and 7 and they loved the adventure playgrounds and slides.
We also thought the animals were great especially the monkeys who were so funny.
I'm sure they were showing off to us!
We took our own food so can't comment on the restaurant but from what I saw it looked nice.
The gift shop was lovely too and we can't wait to go back!

It's located just outside London so it's a perfect day out if you want to enjoy some quality time. Me and my girlfriend was there during sunny August and it was lovely.
There is a decent collection of animals there, especially the big cats. The white lion pride is a must watch as they are so rare and so beautiful. And you can see snow leopards, tigers and other big cats there as well. Apart from the animals there are few good restaurant out there to have a decent meal while you enjoy the nature.
It cost us around £30 for tickets for both of us and it was totally worth it.
Ideal day out for a couple, family outing, kids day out, photographers, or anyone looking for a getaway from busy life.

Johanna and I attended a Breakfast with the Big Cats experience. I was better than we expected, in particular the breakfast buffet which was excellent with wide choice of cold meats, cheese and cereals. The talk from the keeper was informative and he clearly loved the big cats, although at times he did start to loose the interest as he went on a bit too long. The big cats all look well carted for and the importance of the breading programs was explained well. The remainder of the Park only has a limited range of animals but it was clearly popular.

What an amazing day!! We did the white lion feeding experience and wow, what an experience it was!! The lions were brill, the instructor was excellent, so thorough on all information whilst being friendly. We even got a little bit of extra time with him and the lions where the park was so quiet. We saw him again at the wolves, and the tigers and he was still superb. You've such an array of animals that aren't you're typical zoo animal, it was fascinating, loved every minute. All staff were friendly and chatty, lovely atmosphere. Would come here again easily, worth the 2.5 hour drive 👍

I went here not really knowing what to expect, I'm not keen on the idea of zoos but it was just up the road and we wanted to take a friend to cheer her up after some difficult times.

Firstly, we are a couple in our late 30's, no kids and really into wildlife and the great outdoors. Our friend, in her early 60's is passionate about animal welfare and big cats and has an interest in zoology.

I want to write a balanced view here, but it's going to be hard because parts of this place were great, but parts of it were so awful that I came away feeling quite upset, despite the fact we had a nice day with our friend. It will probably be easier to deal with each thing as I remember it, rather than try to divide into good/bad. To give this review perspective we visited on a Saturday in mid May.

On arrival you drive down a road into what looks like a theme park. This place is clearly geared towards kids and the sort of families that need to be "entertained". I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as we got out of the car as it all looked very tacky and commercial with huge plastic meerkats and bright signage as the main focus. I could hear loud tacky fairground style music pumped out from beyond the car park and I took a deep breath. It certainly didn't give the impression of "Paradise" or "wildlife".

Anyway, we paid our money and used a 20%off voucher that we found online just by googling, this was a smooth transaction and we entered the park and were given maps. We went in the cafe by the entrance for a quick cup of tea, which was alright, nothing special but large cups and reasonably priced. There's a huge ball-pit style attraction in here, which made me wonder what sort of people would bring their kids to a wildlife park with lions, tigers etc as the main attraction then spend their time sat in a cafe with the kids in the ball pool. We are about to find out...

Upon leaving the cafe and entering the park, we noticed that everyone had several unruly kids and was about 22 stone. We seemed to be the only people not wearing polyester branded sportswear.

We realised on looking at the map that the park is divided into two with the wildlife bit at the back and the entertainment/theme park the first bit you have to go to to get to the animals. I am not exaggerating here when I say that this first part is like entering the seventh circle of hell. Loudspeakers playing that godawful theme from "Frozen" and various slides, rides, amusements and later a stage with various workers dressed as animals leaping about like they were on on acid. We sat waiting for our friend to use the loo observing the scene around us. Lots of people shouting at their kids with fags hanging from their lips while on their mobile phones shouting at whoever is on the other end. The theme from Frozen has gone now, replaced by Blame it on the Boogie and then bizarrely some gangster rap and I don't know what else because we didn't stick around long enough to find out. Our thoughts at this point being let's just see the animals and then we can get the hell out.

At this point you cross a road into the animal bit. There's still garish signage everywhere and again it's all aimed at kids and very commercial. There's a sign pointing at something you think is an animal enclosure off to the left but in fact is a set of slot machines. There's a little kiosk selling animal feed for £1 a bag so we get two and are dismayed to discover each bag contains half a finely chopped carrot. We are about to lose all hope when we go round a corner and are met by the sight of a majestic white tiger looking straight at us! It's still not that busy as everyone else seems to be at the amusements so we are able to spend a good amount of time observing at a close distance before he wanders off.

We then go into a building and watch a talk given by a young lady with a voice like nails down a blackboard. During the talk lots of small animals are brought out including rats, a skunk, an owl and some ferrets. It's mildly interesting but all very dumbed down and patronising and delivered in that childrens TV presenter on speed style everybody hates, especially children. The kids in the building are all getting restless at this point because they just want to go back on the rides and not listen to the screechy lady with the distressing voice. The good thing is the owl is flown around and lands on perches very close to the audience, it's possible to get right up close to the animals if you sit down the front and the animals all seem to be well looked after and healthy. Obviously none of the kids are watching and the parents are all telling them off. It's at this point that they decide to play a video at full volume about Hero Rats and it has a very annoying song, again in children's entertainer style high pitched shrill about the poor little suicide rats that are used to detect land mines. I'm rather horrified by this piece of propaganda and we are then asked to give money to the rat which has been trained to put it in the money box. Hmmmm I hope not all the "talks" are like this.

So on to the next talk, which couldn't have been more different. We're at the cheetah enclosure and the speaker is an elderly gentleman who is very interesting and engaging and we see the cheetah being fed by hand by Ian the keeper and another keeper who are inside the enclosure. Fascinating stuff and in complete contrast to what we've just endured. Only thing is all the overstimulated brats and their parents are all shouting at each other, which ruins it a little.

We then wander around the rest of the zoo part, which is rather nice. I'm surprised by how well kept everything is and by how close you can actually get to the animals and they all seem quite happy. We watch more talks including the otters and the red pandas, again fascinating and engaging stuff marred by the whiny brats and their shouty parents. Everyone here seems to have the attention span of a goldfish. And they are everywhere.

Anyway, there's a lot of really good stuff here. The enclosures seem well kept and roomy compared to other zoos I've been to, and views are enhanced by raised walkways and viewing platforms. There's a white leopard that we see in a small enclosure pacing about, we're concerned about him and ask a keeper. Apparently he is in there while the females are fed so he doesn't steal their food. He will be let back out very soon. Perhaps a sign stating this would be a good idea? We weren't the only ones who found this alarming, but most people wouldn't have asked about it and left with the wrong impression.

Throughout the afternoon we are pleasantly surprised by the rest of the animal park, the rainforest house is really nice with the little Tamarins and we see a good selection of animals who all seem very happy and well looked after. By now we have learned to try to filter out the thousands of people who take their kids out in public to shout at and humiliate them.

We then go and look for the bird section, but can't find it. Twice we are given directions then discover a very narrow path with no signage at the back of the gift shop. This leads to the birds. Upon arrival we are invited into the Lorikeets house where we are given a little pot of nectar and an elf'n safety brief before we are lead through and they all land on us to drink the nectar. This is a highlight of our day, it's £1 extra but well worth it. We come away having taken lots of nice photographs of the beautiful birds on each other's heads and it didn't feel rushed or scary. Very pleasant. The rest of the bird part we have mixed feelings about - some fabulous birds but all the enclosures look a little small and in need of updating, is also has a feeling of being tucked away from the main attraction. Mind you with all the shouting that's probably a good thing, for the birds at least. There's also an arena in the middle where they do bird displays but there was nothing on at the hour we visited.

Following this we make our way back for the lion feeding, we notice a lot of people have left and we get a good view from the platform as the lions are given their dinner. Again the elderly gentleman is giving the talk, which is really interesting but unfortunately a lot of the kids are moaning they are bored and they want to go home. Then the parents are moaning that the kids are moaning. There's three lions eating a horse about 18 feet in front of us and a man who has known them since they were cubs and has worked with lions for many years is telling us about the time he slept next to one and all these miserable excuses for humanity are starting to wander off. At this point I wonder what is wrong with these people. Why do they come here? Then I remember the funfair style attractions and I believe therein lies the problem.

I don't know if I would come back here. The lions, tigers, leopards etc are amazing. We really enjoyed some of the talks and chatting to the keepers afterwards. This part is really nice, but you have to dodge all the overstimulated brats and their horrible parents shouting into their phones. Perhaps it would be better on a school day?

It's such a shame that it can't just be a peaceful wildlife park/zoo and they need to have the nasty entertainment to draw the crowds, I wonder if they took it away, got rid of the plastic and dumbing down kiddy focused nonsense and made it more about the animal experience, made that more engaging, would they attract a different sort of crowd that wouldn't make it so unpleasant for serious visitors who just want to come to "Paradise" wildlife park to enjoy the magnificent animals? I do worry about the effect all the noise and stress has on the creatures, whose hearing and sensory perception is far greater than ours. Maybe they could bulldoze the theme park style attractions and make the animals the main gig? We'd certainly come back then, and frequently.

Fantastic!
We went to the Big Cats Breakfast yesterday and just had a brilliant morning. ALL the staff at the Park are helpful, professional, hard-working and fun. Particular thanks to Ian (Tour Guide), the 2 ladies that looked after us at the Meet & Greet and the 2 ladies at the breakfast. Tour was excellent, love the animals and the breakfast at the end of the tour. Food was really inviting, fresh and tasty. And great location to get to from where we live. We'll definitely go again on another day. And a couple of our friends with children have also visited and loved it.

Went for a special speedway luncheon in a lovely marguee and enjoyed the food, a top class buffet by any standard. The Speedway Museum is very good too. But the animals and the play areas are the main attraction. On a lovely sunny day lots of people enjoying themselves, and the owners invest - a newish car parking area was evidence on arrival. Recommend this as a day out, the speedway element is a small but welcome bonus.