Been here lots with kids. They loved more when they were little. Once you have seen the animals there is not a lot more for them to do. You have to pay for the train ride. The food was not that great. Expensive for what it was. My daughter done a meerkat experience a few years back and she loved it. Don't go as often now the kids are getting older. 5&9.

Was very impressed with paradise wildlife park for my 2 year old son. Was plenty there for him to do. Could see all the animals close up and enjoyed feeding several different animals such as the reindeer,goats, ect. Very good value for money as included in the price is bouncy castles,view of the animals,sandpit with big block play area,kids entertainment,keeper talks and feeding,playgrounds.will defently go back again as my son really enjoyed himself there.

A good day out we took a four and seven year old and found there was plenty for all ages, staff helpful and knowledgeable all in all a good day out

The zoo is not huge, but has plenty of big cats. Their enclosures were not as big as I thought they needed to be, particularly the 4 lions sharing one enclosure. There were many play areas, bouncy castles and attractions for young children which we didn't use as our children were too old for these, therefore I felt it was an expensive day out for our family as we could only really look at the animals. Also you need to take a picnic as the food outlets are limited.

Spent a thoroughly enjoyable time at Paradise Park on a photography experience with a new camera. Was looked after by everyone really well - friendly, knowledgeable staff and two excellent photography guides with incredible knowledge of photography - found the continuous shooting mood enabling me to take some incredible shots. A well run family concern with lots for all ages.

I visited the the zoo with my hubby and three children. (Ages 6,8,10). We had a fantastic day as usual. Lots for the kids to do including a large playground and small train ride around the forest.
They also have a indoor cafe with soft play, great for if it rains.
The animals are beautiful and you can tell that they are well kept and looked after. The keepers clearly love them.
Five stars all round.
Even better that you can use your tesco clubcard vouchers too

Had an amazing day at Paradise Wildlife park. We went to "feed the Big Cats" This got us entry for the day so we had a wander around 1st. We watched another couple having an "experience" with the red pandas and it was great fun to watch. We met up with the trainer Ian and we got to choose which cat we wanted to spend more time with. I chose Bikal the white tiger. He was beautiful and so amazing to see up close! Being that close and feeding him was amazing and we got such great attention and information during the experience. I cant wait to book another as I know that the fee is use to help and support the animals and they take amazing care of all of them. Thanks for an awesome Birthday!

We went as two couples but this park is very well facilitated for families. Book in advance for a good discount. Plenty of hand washing facilities and opportunities to touch suitable animals. Nice to be able to buy proper freshly ground coffee at a reasonable price too.

Would really have liked to give an overall rating of very good but a few things let the park down Went with friends and we enjoyed the day there but it felt more like a playworld park with some animals rather than the other way round. Shame this park needs as many childrens facilities and play areas to attract families there rather than the animals being the main attraction and the focus being on conservation. The walkways are aplenty to be able to get a good view of the big cats and the other animals Some of the enclosures could do with being a little bigger but most of the animals looked content and all looked well cared for.The bats were great but would liked to have seen them in a more natural looking environment. Reptile house very good indeed.The woodland walk is pretty and it is lovely to see the deer, owls and foxes as you walk through. The birds and all the animals are wonderful (especially the tigers, lions etc) but it would have been nice to see more talks and feeding times going on during the day. Some of the staff looked a little fed up and it would have been nice to see them looking a little happier in there work even though we are sure they all do a really great job. The park is clean and tidy and the food at Sams diner was good at a reasonable price. Plenty of places in the park to get refreshments, parking good too. Really surprised to see a bar selling alcohol though resulting in a small group walking round the park partly drunk carrying booze around with them of which one of them was acting ridiculously around the animals and spitting on the floor! Are there no rules and regulations in the park at all? Surely it is the responsibility of the management that certain behavour will not be tolerated in the best interests and welfare of the animals and other people visiting the park...such a shame! On the whole though a lovely day out despite the negatives

It was a good day out but it was very hard to steer my 8yr old away from everything that cost more money.

We have been to this zoo many times with our grandchildren and have never failed to enjoy it. The parking is good and there are places to eat inside the park which are adequate for lunches etc. The animals are well looked after and kept in good conditions. I can recommend this little gem for the family.

Have been going to Paradise Wildlife Park for many years now and every time we go there is always something new to see. The staff are very informative and helpful and the animals have large enclosures that continue to be refreshed for the animals enrichment. For the youngsters there are plenty of things to do from crazy golf, go karts, an indoor climbing area to just simply sitting on a swing, running around in the paddling pool or taking a ride on the miniature railway. Look out on the notice boards for the daily events such as feed times, bird shows and keeper talks. The food is good and not too expensive. I suggest you buy the tickets on line for discounts and like their Facebook page as they often give out discount codes and advise of upcoming events, there are also great pictures from visitors of the animals. You can use Tesco Clubcard points to get vouchers for tickets, this I find is the best and cheapest way.

We really like Paradise Park and have visited a number of times with the children over the last few years. There is a great selection of animals and the park itself is manageable for the little legs to walk around. Food and refreshments are reasonable and there is also plenty of space for picnics.

Great for adults with or without children. Close up to all the animals. Best park I have ever been to. Work every penny of the cost as they support conservation work. I went with a friend and we had a fab time and stayed all day - dont know how we would have fitted in all the child related stuff if wwe had kids in tow. Animals were completely relaxed and we had a fab view of all animals - even high up walk way so were had every opportunity to see the big cats. There are also up close and personal experiences at extra cost and definitely worth the cost! This park must NOT be missed!

Paradise Wildlife Park was close to where we were staying in Hertford, so it seemed like an ideal choice for a day out. We visited just before the school holiday season, so it was easy to get around without being too busy.

The car park bays are tiny - virtually every car took up more than the allocated space, so I imagine this could make parking rather difficult during busy days. It's something that needs to be addressed.

When choosing days out, its often difficult to find somewhere suitable that has appropriate wheelchair access. I'm pleased to say that Paradise Wildlife Park was generally good for access - though the ramps up to the viewing areas over the big cats was both steep and bumpy.

As for the animals, they appeared to be well looked after, and it was delightful to see so many big cats in one attraction. I would certainly be happy to visit again, and would thoroughly recommend it. A great place for all the family.

Normally, to see the animals, we would drive about 90 mins from Chingford to Colchester Zoo. The last time we went there, April 2013, we did the journey and then sat in a traffic jam for about 30 mins just getting into the zoo and vowed we wouldn't bother with that again.
So, having seen the signs all around us we decided to pay a visit to Paradise Wildlife Park.
I first visited Paradise Wildlife Park, Broxbourne, approximately 25 years ago when it was quite small and a bit of a local affair. At the time my son was about 3 or 4 years old. So when I returned for the first time since then in May this year I was amazed at the transformation. My husband had never been so he had no preconceptions. But I had an image in my mind which was blown away as I walked up to the ticket office.
Of course there are not the really big animals at Paradise, such as giraffes and elephants but what they do have are beautifully kept and easy (on the whole) to view.
In May we caught the tail end of an owl in flight demonstration and then after a few hours walk around watched the white lions being fed. What beautiful animals!
We returned in August and it seemed as though there were different animals on show. We were privy to the white tigers' meal time.
A couple of disappointments: the otters were being rehoused and so they were not on good display and the enclosures do feel a bit small for the larger beasts.
There is less glass here than at Colchester, which is a good thing in my opinion. The Red Pandas are more accessible and they are beautiful, hanging way up in the tree with their faces poking out between the branches.
There is plenty of play space for young children who need something more than just looking at animals behind bars. There are plenty of food and drink outlets and on the other end of the spectrum, sufficient toilet facilities.
My second visit had the perfect end when I was able to watch (and video) Arnie the parrot in a training session. He was so intelligentl and handled extremely well.
Overall, I have been really pleased with my two visits this year and plan another before 2015!

As two adults visiting we enjoyed our day, stayed about 4 hours. Used Tesco boost vouchers to get in. Would have been slightly expensive without these.

The big cats were good and we spent most of our time in this area. The best thing was having the high walkways so that you can gets view from above. The animal area was not too large so we went round the cats several times.

For kids there are loads of things to do, rides, play areas, bouncy castles etc.

For adults we preferred Colchester Zoo. But if they do the groupon deals over the winter again will probably go again.

We love to see the animals who are very well cared for by friendly knowledgeable staff. There is a variety of food including some vegetarian options. Lots of board walks high and low for photographic opportunities, as well as windows into the enclosures. Nice clean facilities with hand gel stations around the park if your lucky enough to touch some of the animals outside of the little farm. There is a nice wooded area with a bird hide and deer that some times want your attention! We visit often and can spend all day wandering around enjoying the sights, displays, talks and feeding times. Highly recommend!

P.S. Zoo news is an added bonus on your facebook page as it shows some behind the scenes footage on how the animals are looked after and what's going to be coming in the future.

A great day out for all ages, with tickets cheaper online prepaid. Plenty to see and do with some pay for activities inside the gate. Spend a whole day getting up close to some lovely animals, then run off lunch in the playground after. pirate ship was very poular with mine with much scope with the tunnels to do hide and seek. After looking at previous reviews we took a picnic and eventually found a seat and a table (there arent that many) though I treated myself to chips, which were very tasty. Huge minus points is the ridiculous restaurant system. Expect to wait for absolutely ages as the cashiers were taking the orders, then believe it or not, waiting for the food from the kitchen, traying it up, then completing the customers order before moving onto the next seething customer in the queue. Absolutely ridiculous. Paradise Park, do yourself a favour here!!!!! Apart from that black mark, the Park staff were fantastic, friendly, genuinly helpful and a pleasure to meet. Will go again, but wont bother with the Diner.

Having read the mixed reviews i wasn't certain how I would feel about this zoo however I am happy to say I loved it. I visited with a 12 year old and my 9 year old son. It's a small zoo but big enough with plenty of animals to look at. We listened to the zoo keepers talk on the cheetah and people may think these animals shouldn't be caged however when you listen to his talk about what life is like out in the wild, here they are fed and looked after and in my humble opinion, maybe this isn't such a bad thing.
We took our own picnic and there were plenty of places to sit. A great playground for the children to enjoy whilst we had a cup of tea. A tractor ride took us round a small part of the zoo with a running commentary.
I had vouchers entitling me to one free admission. This I felt gave me good value. Had I have had to pay full price I may have felt it was an expensive day out.

We came to Paradise Wildlife Park because the wife was given a “Shadow a Big Cat Keeper” experience as a birthday present. Prior to this we had no idea that this place even existed.
The Big Cat Experience: We were at the Visitor Centre at 08.30 where we were all given a drink and some biscuits (there were four adults and a three year old). We were expecting Mrs Chimp to be whisked off, leaving us to pay our entrance and walk round the park waiting for her to finish her day. Not a bit of it. We were able to join Mrs Chimp and her keeper for the first 30 minutes and we were able to listen to what the keeper was saying and showing her. This was taking place in the 30 minutes before the zoo opened so it was as if we had the place to ourselves. At 9.30 we split up and, having already bought our entrance tickets we went our separate ways. Mrs Chimp reports that the day was educational, informative, fun and, occasionally, a little nerve wracking. She fed the Snow Leopards by hand, helped to train the White Tiger (we saw both of those), cut up meat for the cats, cleared out the Ocelots cage and helped place some surprises for the Jaguar (that was a bit scary, apparently). The keeper also looked after the Wolves so Mrs Chimp was able to get into the wolf enclosure with the animals and get really close to those as well. She loved it and was as intrigued to see what goes on behind the scenes as she was getting to grips with cats. From the cup of tea to being “released” took approx. 6 hours. She came home with a certificate and a t-shirt.
The Zoo and Park itself: Lots to see and do, especially for younger children. In fact, the activities and play areas for youngsters were, frankly, astonishing. Our three year old granddaughter was kept amused for the whole day with a mixture of animal visits, walks, rides and play activities – no mean feat. She loved feeding the animals and looking though the viewing windows. Some of the pens appeared to be smaller than others I have seen but they do appear to meet the guidelines set out by the relevant Ministry. The only animals that I thought looked bored were the reindeers who were following each other round and round in circles. That was a little hard to watch if I’m being honest. However, none of the other animals exhibited any obvious signs of distress (unlike other zoos I’ve been to).
The Play Areas: Bouncy castles, swings, things to climb on, fairground rides, tractor rides, train rides, adventure playgrounds, areas for those with special needs and disabilities … the list goes on and it makes a change to see youngsters catered for in this comprehensive manner. There were so many play areas and things that interested the little one that we didn’t get time to see any of the shows or any of the other feeding experiences (other than the Big Cat ones mentioned above).
Refreshment: Plenty of stalls around the park selling crisps, ices, drinks and so on. Expensive? Yes, compared to supermarket prices but similar to other establishments /events that have a “captive” clientele (excuse the pun). Having said that, because we were there so early we had a breakfast in the café. A full English was just £5.00 (very reasonable, I thought) and the staff were happy to swop the chips (?) for an additional sausage, egg or rasher of bacon. If we were going again (and we will) we will almost certainly take a picnic for our lunch but, to be fair, we didn’t feel ripped off by the cost of the food (but then I pay similar prices for burgers, hot dog, chips at outside events and football matches so it wasn’t that much of a shock to me).
Summary? A surprisingly good day out with lots of animals in close proximity and easy to see. The kids’ areas were great and it helps for those interested in animals that you can feed and touch so many of them. Not a cheap day out but then a trip to the zoo never is. The day was better than I thought it was going to be, helped, immeasurably, by the fact that we could keep our three year occupied 100% of the time.

We went with 4 kids, ranging from 2yrs to 10yrs, and each one was excited by it. There were miniature activities for the elder children, with a walkway above the pathway with great visibility of the lion enclosure.

The bird shows were a great attraction too.

Enough for a half day out...with a picnic afterwards. There is also a kids swimming pool, which is worth it too on a sunny day, so make sure you take their costumes and towels. This just adds to the days activities.

Also, try to book tickets online, as it saves on the queue time which was long when we were there. Thankfully we thought ahead!

Very disappointed took my grandchildren who were really excited at the bird show that was advertised for 1 30 but never materialised
Quite small and cramped and quite expensive for what it was

Pretty well maintained, plenty for kids to do (though a lot of equipment and rides aimed mainly at under 8s rather than older ones).

As others have commented, animal enclosures feel a bit on the small side, though well within legal limits I'm sure. I'm not really a fan of keeping animals like big cats and zebra in such surroundings and didn't enjoy the cheetah just pacing endlessly in circles round the enclosure, but they are not the only zoo to do this. Animals seem well cared for.

Staff pleasant and helpful. It's a decent day out and just about worth the money (got 20% off booking online), but probably wouldn't do it again.

My wonderful wife decided to treat me to shadow a big cat keeper for the day for the day, and it was I have to say, brilliant.

Before the park opened to the public we were greeted with teas, coffees, biscuits etc, then offered a walk around before we met our keeper for the day. Ross was a friendly, welcoming, wealth of knowledge on the big cats having worked with them for 7 years. He took us around all of the enclosures, introduced us to the animals, and we started to get up close and more personal.

Having been to a lot of other zoological parks in my life, and vowing never to return, I can honestly say that when the surprise was dropped on me the day before, I was very trepidatious. Those who remember the poor black Jaguar/ Leopard at Marwell will understand this feeling. I vowed never to return... however, with a hopeful outlook we hit the road to PWP.

As we wandered round and Ross explained to us that PWP donates a lot (almost all) of their profits to conservation, and they also have a sister site in Kent called the Wildlife Heritage Foundation (please check them out), that focuses more on conservation and breeding programmes. We were able to witness the training and feeding of the white tiger, we even got to hand feed, and touch him throughout the experience. My other half fed the white lions, and even got a lick from Moto. We got involved in a little bit of cleaning of the Snow Leopard enclosure, got to put some enrichments in their enclosure, and generally got a much better, deeper view of how PWP operates, some of the ideas they have for the future, and how the staff interact with the animals.

It’s certainly clear the staff care deeply about the animals, they want the very best for them, however, like most things in life, a lot of improvements cost a lot of money. If the staff, and PWP suddenly won the euro millions, I'm sure the entire amount would be spent on the park to ensure the animals continuing happiness. The staff are the biggest asset, and I think Ross will go far.

Having said all of that, the park is not perfect, but it is doing the best job it can. If I can recommended anything it would be to publicise more the work they do at WHF, tell the background stories of the animals such as Sheena. A leopard rescued from a private collector who had her in an enclosure far too small for 11 years of her life. The enclosures themselves are not acres, there just isn’t the space. But what the cats do have is a pretty good sized place to run, jump, climb, and do the things that cats want to do. Billy the Oceleot, and Sheena both have huge enclosures, multi level, semi junglefied, where they can hide if it all becomes too much. The lions have a nice big run, as do the tigers. In short the cats are definitely not mistreated, nor when I saw were they pacing up and down (expect for feeding time, which you have to expect), and they are very healthy, cared for, and they are happy as they can be. If anyone saw me feeding Balkeil (cant remember how to spell his name) the white tiger, and how he was rolling around afterwards, snuffling Ross' fingers, and generally looking very pleased with himself, they would realise just how well the cats are doing.

If anyone visiting the park has any concerns, please just stop, and talk to the keepers, they were all friendly, and I can pretty much guarantee that they will take the time out of their busy day to discuss, and probably address any concerns.

Thank you to all at PWP, you've changed my mind about zoological parks.