UK Zoos- why is advance booking still essential?

Monkey World you still had to pre book when I went last month and I hadn’t, so had to do in car park.

Paradise (Hertfordshire) is pre book as well. I went over the holidays and hadn’t booked having heading there after a small trip to Cedars and went to pay and they said oh it’s pre booking only. This was a bit of a mission as phone signal was shocking and 4g and 5g non existent! Took me about 15 minutes to manage to book on my phone and then got in.
 
YWP, is still pre booking I believe, even with a plebs pass. I asked about this last year via email and they said things would return to normal soon, but it's still a condition on the benefits of membership list.

Cotswolds allowed me to pay at the 'door' not long a go.
 
littleRedPanda said:
YWP, is still pre booking I believe, even with a plebs pass. I asked about this last year via email and they said things would return to normal soon, but it's still a condition on the benefits of membership list.

Cotswolds allowed me to pay at the 'door' not long a go.
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Yes, I asked at Cotswold when I went back in the summer( as a booked entrant) and they said they preferred booking but pay on arrival was okay too.

What I don't really understand is;

1. Why many(?) of the zoos are still insisting on pre-booking now, with all pandemic restrictions lifted long ago and the reduced attendance the winter months bring.

2. Why there seems a lot of discrepancy between the different places. (answer is individual choice I guess)
 
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I went to 5 places last week.

Exmoor and Tropiquaria I just walked in.

Newquay, as a Colchester pass holder I had to ring up and book but they may have let me in anyway.

Longleat insist on advance booking.

Paradise, Hayle - the website said I had to book so I did. Whether they would have refused me entry I'm not sure.

I think ZSL and Colchester still insist on advance booking for non members.

Hamerton (non members) and Linton (all) encourage booking but I don't think either has turned people away at any point since the start of the pandemic.
Most now say that to guarantee entry at busy times you should book, but I don't think many would refuse anyone's money, that's just daft!
 
Hamerton will let you in when you buy at the gate.
Thing is, we stood in line as passholders, watching lots of people in front of us still needing to buy tickets, and it took ages for everyone to get through.
The very first time we went, we had booked online, a quick look at our phones, and in.
So it does seem to take quite a bit longer when many people need to still buy at the gate, so for most, it might now just be a quicker and easy access thing.
 
pipaluk said:
I went to 5 places last week.



Newquay, as a Colchester pass holder I had to ring up and book but they may have let me in anyway.
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I went to Newquay in the summer and just turned up with my Paignton membership pass which entitles me to one free visit to Newquay. The only problem was something to do with recording my pass - they wrote down the details.
When I went to Colchester earlier in the year, I did book because I wasn't going to go all that way and risk being refused entry.
 
pipaluk said:
Most now say that to guarantee entry at busy times you should book, but I don't think many would refuse anyone's money, that's just daft!
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Which is why I thought it strange that Marwell's site still says 'non-booked visitors will not be admitted'. I wonder if this is current or outdated.

I can't imagine anywhere on a mid-winter weekday outside of school holidays adhering to these self-imposed rules they have in place. I also still find the reasons behind this continued advice/insistence on pre-booking, whether real or not, rather perplexing. To ensure entry at busy times? But Zoos have never had to limit numbers at busy times previously, pre-Covid, so why now?
 
Pertinax said:
Which is why I thought it strange that Marwell's site still says 'non-booked visitors will not be admitted'. I wonder if this is current or outdated.

I can't imagine anywhere on a mid-winter weekday outside of school holidays adhering to these self-imposed rules they have in place. I also still find the reasons behind this continued advice/insistence on pre-booking, whether real or not, rather perplexing. To ensure entry at busy times? But Zoos have never had to limit numbers at busy times previously, pre-Covid, so why now?
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I went to Marwell in June, I hadn't pre-booked and I turned up and paid at gate, forgetting I could get free entry with my membership from Chester! They never said anything, just took my card payment and in.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
I went to Marwell in June, I hadn't pre-booked and I turned up and paid at gate, forgetting I could get free entry with my membership from Chester! They never said anything, just took my card payment and in.
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I suspect this is true for several places..;).I read a Bristol Zoo facebook page just before they closed- under the title -'Book early to secure your visit before the zoo closes'. Someone had asked a question and the zoo response was 'actually you don't have to book, just turn up'. Confusing or what?:rolleyes: I just find it interesting how all this booking stuff has stayed on post-pandemic.
 
Dublin does not require pre booking, but does offer 15% discount for online booking. I am sure the other Irish Zoos are the same.
I also dislike advance booking as the weather etc. can influence my decision.
 
Edinburgh and HWP state "everyone apart from RZSS members must book their tickets online in advance"

I'm not sure whether or not this is enforced at either site.
 
My elderly father wanted to go to Marwell this year (it's his favourite zoo, apparently) but held off because of the requirement to book a timeslot when buying online tickets - it's a fairly sizeable drive for us, and he was concerned that we'd be held up in traffic and miss our "entry window", so to speak!
 
Jennings said:
I suspect that, as with other attractions, the emphasis on pre-booking allows zoos to decide how many resources to commit to any given day. How many part time staff to roster, how many covers to prepare for the cafes, that sort of thing. It's a useful money-saving tool in these difficult economic times.
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I have spoken to some (USA) zoo directors who discovered during the pandemic that it eased parking and guest services pressures. They discovered a new useful tool and they intend to use it.
 
My feeling on this is purely related to the fact zoo management want to know who to call, from a register of zero hours casual workers, to work shifts in various catering & leisure outlets around their sites! I turned up to my local zoo last year as a member and I was told I needed to book. I got out the cash I had put aside to buy lunch at the zoo for my family & I and said “ok.., no problem kids, we’ll go to the beach cafe for lunch - no zoo this week”. A few weeks later they changed their policy!
 
Tetradactyla said:
My elderly father wanted to go to Marwell this year (it's his favourite zoo, apparently) but held off because of the requirement to book a timeslot when buying online tickets - it's a fairly sizeable drive for us, and he was concerned that we'd be held up in traffic and miss our "entry window", so to speak!
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The entry window is 5 hours, so your father must be a very slow driver. ;)
I have seen some places that have booking 'windows' that all close at the end of the day, rather than just the one hour (or half) that were in place before. I think it's just there to stop queues at the entry point.
 
Pertinax said:
I suspect this is true for several places..;).I read a Bristol Zoo facebook page just before they closed- under the title -'Book early to secure your visit before the zoo closes'. Someone had asked a question and the zoo response was 'actually you don't have to book, just turn up'. Confusing or what?:rolleyes: I just find it interesting how all this booking stuff has stayed on post-pandemic.
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I went for my last Bristol visit in school term time in May and just turned up with my Colchester pass.
 
dublinlion said:
Dublin does not require pre booking, but does offer 15% discount for online booking. I am sure the other Irish Zoos are the same.
I also dislike advance booking as the weather etc. can influence my decision.
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Exactly. This is what I dislike. The ability to just go if you feel like it. I can understand the discount on pre-booking, but not the complete removal of walk-up on the day admission in some places.
 
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Quincey said:
Edinburgh and HWP state "everyone apart from RZSS members must book their tickets online in advance"

I'm not sure whether or not this is enforced at either site.
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Thankyou. And again there seems uncertainty about whether they enforce this or not.
 
Zooplantman said:
I have spoken to some (USA) zoo directors who discovered during the pandemic that it eased parking and guest services pressures. They discovered a new useful tool and they intend to use it.
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As suspected, this seems to be the major reason for this being continued. But how rigorously its enforced seems to vary a lot.
 
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