Marwell Wildlife Marwell Annual Pass? Worth it?

[mazzy]

we got a joint adult pass from twycross which is our nearest zoo followed by chester we got into marwell as well while holidaying down south , £97 for the joint pass but knocking off what it would have cost us to get into twycross on the day we bought them . got them in july and we have got the money back already x

 

[sealion]

Macca- I won't have a car at uni, but who knows where i'll be in the holidays! The talks do sound interesting, so I will definitely take them into consideration.

Sooty Mangabey- I'm sorry, but practically every post i've read of yours on here is either rude, or full of zoo snobbery-so I am wary to take too much notice of your "advice". (This obviously is just my opinion, but maybe others agree, I don't know.)
Why does it matter whether I have been to Howletts or not? This has nothing to-do with the thread. You can still be a zoo enthusiast without having visited every collection within your possible grasp, or do you not believe this?

In reply to your comment of "does it matter", well, I'm a student, and annual passes are expensive so I would like to know what I'm spending my money on. If it really doesn't matter why were you ranting about how the marwell pass wasn't worth it earlier?

Thanks to everyone who has made constructive comments.

 

[sooty mangabey]

I'm sorry, but practically every post i've read of yours on here is either rude, or full of zoo snobbery-so I am wary to take too much notice of your "advice". (This obviously is just my opinion, but maybe others agree, I don't know.)

Sorry if you find me rude - I really didn't mean to be. Of course it doesn't matter that you haven't been to Howletts, but I was just surprised is all - as I was surprised by other people's comments here.

And of course you should spend your money as you wish to spend it. I don't think I was 'ranting' - although one man's carefully expressed opinion is another man's rant - but I do feel let down by Marwell, and disappointed by its progress in recent years. I was simply expressing that opinion. Again, I apologise if that came across as rude.

 

[sealion]

Sorry if you find me rude - I really didn't mean to be. Of course it doesn't matter that you haven't been to Howletts, but I was just surprised is all - as I was surprised by other people's comments here.

And of course you should spend your money as you wish to spend it. I don't think I was 'ranting' - although one man's carefully expressed opinion is another man's rant - but I do feel let down by Marwell, and disappointed by its progress in recent years. I was simply expressing that opinion. Again, I apologise if that came across as rude.

I forgive you Sometimes things come over worse than people mean over the internet.
Thanks for bringing to light the fact that Marwell's updates etc aren't as good as some other zoos/ or in previous years, it's good to be compare it to other zoos etc. I'm going to see how much money I have to spare, and quite possibly may get a pass as a treat for myself . The convience for a non-car-going student is quite an important point in my decision and as i've never had a zoo annual pass before- the lack of updates may not bother me too much. (The talks also sound interesting!) I have a huge list of zoos I'd like to visit, (including Howletts) and so hopefully they will continue the multi-zoo passes for a significant amount of time! These multi-passes seem a really good idea, and perfect for the likes of us zoochatters- will give me an extra excuse to visit all the places on my list! I just hope the recession hasn't affected them at all!

 

[mazfc]

My zoo pass is for Colchester, and I'm afraid I'm one of those awful people who bought it for economic reasons on my first visit to Colchester, but I have a defence! Firstly, I simply couldn't afford the cost of the pass for my local zoo at the time. As a single person with a mortgage I have to be very careful how I spend my money. Secondly, I LOVE Colchester zoo, and I wish I lived nearer to visit it more often - they do great updates and fantastic events and I have no regrets in buying their pass. I must admit I have been thinking about swapping to my local zoo twycross when my renewal is up but thats more about investing in local zoos than passion - I do love Colchester. I'm torn as I also like twycross, but don't like their 2tier membership programme.

People should buy their annual pass in the way they feel comfortable with. Would I have visited the other zoos I've visited this year without my pass? No I simply could not afford it. I spend money whilst I'm there - I always have lunch and snacks (I'm not a bring my own food type of girl) and I usually buy in the gift the shop as well. I have also been able to have returnvisits and a develop a love for the places and the animals that I would not have otherwise been able to do.

I wonder if stopping the reciprocal scheme would see a slight fall in visitor numbers. I for one would have to think carefully about where I visited

I am also a regular visitor to monkey world and the Yorkshire wildlife park and as they are not in the scheme ive bought their passes.

On to zoo visits: I live about 50 mins from twycross and the Yorkshire wildlife park. And over 2 hours from Chester which has also become a 'local' - so if I had 6 or 7 zoos an hour away from me I'd be jumping for joy!

 

[karenZOO]

Sealion have you visited Marwell before? If not maybe you should decide on your first visit whether to buy a membership or not (a lot of them will take your entrance fee off the membership when you join on the day - not sure about marwell)

Also i would look at bus timetables and cost before committing, to get to Colchester zoo from my house by car takes approx 30-40 mins by bus over 2 hours just to get there (due to schedules) and costs approx £12!! (return)


You don't have to defend being a member of Colchester mazfc when we were renewing our platinuim membership recently they assumed my partner (who lives 3 hours from me!) was joining as it worked out cheaper than other zoos nearer to him! till we pointed out this is his regular zoo
Like you we use the restuarants/gift shops at the other zoos we visit and in the 4 weeks since renewing ours we have been to Colchester twice, Chester and Bristol

 

[sealion]

Sealion have you visited Marwell before? If not maybe you should decide on your first visit whether to buy a membership or not (a lot of them will take your entrance fee off the membership when you join on the day - not sure about marwell)

Also i would look at bus timetables and cost before committing, to get to Colchester zoo from my house by car takes approx 30-40 mins by bus over 2 hours just to get there (due to schedules) and costs approx £12!! (return)

You don't have to defend being a member of Colchester mazfc when we were renewing our platinuim membership recently they assumed my partner (who lives 3 hours from me!) was joining as it worked out cheaper than other zoos nearer to him! till we pointed out this is his regular zoo
Like you we use the restuarants/gift shops at the other zoos we visit and in the 4 weeks since renewing ours we have been to Colchester twice, Chester and Bristol

I've been to Marwell once. Didn't get to see it all, but still enjoyed my visit.
There seems to be a free bus that runs during the summer season, but this obviously isn't that helpful. Will have to look into the bus situation a bit more.