I visited Wildlands in 2019 and really enjoyed parts of the zoo, while being less enthused with other sections. There's a ton of theming there, almost on a Pairi Daiza level!
The theming in Wildlands is truly amazing, with such an incredible amount of detail I'd dare say it's way surpassed Pairi Daiza (rich coming from me, as I've never visited).
It's a bit controversial with some areas (mainly the rollercoaster...), which has brought many people to say it's a bad zoo, which is the absolute opposite of true. Unlike Pairi Daiza, the theming doesn't get in the way of animal welfare. In some cases, the enclosures are some of the best in the Benelux!
I also love how most of the theming tells a story. Like with Jungle Jim's story.
My favourite example: Look at the writing at the bottom of the calendar. Whoever wrote it is asking John to fix the window. This already seems like theming enough, but it's actually a reference to the information audio in Raccoon creek, where you hear one of Big John's missed messages talking about how the caller hopes he finally got the racoons out of the sawmill with new locks. I didn't listen to all the information audios so who knows what other references I missed throughout the zoo!
Informational speakers like this one or this one can be found throughout the zoo and are sometimes so well-integrated into the surroundings that you might not even see it! I hope to listen to all of them on my next visit. Though sadly it seems that the English audio recordings aren't as themed as the Dutch versions (still the same story, but without the accents or background noises)
