Value for money (not the best)

Zia said:
Current prices for various collectons... I would say Colchester is a contender as they include Giraffe & Elephant feeds, a sea lion display and I think 3 other bird / animal displays throughout the day (although the quality of these are completely dependent on who is presenting in my experience).

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How many people, who are not or no longer working, can afford to visit zoos any longer?? Add the cost of getting to and from the zoo, and possibly a cup of coffee -- quite an expensive day out.
 
The Living Rain Forrest was the worst value for money for me. It was a tenner for about 5 mins.
 
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Terry Thomas said:
How many people, who are not or no longer working, can afford to visit zoos any longer?? Add the cost of getting to and from the zoo, and possibly a cup of coffee -- quite an expensive day out.
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Well, Chester - at least - is seeing its highest attendances ever. Not sure of the work status of its visitors.
 
Ned said:
Don't know if you've read the following thread but the cost of zoo entrance is discussed here
Are zoos expensive?
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I don't think Zoo's are expensive at all. Good day out, if you partake in activities and talks they can be informative and entertaining and great fun. If you arrive at 10am, you can spend up to 7 hours there.

Alternatively you can pay on average £40 to watch a game of football for two hours. I know what I would rather do on a Saturday.
 
SHAVINGTONZOO said:
I must confess that the cost for two of us to get into Regent's Park rather surprised me, over £53 even with old codger discount. Since we are both life members at Chester (free admission, no annual fee :) ) we are not used to shelling out. ]
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When I last visited ZSL 2 years ago, I had to induce amnesia when told how much it was for 3 adults and just handed over my credit card :eek: Having satisfied myself that my old friend, Kumbuka, is doing fine, I don't anticipate ever returning.

This visit was an add-on to my Orangutan Odyssey when I visited all the orangs in the UK, Dublin and Jersey. Using my Paignton annual pass (we're not called Members any more), I had free admission to Dublin twice, Chester twice, Colchester twice and Twycross. I had to pay at Jersey, Blackpool, Dudley and Monkey World where the prices were far more reasonable than ZSL's. I might have been pushing it with multiple visits but nobody queried it, and I do always buy the zoo's over-priced refreshments and souvenirs.

I do worry that zoos will realise what a bargain these passes/memberships are and clamp down on them, but I imagine it's mainly Zoochatter types who are making full use of them and that we are in the minority.
 
Gigit said:
I do worry that zoos will realise what a bargain these passes/memberships are and clamp down on them, but I imagine it's mainly Zoochatter types who are making full use of them and that we are in the minority.
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Fingers crossed. The zoos all seem such a distance apart, that I can't imagine many people can take full advantage of them.

I am inspired by your orang-visiting mission and may have found a quest for myself...
 
Gigit said:
When I last visited ZSL 2 years ago, I had to induce amnesia when told how much it was for 3 adults and just handed over my credit card :eek: Having satisfied myself that my old friend, Kumbuka, is doing fine, I don't anticipate ever returning.
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The trick is to take advantage of the fact you can get 2-for-1 entry if you download an online voucher beforehand and travel to London by train :p
 
ZSL membership is expensive, and doesn't offer reciprocal entry to other zoos, which is annoying, but for just myself I don't mind the £99 for the 'me time' it gives me (I also have a season ticket for the train and tube, so a day at London Zoo for me is basically free, just costing food and drinks).
 
Crowthorne said:
ZSL membership is expensive, and doesn't offer reciprocal entry to other zoos, which is annoying, but for just myself I don't mind the £99 for the 'me time' it gives me (I also have a season ticket for the train and tube, so a day at London Zoo for me is basically free, just costing food and drinks).
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We knocked our couples ZSL membership on the head this year - it just wasn't financially viable for how many times we would realistically visit. Better off paying as we go.

The Colchester memberships we have are incredible value with all the additional zoos we can (and do) use them in.
 
We did have Colchester passes last year, but didn't use them to anything like their full potential! So many plans that didn't pan out. So we didn't renew, and I went back to my ZSL membership instead. My partner is only an occasional zoo-goer, and I never did persuade him to drive us ask the way back to Colchester :eek: we did manage Marwell and I went to Bristol on the pass. Would have loved to get back to Paignton but life didn't allow it this year (Duisburg and Cologne took precedence ;)) I agree that Colchester is better value for money than ZSL, but also depends on circumstances, and for me ZSL works, but might not work for others :)
 
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