Welcome to Zoochat nice to see another local

and a brave choice of topic lol unfortunately this site is rather Chester top heavy and the Colchester crew has sadly diminished into the fake rockery as late!
They both have their merits but for me and what I want from a visit Colchester wins easily, but it really is personal choice.
No where else in the country has a many talks/feeds as Colchester, it is a very interactive zoo you really feel part of it as a member or visitor. No where else can you feed an elephant and giraffe for free.
For families you are never far from a place to eat/play/sit down/toilets with baby change it is very family friendly. Also lots of interactive displays for children my grandson loves the musical instruments in the children's area.
Always plenty of staff around to chat to and ask questions, some zoos you see no one.
Yes it has some quirky design 'phases' throughout the zoo but it can never be accused of staying stagnant over the years with a constant stream of enclosure improvements (as well as a few dodgy ones

)
Not saying I don't enjoy a visit to Chester, I certainly don't feel any emotional connect like with Colchester, although the giant spider will traumatise me for a while!