ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade, THE RIP OFF.

[Johnny Morris.]

Hope my title shames the robbing buggers into changing their ways.

I hope this posts comes up on google search,( i'll delete it when the robbing buggers chage their ways. i doubt they will.) The cheeky buggers expect you to pay £4 to park in their car park. That's Whipsnade in the middle of nowhere, how else are you going to get there? Anyway, after this shock to the system.(After driving almost 200 miles.) we proceed to the entrance. People are queing to have their pics taken, i don't want mine taken, so try to walk past, where i am pounced upon by a spotty teenager shouting "SIR, WE ARE OPERATING A QUEING SYSTEM HERE, PLEASE GET BACK IN LINE." i tried explaining i thought they were queing for their photo, which i wasn't interested in having and was shouted at again. At this point the mrs dragged me back (Appologising to him for some reason.)
Anyway we getto where they are taking the pics and are stopped by another youngster, this chap is asking everyone if the are enyoing their day. (So far.) (It's 10.25, i've found out i got to pay to park after driving almost 200 miles, i've been shouted at by a spotty teenager, and i've queued for 20 mins.) To be quiet honest no i haven't. So i tell him i don't want my photo taken, and he has the temerity to tell me not to be miserable! I walk past before i take his head off. anyway we queue for another 10 mins, before we get to the paying in kiosk. The shock at paying £4 to park is really winding me up. I chose not to pay the voluntary donation, and i never bought the guidebook, so the have ended up missing out. I also never went in the cafe or bought from the shop.

As for the zoo itself, it's huge, but you spend more time walking between exhibits than you actually do looking at the exhibits. I don't think i saw one animal i haven't seen at a multitude of other zoos. Highlight of the day, Baby Pigmy Hippo. Other than that nothing special. i will not be rushing back, and Whipsnade you can thank the policy you have told your staff at the gate to push, for that.

 

[Dom]

Last year, we made a trip to Whipsnade (first time in about 8 years, it isn't exactly local!), and we too were slightly cheesed off by the car parking fees. (And the entrance fees were hardly cheap either!)

 

[Arizona Docent]

Charging for parking can be a divisive issue. The biggest ripoff in this regards is San Diego Zoo Safari Park - they actually charge their own members to park! Eight dollars for public and six dollars for members.

In America, paying for parking is very much a regional thing. In my state of Arizona it would never go. I know of no zoo and no public attraction in my state that charges for parking. Same for my neighboring state of New Mexico. But in a congested area like southern California, parking for attractions seems to be an accepted norm.

You are hoping this will get picked up on Google, but I would also suggest you write to Whipsnade directly, if you have not done so already. The only way they will change their parking policy is if they get a large number of complaints.

 

[Shirokuma]

I don't think it's so unreasonable to charge for parking and £4.00 isn't that bad. I think it is important to remember that ZSL is a charity and gets no government money.

 

[Chlidonias]

The cheeky buggers expect you to pay £4 to park in their car park. That's Whipsnade in the middle of nowhere, how else are you going to get there?.......
I chose not to pay the voluntary donation, and i never bought the guidebook, so the have ended up missing out. I also never went in the cafe or bought from the shop.

well if Whipsnade have, say, 400,000 visitors per year and just for arguments sake say all visitors are composed of families of four, that makes 100,000 carloads of people which at £4 per car nets them £400,000 each year. That's almost half a million pounds extra cash for the zoo. Some overly-simplistic mathematics there and of course a lot of visitors are coming in buses or whatever as well, but if I was running the place it would make good sense to me to charge for parking. Some people may not like it but most would probably be like, "well that's the way the world is now: whatcha gonna do?". You should probably instead be thankful the situation isn't like, say, the Bronx Zoo where you have to pay to get into individual buildings after already having paid your gate entry fee! Now that would steam my dumplings!

You'd also have to wonder how many people would be declining to pay the extra donation on top of the entry fee anyway, and as the guidebook is also £4 then they haven't really lost out by you not purchasing it, you have, because they still get that same amount of money from the parking fee [by which I mean, if there was no £4 parking fee and you bought a guidebook, they simply get that same amount of money, but if you weren't going to buy one anyway then they really have lost out]. And I dare say most visitors would still buy from the cafe and/or shop even if they had to pay for parking, because a very large percentage would be families and "kids want what kids want".

On other points, I have to agree that being made to wait in a long queue because they insist on taking photos of everyone regardless would annoy me. In fact it does annoy me because I've been through that.

Sometimes my brain mangles whatever point I'm trying to make so I hope all that made sense

 

[betsy]

Charging for parking can be a divisive issue. The biggest ripoff in this regards is San Diego Zoo Safari Park - they actually charge their own members to park! Eight dollars for public and six dollars for members.

In America, paying for parking is very much a regional thing. In my state of Arizona it would never go. I know of no zoo and no public attraction in my state that charges for parking. Same for my neighboring state of New Mexico. But in a congested area like southern California, parking for attractions seems to be an accepted norm.

You are hoping this will get picked up on Google, but I would also suggest you write to Whipsnade directly, if you have not done so already. The only way they will change their parking policy is if they get a large number of complaints.

The price of parking has gone up it is now $10 for a standard vehicle or $15 for an RV. Members receive discounted parking of $7 and $12, respectively. For donor club members (Diamond Club and up) free parking at the Safari Park is included. I am just waiting for the day they start charging at the zoo.

 

[Shorts]

I don't think it's so unreasonable to charge for parking and £4.00 isn't that bad.

No £4 isn't that bad but as the original poster pointed out Whipsnade is in the middle of nowhere (and has the space/ability to provide the parking themselves either free or at a reduced rate). What really galls me is that having paid the £4 parking fee you're then faced with paying an extra fee (on top of the original entrance fee) to use the train for "Wilds of Asia" if you want to see all of the animals in the zoo. Although probably wrongly, you get a feeling there's someone in the background saying "we'll get the money out of them by hook or by crook".

I think it is important to remember that ZSL is a charity and gets no government money.

No UK zoos (except a handful of municipal collections, Belfast and Camperdown spring to mind) get any government money so that point is not really relevant when comparing entrance fees. The fact that it's a charity means it can boost entrance fees by claiming Gift Aid which non-charity zoos can't, again not a great argument for the very high prices Whipsnade charges.

Personally I think a better argument for the high prices might be that Whipsnade is a good collection of larger (and some rarely seen) mammals well displayed over a massive area. Whilst this is a better argument I still don't accept it though -those prices still seem disproportionately high and I always get the feeling the visitors are getting stung so that ZSL can show largesse and obtain bragging rights by giving large amounts to conservation projects and research work (both of which are important, I just feel the way I think they're (arguably) funded is inappropriate).

 

[Shorts]

As for the zoo itself, it's huge, but you spend more time walking between exhibits than you actually do looking at the exhibits.

You can always take the car in to cut down on the walking (for extra £'s). Seriously, top tip is that early in the year you can take the car in for free (something to do with the council owned car park being closed at those times). Personally I only ever visit Whipsnade when I've got some kind of discount -it then seems reasonably priced! Whilst I'm usually the first to defend zoos when people moan about entrance prices for zoos being high (not compared with cinemas, football matches ot theme parks for the hours per £) I struggle to do so with Whipsnade (and a small handful of others) which seem disproportionately high in comparison with other zoos.

I don't think i saw one animal i haven't seen at a multitude of other zoos.

To be fair, I think you're letting your frustation distort your assessment here. Whipsnade has Sloth Bears, Brown Bears, Indian Rhinos, Wolverines, Common Hippos, Onagers, Gaurs, European Elks and Yaks, all of which are none too common in other UK zoos. Also the Discovery Centre is great and there are also Pygmy Hippos, Bongos, a large group of Indian Elephants and California Sealions (all of which are hardly ubiquitous nowadays) and a number of other, more commonly seen, crowd-pleasers.

 

[Chlidonias]

You can always take the car in to cut down on the walking (for extra £'s). Seriously, top tip is that early in the year you can take the car in for free (something to do with the council owned car park being closed at those times).

does that mean the parking for which visitor is paying £4 isn't actually owned by Whipsnade but by the council, so the fee would presumably be going to them rather than Whipsnade? Or is there a different car parking area as well?

 

[adrian1963]

There is another issue here as well the que for a photograph you don't want taken (take heed Chester) Why should ypou have to join a que for photo when you don't want one

 

[volvox]

ZSL entrance prices aren't particularly high. What is it, about £19 for an adult on the day? Madame Tussaud's is £28, and the London Eye is £18!!! – and that's for just half an hour – London and Whipsnade zoos you can spend a whole day there. I have a feeling that Whipsnade doesn't own or control the prices of the car park, and therefore doesn't benefit from the income, but I might be wrong there.

As for the photos business, I do agree, I find it embarrassing watching people being persuaded to be snapped at London Zoo.

 

[karenZOO]

Hi Johnny Morris I am sorry you were disappointed and annoyed by your trip to Whipsnade which is in my opinion one of the best places to spend a day away from all the stresses and strains!!

I assume the £4 parking charge subsides the free bus that runs around the park, not only offering a unique view point (upstairs) but also information with the commentary. Although agree you really don't have an option on paying although compared to Bristol zoos charge of £3 (last time we went) it offers better value with the bus service.

We are members and pay the half price charge to take our car in or occasionally make use of the free parking offered with membership.
We are off there shortly for a couple of days (not left yet due to grand prix tut) so will be off to look at Tring museum today and will have a full day there tomorrow (thanks to premier Inn £19 room offer )

I agree with you about the photographers we were pounced on by 'apparently' the very picturesque bear enclosure???? Where we could have our picture taken in front of the slimey pool?? We declined !!

I always research any zoo i visit thoroughly including looking at full costs, parking facilities etc ( I am OCD like that ) Whipsnade do clearly state the costs for cars, entrance quite clearly but you do see alot of cars doing u turns when they notice the admission charges for cars!!

We enjoy the hugeness of Whipsnade and although we take the car in usually end up walking miles. It's a shame your experience was not a good one after travelling so far (we are only approx 100 miles away) but we love it and are just entering our 3 year as members after visiting for many years and love the place. Although it is expensive for our enjoyment value it is worth every penny

 

[Pertinax]

does that mean the parking for which visitor is paying £4 isn't actually owned by Whipsnade but by the council, so the fee would presumably be going to them rather than Whipsnade? Or is there a different car parking area as well?

The Car Park at Whipsnade is NOT owned by ZSL but by someone else- the Local Council has just been mentiond above- so that is why there is a seperate charge. There is no alternative Car Park.
I think maybe Whipsnade should explain that (if they don't already) but also reflect it in their Admission prices too.
I agree that at Whipsnade prices do seem over the top, and food inside the zoo is ridiculously expensive too.
Interesting to hear somebody taking issue with the queing/photograph system. This has been discussed before in respect of London but is the first time I've heard complaints about what I would also regard as an invasion of privacy.

 

[OrangePerson]

There is another issue here as well the que for a photograph you don't want taken (take heed Chester) Why should ypou have to join a que for photo when you don't want one

As the queue continued AFTER the photograph was taken I suspect it is not actually causing any delay in time of entry!

 

[Pertinax]

Yes, places that do this just snap you as you are waiting in line to pay. It doesn't affect the speed of entry at all. I don't like it though.

 

[John Dineley]

As for the photos business, I do agree, I find it embarrassing watching people being persuaded to be snapped at London Zoo.

I work there one day a week and activity avoid the main gate so I don't get mugged by over-enthusiastic photo sellers

 

[Cheetah fan]

There is another issue here as well the que for a photograph you don't want taken (take heed Chester) Why should ypou have to join a que for photo when you don't want one

Oh I am just waiting to be caught in this at Chester. If I do there photographer will be photographed and put in a photo from inside the zoo to be shown on my way out. What's good for them is surely good enough for a bit of reversal of roles.

As for Zoo parking I cant comment on Whipsnade but I do know that Blackpool also charge(last time I went) for parking. Now seen as they are in the middle of a residential area I find that worse. I mean take Chester they are sensible and know if they tried charging for parking it would A)increase complaints by more then they could handle, B) mean people park at the likes of the Park and Rides dotted around Chester or the Outlet Village etc. If as said above they dont own the car park then I would hope they try to say that as loudly as possible as to prevent complaints.

 

[JamesB]

Talking of annoying photographers, Chessington has the same thing, around the park, when I went with several friends we got hassled to have our photo taken and then got hassled by the same lady several times through the day to go buy it, I had a good mind to go complain, it really ruins the experience of being at the attraction, shame really. Its all money making schemes at the end of the day.

 

[zoogiraffe]

I`m not 100% sure but I think that Blackpool Zoo may not own the land the car park is on!

 

[John Dineley]

Talking of annoying photographers, Chessington has the same thing, around the park, when I went with several friends we got hassled to have our photo taken and then got hassled by the same lady several times through the day to go buy it, I had a good mind to go complain, it really ruins the experience of being at the attraction, shame really. Its all money making schemes at the end of the day.

Unfortunately it's the way things are going although I can understand it more at Chessigton than London.

Although it's rather telling that when I attended the last ZSL Fellows AGM the most prominent people involved in the meeting and answering question a side from Prof Batteson and the board was the zoo's marketing department which speak volumes about the way things are going - it will all end in tears