ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade, THE RIP OFF.

I think that this perhaps shows the completely different experience that individuals can get on the same day!
I visited Whipsnade on Saturday and yes the queues were a bit long but they had all of the gates opened so there wasn't really anything they could have done to make the queue move faster. The weather was gorgeous to so it was actually really pleasant to wander round all day (we got there at 11 and left at 5.30pm!) I can see that the price of food may have been high but as we took a picnic that wasn't an issue. As for the animals well it was lovely to see so many of them out and about enjoying the sunshine. The elephants and brown bears were loving their pools and the young Indian rhinos seemed to be in their element. The big cats were all sleeping but we still got good views and as for the Pygmy hippo calf he was adorable paddling around his pool and he is only 4 weeks old!
 
Arizona Docent said:
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.
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I wholly agree with the anger expressed in the original post. To charge for parking at Whipsnade is appalling - unless the zoo does not own the land, and it is the local council who are charging (in which case this should be made clear). The situation is wholly different to that at Bristol or (probably) Blackpool, in that Whipsnade really is in the middle of nowhere, so public transport is not an option.

I wrote to the zoo a few years back, complaining abut this, and the general money-grabbing feel of the place as a whole. I got a "thanks, we'll reply more fully later" response. No fuller response came, so I wrote again. Still didn't hear anything. Gave up.

The original poster has described himself elsewhere as the tightest man in Britain, but I think he is quite right here. There is a feel at both the ZSL zoos that they are out to screw you for every penny they can get. I would far rather the extra cost was put on the entrance fee - at least that would be open and honest. And, as has been said elsewhere, while those entrance fees are by no means cheap, they stand comparison with other days out, particularly when there are various offers out there.

I think that, at the root of all this, there is a real arrogance to the ZSL. For all their faults, it's an arrogance which is not shared in any way at all by, say, Colchester, Bristol, or the CWP (to pick three particularly 'friendly' largeish zoos). It's almost as if, as a visitor, you should be grateful for having the chance to be there, rather than them being bloody glad that you have decided to shell out your hard-earned in their direction.

As Shorts says above, Whipsnade is in many ways a very good place. It's a decent zoo, and, on a good day, can provide a very nice day out. But it is in no way a great zoo and the experience it offers can be a long long way from great.
 
What I don't understand is the entrance is way above that of other zoos of similar and higher status. I've never been to Whipsnade (my first visit will be June this year) but from the costs I am actually amazed at the difference, and to highlight this I'm going to chose 4 zoos to look at costs and comparisons:

Chester Zoo is undoubtedly the one that has the most right to charge the most, what with it being the only UK zoo to make Forbes top 10 zoos in the world (at #6) and often referred to as the best UK zoo. £15.40, high season, no donation. No cost for parking.

Edinburgh is a large zoo, the second biggest crowd puller in Edinburgh and I would say they are one of the biggest zoos in Britain. £15.50. No cost for parking.

London is undoubtedly the UK zoo that can compete with Chester's fame - yet from all the things I've seen about it the zoo doesn't offer much anymore. £18.60 base rate. If you want to park a car or a motorcycle, the website says that the zoo car park will set you back another £13 for the day :o.

Whipsnade is the one we are all moaning about here for cost. I can't comment on whether it is exactly in the same league as the other 3, but I class it as one of the 'big' zoos in the UK. Cost: £17.70 base rate, £4 to park on the carpark or a whopping £17 to take your car in! I could have something confused there and I certainly hope I have.

So, looking at this then the best zoo in the UK is the cheapest of the 4, followed by Edinburgh with a difference of only 10p. Neither charge parking.

Then the most expensive are the ZSL ones. London on a simple base rate, but Whipsnade can work out the most expensive if you decide to take your car in. Say you had a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children) and the car was being taken in, it would set the family back by £78.80 :o - and that's without gifts and lunch.


So, why are ZSL zoos so much more expensive than Chester and Edinburgh? Is it a case of North-South divide? I mean, Chester are still making the money and building new things constantly, so you can't say a zoo in the same league needs to charge more. Surely Whipsnade and London could survive on charging £15-16 and scrapping parking charges? For the extra amount of people that were previously put off by the steep prices it'd bring in, they'd probably end up helping others save a few pennies and still make the same amount themselves :s
 
Javan Rhino said:
Edinburgh is a large zoo, the second biggest crowd puller in Edinburgh and I would say they are one of the biggest zoos in Britain. £15.50. No cost for parking.
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Edinburgh charge £4 for parking - which is fair enough, given that the zoo is well served by public transport.
 
Javan Rhino said:
Surely London could survive on charging £15-16 and scrapping parking charges?
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And likewise, it is wholly fair for London to charge, and to charge quite a lot, for parking - if they didn't, I think the car park would pretty quickly fill up with people taking advantage of what would be the cheapest parking in the capital city!
 
sooty mangabey said:
And likewise, it is wholly fair for London to charge, and to charge quite a lot, for parking - if they didn't, I think the car park would pretty quickly fill up with people taking advantage of what would be the cheapest parking in the capital city!
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That's a fair point - if it is a decent sized carpark, could that problem not be solved by paying your entrance on the way into the carpark? That way, the car park is essentiall in the zoo? Probably wouldn't work because of congestion, but something similar to Welsh Mountain Zoo is what I'm getting at. I'm taking it Edinburgh is a recent charge as well, since when we went last year it didn't cost anything.
 
Javan Rhino said:
That's a fair point - if it is a decent sized carpark, could that problem not be solved by paying your entrance on the way into the carpark? That way, the car park is essentiall in the zoo? Probably wouldn't work because of congestion, but something similar to Welsh Mountain Zoo is what I'm getting at. I'm taking it Edinburgh is a recent charge as well, since when we went last year it didn't cost anything.
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Tis easily done!
ANPR camera on the entrance & exit of the carpark, give your reg number when you pay to enter the zoo, non zoo visitors get charged, say £50.
Alternatively, have an exit barrier on the car park, & use the zoo ticket to exit, that way only zoo visitors can use the car park.
 
If Whipsnades car park is council owned, why are they doing the charging? Why are the Car park staff wearing Whipsnade uniforms? I visited Woburn today and wasn't harrassed into spending anything once.
 
Javan Rhino said:
So, why are ZSL zoos so much more expensive than Chester and Edinburgh? Is it a case of North-South divide? I mean, Chester are still making the money and building new things constantly, so you can't say a zoo in the same league needs to charge more. Surely Whipsnade and London could survive on charging £15-16 and scrapping parking charges? For the extra amount of people that were previously put off by the steep prices it'd bring in, they'd probably end up helping others save a few pennies and still make the same amount themselves :s
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London pay their staff properly, even their catering staff. Try searching for a bedsit in london. You want to pay £250 a WEEK on a keepers wage? Sure, they do have some on-site accommodation but not enough for everyone.

It is expensive to live and work, or commute and work, in London.

That said, I have felt the customer base for London zoo has become increasingly middle-class over the last ten years. The free school visits for every london school child, introduced by Ken Livingstone, were discontinued from this year by Boris Johnson. I think this is problematic and there should be subsidised entry for our more expensive city zoos nationwide.
 
Johnny Morris. said:
If Whipsnades car park is council owned, why are they doing the charging? Why are the Car park staff wearing Whipsnade uniforms? I visited Woburn today and wasn't harrassed into spending anything once.
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Bristol's carpark is also on council land and, I believe, the council have some say in the charge but, as with whipsnade, the zoo staffs the carpark.
On the subject of zoo rip-offs, Valencia biopark doesn't allow you to take food in so you have to pay for their over-priced food and drink. I wonder if this will catch on at other zoos?
 
Chester Zoo owns the land on which Cheshire West and Chester Council's northerly park and ride is situated (located on the way into the zoo). The council pays the zoo rent and that indirectly goes towards subsidising the cost of upkeep for the zoo's own car parking.

Just one more thing we can thank Mr. Mottershead for.
 
Johnny Morris. said:
If Whipsnades car park is council owned, why are they doing the charging? Why are the Car park staff wearing Whipsnade uniforms?
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Probably some arrangement whereby the Zoo has to provide staffing. On several of my past visits the attendant in the carpark booth has not appeared to have any connection with the Zoo though.

I think overall Whipsnade's high prices reflect it being under London ZSL's umbrella in terms of management/marketing etc. London Zoo's inflated prices(understandable being in the capital city where everything else is inflated too) are also in force at Whipsnade. All the factors mentioned in this discussion can add up to a pretty hefty hole in the pocket for the day out.

Whipsnade is still one of my favourite UK Zoos but it can certainly be expensive.
 
I get that it's expensive in the capital, but it is annoying having to pay nearly £5 more for something that doesn't seem to be half of what Chester and Edinburgh are, just because it's in the capital - Surely a pound should be the same value anywhere in the country :rolleyes:

I've never understood the mentality of it, the price of everything in London is higher than anywhere else, but so too are wages that people earn there - so why have high living costs and high wages, when it's essentially the same as lower wages and lower living costs (sorry, I'm no good at economics so I'm probably missing something).
 
Javan Rhino said:
I get that it's expensive in the capital, but it is annoying having to pay nearly £5 more for something that doesn't seem to be half of what Chester and Edinburgh are, just because it's in the capital - Surely a pound should be the same value anywhere in the country :rolleyes:
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The ripoff prices in capital cities(its not just London) are aimed I think at catching tourists' money. You will certainly see a far more 'cosmopolitan' range of visitors at London Zoo than in zoos elsewhere in the country. I'm not condoning inflated prices but it is a fact of life. I think these prices have spilled over to Whipsnade despite its country location.
 
Pertinax said:
The ripoff prices in capital cities(its not just London) are aimed I think at catching tourists' money. You will certainly see a far more 'cosmopolitan' range of visitors at London Zoo than in zoos elsewhere in the country. I'm not condoning inflated prices but it is a fact of life. I think these prices have spilled over to Whipsnade despite its country location.
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That's true - I do want to visit both and I'm doing Whipsnade in summer like I say, so will have to grit my teeth and make sure I see everything I want to so I can leave it a couple of years before having to go again :D
 
sooty mangabey said:
And likewise, it is wholly fair for London to charge, and to charge quite a lot, for parking - if they didn't, I think the car park would pretty quickly fill up with people taking advantage of what would be the cheapest parking in the capital city!
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I agree entirely. I'm also strongly in favour of making it as difficult and expensive as possible to drive around central London.

As for entrance prices, as I believe someone has said, London Zoo's admission compares pretty well with other London attractions and isn't particularly expensive when viewed in that light.
 
Javan Rhino said:
I've never understood the mentality of it, the price of everything in London is higher than anywhere else, but so too are wages that people earn there - so why have high living costs and high wages, when it's essentially the same as lower wages and lower living costs (sorry, I'm no good at economics so I'm probably missing something).
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The cost of living is driven up by the cost of land. People from all around he world want a slice of London (or maybe just see it as a sound investment) so land prices are high. This means rent is high and so shops have to charge more to pay higher rent. House prices are high so people need to earn more to pay mortgages.

In regards the zoo entrance fees, although the zoo might not effected by high rent for the land, wages (as pointed out earlier) are higher due to the need to earn more to get by. No doubt the zoo also is cashing in a bit on the general inflated cost of other attractions.
 
We Dutch people love our discounts, and while we complain about our entry-fees, anyone with a decent set of brains should be able to get their hands on a coupon here or there to aid the proverbial "hole in the pocket" syndrome. There's usually a coupon to be had at either the supermarket, through a lottery or whatever and if you didn't get one yourself you can always find one on the internet...

How is England in that respect, would it be easy to get a coupon of some sorts and get a few quid off?
 
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