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What do you get if you cross Hollywood Stunts, polar bears, giraffes , wild animals and super heroes??… Answer..Yorkshire Wildlife Park!

This half term we visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster. I have wanted to take the children here for a while so when the opportunity arose to visit, on a half decent day this half term, I jumped at the chance!  I’m so glad we did. For those that haven’t been, it’s a fantastic day out and well worth a visit. Those that know how great this place is have an annual day pass!

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is so much more than animals it is educational fun and will easily entertain big and small children for hours and hours. From start to finish the day was easy and full of fun!

Getting to Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Getting In

Yorkshire Wildlife Park in South Yorkshire is close to the M18 junction 3.  The Park is well signposted from the motorway and the sat nav postcode brings you straight to the door . Something I am always grateful for ! The Post Code DN4 6TB will direct you to the established roads opposite the new entrance. Once you reach the destination follow the signs directing you to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park Car Park. Yorkshire Wildlife Park opens at 10am and we arrived for opening , along with lots of other visitors, all streaming into the car park. Marshalls directed cars into spaces and the main entrance was only a few minutes walk away, with toilets en route for those who really can’t hold on any longer!

Yorkshire Wildlife Park was busy from the moment it opened.  There were a number of entry gates, and despite the number of people, the queues moved quite quickly. There were lots of welcome staff, managing the queues , giving directions etc. and as the park opened, characters came out and walked around talking and chatting.  We high fived “The Joker” from Batman. We weren’t queuing for long though, possibly 10 mins at most and the kids barely noticed as they took in the surroundings (i.e eyed up the shops they wanted to go into at the end ).

What’s Going On at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Once inside we were given a Park map which gave details of all the animals and different areas to visit, feeding times , event timings and ranger talks.  We were there when Yorkshire Wildlife Park was hosting their Comic Book Super Heroes event weekend. There were lots of additional activities and super hero competitions and shows all around the Park.  We passed storm troopers whilst walking in Wallaby Woods, had our photo taken with the Ghostbusters team, met Wolverine and watched Hollywood Stunts, all in between visiting the animals.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park on its own and seeing the animals is enough to make a great day out. We could easily spend the whole day there and go back regularly as many people obviously do , there is so much to see and do.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is well designed  and provides a unique “walk through safari”  experience.   In some areas , Wallaby Walkabout and Lemur Woods you are able to get close to the animals.  We stroked a Wallaby as it crossed our path, and also saw a baby Wallaby in its mother’s  pouch. 

The wilder animal are obviously within enclosures, but the design is such that you can see them clearly and it doesn’t feel as if the animals are “enclosed” or caged in.  This is a conservation Park, and is home to the charity, the Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation. The Foundation was created in 2013 to be a dynamic catalyst for inspiring people to support conservation and welfare and this ethos is obvious all around the Park.

The habitat of the animals are designed to reflect their natural habitat as closely as possible.  There is information and signs all around the park. In each area there are easy interesting and fun facts about the animals, – did you know a giraffes tongue can be 50cm long, along with information about where the animals came from ( In 2010 Yorkshire Wildlife Park rescued 13 lions from a rundown zoo in Romania by launching Lion Rescue. There were many donations of a small amounts – but it all added up to save the lions, so it was truly a people’s rescue.)

There are also interesting facts about the animals , how many there were in the world, where they are on the endangered species list , what their natural environment is like and the unique characteristics or ”super” powers of the animals.

The walkways and viewings stations are wide enough to take the crowds and pushchairs.  Despite the number of visitors, we didn’t struggle to see any animal .

Yorkshire Wildlife Park is big so be prepared for lots of walking. What I loved about Yorkshire Wildlife Park is that there were so many  things to do to entertain kids so it didn’t  feel like they were just “walking round” all day. There are playgrounds and look outs for the children  all handily located next to coffee shops and cafes with seats.  We went to look at the giraffes and camels but took in the adventure play area and a coffee stop at Masai Coffee House. The Park may be big but with these distractions it doesn’t feel big!  There are also lots of picnic tables all around the park and whilst we didn’t particularly need it as the sun didn’t shine, there are lots of shaded areas as well.

Food and Shops at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

We ate at the Monkey Play House café, where the kids had a run around in the indoor play area whilst we rested our feet for 30 mins. Again it is the thought that has gone into the design that  adds extra magic. The indoor play area has full height windows that looked out on the Baboon play area with their feeding station right next to the windows. How appropriate!

There were also toilets at various rest points around the park, and everywhere we went, the staff and rangers were so friendly and helpful.

The food is all reasonably priced and there are a selection of cafes around the park.  There were also lots and lots of families enjoying packed lunches all around the park.

Events at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Ranger talks go on all day across Yorkshire Wildlife Park from 10.30 – 6pm park close. There were talks about brown bear facts, feeding times, Lion tales every half hour and many many more!  It is a jam packed programme of events covering everything from deadly bugs to giant otters .  We were happy strolling around and seeing the animals at our own pace, but we did join in on the Lemur Feeding time and talk and the Wallaby feeding time.  We also watched the Hollywood Live action stunt show which was there as part of the Super Heroes Weekend.

We finished the day with an ice cream, a few goes on Zoom Super Slide , tested our speed in the light tunnel and had a final browse around the shops. Children thoroughly happy and exhausted!

Overall View of Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Yorkshire Wildlife Park offers everything a child may want, in door and out door adventure playgrounds, slides, ice cream, shops, wild animals. And for parents its open and easy, friendly, has amenities on every corner, clean toilets and has a happy relaxed and educational feel!

How much does Yorkshire Wildlife Park cost?

We were lucky enough to be gifted 5 day tickets in return for this review. The review is our honest opinion and the crowds of people enjoying their day on the Park is testament to this first class family day out. We spent all day on the park and didn’t get to see it all- I can fully understand why so many people had annual passes (£65 per adult and £60 per child) .   Advance day ticket online cost £18 per adult and £15 per child (3-15 years) and includes a 20% off catering voucher.

Thank you Yorkshire Wildlife Park for a wonderful day out, we hope to see you again over the summer holidays.