I visited Drusillas with my family yesterday and was very impressed by the measures you have employed to keep the visiting public safe post lockdown. I was very impressed by the continuous cleaning regimes that were evident throughout the day. The constant access to anti bac at every opportunity (especially as you went on rides) and the truly wonderful staff you have across the park, who throughout tried to keep everyone happy and safe at the same time.
So we’ll done to everyone at Drusillas Park.

Great despite the weather, arrived in the rain, parked easily, toilets spotless and in the car park before entering the zoo. Entered the zoo, grandchildren enjoyed collecting their stamps as we visited all the animals. Nicely laid out and plenty to see. Jurassic zone well done. Kids loved playing in the wet area, and kitty zone lovely for the little ones. Take out coffee and light lunch available, limited seating outside due to the restrictions at the moment. Really impressed.

Fantastic day out lots to do

Great place to visit for small children the older ones may a bit board!

I go to Drusillas about once in every three years and have always enjoyed my visits.
I thought it might be a good place to go during lockdown and chose a Monday because I thought it might be quieter with many children at school and parents at work and restricted visitor numbers.
We arrived at about noon and there was no queue to get in and the toilets at the entrance were empty and clean so that was a good start. Lots of hand sanitiser around and Social Distancing signs to remind you.
We started round the zoo trail and it was fine at first but then large family groups came up behind us and it was suddenly really crowded. We tried to let them pass or speed up ahead of them but were enveloped by People with no concept of Social Distancing at every turn. Small children were running loose and just barging into us and the parents didn’t take any notice. Children and adults were touching absolutely everything including the interactive exhibits which did shock us.
Also noticeable was that not a single person either working there or visiting was wearing a mask. It is as if Covid is not a thing. Perhaps it isn’t in that part of Sussex but we know so many people who have or have had Covid that it is very real to us.
Anyway we made our way around the zoo and enjoyed the antics of the animals which looked fine except the anteater who was pacing up and down. Also wasn’t too happy that the fennec fox - a nocturnal animal - was sleeping in the bright sunshine and didn’t seem to have a dark place to retreat to - just so we can see him 😢
We then wanted to get something to eat but had to pass through the children’s play area. This was really crowded. We joined the queue for the Oasis Cafe (which seemed to be the only place that was open). The queue bizarrely ran across the main path and alongside a seating area. There was no social Distancing in the queue whatsoever and even though there was a sign on the bench saying not to sit there, one lady insisted on sitting there alongside the queue exclaiming loudly that she didn’t see why she shouldn’t sit there.
We stood in the queue for a good 15 minutes and it didn’t move an inch forwards. It got very much longer behind us. People were walking through the queue as it crossed the footpath. It seemed to us that it might have been more sensible to move the queue to hug the side of the building and also the have a barrier separating the queue from passers by. Also, when lots of people need food in this situation, would it not be better to serve sandwiches or something that can just be picked quickly up rather than fully fried meals?
Anyway, the queue became more and more crowded so we left as we felt endangered and walked to the gift shop - that was being controlled but was quite empty anyway and we asked if there was anywhere else we could buy food. The attendant pointed us to a takeaway kiosk past the Hello Kitty area and that was much better. We bought a pizza to share and sat at the outside tables and chairs which were spaced out and that was much better than the crowded area. Perhaps some more signage to make clear there are other food areas open would be good to relieve the crowding in the play area.
We had wanted to go round the zoo again to see the bits that we had missed due to overcrowding but felt really uncomfortable by this stage and decided to head off to the beach. I think we were there for about an hour in total.
So, in summary, if you don’t care about Covid this place is fine to visit but if you do, then it is probably best avoided at present.
It seemed busier to me than on a normal weekday during term-time.

Weather good but windy. Only just opened but well spaced out. Lots of info staff very busy with virus cleaning. Good selection of unusual animals. Had the train running which was fun various other items of interest. Food good overall good day out very enjoyable. Lots of space people considerate to others.

Lovely day out with the grandchildren now that we have some places open to visit

Very good adherence to current situation and well run, great job

Excellent service & really on the ball with all guidelines being adhered too. Brilliant customer service in all areas & happy, helpful staff. Families kept there distance & were patient. Gorgeous animals ❤ & great facilities even in this situation. 👏👏

Good fun for all

Absolutely loved it..our little one was super excited as well.

Really good day out with the children. Lots of fun to have.

Great place, perfect for young children. Good value for money. Lots to see and do.

So much to do and see great value for money

It's a great day out x

Great small zoo

We visited as they opened after the covid 19 and all was excellent, hand sanitizer in place and lots of helpful staff on hand for questions

I visited Drusillas on it's reopening day after much anticipation post lockdown. I am slightly surprised to see other comments saying otherwise as my experience was very different. We had an amazing day out, although we were slightly disappointed it was just the zoo open. However, we felt very safe throughout our visit. There was very clear signage, ample hand washing facilities, and the staff were very friendly and helpful. We will certainly be returning when the entire park is open!

Very enjoyable, even in the rain.

First visit to anywhere since the lockdown, long wait to get in but understandable due to safety measures. Rides were closed but as we didn’t have children it didn’t matter. The zoo bit was fine and we enjoyed our visit. It’s not a very large park so if we had paid the full £23 per person, I’d be disappointed.
So the reduced pricing of £13 per person seemed reasonable.

We had a really nice day out here on Sunday. We arrived ten minutes before it opened and there was a small queue with social distancing measures in place. They also put on stricter social distancing measures during the first part walking through with the monkeys but it didn’t feel like we were waiting or queuing for anything for long. Once into the open areas you had a bit more freedom to roam at safe distances and we had such a nice normal day which is a first since lockdown began. I really appreciate how the staff were cleaning around the site and the hand sanitiser available to use. I felt completely safe with my toddler and very much enjoyed sitting down to have lunch and a coffee as it feels like such a novelty now!
The animals seemed very content and I really enjoyed the variety of animals, as did my toddler. I have sometimes come away from other zoos feeling sad for the animals but it was very much the opposite here, they are clearly well looked after and very happy.

Visited on Sunday 28th June. Really enjoyed it even without the rides. Social distancing wasn't always happening but equally no one was standing next to you within 1 metre for any period of time, and you're outside nearly all of it so we weren't overly concerned. Used the hand sanitizers on the way round. Our toddler did touch the buttons and flaps, but we kept her hands wiped. She's at nursery again anyway now so kids that age are going to touch things others have. If you are worried about that you should probably not be visiting places like this just yet. Everyone needs to use their judgement and common sense, not rely on every public place to spoon-feed us our safety measures. So with that attitude we very much enjoyed it, are confident we stayed safe and will be back later in the year whenever the rides can open again.

As for the animals, an interesting and educational visit, I do feel conflicted about locking them up especially the larger ones, but there are awful zoos around with miserable big animals in poor conditions, I don't think this is the case at Drusilla's.

There's something for everyone even us big kids haha

Always lovely and clean and they were extremely aware of everyone's welfare with the coronavirus pandemic. Wonderful day out for all.

Really good little park/zoo. No real big animals, all smaller ones, but a really good variety. More aimed at the younger audience with a play area and few rides as well. Would go again