I will start by saying that I do not like animals in cages, or small enclosures. But if they are well cared for and fit and healthy, not suffering from undue stress, then I can accept that. I firmly believe that you can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs. The public need to be able to see these wonderful animals close up, to appreciate what they are. Far too many species have become extinct over the years, with many more on the endangered list. If it wasn't for zoos and wildlife parks with their breeding programs, many more animals would be extinct by now. So if a few animals in zoos don't have the best life, but their existence ensures that the species in the wild survives, then that surely is good. Some of the enclosures and cages at Paradise Wildlife Park are indeed on the small size, but you can see the animals. Some zoos, such as Colchester zoo, have much, much larger cages and enclosures, but often the exhibits are hidden, or indeed hiding from the viewing public. We had a very enjoyable day at Paradise Wildlife Park and the best part had to be feeding the Amur Tigers with chicken wings, a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life and I will recommend to anybody.

My wife and I booked "shadow a big cat keeper " experience and it was by far a lot better than expected.
We was greeted by our keeper Hannah when we first arrived.
She took us through the day by day of being a big cat keeper and informed us of what we would be doing during the experience.
We met all the big cats and even got to clean the enclosure' s, prepare their food and then to feed them! The whole experience was out of this world and literally breath taking. Hannah was amazing throughout, so much knowledge and was able to answer any questions that we had. We couldn't fault one thing about paradise wildlife park, there is plenty for children to do and see, and lots of different places to eat. We are looking forward to returning with family and have another great day out. Thanks to everyone at paradise and especially to our keeper Hannah. Keep up the great work.

If you and your kids love animals then Paradise Wildlife Park is the place to visit.
Loads of animals to see and other attractions for the kids to enjoy, from outside slides to a train ride. Ample parking and the staff are young and enthusiastic.

We visited today and had a truly marvellous time......x The park was clean and had a lovely calm feel about it....was a very relaxing place to be x The Big Bug Bonanza & Animal Antics shows were done with great enthusiasm and were very entertaining x There are plenty of themed play areas for children of all ages, lots of clean well priced food & drink kiosks and the toilets were clean and well spaced throughout the park x There were so many different animals to see and the enclosures were clean & tidy and there were plenty of talks and feeds to attend x Great day had by us all......I highly recommend a visit :) x

Brought my children here years ago and it's changed loads now for the better. Lots to see and do, all the great animals, soft play area, outdoor play area and places to eat and outdoor entertainer. Only downside is the food , not great and mine was cold .

We travelled 2 hours to get there and were hoping it was going to worth the drive.
It certainly was, right from the entry where staff were friendly and helpful.
There has obviously been lots of new improvements to the park with the Bat house currently being rebuild.
Our first animal experience was the beautiful white tiger, my 3 year old daughter was transfixed by a tiger of a different colour.Then on to the characterful camels and zebras. We were thrilled by the reptile house and the amazon adventure where we saw the biggest snake I have ever seen in my life.
Our highlight of our day was the bird show (although it took us a while too negotiate the map to find the arena, it's tucked away) This is a beautiful quiet part of the park which is the perfect place to have a picnic especially if you have a child with a sensory disorder. The talk was informative and entertaining with the staff taking the time to chat and answer questions afterwards.
At the end of the day we played at Pirates Cove, our children loved the ship and played happily with all the children there then we had an added surprise as Moana and Repunzel came to visit and even stopped for a photo. (Not sure if these wonderful ladies were park staff or hired in entertainers however they were amazing).
We arrived at 12:30 and left at closing (when we witnessed clean up which was efficient and thorough, all tables washed down and litter disappeared like magic)
There are just a few suggestions we would like to make:
More disabled and baby changing toilets are needed preferably as separate cubicles as at the mixed cubicles there was queues, a few extra pull down changers may fix this.
We parked in the over flow car park which meant crossing a very busy fast road, although there are warning signs for motorists (children crossing) it needs a crossing or foot bridge and staggered railings at the park exit to prevent children rushing to the road edge.
The tractor rides need the "stop" put on the map, we didn't find the small A frame until it had stopped.
Although the map has small print stating that some attractions occur charges, we didn't expect to have to pay for the train ( especially as entry for our family of 5 was £86) I know it's only £1 per person however that's an extra £5. We only planned to pay entry and took a picnic so had no cash, this was hard to explain to a child with ASD.
The gift shop was not restocked so was empty of most stock at the end of the day, I only let my children buy an item that is place branded and all your park branding stock was over priced (£3.50 for a pencil sharpener, £7.50 for small hanging monkey wearing a branded t-shirt) so we didn't buy a souvenir. A small assembled gift bag containing branded pencil, small jotter, eraser and sharpener in a nice little bag would have been great to write about our day on the way home maybe branded as a Paradise Park Ranger Journal.
Ice creams were also over priced at £2.30 for a fab/knobbly bobbly.
However we hope to return next summer as a planned trip as part of a holiday in the area rather then travelling from home.
Thank you for a wonderful day.

Purchased a rainforest and sloth experience for my boyfriends birthday so turned up early to take advantage of the free entry to the park that came alongside it. The park is really lovely, would be fantastic if visiting with kids with SO MANY things to do. I haven't been to a zoo with so many varied children's activities. Big cat enclosures were fantastic and TONS of free talks and feeding demonstrations throughout the day. Our rainforest experience was expensive but the zookeeper was very knowledgable and the experience was great fun so I was pleased with the value. We ate in the diner part of the park and the food was nice if a little expensive (as you would expect).
Also worth noting - lots of places you eat picnics, you can exit and re-enter as many times as you like in the day if you want to get stuff from your car as long as you get a stamp,

We had the most amazing experience of shadowing a big cat keeper yesterday. Shirley was fantastic and extremely passionate about the animals and her knowledge was outstanding. We both were involved in cleaning the animals, preparing their food and then feeding them by hand through the fence. A terrifying thought initially, but with Shirley's expert guidance it was an experience we will never forget. Everything behind the scenes is so well organised and the care, attention and passion showed to the animals was immense by every single person we came across. Whilst observing the white lions we were privileged to have Moto, the big male lion display his almighty roar. It was so intense it made your chest vibrate. The experience from start to finish was absolutely outstanding, a day we will never forget. After the experience we had lunch in cafe and then finished off our day with a walk around the park. A truly memorable day spent with Shirley the outstanding cat keeper and the most amazing animals.

I thought the park was lovely, such a great variety of animals and the staff clearly love looking after the animals and full of enthusiasm about what they do which is lovely to see. Loved seeing the big cats, although thought the lion enclosure was quite small. Particularly liked the cafe overlooking the tigers!

A suprise Birthday treat from my wife took me to Paradise Wildlife Park. Quite busy as you can imagine and really geared up for families with a lot to do for Children. For adults the Zoo can feel small but families can spend the whole day there and have a great time. We found the staff to be excellent, We ate in the resturant and both chose the Egg and Tuna salad, at £6 each we did not expect much. To our real suprise it was top draw food. An excellent meal (which was not all lettuce leaf as you get in most places) and truly filling, well done guys! My real suprise was my wife booking me the oppurtunity to hand feed a full grown White Tiger. This was always the top of my bucket list, a fantastic experience, truly of a lifetime. That cost £99, however a true one off. There are other less expensive oppurtunityies such as Meerkat feeding etc. My guide Ian who trained me on the correct methos was full of knowledge which he clearly enjoyed sharing, thank you Ian. My treat gave the other visitors the oppurtunity to see the Tiger at close quaters. We will go back again. But for families with children, pack swimming trunks for the paddling pool and have a great day out!

This is a park mainly aimed at families with young children. We went as we were staying that way overnight. We had a great day out. There is area that could do with a bit of updating which from what we could see is happening in certain areas. All in all we had an enjoyable day.

Booked with Picniq tickets and got 21% off, for 1 adult and 2 kids it cost £40 where if you pay at the gate it would set you back over £50.

zoo:
firstly took the kids aged 11 and 6 to the zoo side, they were a bit disappointed as half the animals were hiding or not in their enclosures, was amazing to see the big cats although my heart broke for the white tiger who looked somewhat depressed and was walking round in circles, (if he never had a mate he should have one).

Food:
being school holidays i would advise to take a picnic, we queued for near on an hr to be served food i would not feed to my dog. also very overpriced. (£2.30 for an ice lolly)

Park:
not much for the 11 year old to do although the 6 year old loved it, swings, lego pit, sand pit, paddling pool, climbing frames etc. although the balloon man train and go-carts were all additional charges, you are easily looking at £100 for a day out even though we did the lot in 3 hrs. personally i wish i had gone to the seaside for the day, however under 10's would be in their element here.

We have been twice before and were looking forward to a great day out, But a lot of the pens were over grown or empty and on a day when a lot of people were about the staff were cleaning cages so the animals were not on display. a lot of the picnic tables were covered in bird poo or in poor condition. I think the bird of pray area was the most disappointing

Great day out.Lots to see,good price-book on line to save a money.Lots of animals to see.Lots of things to do for children.Great!

We visited paradise wildlife park with our 5 year old daughter and she loved it! Great animals and loads of slides and cool crazy golf.
A really well kept and clean attraction with plenty to keep young ones entertained and it wasn't overcrowded so no queues 😄
Also a fantastic face painter there.

Visited today with four children aged between six and nine, fantastic time was had by all. Lots of animals to see, feed. Nice that lots of things are included in the entrance fee, lots of play areas , slides ,indoor play area , paddling pool all included in price. Lots of picnic benches and able to get your picnic out of the car when needed and take in. Great to get close up to White tigers and White lions plus other big cats and see them fed as well.lots of talks and free shows as well. Well done Paradise park for making a day out so easy.

Everything about Paradise Park is good, except for the price for a 2 year old. £16! My granddaughter was 2 the day before her visit and was charged £16 for entry, plus another £2 for a train ride. All other similar attractions don't charge for under 3 years old - I researched this the day after. It cost my son and his wife £56 for three of them to enter, far too expensive when child is only 2 years old in my opinion.

Great day out it is well looked after and plenty of beautiful animals to see.it has a lovely family vibe and the staff are very helpful. There are plenty of things for the kids to do.

We visited to paradise park was good we arrived early and the bus came to get us we were a large group so we went in two different mini buses, which our drivers where polite and friendly. We had no queues and staff were helpful and friendly at front desk. The day was nice we went on the mini bus ride and saw all the animals. The kids also loved the snake slide. We only got to see one show that day in the jungle theatre, we saw the owls, rats and ferrets. The kids also loved the white leopards and the pythons. There are plenty areas for lunch. They also have restaurants if you didn't want to bring a packed lunch. The wolves trail was disappointing, but we were impressed with the magic show.
Overall it's a nice day out and lots to see and do.

We have a yearly pass for PWP as my granddaughter loves animals, her favorite us the kuons and tigers. The park us kept clean, staff are very friendly, all the animals are well looked after. A yearly pass works out cheaper after a couple of visits, we visit weekly and we always find something new to do. If uts a warm day take childrens swimwear and they can enjoy the childrens paddling pool and waterslide. Cafes are a available but can be a little bit expensive but food is nice.

Absolutely magical day for my kids and nephews.

Brilliant experience! Kids loved seeing all the animals especially the white tiger.

The kids day got even better before we left they got to play non stop in kids area.

Today, we visited with friends. 11 in total. What an amazing place. The animals are all well cared for and looked after by very knowledgeable handlers/keepers. The white tiger is an amazing spectacle, and watching it be fed was a sight! Listening to the keeper give his talk, with so much passion, reflects on the quality of the park and what they want to acheive
We didn't take a packed lunch so used the dining facilities on offer, and can't complain at the quality or portion sizes. A little expensive, BUT not unaffordable!!
The play area's and entertainment on offer was above a standard I expected. The apparatus for our kids to play on was fresh and enjoyable for those who used them.
Lastly, the balloon man, funny, brilliant with the kids and his balloon bending skills were great, Thank You for the swords and swan!!!

Took our 11 year old son for his Lemar experience and it was magical. He absolutely loved it. We got there early and entry was smooth and reasonable fast. Not been for a few years and saw some lovely improvements throughout Will not leave it so long next time.

We visited with a large family group and really enjoyed this zoo. I note other reviews commenting on small enclosures for some animals but they all looked very well kept and cared for and, for a relatively small zoo, there are a huge variety of creature to see, with excellent viewing points and the chance to get very close. Entry fees are very reasonable and food is OK for price and choice - a good zoo to visit if you want to see a lot - with short walks between the enclosures.

Visited Saturday with a 6yr old grandson and arrived in time for the 9:30 opening.Had purchased tickets on line so had no issues on arrival.
Easy car parking and minimal queuing to get in.
Drove 75 miles to get there and had set off early so as to have a full day. Had researched on line and saw there were several food outlets inside so planned on having breakfast on arrival. Had seen several mentions on line about having breakfast with the tigers and our grandson was so excited about this.
We made our way to the appropriate cafe by the tiger enclosure to be told that the cafe and all other food outlets didn't open until 11am. What a let down and disappointment and we now had a hungry bad tempered 6yr old to deal with. Howvcan you breakfast with the tigers if you can't get breakfast ????
That said the Animal Park itself is very well laid out with great opportunities to view the animals close up.
The adjoining play areas are very good and ideal to help tire the little ones out.
The woodland Polar Bear Express was a bit of a disappointment as there were no wolves to be seen. The woodland walk similarly had no red foxes and only 1deer.
Food, when available, is a little expensive but there are several places to choose from .
Arrived 9:30 and left 16:30 so lots to see and do.