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During the Easter holidays, we were invited along to Paradise Wildlife Park to check out the new dinosaurs in their World of Dinosaurs- one of the UK’s biggest and most spectacular animatronic dinosaur attractions- and to do a Tried and Tested review of the park as a whole. Don't miss my Reels on Instagram too (links at the end).
Paradise Wildlife Park is based in Broxbourne, and is a leading zoo in Europe, offering over 30 different pre-booked exotic animal experiences, along with its extensive wildlife zoo, World of Dinosaurs, play areas, woodland walk, soft play and splash park- there is so much to do here, you can easily spend a whole day…and come back the next!
Upon arrival, we were frogmarched by a very excited 5 year old straight to the World of Dinosaurs. Set in acres of natural woodland, it features 30 life-size moving and roaring dinosaurs, but as avid fans of the Park, what we really wanted to see was the new addition of Indominus Rex…battling with T-Rex! At the entrance, there was the chance to meet a baby Raptor, which was a nice surprise!
As you walk through the pathways, it’s amazing to see the life-size dinosaurs, which truly are life-like- from the little touches like how realistically they breathe, right up to their roars and the way they move, a lot of which is triggered by sensors, so be prepared for some surprises! This is not just an attraction for dinosaur-mad kids, last time we came we struggled to get my dad out of there he was so amazed!
As well as getting up close to the dinosaurs, you can also climb aboard the Jurassic Park jeep for a photo opportunity in front of a T-Rex (photo taken during last visit), ride the ‘Rex Express’ train through the woodland, climb in to a dino egg and do your own Dino Dig in the sandpit area.
Finally, we approached the battle scene with the new Indominus Rex and T-Rex battling across the walkway- a real sight to behold, where you suddenly feel very small! Check out my Reel on Instagram for a feel for just how epic this part of the park is!
After our adventure through The World of Dinosaurs, we headed to the main zoo. Paradise Wildlife park is split in to two sections- on the side you enter, you’ll find the splash park (great in the summer!), World of Dinosaurs including the Rex Express train ride, soft play (Tumble Jungle), National Speedway Museum, extensive play areas and the Woodland Walk.
You then cross over to the main zoo, which has a new water feature as you enter, as well as beautiful colourful flower displays, including a bench for photo opportunities (the boys wouldn’t stay still to attempt this!). This is where you’ll find the entrance to the main area housing the majority of the animals, but just off to your left behind the Gift Shop, don’t miss the Birds of Prey Area, which has a large number of birds, daily displays, giant tortoises and a great playground.
We headed to this area first as we wanted to see the Birds of Prey display as our youngest is bird-obsessed. After watching the owls, we grabbed a picnic table for some lunch and then headed to the main zoo.
There are so many animals to see- we spotted lions, penguins, camels, tigers, monkeys, otters, zebras, meerkats and snakes, to name but a few! Special mention to the Meerkat area which has a great tunnel going through it that the kids love crawling through! The Land of Tigers is also pretty spectacular, with a large pool of fish that the boys loved watching through the glass, and a treehouse style area so you can get a full view of the tiger enclosure.
We were really lucky with the weather, so once the toddler was napping in his pram, we headed for an ice cream and a play in the play area near the centre of the park. The climbing wall was particularly popular with our 5 year old, along with the large slide.
We then headed back to the other side of the park for a ride on the Rex Express train, which goes through the woodland alongside the World of Dinosaurs (there’s a £2 per person charge), and then in to Pirate’s Cove and the Adventure Playground for a play.
There’s lots to do here, including an obstacle course, Pirate Ship, swings and slides, woodland walk and Fire Engine. In front of Pirate’s Cove, you’ll find the main stage where we got to meet another dinosaur and watched a show- there’s so much going on, you’ll never be bored here!
Once the toddler awoke, we headed to Tumble Jungle, where there’s a café and soft play, including a separate toddler area with lots of opportunity to climb.
We spent all day at the park and in the summer months we’d also use the Splash Park, which is great as it’s one pool where you can sit around the outside and easily paddle in with the kids (picture from last Summer).
Paradise Wildlife Park recently announced it will be re-branding to be called ‘Hertfordshire Zoo’, seeking to “align ourselves more closely with the whole of the Hertfordshire community and establish ourselves as a zoo that everyone across our county is proud of. We will shine a spotlight on Hertfordshire as a positive beacon for animal welfare, conservation, and education.” This isn't happening fully until 2024, but means lots of positive change for the zoo is coming!
We had a great time at Paradise Wildlife Park and it’s still one of our favourite local attractions, with so much to see and do! See their listing here for links to their website and social accounts, and if you fancy an evening trip, check out their Summer Evenings in Paradise event (dates throughout the Summer- see What's On Guide for them all), which will give you the opportunity to see Paradise Wildlife Park in a whole new light, whilst having exclusive access to watch the animals as the sun sets, surrounded with live music.
Check out my Reels on Instagram to get even more of a feel for how great Paradise Wildlife Park is:
If you would like us to do a Tried and Tested feature on your family-friendly business, attraction or event, just drop me an email to [email protected].
