yorkshirewildlifepark.com Reviews 

Given 3 stars because I've been here numerous times and it's a mix bag of what you get.
I've had visits on cooler days with every animal out and on show.
I've had hot sunny days like today where 70% of the animals aren't out. Now I understand that these animals are free to do as they please and no guarantees you'll see them, plus they're not daft and know to avoid the heat but it just becomes one big walk that you could do for free but your now paying £31 for privilege.
Use to be £20 so prices have shot up and I know that the money goes toward upkeep of the park and looking after the animals which I'm fine with but just feels like a big waste when you don't get to see something worthwhile.
The layout has changed also as the park has grown, but feel you get lost far easier than before and potential to miss some of the animals.

A wasted 90 mile round trip to visit the YWP. I would say less than 10% of the advertised species were on display. What shocked me is that this was not announced at the ticket box . What an absolute rip off.

Totally disappointed with our visit
Hardly any animals unless u want to see pigeons and magpies plenty of them
Other than that theirs not alot at all to look at well over priced for what it is
And don't use the vending machines for a drink u won't get what drink u want and u will be robbed in the process

We all had a great day for my grandsons 1st birthday but unfortunately it was spoilt , we bought 2 sets of tickets by mistake but they wouldn’t refund us the money , it cost us £120 a per set then they charged us another £20 to change the date , so we are £140 out of pocket , I know it was our mistake but they could of been more understanding

I went to Yorkshire Wildlife Park specifically to see the polar bears, and I was not disappointed! Sure, all but one of them were asleep, but that’s the beauty of it—these animals are free to do as they please, not performing on cue like a stage show.

The staff we spoke to were lovely—really friendly and helpful. We didn’t see a lot of animals overall, but honestly, I think that’s a good thing. It means they have plenty of places to hide, rest, and just be themselves. Unlike some zoos where animals are on constant display with little privacy, this park felt much more considerate of their well-being.

If I’d gone with children, I imagine they might have been disappointed not to see all the animals they’d hoped for, but there are plenty of play areas for them to burn off energy. The dinosaur section was also a fun surprise, packed with interesting info!

### Pros
✅ Polar bears!
✅ Very clean
✅ Lots of privacy for the animals

### Cons (but actually kind of pros!)
🔹 A lot of walking between enclosures (but hey, exercise!)
🔹 Not many animals visible (which means they have privacy)

For two adults who mainly wanted to see the polar bears, it was fantastic. And much cheaper than many zoos! For families with excited kids hoping to see loads of animals, it might be trickier—but overall, I loved the experience.

I love YWP - the 4 stars is me.. I never give full marks as there is always room for improvement.

The place is expanding and they do look after the animals. This is good to see.
The food is expensive and not many places to eat in for the number of people they receive nowadays so they need to look into that.

The people who blame the YWP for the weather or not seeing the animals are idiots. You cannot control the weather and you cannot control animals. They are as free as they can be. If they choose to hide or stay inside that is fine. I only saw the Hyena and Maned wolves this last time i visited.. We have been many times over the years and that is simply how it works with animals.
This last time i was able to see the leopard as i had a long lens on my camera and picked it out in the bushes in the far end of the enclosure, most people could not see it as its well camouflaged.. you know, how nature intended it..and moaned about it. I let a few see though my camera or showed them my pictures..
For those stating the animals are distressed and pace - yes, for some, that is the case.
YWP do provide the animals with space and places to hide but some of the animals were rescued from neglect and may already have been damaged. The irony of those comments is that they went to see animals in a zoo then complained about the animals behaviour because they are in a zoo. Hmmm.

Don’t go.

The park was ridiculously busy (which YWP have said ‘we were within our limits’). That may be so, but when you can’t change your baby because the queues are so long, go to the toilet or get something to eat… isn’t the best experience. We had to change our baby at the side of the path when it was really windy and with no shelter with 100s of people passing us!

The park was so busy there are pinch points along the paths where everyone gets held up.

The queues to see the animals were ridiculous… then you don’t see the animals anyway because you feel you can’t stay looking long due to people waiting behind you.

It was clear that the amount of people there made the animals uncomfortable which wasn’t enjoyable to see anyway, YWP should take this into consideration.

I’m sure certain days will be better than others, and it’ll be a nice walk around then … but I imagine in summer months and on ‘occasion days’ it’s an absolute NIGHTMARE so advise to avoid at all costs. I don’t usually mind a busy place but this was beyond that.

The park’s response was appalling and they won’t take feedback on board. A real shame and we do not feel like valued customers

Me and my partner took out 2 year old granddaughter last Saturday, was rather disappointed with not seeing some animals, I think when you’re travelling and paying money you should be able to get the best experience.

We ordered 4 x tickets online and on our first attempt at purchasing we were presented with an error message stating our order was unsuccessful and to try again.

We tried again and the tickets were then instantly emailed to us, however we have been double charged (even though we had the error message presented and were not emailed any tickets for the first attempted transaction)! At first this showed as a pending payment but now it has settled and so the money is gone and we are down £18.99.

No reply to our email yet regarding the above incorrect double charge and honestly unhopeful on a refund based on other reviews on here.

Disappointing experience over all, will not be returning. Watch out for being double charged/overcharged!

We used to visit Yorkshire Wildlife Park with the whole family when the kids were smaller. We would take a big picnic and spend the whole day there.We were so impressed by the fact that animal rescue and conservation seemed to be top of the list and the animals were in large enclosures. mirroring their natural habitats.It was always a great day out.
What a different story last week. It has turned into a tacky theme park. We were there for 2 family birthdays and wished we hadn't gone. Giant plastic dinosaurs greet you - they looked tatty, with the odd tail swishing and the same noise for each of them from loudspeakers. The few real animals we got to see were dejected looking, eg two polar bears constantly pacing and sniffing at the stone wall of their enclosure and a tiger lying in the pouring rain in a ditch, moving so little we thought it was dead until it moved a paw. We finally found the Masai cafe, after a very long walk and it was packed and had the smell of fried food. We were told that all the toilets were closed due to it being quiet. We had to go out of the park and into the shops area to find a decent cup of coffee and the loos, and as even they were closed, we had to go to the kids soft play area some distance away, just to go to the toilet.
So sad about what has happened here. I would assume they have been taken over? Who knows, but never again for us.

Hello, 

I’ve still not heard back from the refunds team as I accidentally purchased one standard adult membership too many (A Smith - please see attached) - in total it's meant to be 2 adults (A Smith, M Smith) and a child (H Smith).

Can you please update me on my £95 refund on membership card number 250308112462.

Thank you. 

What a massive disappointment this day out was. Cost us £84 for 2 adults and 3 year old grandson. Most of the compounds were empty of the animals that were supposed to be in there. After we had walked quite a way round and not seen a single animal we realised it was nothing to do with time of day or year, there just wasn’t an animal in there. There were a lot of people saying the same. When we did see animals they looked miserable and neglected and so was the compounds. We won’t be ever going back there. We feel like we’ve been mugged!

Our family recently visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park, and we couldn't be happier with the experience. The park is incredibly clean and tidy, making it a pleasure to walk around and explore. The variety of animals is fantastic, but the highlight for us was definitely the Polar Bear Project. It's an amazing opportunity to see these magnificent creatures up close. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, adding to the overall positive experience. We will definitely be back for another visit!

P.S - My son really enjoyed seeing the red pandas.

not many animals, lots of animals not visible, too expensive for what it is, animals do not appear to be well cared for, for example very few trees in tiger enclosure and cheetahs and gazelles in view of each other. wouldnt go back, just money grabbers

Kids loved every minute of it. Wonderful illuminations and great animal sanctuary for wildlife during the day. We were so impressed we’ve bought membership even though we live 1h20min drive away. Perfect place for little dino lovers - our 2&4y old love animated dinosaurs display. 9y old love the real animals and all space. Highly recommend.
Also Customer service was great, easy to purchase tickets and also when we’ve had to change visit date due to illness we’ve been given option to buy flexi ticket top up for £8 per ticket so we can change dates.

I have visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park many times, always enjoyed it. The main purpose is sanctuary for the animals, and it does that beautifully. Yes, the animals are not always outdoors, but that's generally the animals choice. It's not a circus for them to perform, it's their home.
As an outdoor venue, they have no control over the weather...so you pay your money and make your choice. They can't refund just because the weather is inclement.
Personally I've had great days there and look forward to many more!

Don't ever expect a refund regardless of the circumstances! Considering the hugh pre tax profits reported by the YWP, they take a blanket approach on all on line ticket sales and refuse point blank to refund a person's money. Maybe that's why their reported profits are so good!

They just keep stating it's in their T's and C's, as if they are legally unable to offer a monetary refund rather than what is actually happening, they are taking a blanket approach and are CHOOSING not to refund anyone, ever (as it appears to be the case from other customer experiences and reviews). Once they have your money, they are never, ever giving it back to you even if something unfortunate happens to you and you can't attend.

I am dissappointed and saddened by the YWP approach to customer service and it's on line ticket sales. Profis first, customer service last. I will never hand over my hard earned money again.

Beware and a warning to other potential customers...... take your custom elsewhere.

Customer service at YWP is one of the worst I’ve ever experienced. They have no interest in customer satisfaction and seem to be just interest in their own profits. Don’t entertain refunds or compensation even when they cancel things. This place is a joke. Disappointing long term customers is shameful. Got too big for their boots now. Will never prebook anything there again

*Beware FLEXI TICKET *
In the booking it is unclear of what these tickets are ?
you can’t cancel and get a refund
Yorkshire wildlife so disappointed in you !!!!!!!!!!
just been reading all the comments below a lot of people with problems

Just wanting to let people know before they go online and buy tickets for illuminations that the Flexi ticket is not for the zoo
Me and my family have bought tickets lead to believe that we was going to the illuminations and that this flexi ticket would allow us access into the zoo prior. However we only have access to the illuminations in the evening and are now unable to have a refund for the £8 additional ticket for the 7 of us to reimburse to put towards a day ticket for the actual zoo entry.
We called the zoo for support and they wasn’t interested in providing us with any support or guidance to resolve this issue
The only thing they stated was to pay an additional £12 to have entry to the zoo facilities during the day
Absolutely disgusted with the reception we was met with by the staff, lack of information and clarity over the booking process online and the lack of support given when enquiring

Re: Christmas Lights - went on the Thursday the heavens opened & it was torrential rain & we're told it wasn't cancelling so go round & see lights or pay extra £8 each for Flexi ticket to go another night! We came a long way & had booked a hotel so decided to give it a go but even though we were dressed right for the weather, we were completely drenched right through including our underwear! I rang out my gloves just like a dishcloth. We had to walk through many flooded areas & it's a disgrace when they only give refunds if they cancel which they had to do on the Saturday due to a storm & high winds. It's a money making racket & we'll never go again! Extremely disappointed & upset as it wasn't cheap!!!!!!!