London Zoo, Regents Park, London Review

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2.4 stars
Average rating for this product is: 2.4 out of 5

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Jane 38's Review of London Zoo, Regents Park, London

2nd Sep 2008

Overall Rating

2.5 stars
  • Value for money
    3 stars
  • Ages suited for
    Under 5
  • Date of visit (month/year)
    09/08
  • Other info / Tips?
    Go to Whipsnade instead.
Good Points

Gorilla Experience and Butterfly enclosures are good and the presentation in the Amphitheatre was very good.


Bad Points

Very lacking in information about the exhibits and what is there is poorly presented - hardly inspiring for children.
The Aquarium should have been closed rather than open with most of it boarded up or just plain empty.
The elephant/rhino house, now empty, was poorly used for a few small exhibits which we felt was a complete waste of space.
The Cafe offered little choice and poor value.
Very little indoor activity if it rains.
Few benches around the site to stop and rest if you have mobility-impaired visitors with you.


General Comments

Entry fee is poor value at approx £16 but using a 2 for 1 Railways promotion made it OK. Whipsnade is far superior.

In my opinion the zoo has been shabby for quite some time but little has been done to smarten and liven things up. The Gorilla experience and butterfly enclosure are great but the elephants and rhinos are gone. The rest is all over the place: the indoor "Bugs" exhibit housed few bugs but confusingly some marine specimens and rodents, which would have been better off in their respective sections. There is an astonishing lack of information boards or good presentation around the zoo generally and this is the saddest thing: London Zoo promotes itself as a conservation organisation yet as there is little to inform visitors about the exhibits or present them well to trigger the idea of conservation in their minds - just showing animals then asking for more money is unrealistic to say the least.
The Aquarium was frankly terrible. Many of the tanks had been drained without comment and what little was available was dull and dirty - looking small tanks, with small cards of information that you couldn't read as the place hasn't been lit appropriately. I expected several different environmental sections of aquatic life, with large tanks, lots of information, proper lighting and excited children. The Horniman Museum in South London (Free) has a better Aquarium!

We visited on 01/09/08 with an OAP, myself and my 12 yr old.

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