Drusillas Park – Zoe from Juggling on Roller Skates has kindly written about Drusillas Park in East Sussex for us.
Drusilla’s Park is described as more than just a zoo….and it really is! Set in the beautiful Sussex countryside and shadowed by the Sussex Downs Drusilla’s is a small zoo, indoor play centre, Hello Kitty theme park, education centre and water play facility….yes, more than just a zoo. We have had an annual family membership for Drusilla’s for three years now. Every year when it comes to renewing we ask ourselves shouldn’t we try somewhere else? But there really is nowhere that compares…and with an annual pass we can focus on different activities each time we visit.
[singlepic id=696 w= h= float=center]
Close Encounter Experiences
Drusilla’s Park was set up years ago as a zoo, the rest of the attractions have evolved over time. The zoo itself can take a good half day to explore and the animals on display are not only varied and exotic, but clearly well looked after and happy in their environment. We particularly enjoy visiting the meerkats, red pandas and penguins. There are fantastic walk through experience where you can feed lorikeets and meet lemurs up close. The zoo also offers a range of close encounter experiences, where visitors can help the keepers and feed the animals…great for a Birthday treat or special occasion. Drusilla’s promotes a strong conservation ethos with many of the animals being involved in breeding programmes to ensure the future survival of a species.
[singlepic id=698 w= h= float=center]
Outdoor Play Area
The zoo exits into a huge outdoor play area. This area is ideal for age 5 and above. Our children disappear to explore towers that lead to slides, spinning see-saws, giant hamster wheels and a family favourite…the banana boats! Further on there is another outdoor play are designed with younger visitors in mind. We find this area particularly well suited to our toddlers play needs with a monkey themed roundabout, rocking horse zebras and an elephant climbing feature. Everyone is catered for, and because the outdoor area covers such a large space…it never feels chaotic.
[singlepic id=694 w= h= float=center]
Indoor Play Area
For wet or cold weather there is the indoor Amazon Adventure. This, in itself is a large indoor play facility. There is a sectioned off area for toddlers to play safely. Older children can enjoy the bumpy slide, shooting ball pool, Python slide and tunnels. To top it off there is a cafe area which is always toasty warm and offers the Sunday papers so us grown ups can enjoy a little time to ourselves.
Picnic Area
Continuing on the main trail through the zoo we next reach a large open area full of picnic tables and surrounded by an inflatable slide, dino dig sandpit, Gold Rush panning for gold and a few eateries. This is a fantastic picnic area in the Summer. We have often spent a good portion of the day here, grazing on our lunch whilst the children run back and forth to various activities. Drusilla’s invite quite a few ‘cartoon’ celebrities to appear here throughout the year too….Hello Kitty, Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol to name just a few. The highlight in this part of the park for the past 10 years has been the fabulous Thomas train ride. Sadly Thomas has very recently left the park leaving many a youngster broken hearted! However….bigger and better things are in the pipeline for the park with a brand new Safari train ride and additional rides arriving this Summer..yay! Yet another great reason to hang onto our annual passes!
[singlepic id=692 w= h= float=center]
Hello Kitty’s Secret Garden
The final area of the park consists of Eden’s Eye Maze and Hello Kitty’s Secret Garden. Eden’s Eye is a fantastic interactive ancient maze with a strong Indiana Jones feel….a firm favourite with Daisy (7). Hello Kitty’s Secret Garden consists of three little rides: teacups, Kitty cars and the Kitty hopper. The teacups and Kitty cars are particularly good for toddler through to Primary school age children. The kitty hopper is more suited to age 4 up…which should cover the whole family!
[singlepic id=693 w= h= float=center]
[singlepic id=695 w= h= float=center]
Drusillas Park – More than just a Zoo
So, as you can see…Drusilla’s really is more than just a zoo. Whether you plan to see everything in one go, or like us…dip in and out of activities with a annual membership Drusilla’s is a wonderful day out with something for all the family…even the grumpy ones will find it hard not to have fun!
Zoe from Juggling on Roller Skates kindly wrote this post for us. You can find her fabulous blog here with lots of other days out in the area. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
We love zoos and enjoyed this review of Five Sisters Zoo in West Lothian.