My daughter-in-law and I and my eldest grand-daughter (16) and my youngest grandson (nearly 3) visited the zoo and Santa's Grotto last week and we were extremely unimpressed, particularly with the grotto, which was extremely dull and boring. We all had the same view that no effort had been made with the grotto, the theme of which was meant to be 'The Chronicles of Dudley'. A few jackets and various snowflakes hung up and bare old fashioned Xmas trees with tiny white lights did not make for a winter wonderland. Although the Elves did try to do a reasonable job, the Santa that we saw appeared to have very little idea how to interact with children. The present that my grandson received was barely reasonable, given the cost for our venture, which I have to say overall was not in any way worth it. This is such a shame given that we went to the grotto about 6 years ago with 4 of my grandchildren and it was excellent, with superb decorations throughout the grotto and elves and Santa clearly knowing how to interact with children. Moving onto the actual zoo OMG. This place really does need shutting down. We will not be revisiting either the zoo or the grotto, despite t being on our doorstep

Every time we've been to dudley zoo we have always had a brilliant time but this time I felt let down. I booked a visit to see santa and for the money I paid it was not worth it at all. The staff in the restaurant look at you like you have 3 heads when you walk in. My partner ordered steak pasty and chips, the pasty was cornish. I asked if there was any sauce and they said yeah in the restaurant. Didn't tell me where in the restaurant I was walking round like an idiot for ages. Also very over priced. Then we got to the lemur enclosure and the woman who was in there was so miserable and blunt. As we come to leave we purchased a few things and the person who served us was really snobby. Iv never had a problem with staff before they have always been super friendly

Easy access and parking. Many animals to see. Little train ride up the hill fun for little ones. My only problem really was seeing some of the animals looking distressed. I know it’s a zoo.. and I don’t like the idea of animals in confined spaces.. but the spaces there are definitely very small and I can’t see how the animals have anything other than a miserable life. The snow leopard, lion and bush dogs were all letting out cries. Just couldn’t shake off a sense of misery from the animals. Just doesn’t seem at all right having them in such small spaces.

We have annual passes and visit often. For us it’s a nice way to spend a few hours outdoors and getting the kids away from their tech. I would advise to take your own food. The restaurant is very overpriced and is far from value for money. The prices are high and the portions are small.

Visited with my Husband and 3 year old little boy who has Down Syndrome, because of this he was able to get a special rate 'child with a disability' ticket and I was free being his carer. We were pleasantly surprised that they also refunded our parking even though we don't have a blue badge. Our tickets also included a free return pass to use before the end of July. Parking was a bit confusing as we went into a smaller fenced off section, realised there were no spaces free but then couldn't get out as we didn't yet have the parking token, so I'd reccomend parking in the larger section. We were very lucky to see most of the animals out and about, they all looked happy and well cared for. Some of the enclosures are looking a bit tired but we could also see that lots of work is being done around the zoo so hopefully they'll all be revamped eventually. Highlights included seeing the baby orangutan twins, the tigers up close in their inside viewing area, the castle creatures and the otters. My little boy absolutely loved the land train and this makes getting to the top of the zoo where the castle is so much easier. Be mindful that if you have a pushchair or wheelchair with you that you're limited to the routes you can go as there's a lot of stairs and steep slopes. We decided to take a picnic and there were plenty of benches round the zoo to eat this at. We sat on the seating opposite the snow leopards, this is undercover so would be great if it was a rainy day. One thing we did find lacking were the catering facilities, there's 2 cafes at the top of the zoo but none of the kiosks at the bottom were open. Toilets could also do with a bit of attention as they weren't the cleanest. We also stopped off at the fair, tokens are £1 each or you can buy 15 for £10. The rides are either 1 or 2 tokens per go, there's a few that are only suitable for children and a few where adults can go on with them. Overall we had a lovely day and we're looking forward to using our free return tickets.

I was surprised at how many animals were here. Some animals had great habitats and looked healthy and happy but other animals I’m not so sure. The bat’s definitely need more space, a lot more space! There does seem to be some building of new animal enclosures, so happy to see that. As it’s Winter, a few things were closed but I think the entry fee is the same, which seems a bit unfair. Groupon does a great family ticket deal at the moment though. The kids loved it and it’s larger than imagined. We spent the whole day there. Recommend going!

Obviously the zoo is quite limited when it comes to space for new enclosures etc so I think they've done what they could with the space they have and they certainly tried to give the animals the opportunity to hide - which is good. Nevertheless, I'm not a big fan. The area is very steep which is exhausting when you have a pushchair visit with toddlers. There is a good variety of animals but some of the enclosures feel pretty cold, eg the tiger enclosure which lacks greenery. The Lima enclosure is lovely and being able to walk through it is pretty cool. Bottom line, I think the space is just not suitable for a zoo and the animals would be better off in a zoo/park in the countryside where they have more space.

Great day out for the family; cost £18.60 each per adult with access to the castle aswell as the zoo. The grounds are very hilly so be prepared for lots of walking, there is a land train that can take you round if needed. Lots of animals, enclosures are very clean and animals look healthy. Nice to see interactive enclosures like the Lemur wood and the bird avery which you can walk through. Quite a few talks throughout the day from the keepers for certain animals which was interesting. Improvements needed: Lots of maintenance needed on some buildings like the restaurant, it looks run down and shabby. Also the only place to eat and get a drink was the restaurant; no open kiosks around the zoo which is disappointing. Take your own food as it’s expensive; a jacket potato was over £8! Plenty of outdoor seating for picnics. Better signage needed for directions, there is a map but it would be better to have large visible signs for certain animals. Overall good day out especially for families, lots for children to do including a small funfair, farm and educational points throughout the zoo.

I was quite disappointed by our visit . Many of the issues to be fair were due to the weather but there were a lot of issues! Positives are the lorikeet lookout where you can feed the birds nectar, it is a lot of fun and beautiful. The animals looked well looked after and there were a lot of different species some I’d never seen or even heard of before. I’m struggling to find much else … Negatives were that many of the main animals that we came to see had to be locked inside so didn’t see the lions or tigers . I know the animals welfare comes first but things could be considered such as an indoor viewing area or being provided with some discount for tickets to use again in the future. Also a lot of the animals you couldn’t see because of the exhibits being closed or having maintenance done . We came to Dudley zoo for my daughter’s birthday because of the red pandas . Didn’t see them…. the exhibit had been moved and when we finally found the area they were being kept there was a keeper in there cleaning it . My daughter was really upset . The fair was closed and the chairlift to because of the weather. Again I think with so much of what you paid for being out of use there should be some sort of compensation. It’s really hard to find your way around the zoo even with the paper map they provide . They do have out of date maps on display but barely any other signposting to find your way. We found it difficult to get around , a lot of very steep inclines but no hand rails to steady yourself. I think someone with a disability would find it very difficult. The castle creatures exhibit is perhaps the worst I’ve ever had the misfortune of experiencing. Smelly , cold and boring. The eating facilities are terrible . The oak kitchen sounded lovely but was disappointing at best .They had ran out of sandwich’s at 13.40. I had a jacket potato which was lukewarm with no butter. The chips came cold like they had been sat out for a while . And they brought tea without providing any milk ?! They did add some when we asked but the Just awful and overpriced . Also they have signs all over about recycling and looking after the planet and their restaurant uses plastic single use plates and cutlery?! The discovery centre looks like an abandoned building from the outside. So yeah maybe if the weather had been better we would have had a better time but still a lot of issues and we wouldn’t go again .

Took our grandchildren for a day out. Was not that impressed the zoo was very dilapidated needs a lot of money spent on it to bring it up to scratch. There were or seemed to be a lot of empty enclosures and cages. The toilets based by the parrot house were filthy and stunk. A lot of things were shut discovery centre, ice cream stalls the fair. Would not recommend. The only positive thing I could say was the staff were very pleasant.