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West Midlands Safari Park

Paid a visit to WMSP today, we were told about it being the new rides opening say as we got our wristbands.

I was chauffeur driven by the little lad around the track.

A ride like this depends on its theming and they have crammed a lot in in this regard. Whilst quite sedate some of the effects did illicit screams from the driver. Whether they will on subsequent rides remains to be seen.

Nice addition.
 
We took a last minute trip to the Safari park today and I couldn’t help but notice differences in ride operations in regards to the height of children.

At Drayton manor they use a medical height checker to get a more accurate height measurement and then for example if a child meets 1.2 they issue a 1.2 wrist band.

At safari park you have the height poles that are hand painted but no medical height checker in sight. Today little man only just made 1.2 according to their version where as at DMR he is well over the 1.2 . However the major change that I was surprised about is that on his child’s wrist band for the ride, the staff member had placed a sticker of a tree on. When I asked about this, it was explained this is how the ride operators know the height of a child as they now add certain themed stickers onto the wrist bands.
 
Looks like our Gold Rush cowbou has changed time period and is now a dinosaur ranger!
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Part of the promo email for the summers Dinos and Rhinos event
 
Personally I’m not a fan of the Dino ranger promotional guy. He has poor customer service skills and I think for a family focused attraction/attractions he could have training on child interactions.
 
Charliie said:
Personally I’m not a fan of the Dino ranger promotional guy. He has poor customer service skills and I think for a family focused attraction/attractions he could have training on child interactions.
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I've never met him personally so can't comment.

But absoloutely agree- you need to have a lot of customer focus & great child interactions, especially if you are with a dinosaur as they cannot speak for themselves. Its a role where you are the bridge for the interaction between the guest and the creature.

Its also about confidence, got to be confident with interacting and lead the engagement almost
 
Elise said:
I've never met him personally so can't comment.

But absoloutely agree- you need to have a lot of customer focus & great child interactions, especially if you are with a dinosaur as they cannot speak for themselves. Its a role where you are the bridge for the interaction between the guest and the creature.

Its also about confidence, got to be confident with interacting and lead the engagement almost
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Why they not using the same team that did the Drayton Dinosaur event?
 
I think this guy was pulling the cowboy cart at DM yesterday. If so, he wasn’t a patch on the usual guys. His interaction was nowhere near as good (or fun) and he kept slipping in and out of accent!
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
Why they not using the same team that did the Drayton Dinosaur event?
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The dinosaur team that run for the Dino event at Drayton and this guy are two different groups :)

The dino event team who did Dino breakout are also very busy from what I saw with 4x parks lined up this summer.
The team doing the one at WMSP are from the same team as the other performers at WMSP & Drayton - they recently got their own dinosaur who joined the team (Rocky, as seen there)

manwithstick said:
I think this guy was pulling the cowboy cart at DM yesterday. If so, he wasn’t a patch on the usual guys. His interaction was nowhere near as good (or fun) and he kept slipping in and out of accent!
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Thats a shame :( He is the poster boy for all the Frontier marketing
 
Elise said:
The dinosaur team that run for the Dino event at Drayton and this guy are two different groups :)

The dino event team who did Dino breakout are also very busy from what I saw with 4x parks lined up this summer.
The team doing the one at WMSP are from the same team as the other performers at WMSP & Drayton - they recently got their own dinosaur who joined the team (Rocky, as seen there)


Thats a shame :( He is the poster boy for all the Frontier marketing
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Is the dinosaur breakout team a separate company then the normal entertainment team at Drayton? If so what is there company? And I’m pretty sure the guy is with the Drayton Entertainment company
 
Ollie said:
Is the dinosaur breakout team a separate company then the normal entertainment team at Drayton? If so what is there company? And I’m pretty sure the guy is with the Drayton Entertainment company
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Correct ✓

The dinosaurs used during dinosaur breakout are from a group called "Dinosaur Experiences"

Looping use a separate team for their parks on standard - Rose events

But they also outsource for some events too - e.g the circus at Pwhills is a genuine circus.

Depends on the event and requirements. But all are external hire.
 
Hopefully new staff get the support needed to allow them to excel.

We all know how tough it can be in a new job. Dealing with KIds covers a multitude of situations and ranges. Stamina is also a significant matter, I find it hard enough to remain civil with members of my own family for any length of time - goodness knwos how they manage it with someone elses. (cue joikes about inlaws!!)

To maintain performance levels via several costumes changes in summer heat and thousands of kids when you are new to it... thats a big ask.
 
I just think compared to 2021 when they was more entertainment on offer.
Like there’s always been entertainment in Thomas land and now Lory joining Rory on the main stage and walking around.
But them other 2 are doing 4 different jobs a day with them dressed as Vikings, Cowboys, riding a bike round the resort playing music and bubbles coming out the back and then circus entertainers with doing tricks with the kids in adventure cove.
I use to love when they were maintenance workers in Thomas land.
 
Can confirm, working entertainments with the general public can be a challenging task. I've done it a lot as a voluenteer performer for charity.
Is definitely not an easy job to do and has its lows, but its really rewarding too.
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I just think compared to 2021 when they was more entertainment on offer.
Like there’s always been entertainment in Thomas land and now Lory joining Rory on the main stage and walking around.
But them other 2 are doing 4 different jobs a day with them dressed as Vikings, Cowboys, riding a bike round the resort playing music and bubbles coming out the back and then circus entertainers with doing tricks with the kids in adventure cove.
I use to love when they were maintenance workers in Thomas land.
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I feel like they do need to get a lot more entertainment staff, there did used to be a lot more entertainment staff at Drayton, on a normal day there used to be people on stilts going round Thomas Land
 
Ollie said:
I feel like they do need to get a lot more entertainment staff, there did used to be a lot more entertainment staff at Drayton, on a normal day there used to be people on stilts going round Thomas Land
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The cost for performers is quite high unfortunately - especially for every day.

Each company has their own costs and stuff so I can't delve ito that one, but its usually pay per performer.
 
Went to wmsp today. The Safari park was really good. Sealion show was good and enjoyed ice age and dinosaurs.

Theme park was disappointing. Three rides were not operating and several others operating below capacity partially rhino coaster operating at 50% and hurtling hippos several were being deliberately being left empty
The theme park area was looking bit neglected, ride ops were slow including just one operator on log flume and witnessed it getting stuck and one operator getting all riders off with no help. I would recommend wmsp but not the theme park.

Now that means all three looping group parks done this year!
 
We met lightning McQueen yesterday so being so close to WMSP we decided to drop in for a few hours before we needed to hit the road again. It’s sad to see the state of park. Not sure if we visited on an unusually quiet day but we left at 2 and it was very quiet. First difference we noticed was the entrance point. We have platinum passes and yet their scanning system is unable to scan the passes and so they are recording how many platinum guests visit by writing down the numbers on a piece of paper. There was no way to check if your pass was valid/in date or even belonged to you. Staff was very frustrated about this and expressed they didn’t understand why when it’s the same company that own Drayton.

We got off to a fantastic start and was told we could feed the giraffes for £5. If you have chance to do this. I would highly recommend. To clarify it’s £5 per branch that is only payable by card. It was an experience we have never done before and for my child, he said it was the best part of the day.

Adventure park had very little to offer. There was 2 closures that had been announced for the day but in reality, there was a few more than what was on the board. The whole adventure park feels as if you are stepping back in time …. It looks and feels outdated. Also for the first time in my life , I felt unsafe on a ride. I think the Rhino ride needs to be retired. The safety bar wouldn’t click and despite this, the attendant still sent us round despite the bar being very loose. I ended up having to hold my son to ensure he wouldn’t fly out on the harsh break run.

Now whilst I understand the animals are the main focus and attention of wmsp, I do feel that the rest of the park should meet the same standards. Especially when it is a popular tourist destination.

We had issues with checking my son’s height. I’m not sure how accurate the boards are but we was told my son was barely 1.2 when due to getting measured at guest services at dm via the medical measuring device , we know my son is 1.28 (so close to that magic 1.3). It seems odd that the park policies are to measure the children with this boards from a distance…. Some of the boards was accurate. It just seems like an outdated way which is something that hasn’t changed in 20+ years.

Due to yesterday’s impression , if we decided to renew our passes , I think we will only go for gold for Drayton.
 

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I think WMSP is a great safari park. It has some great things to do and visit.

I would like to see the fairground close. The rides are very old and it looks like a fairground tagged on rather than a theme park. I know it something that no other safari parks have, but it needs multi million investment. They could use this area for new safari experiences which is what most people go for. If we go, I would go for the safari park as I think the fairground is not worth the money. I haven't been this year, but if I do go I will for the safari park. Looking at going to Twycross this year as you can pay once and go for a year. The safari is fabulous along with the walkthrough experiences. Last time I was there half the rides were closed and the water ride had to be evacuated and people had to be rescued. The fairground should be closed down.
 
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