Pettitts Animal Adventure Park – Norfolk!

I remember visiting (and enjoying) Pettitts Animal Adventure Park as a child myself and then absolutely year’s ago taking Florence with a new born Jimmy for their first and only trip there. I’m not sure why we never went back but for whatever reason it simply wasn’t on my radar and whenever people have mentioned it the idea hasn’t stuck. Until now… Friends were going this week and Posie and I joined them in what turned out to be an absolutely tremendous day where we had lots of fun but unfortunately that was despite a lot of niggles. We will be back but it’s not my first choice for a day out and that’s down ultimately to cost!

Pettitts is expensive from the off with ticket prices being a staggering £18.50 and £17.50 for adults and children over two respectively. It may seem in line with other places on the face of it however, most of the attractions we visit regularly like Roarr! or Wroxham Barns have staggered entry prices depending on the time of year and day. Mid week term time at Roarr! right now for instance is only £9.95 which seems far more reasonable when they know that they won’t be staffing the park to full staff capacity, or running ALL of the attractions inside it. Pettitts is this price come whatever the day and that I find a little short sighted, I’d be far more likely to book with my baby mid week if there was some sort of discount. Added onto this entry price is a 50 pence booking fee per ticket which immediately got my back up. This is per ticket and not per booking so for goodness sake have some common sense and just make the tickets 50 pence more in the first place, let’s call a spade a spade here!

However, my friends told me that once you have visited once you do get a return ticket to come back half price (we did) and that this then continues with each visit (not put to the test yet) which is far more inviting especially as I assume this half price ticket could be used on a weekend or school holiday day. However, I was left feeling miffed that they didn’t just open with the tickets being the cheaper value, it would make me far more likely to consider a visit in the first place in this current financial climate, I mean come on Pettitts, read the room!

We did have a wonderful visit, as I mentioned, and enjoyed all that is on offer included in the ticket price of which there is plenty! Lots of fair ground rides suitable for tiny tots, a little train which whizzes around the park and a plethora of play equipment. On top of this there is crazy golf, interesting animals, a soft play and a sand play area which is fun but could use a water element in my opinion. So then, what’s not to like I hear you ask? Well, interspersed with ALL of these wonderful things which come within the ticket price are simply droves of “pay extra for” activities which all look very exciting. Ride on jeeps in one area and electric cars in another (similar to those included in the ticket price at Roarr!), games to shoot water, toys to pick up with a claw and more… Much more. TOO much more! As a parent I think we’d all agree we want to pay our ticket price and have no hidden extras but at Pettitts there are so many it made me feel like I was saying no to Posie every five minutes. It took the shine off and made it feel a little stressful. Had I had all the children with me it would have felt even more annoying. Ho, hum…

There are shows on at a dedicated theatre which I was sent messages on Instagram about to say how great they are but we wouldn’t have known… Even though we paid full whack the park wasn’t running at top speed and no shows were on along with having not many staff manning the rides (I assume they’d have more on a busier day but perhaps I’m wrong?) meaning we had to wait quite some time for some rides as there weren’t enough staff to man all of the ones the visitors wanted to be on. This is something I’d understand if we’d had a discounted entry on account of it being mid week term time. In my opinion, if you’re going to charge top rates then you need to provide a top rate service and Pettitts didn’t.

Despite this the majority of staff we encountered, though thin on the ground, were really helpful and kind and fun. No issues with them at all but… There was a girl working on the ice cream stand which left a bitter, rather than sweet taste in my mouth and as it was the last thing we did it left the lasting impression. A Mum in front of me had her son in a wheelchair with her who wanted a scoop ice cream cone (the waffle cones) but with a whippy (less expensive whippy I might add) ice cream in it. She explained to the ice cream girl that it was his sensory processing issues and that actually he really didn’t need much whippy ice cream at all, just a tiny bit in fact, but it had to be that cone with it. The girl was unmoving. The answer was, over and over “I’m not allowed to do that!” The other Mum pointed out that she was happy to pay the higher price for the higher price ice cream, more if necessary but she really needed it to be that way and as he son got more and more upset, unable to regulate his emotions she also explained this to the ice cream girl too. Ice cream girl just said no. She also refused to call her manager. The other mother was nearly in tears so I stepped in to try and help. I offered reasoning that the Mum was willing to pay whatever it took and it suggested that it couldn’t be that hard to use a scoop cone with a whippy ice cream but again and again she just wouldn’t budge. Despite the child’s frustrations and the mother’s near tears. In the end the Mum bought a scoop ice cream without the ice cream and a whippy separately and transferred the ice cream herself. Seemed bonkers. Was incredibly bad customer service. And actually, it was downright unkind.

I didn’t much feel like buying an ice cream then but Posie was looking forward to it so we did and as we sat down near the other family the Mum thanked me when we left for sticking up for her. I shouldn’t have had to and it really irked me that Pettitts wouldn’t accommodate a family with extra needs like that. The other Mum said nothing similar has ever happened to her anywhere else so it’s definitely an issue Pettitts need to look out for.

We will be back with our half price tickets, a much more reasonable price for entry, but it’s not my first choice for a Norfolk day out despite all the good bits. A shame really.

The park is super clean, with many merits but Pettitts have a lot to learn! Perhaps they should visit Roarr! for some tips!