World of Dinosaurs — Attraction in East Hertfordshire

We attanded the Dinos After Dark event for my son's birthday. The dinosaurs themselves are fabulous and on the whole I'd recommend the event. The major downside was that it was considerably oversold. The queue to get in was very overwhelming for my autistic children and even using the accessible entrance put us into a holding pen that was so overcrowded they were asking to go home before we'd even got inside. Staff weren't wearing any sort of high visibility clothing so it was incredibly difficult to find anyone to ask for support, especially in the car park/queue area, and it was impossible to move in the holding pen so we stood no chance of seeking assistance. When we got through the gate it was a challenge to find a less crowded space to calm them but after about 30 minutes it was less of a swarm and they did begin to settle. I heard many parents say they wished they'd put some sort of light on their child to keep track of them as it was so busy and they were anxious about losing track of them, especially in the dark. Then once inside the queues for the dinosaur meet and greets were in excess of 20 minutes each time. The queue for the train was 35 minutes. There was nowhere near enough seating for the UV puppet shows which meant people were standing with children on their shoulders and you couldn't see the stage at all. It was difficult to get photographs in the World of Dinosaurs area because there were so many people. This event has the potential to be something spectacular, a real experience to remember. But numbers need to be scaled back, entrance arrangements reconfigured particularly for accessible entry, and staff made more easily identifiable in a crowd. We have always taught our children to find a worker for help if they lose sight of us and point out the uniforms, but at night the dark purple is not easy to spot as an adult so a scared child would have no hope. We spent the whole evening clinging to their hands both to keep them safe and to protect their space to prevent further overwhelm. The other possibility would be allocating a night specifically to SEND families where numbers are kept lower but I have no idea if the practicalities of providing proof of SEND at booking are feasible. I don't want this review to put people off but for families like ours, you definitely need to be aware of the...

A good place for a day out, but take your own food.

There is a good selection of animals here. Although the habitat spaces are not the most generous, the animals seemed healthy and relaxed.

There is a good playground with a converted fire engine and train engine.

There is a small softplay area but I would not consider it a highlight. This area is not well managed, half-full of buggies despite signs on the door saying not to bring them in (staff not bothering to enforce). The toddler area is usually full of older children. There are no vegan food options in the softplay cafe (staff confirmed) despite the menu clearly advertising that there are.

There was one vegan option available in the main cafe. There were not really any healthy food choices for children and the only diet drink on offer was coke, the rest were all the full sugar options. The quality of the cooked food was very low and prices high. Significant work is needed to improve the offering here. The smaller food outlets like dirty fries stand and icecream place were all closed, probably due to being off season.

The Dino Park section is excellent, one of the best I've seen, if a little scary for some small children. It is worth paying for the short train ride around this. It also has a good Dino gift shop and sandpit attached.

There looked like a paddling pool area too, which was of course closed for the winter.

I'd certainly visit again on occasion but next time I will be sure to take all our...

Great for a family day out - kids will love it, and so will parents.

The World of Dinosaurs has many different types of dinosaurs, and some of them even move. Very engaging for kids and parents. There is also a train ride, which is about 7/8 min long, and it goes around the whole of World of Dinosaurs. The price for the train ride is £2 per person.

After that, you can stop over for lunch as they have quite a few variety of restaurants.

The next stop is the zoo. Here, there are many different types of animals from all over the world. The main attractions are the Lions. However, I enjoyed watching the monkeys the most. They are very interactive and intelligent.

Dotted around, there are play areas for kids, and the massive slides seem to be the most preferred for slightly older kids. For very young kids, there is a soft play area, but you have to book in advance.

We had 6 people, and the cost was around £130/£135. The parking is free.

Best to wear comfortable clothing and breathable shoes/trainers/sandals/Crocs because you'll be walking around for most of the day.

Overall, this is a family-friendly day out and very enjoyable for both kids and parents. Fun time, one not...