Drusillas Park is located in East Sussex, short drive from the lovely coast. Our first time visit left me with ambivalent feelings. Some parts of it are really nice, but others are just run-down or just random. It has no apparent concept either: bit of a mix of everything, but not too original or exciting. The park tries really hard though: there are loads of extra summer activities, adopting options, be a keeper for a day and even birthday parties available. They definitely bring the best out of it.
The zoo
It’s a decent size zoo with a lot of monkeys and must-have meerkats and lemurs. Unfortunately, a lot of animals are behind a glass panel and some monkeys don’t seem to have enough space. The lemurs, however, being the mascot of the park, enjoy extra attention and living space as well as interaction with the visitors: you can take a stroll in their little habitat and pet them. Which is quite fun: the lemurs want to check your bags, pockets and even the buggy for food. Therefore, you are not allowed to take any food inside their place. (The lemurs will body search you anyway.) Lots of feeding times too.
The main theme park (Go Bananas, Go Wild, Maze)
This part of the park is really run down. The plastic bits are faded and outdated. Daddy got nearly stuck on the snake slide. The treasure hunt maze is proper scary (and run down too). My little boy was in tears when he tried to “save” me (awww) from entering a one of the dead ends of the maze with a mechanical talking parrot. We had to take him straight on the Thomas the Tank Engine ride. Three times.
Thomas mini train ride
Cute, but very short. Prepare yourself for queueing too. Kids get stickers too.
Get Wet
Best fun by far. You have water jets, ground geysers, twirling streams and spiraling sprays, slides. We had a real hard time to drag Bobcat away after spending almost an hour here. Take double sets of changing clothes! The slides are just a little bit too big for a 2 years old.
Hello Kitty Secret Garden
Good fun. Bobcat doesn’t mind just yet about “girly” looking things. He favours purple and pink colours and also likes cars. Double win. He loved driving around in the little electric car so we went for a few rides. Also enjoyed the tea cup ride, had to try both the blue and the pink tea cups, and the pink tea cup obviously performed better. 🙂
Good point for:
Having a decent changing room not only for little ones but for disabled adults too.
Bad point for:
Smoking areas. Not at all hidden. It’s a theme park for children!
There is a small shop for wasting some money for stuff the kids only want in the heat of the moment and breaks by the end of the day anyway. We didn’t eat here, but there’s a big pic nic area if you buy food here or take your own.
