Folly Farm

We visited while on holiday in Parkdean Holiday Park. Me, my partner and my 1 year old.
We had to purchase our tickets online and then book a place for the day we wanted to attend. You receive an email of them both which you are asked to show on arrival.
We arrived to sign posts to park 2m's away from the next car which was absolutely fine, there was enough space to do so. Except some cars obviously didn't follow the rules and we had someone park right next to us!.
Entrance was split into distanced rows to keep customers apart, the queues went down fast because there is a limit on how many people can attend the farm.
Everything is one way system, even through the animals like the barn and the penguins.
My daughter absolutely loved the barn animals, the fence's are low enough for my daughter to be able to see all the animals while sat in her pushchair. There's nothing worse than lifting her up constantly to see the animals so this was fantastic and well thought out!

All of the animals look happy and well looked after, staff were around a lot to check on them and to check the distancing rules were being followed. Hand sanitiser was everywhere and everything was being cleaned.

The indoor play area was amazing, super big and again a one way system. The tables are spread out so you're 2m's away from the next table. I had a slight concern that my 1 year old wasn't allowed in the little 2 years+ softplay bit but allowed in the bigger one designed for under 5's. The under 5's big play area has a big, red, circle slide which she was far too small to go down and i wouldn't of fit down with her.

The vintage arcade was super fun, we did a few rides which were great especially when you have a young toddler, there usually isn't much you can do with them but she enjoyed the mini waltzers!
You can also exchange your tokens at the shop if you don't spend them all.

We did the tractor ride at the end of the day, the last one is at 3.30pm! The lady who drove us around was brilliant, told us all about the animals and little stories about them.

We throughly enjoyed our visit and will definitely visit again!

We booked a short break to Folly Farm caravan site, the price was right and we wanted to take the caravan away at least once this year. We paid once to get into folly fam and then could go back an for all week as much as we wanted which was amazing for the children. The caravan site exceeded our expectations by miles. The pitches are the biggest we have ever seen, all hardstanding, all fully serviced with water, waste, electric, TV ariel and free wifi. We reversed the caravan onto the pitch and was able to leave the car in front of the van to and still be on the pitch. The warden Lewis was such a lovely man and he and his wife couldn't do enough to help us. We didn't have a waste water pipe and he just went and got one for us. The site was immaculately clean, the toilet block was one of the best we've seen and had alcohol gel at the entrance and exit. We did stay at this site in the worst possible week of August and had storm Frances to battle with but we still had a great time and suppose it added to the adventure. Folly Farm was also great. The one way systems, the hand gel at every entrance and exit made you feel safer even during this uncertain time. Will definatley be going back. We also took two teenagers with us and they also enjoyed so fun for the whole family.

We visit every year and are never disappointed. I used Tesco vouchers to pay for admission as it is quite expensive. My little one loves looking at the animals both in the barn and the zoo. We enjoyed a tractor and trailer ride which was free. The parks that are there to play in are brilliant with a big variety, only negative about them they are quite big with a few entrances and exits and it is difficult to watch your children when they are playing, my son loves them though. He also enjoyed the pedal tractors. The indoor fairground was closed due to covid 19 (I was secretly glad as I always spend a bomb in there). My son enjoyed the go karts and diggers, we didn't go on the big wheel as the queue was long. The diggers were being cleaned theroughly after every use. We had food from the burger place by the soft play area, was very nice, quite expensive as is usual in these kinds of places. Plenty of snack outlets around the place. You have to leave via the gift shop, it is a really lovely shop selling all sorts of things from toys to household items. Will definately be returning for another day out.

There was literally nothing to see or do, it was pouring with rain and most of the attractions were close due to covid. We saw hardly any animals as they were all sheltering from the rain and the only place to go was the shop which quickly filled up. We have been before and had a great time but this time we only stayed for less than an hour and then went because the area got too crowded and wasnt safe. I would certainly not recommend going there when it is wet as there is literally nothing to do and it was a complete waste of money.

This place has it all! I had fond memories of visiting as a kid but I don't think it was half as cool as now, no zoo then! We live near a safari park and have to say some of the animals were kept in better conditions there as the park near us, clearly they do invest in good facilities such as the penguin pool equipment and it was noticable. Great views of the lions. The farm area was also immaculate, I have never seen a farm park look so clean and I have been to lots! The playground with the Jolly Roger boat and the combine harvesters and tractors was awesome, again best adventure playground we've ever seen. The indoor vintage fair was a treat and the rides have been lovingly restored to their former glory, long time since I have seen a cake walk like that! We went on the big wheel (bit foggy for a view unfortunately!) The go karts and the diggers which were so much fun. My son was in love with the mini train and the carousel, we probably spent another £10 in the fair and on the rides. The tractor ride was free and very informative. All in all a fantastic full day of entertainment. We did spend quite a lot but we got the entrance price on Tesco club card points so it was 'free', so happy they were in the scheme. Felt it was value for money as there is so much quality entertainment on offer particularly for our sons age (3). They should think about a themed hotel/self catering on site because actually there is almost too much to do in one day! Think we did see a campsite. We'll be back if we are out this way again!

To state from the outset, Follys Farm is good at what it does and our kids of 5 and 7 did have a good time. Park generally well kept - a bit tired in places but favourable comparisons to most similar places we have been.

Broadly, it is a park with lots of outdoor playgrounds; a very good indoor play area; some indoor vintage fairground rides; a couple of outdoor rides, plus ferris wheel; and a small / medium sized zoo with a few A list animals (lions, giraffe, penguin enclosure); and some farmyard animals.

On meeting the description of a good family day out, I'd give it 4 or 5 stars, but felt obliged to review at 3 stars as consider it to be significantly overpriced. It is £75 entry for a family of 4. Entry only, no rides at all. Let that sink in. £75 for some playgrounds and an average zoo. Quite what adults are paying £20 a pop for I'm unclear. Every single ride is monetised, and as adults have to accompany young children at £1 per ride, it is £4 a pop. 5 rides takes the day out to effectively £100. And if anyone has ever been to a funfair with kids, they just want to go from one ride to another. Factor in food and a visit to gift shop it is a £150+ day out and that is grossly overpriced for what it is. That is theme park prices, and not a roller coaster in sight. Living in Devon, equivelent venues are 30-40% cheaper with advance booking incentives. Pembrokeshire does seem overpriced in general, to be fair. But felt like the whole experience was about maximising profit to the detriment of the consumer.

Don't think it is justified and we were left feeling really short changed. I'm sure the PR guys will respond with the usual value for money response, but I'm sorry it is not affordable or value for money.

Booked up for a 5 day break and was 50/50 about going to folly farms under the current circumstances. The Animal attractions were all fabulous. The remaining was at best poorly managed. Only 2 food venues open at peak times for lunch with 3 staff serving at the main dining hall meant a 45 minute queue to get food. Queue to get on the carousel was 30 minutes. You had one staff member, operating, loading up, unloading and sanitising each gondola. Go karts had one operator, no social distancing and no reminding to sanitise hand before entering the go kart area, steering wheels and karts were not sanitised between each use. The tractor ride around the farm was on the notice board departing every 20 mins. What it didn’t say was that you had not done anything to manage the additional capacity issue you would have with being able to only take 1/5th of the capacity resulting in long queues and frustrated customers.The day Previous to this we had attended another local attraction Heatherton which was completely on point. Two staff members operating every activity to allow for a speedy safe operation. I am assuming that as this was the first week back in operation that it was a trial to see if the staff numbers were sufficient and hopefully noticing the queues, changes can be made to allow for a more pleasant experience while maintaining a safe environment.

We were a family of 6 adults and 2 toddlers and it cost around £150 which we thought was expensive but that does seem to be the rate in similar places. We got there early and parking wasn’t a problem. No queue to get in. Schools were back so it was quieter. We loved the animals. The Piranhas seemed to be very crammed in and a few people commented on this. We took our own sandwiches and snacks. We did buy coffees and ice cream and again for the size of our party this wasn’t cheap. The children loved the soft play but there was puddles of water where they had cleaned it. We paid to go on the big wheel at £1 per person. The outdoor play areas were also good. We stayed until about 4:00 and then the gift shop was busy. Overall we had a lovely day out. We would visit again but not for a while. I think I read if you go very late in the day the last hour or so it’s free.

Having visited on many occasions, today's visit, all of 3 hours, has got to be one of our worst experiences. Whilst we prepared for what we knew would be a rainy day, Folly Farm itself had not taken this into consideration. There were no covered facilities to eat for anybody, only takeaways to buy food , presumably to eat standing in the rain. It was shocking to see toddler's and small children crying and wet because of the cold and rain. We ourselves had a 4 year old, wrapped up against the weather bit still upset because she was cold. We left early having not seen many animals and spent most of the time in the barn area. We complained to the duty manager but he said they were following government guidelines. Whilst l appreciate that there are covid restrictions in place, no thought had gone into what would happen on a wet day. We are in Wales after all. There is no provision to cancel because tickets are booked in advance an maybe taking the money is the most important thing?? In addition, they sold £10 of tokens online for rides that never opened. So no rides , many things closed, no dry facilities yet full price charged. The cost is not excessive, upkeep of animals is expensive, but in these circumstances it s unacceptable. It's not the rain that was the problem , it was the lack of planning for that eventually. There are lots of areas that could have been turned into covered areas with marquees etc The car park was relatively full when we arrived but when we left at 1pm so had most people, doubtlessly as disappointed as we were.

Despite the dismissive and condescending manner of their PR rep I have witnessed first hand how over crowded this place is…. No matter how much they protest the opposite is true.

In addition I disagree with the copy and past reply to the comment any reviewer makes regarding not being over priced. Perhaps you’re in a position to easily spend £100+ on half a day out, not all of us are.

Our experience was disappointing, mainly due to the over crowding of indoor areas, unpleasant experience of trying to find somewhere to sit down to eat and struggling to see any of the exhibits.

Should of known better than to go to such a venue in Aug though so I take the responsibility for that 😆