Theme park enthusiasts have leapt to the defence of a North Yorkshire attraction that was recently dubbed the country’s worst, with TripAdvisor critics slamming it for “poor value” and “massive queues”.
Flamingo Land found itself at the unfortunate top spot of LatestDeals.co.uk’s list of the UK’s 10 worst theme parks last month. The ranking was based on a combination of Tripadvisor reviews, ticket prices, and average ride costs.
A whopping 54% of Tripadvisor write-ups for the Malton-based funfair, which boasts rollercoasters, rides for all ages, and conservation zoo projects, were less than impressed.
READ MORE: ‘I braved Alton Towers’ newest ride – I wish I’d had my German sausage after’
Entry fees kick off at £44.50, which is a fair bit steeper than the £29 you’d fork out for Alton Towers or Thorpe Park, leading some to grumble about not getting bang for their buck at Flamingo Land, where the cost per ride worked out at £1.27.
One scathing review from August on TripAdvisor said half the animal enclosures were bare, reports the Express.
Another disgruntled visitor said it was “not worth the time and effort the zoo is so run down and dirty virtually no animals out, rides breaking down constantly causing other rides to have huge queues..”
And a third customer said: “Spent £168 just to find the train around the site was not running and our favourite, the water flume not running, the F1 and motorcycle speed ride not running – even the monorail around the mandrills down to one garage only running resulting in long waiting times.”
(Image: Getty)
However, some visitors had nothing but praise for the park, with one individual passionately defending it against recent negative reviews. One said: “We must have picked a good day.. the park was empty! And it’s a Saturday! We walked straight onto every single ride.
“There is so much to do for kids, we went with our 9 year old and she had the best day ever! There were only two rides not working and they are stated on the website they are closed and have been all season.”
The reviewer also mentioned that the food was reasonably priced for a theme park and despite seeing “reviews about overflowing bins and dirty toilets”, they didn’t witness any of this and found the toilets to be “spotless”.
The zoo was also highly praised by the reviewer who noted that the animals “looked well looked after”.
Another review from earlier this month read: “Had a great time at flamingo land, kids loved it, Ron, operating swoosh air, was really kind and friendly. Would recommend flamingo land and will definitely come back next year.”
Flamingo Land has been contacted for comment.