At the end of the summer, we treated Zac and Dylan to a day out somewhere. As Zac was starting school soon, we decided to go somewhere that would appeal to him. His favourite animals are monkeys, so off to Monkey World we went! I thought I would do a review this week about the place, although we visited a couple of weeks ago, it is open all year round- so perhaps pop along one weekend or even in the week if your children aren't quite school age yet.
Monkey world is Nr Wareham in Dorset and is open all year round except for Christmas Day. The ticket prices are reasonable; you are looking at paying £37 for a family ticket. It is £11.95 for an adult and under 3's are free. A full list of ticket prices and a map is on their website.
Throughout Monkey World you will find toilets, catering areas (although not all of these are open every day all year round) and play park areas. Those were my boy's favourite part to Monkey World. I did think this was fantastic as children's attention spans are fairly short, so when they have had enough of looking at our monkey friends, they could go and burn off some energy and monkey about themselves for a bit!
The boys went bananas for the park right at the end and top of Monkey World as it was huge and full of so much fun play bits to explore and climb, even my husband had a go. He claimed he was showing Zac and Dylan it was perfectly safe once they chickened out of climbing higher, I wasn't convinced so whisked them off and away to check out some more rope and wooden built equipment.
The attraction was well kept and had plenty to offer children. There was a huge variety of monkeys, from chimpanzees to orangutang and even a lemur walk-through to enjoy. An added bonus was going through the Woodlands walk and seeing some deer and birds up close and personal. It really felt as if we were connecting with nature and the wider world around us, having fun whilst having an educational day out.
One of the most fantastic things about Monkey world is that it is so informative, each station teaches you about the inhabitants and there are talks on in different areas throughout the day- so keep an eye out on that. Monkey World is known for its amazing work on rehabilitating apes that need it. It's an Ape Rescue centre and on the forefront of their website, the message of what their goal is really stands out;
"Monkey World assists governments around the world to stop the smuggling of primates from the wild. At the Centre refugees of this illegal trade as well as those that have suffered abuse or neglect are rehabilitated into natural living groups"
If you want to learn more about this amazing place, then please do go and check out the monkeys yourself. You're not just seeing some Monkeys behind bars, you are seeing hope, fun and characters too.
The highlight of my trip has to be when my 2 year old placed his hand against the glass where a chimpanzee was sat. He was not a happy monkey and whacked the glass, making poor Dylan jump back a mile! Dylan placed his hand back and was not happy about being told off by the chimpanzee, so soon enough the chimpanzee charged from the other side of the room and whacked the glass again. Even my husband stepped back at this point and wanted to make an escape! It is truly amazing seeing these characters up close and personal, I think they are so fascinating.
Another brilliant aspect of the trip is it had a surprise soft play area. We were on a mission to find lunch, so we went to the cafe next to the gift shop. To our surprise, there was a lovely little soft play aimed at younger children. I grabbed a table right next to it, let the boys run around whilst I was watching them and the husband grabbed us some delicious food. It was a great little element to the day out; eating with children and getting them to sit still is a nightmare so to have that little section meant that our lunch could be eaten in peace and quiet. Until they didn't share the toys.
To create your own family memories, go take a trip to Monkey World in Dorset for a truly worth it, incredible family day out.
Have you ever been to Monkey World? What did you think of it? Where would you recommend us visit next? Pop a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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Monkey world is Nr Wareham in Dorset and is open all year round except for Christmas Day. The ticket prices are reasonable; you are looking at paying £37 for a family ticket. It is £11.95 for an adult and under 3's are free. A full list of ticket prices and a map is on their website.
The attraction is laid out very well with easy to follow paths, but you get a map on entrance anyway if you're prone to getting a little lost or want to make sure you don't miss anything- which is exactly what I like to do!
Throughout Monkey World you will find toilets, catering areas (although not all of these are open every day all year round) and play park areas. Those were my boy's favourite part to Monkey World. I did think this was fantastic as children's attention spans are fairly short, so when they have had enough of looking at our monkey friends, they could go and burn off some energy and monkey about themselves for a bit! 
The boys went bananas for the park right at the end and top of Monkey World as it was huge and full of so much fun play bits to explore and climb, even my husband had a go. He claimed he was showing Zac and Dylan it was perfectly safe once they chickened out of climbing higher, I wasn't convinced so whisked them off and away to check out some more rope and wooden built equipment. 
One of the most fantastic things about Monkey world is that it is so informative, each station teaches you about the inhabitants and there are talks on in different areas throughout the day- so keep an eye out on that. Monkey World is known for its amazing work on rehabilitating apes that need it. It's an Ape Rescue centre and on the forefront of their website, the message of what their goal is really stands out; "Monkey World assists governments around the world to stop the smuggling of primates from the wild. At the Centre refugees of this illegal trade as well as those that have suffered abuse or neglect are rehabilitated into natural living groups"
If you want to learn more about this amazing place, then please do go and check out the monkeys yourself. You're not just seeing some Monkeys behind bars, you are seeing hope, fun and characters too. 
The highlight of my trip has to be when my 2 year old placed his hand against the glass where a chimpanzee was sat. He was not a happy monkey and whacked the glass, making poor Dylan jump back a mile! Dylan placed his hand back and was not happy about being told off by the chimpanzee, so soon enough the chimpanzee charged from the other side of the room and whacked the glass again. Even my husband stepped back at this point and wanted to make an escape! It is truly amazing seeing these characters up close and personal, I think they are so fascinating. Another brilliant aspect of the trip is it had a surprise soft play area. We were on a mission to find lunch, so we went to the cafe next to the gift shop. To our surprise, there was a lovely little soft play aimed at younger children. I grabbed a table right next to it, let the boys run around whilst I was watching them and the husband grabbed us some delicious food. It was a great little element to the day out; eating with children and getting them to sit still is a nightmare so to have that little section meant that our lunch could be eaten in peace and quiet. Until they didn't share the toys.
To create your own family memories, go take a trip to Monkey World in Dorset for a truly worth it, incredible family day out.
Have you ever been to Monkey World? What did you think of it? Where would you recommend us visit next? Pop a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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