Before you enter Yorkshire Wildlife Park you have to cut through The Hive a shopping area, entertainment and leisure complex in one!
We explored The Hive on the same day as the Zoo. There was an event on which meant we had all day to check out everything onsite. I have already listed my review on Yorkshire Wildlife Park but feel the Hive should be treated as a separate area as you would struggle to fit everything in one day and with The Hive having its own Hotel, you can really turn a trip to Doncaster into a long weekend.
You even have your own Amphitheatre with shows throughout the day for free!
Dinosaurs!
It is very clear that the theme of the area is Dinosaurs! And it is themed to perfection! With a play area and restaurant along with photo opportunities to enjoy, I am Dino tell you what we thought! Read on to find out what these explorers got upto!
Uproar! Play Barn
The first point of call is the Uproar Barn! £8 for Children and £1 for Adults for 90mins play!
My children have said it’s the best play area they have been to, and I will agree!
As their getting older (my twins are 6 when we visited) some play areas aren’t as challenging but the Uproar Barn has lots of slides, walls to climb and is alot bigger than you think with themed interactive games, set in Pangea where you can hear the roar of the dinosaurs, the sound of the Volcano rumbling which is bubbling away ready for an eruption. There’s lots of space to run around and explore plus the lighting is very dark and mysterious which adds to the theme as today we are going on an adventure!
There’s a small number of tables and comfortable chairs dotted around the play area but it works as each session lasts for 90mins before been cleaned and ready for another set of hatchlings!
You can buy food from the Café which is very reasonable for a play area. A small can of Pringles were £1.50 and Kids packed lunch was £6.25! We didn’t eat here as we were booked into the Evolution Restaurant next door afterwards, but it has everything you would expect to keep the kids happy!
It is very dark inside especially on the slides. it didn’t bother my own children but note that Uproar does offer SEND sessions where they turn the lights up and music/special FX down!
Have a look on their website and book in!
Uproar! Play Barn | Entertainment | The Yorkshire Hive (yorkshirewildlifepark.com)
Kids have already asked when they can go back!
Evolution Restaurant
I normally take pack lunch and snacks with me when we go out. For connivence and of course to keep costs low but as Evolution was a themed Restaurant, we thought let’s have a treat! Plus, they had already eaten everything we took with us!
From the moment you open the doors, you are transported to a mysterious island. The Ship has just been shipwrecked on Pangea and its explorers are ready to entertain you whilst you eat!
I was transported back to the holidays we had in Spain as kids. Where you would be taken on a coach to a dinner and dine experience. It was lovely! We had two Explorers entertaining us with a fusion of Dinosaurs and Dragons, magic tricks and stories interacting with all guests it really is an experience that I haven’t experienced before in Yorkshire.
The entertainment was Roar some! But the service is poor! We were served 45mins after we were seated with drinks, and we got to see the same routine again before we even finished our food.
We ordered 3 pizzas and 4 drinks which cost us around £55 we thought this would be the fastest option on the menu thank goodness we didn’t order steak! The bill arrived within mins of us telling the server we didn’t have time for dessert! Funny isn’t it! Well not really, one child fell asleep and didn’t eat! Luckily it was pizza, so they ate as they were pushed around the Zoo!
The food was tasty and even though alot higher priced than the rest of the park (Kids meals are £8 and you don’t get a drink with it) you do get to sit down as a family and be immersed in a child friendly Jurassic Park. I have been to Universal Studios and ate in their Dinosaur Restaurant onsite and can say this was a better experience for the kids who enjoy Dinosaurs. It really is lovely!
We paid for an experience which should have left us in awe of the entertainment. Instead, we remember just waiting around. It’s great that the restaurant is themed but hope the front of house team stops acting like a Stegosaurus and ups their game as they are seriously holding back what would be a brilliant evening!
Would we go again? I don’t think we would! Even though the food was lovely and some great choices on the menu, the time we waited was just too long. I do think where you are seated makes a huge difference to service. We should have saved our money and eaten in the soft play area which was cheaper and maybe came here for ice cream and the entertainment!
