@snerkler should be able to help
Tbh it depends. Generally speaking I prefer YWP, not just because it’s only 35mins away but because 99% of the animals can be taken without any glass, fencing or other obstruction. However, this does depend on the animals playing ball and being in the right place in the enclosure. That being said every time I’ve been (which must be approaching 20 times if not more) I’ve been able to take unobstructed pics. I would advise going to the Lemurs and Squirrel Monkeys at feeding times to make sure they’re out though. IMO they’ve made a bit of a mess of the lemur enclosure. The new house is great apart from the fact it’s got a very large roof which the lemurs like to congregate on, meaning they’re difficult to see and taking pics is a bit pointless, hence why it’s best to see them at feeding time when you know they’re going to be off the roof. Also they’ve cut far too many trees and branches down imo meaning the enclosure is quite sparse in comparison to what it used to be.
The Tigers are also far lazier than they used to be now they’re grown up and since they’ve split them up from their mum they tend to pace next to the enclosure that she’s in.
Despite the couple of negatives all in all it’s a great park.
Chester is A LOT bigger and as a result has a lot more variety of animals, some main ones being elephants, Jaguars and penguins. Oh and Tapirs, my wife loves tapirs
Enclosures are much more split as to whether you have a clear view or have to view through glass or a fence. Also, as it’s so vast there’s a lot of walking involved if you want to see everything and as a result you don’t have the same amount of time to be patient waiting for the animals to stop sleeping or getting into a part of the enclosure which is more optimal for photos.
Again though, on the whole it’s a fantastic park and there are some good opportunities for pics.
Thanks for all the replies so far guys, I would always avoid a good zoo in the school hols as a matter of course tbh........
I enjoy zoo shooting, but only if I can make the animal look like it was in the wild and not obvs behind bars....
TBH it’s not always that bad during the school hols, just depends on times and weather. Going during the week in school times can actually be worse as you get large school parties. At weekends I tend to get to the YWP for opening time and you can get round most of the park in a couple of hours, before it starts getting too busy. After which you can go back and focus more on one or two animals.
At both Chester and YWP you can get pictures which aren’t obvious they were taken at a Wildlife Park, if the animals play ball of course
Obviously it’s not going to look like you’re in the middle of the Masai Mara, but you can get it so that there’s no man made structures etc in the shot