New entrance and gift shop at Edinburgh Zoo

On 15th June 2011, Edinburgh Zoo opened it's new entrance to visitors.  I went along to see it a few days later.

There's supposed to be a new way for visitors to queue up and pay, meaning less queuing times and happier people.  It should also mean it's easier for people to complete their details so that the RZSS can claim gift aid each time.

It was nice and quiet the first time I went to see the new entrance but the next time I was at the zoo, there were queues out of the door, so it's not obvious how successful this new building has been in that regard.

As for the rest of the space, it's just that...space.  There are pictures on the wall, lots of space and staff but there is little else to describe.  I'm really not sure what cost so much and took so much time.

Maybe it was the gift shop, which is on the other side of the building.  The idea is that the visitor enters on the right side of the building at the start of their day at the zoo and then at the end of the day they exit through the left hand side of the building, past the gift shop.

Past?  That's right, past the gift shop, not through it like it was before.  We've been so concerned that all the time and money was being spent on the gift shop and making it so that kids pressure their parents to buy everything they see on their way out...what a lovely surprise.  The gift shop is on the way out but visitors don't have to walk through it.  A genuinely pleasant surprise.


So what of the shops wares?

There is a lot of choice, from the silly to the serious and the expensive to the affordable.  There's even a section were things cost £1-£3.  It's only badges and things but it's great to have something that can be said 'yes' to.

There's educational materials, clothes, toys and even interesting 3D pictures.  All in all, it's not bad.  Was it worth all the money and trouble of the entrance being closed all that time?  Only time will tell.