Popular Shropshire family attraction launches events to celebrate 35th anniversary
Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World celebrates 35 years.
Set on the site of a former Christmas tree farm near Telford, Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World has grown from simple rural beginnings into one of the region’s most distinctive family days out. The attraction, led by a family of former dairy farmers, has spent three and a half decades carefully transforming the site near Telford into a home for exotic animals, dinosaurs and generations of family memories.
To celebrate turning 35, the zoo is inviting visitors to join them for a special May Bank Holiday weekend of festivities. From May 2 to 4, the attraction will host a ‘Big Birthday Bash’, filled with live music creating a lively backdrop as families explore the zoo, dinosaur trail and animal walkthroughs.
As the park closes to daytime visitors on the May 2 and 3, the celebrations will continue into the evening with ‘The Big Birthday Bash After Party’. These special ticketed events will feature live music and comedy, offering a relaxed, festival-style atmosphere in the unique setting of the zoo after hours.
Long before lemurs and capybaras arrived, the land was worked as a Christmas tree farm. The founders drew on their agricultural background as dairy farmers to steadily build the attraction, growing it year by year into the destination it is today. Joint owner Will Dorrell was the first to bring exotic animals to the site when he set up ‘Will’s Wild World’ on the farm in his early teens. Will now leads the organisation alongside his wife Becky and he was the main instigator in the zoo’s expansion into hosting one of the UK’s largest collections of animatronic dinosaurs.
Alongside the anniversary celebrations, the zoo has also announced major developments planned for 2026, signalling an exciting next chapter. A new, larger enclosure is set to be created for the zoo’s De Brazza’s Monkeys.
Dinosaur fans can also look forward to the arrival of new state-of-the-art animatronic dinosaurs, bringing even greater realism and movement to the prehistoric experience that has become a signature part of the park.
In addition, the attraction is developing a Native Species Conservation Area focused on supporting British wildlife. The new zone will aim to shine a spotlight on species closer to home and will feature striking giant bug sculptures, designed to help visitors learn more about the anatomy of the UK’s creepy crawlies in an engaging, larger-than-life way.
“Reaching 35 years is an incredibly proud moment for our family and our team. What started on a former Christmas tree farm has grown into something I could only have dreamed of in the early days when I started off with a few reptiles in ‘Will’s Wild World’,” said Owner Will Dorrell. “We’re so grateful to the generations of visitors who have supported us over the years. The ‘Big Birthday Bash’ is our way of saying thank you, and the new developments show how committed we are to the future of the zoo, our animals and conservation.”