Families enjoying their Easter holidays have hit out at Belfast Zoo for poor management after many had to wait extensive periods of time to enter the site.
Those who pre-booked tickets were told to wait in line with people who were hoping to secure walk-in places, despite a fast-track line normally being in place.
Belfast Zoo said 6,000 people attended the site on Easter Monday, and that a fast-track queue was in place throughout for those with accessibility needs and Zoo members.
Read more: Belfast Zoo experiencing another busy day as motorists warned of delays
There was a heavy build up of traffic in the area on Easter Monday and Tuesday, with Monday seeing delays on the Antrim Road in both directions.
Reports on social media show people were forced to wait at least an hour to enter the zoo site with further waits for attractions inside.
Aimee Hayes was at the zoo on Easter Monday morning with her two children and her partner.
Arriving at around 10.40am - 20 minutes before their pre-booked arrival slot of 11am to 12pm - the family had to wait for over 40 minutes in line before being allowed into the zoo.
On arrival, they quickly found out the queue stretched from the zoo's front entrance to the far side of the car park.
"We got there 20 minutes before our time slot so I thought happy days we're really early and they've only opened, there will probably be barely any people here," Aimee told Belfast Live.
"We stayed on the right hand path and were walking around towards the door, we didn't even notice the queue until somebody in front of us crossed the road and started walking backwards.
"We looked and the queue was from the door right around to the other end of the car park. We couldn't believe it, we didn't think it would be as jam packed. They had a fast track entrance but there was nobody at it, everybody was just in the one queue.
"You would assume there would be a queue for people who've already paid and another queue for customers just going on a whim, but we were all in the same queue.
"We were standing there for a good 40 minutes waiting to get in. The kids were swinging off me and getting bored and everything, and we hadn't even entered the gates yet."
Once inside the zoo, Aimee brought her children Dylan, six, and five-year-old Emily to get their faces painted but had to wait another hour.
She added: "I said to my partner we would go there first to get it out of the way. The queue for face painting was outside the door but we didn't realise there was still a queue inside the building.
"We were stood in there for a good hour and 10 minutes. It was insane, bearing in mind we'd just queued for 40 minutes to get in.
"We were actually really disappointed with what activities were on offer too. We were expecting better for the extra stuff they had on, but it just didn't really seem worth the trip."
Taking to social media, another person who attended Belfast Zoo on Easter Monday shared a video of the long queue in the car park.
They travelled from Co Armagh and said they waited in traffic for 50 minutes to be presented with the extensive line.
Another zoo visitor on Monday posted on social media saying they had tried to visit after booking tickets online.
They waited for one hour in a queue to get into the car park, followed by a two hour wait to get into the zoo itself. In the end, they gave up on their trip and have asked for a refund.
A spokesperson for Belfast Zoo said: “Easter Monday is traditionally the busiest day of the year at Belfast Zoo, and this year was no exception.
“The majority of visitors followed the recommendation to pre-book their tickets in advance, although some tickets were subsequently cancelled or rescheduled to an alternative date.
“With the good weather resulting in a large number of people arriving on site without tickets, and to avoid disappointment, a decision was taken to release remaining tickets for sale on the day, resulting in an overall attendance of almost 6,000 visitors – within previous Easter attendance levels.
“Staff worked as quickly as possible to reduce waiting times and admit online bookings within their allocated ticket time, as well as processing additional ticket sales. A fast-track queue was in place throughout, for those with accessibility needs and Zoo members.
“The Zoo car park does fill up very quickly over Easter, and visitors are strongly encouraged to consider public transport when visiting. Staff have been advising those arriving at the Zoo by car of alternative options when the car park is full, and the PSNI have been working with the Zoo team to manage traffic flow around the Zoo entrance.
“We acknowledge the frustration of those who had to queue for some time to enter the Zoo on Monday, and are sorry for the inconvenience. Zoo management will be reviewing the visitor experience to see what lessons can be learned for future busy periods, and to consider whether any further action may be required.”
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