Chessington World Of Adventure Theme Park, Surrey

Last weekend my boyfriend and I took the day off work and went to Chessington World of Adventures.

Chessington World of adventures is two days out for the price of one combining a theme park with rides and attractions along side a zoo with lots of animals.

My Day!

Travel:

We got the train to Clapham Junction where we changed trains and jumped on one to Chessington South. I was amazed at how quickly we arrived it only took 20mins, from the station Chessington is only a 10 minute walk away and is clearly sign posted.

The park opens at 10am - 5pm in the week and 10am - 6pm weekends.

Tickets:

I quite often find that many newspapers or shops have tokens to buy one get one free entr to Chessington, so it is always worth keeping an eye out for these sort of offers.

Adult Tickets midweek are £18.00 at the weekend bought online £22.00 at the weekend bought on the door £29.00
Child Ticket (under 12 years) are £15.00 at the weekend bought online £15.00 at the weekend bought on the door £19.00
Group passes and familt tickets are also avalible see the website for more information.
Zoo Only Tickets:
Adults: £6
Child: £5
Lockers:

The first thing we did was to get rid of our bags; you can’t take them on a lot of rides although you can leave your bags on the floor beside the ride this is not very secured. The lockers cost £1 but I have to say was surprised when you didn’t get your £1 back after use, this meant every time I had to get something out of the locker I had to pay another £1 I spent £4 throughout the day!

Layout:

Chessington is laid out with different areas, you can buy a map for 50p with your tickets so that you can find your way around, I did buy a map and then lost it but I don’t think you really need one because everything is sign posted.

Transylvania:

We headed straight for Transylvania and took a seta on the Bubble Works! I used to love this ride when I was a child and I have to say it is just as good. When you enter the Bubble Works you are instantly transported into a Bubble Works factory with great colourful pictures all over the walls and some great fun music playing. You then get into a small boat and drift of on the water through the bubble works factory. It is set out really nicely with lots of things to see at every turn. The best bit for me was towards the end of the ride where you go through water fountains that go right over your head.

Next was something a bit more scary the Vampire Ride, this is a great rollercoaster. Just the walk onto the ride it’s self is quite scary as you walk down a dark path and are greeted with the haunting sound of an organ. The ride is designed so that you sit in Vampire chairs with your feet dangling. It is a fast ride but quite tame so younger riders can enjoy the experience as well, I really liked it when the ride goes through a tunnel.

Pirates Cove:

Next Stop is the Pirate Ship Ride, this is swinging pirate ship ride, I have to say this does make my stomach churn a bit. I think is because the sensation is very similar to sea sickness.

If you are not so keen on the sea sickness then another ride in this area is the seastorm aimed at the younger rider. We didn't go on this ride but it looked very cute with mini boats you can sit in and go around.

Beano World:

Although this has been designed with children in mind we still had some great fun on the Dodgems. I know the idea with dodgems is that you dodge each other but I have to say I think we did do a lot of bumping instead.

Another great ride was Billy's Whizzer a giant swing, when we got on little did we know what while you re flying around in the air you also get squirted with water. I am pleased to say that I managed to stay dry but my boyfriend was not quite so lucky, he got hit in the face every time and was soaking when he got off!

Other attractions in this area included:

Bash Street Bus & Dennis's Madhouse

Mystic East:

Dragon Falls is great fun ride, but don't go on it if you don't like getting wet! For this ride you sit in boats and get swept along a river and up quite high then plumpet forward into the water and get wet! It is really good fun and one of my favourite rides.

Also in the Mystic East is a big wheel entiltled Peeking Heights! We didn't go on thiss but i should imagine you get a great view of the park from the top.

Forbidden Kingom:
A great ride for thrill seekers is Rameses Reveng, you all sit on the ride in tw rows and a bar comes down and holds you in and then you go up into the air and spin upsid down! It is very quick and once you have spun a few imes you are then brought forward and sprayed in the face with water. I got absolutly soaked on this ride, you can ask where to sit so atht you don't get wet if you want to.

Another great ride in this area is Tomb Blaster, this ride is inside, you sit in a car that has a lazer gun. You then set off on a journey set out in the style on Indiana Jones with rolling bolders and snakes. The idea is to shot as many bugs as possible whlie you go around. The scores are shown on a computer at the end.

Land of the Dragons:

The most sacry ride in the parl in my opinion is the Dragons Fury, a rollcoater that swings you here, their and everywhere. You sit in small car that not only takes you on a fast rollercoaster journey but also spins around at the same time.

All the other rides in this area where aimed at young children they included:
Dragon's Playhouse, Dragon's Tale Theatre, Sea Dragons, Sir Walter Squirtalot, Canopy Capers, Griffin's Galleon.
Mexicana:
We only got a chance to go on one ride in this area as we ran ut of time so we opted for the Rattle Snake ride. This ride is a rollercoaster style ride, but i have to say it was a bi to jerky for me, you ssort of stopped and srtaed your way around with every turn.
The other rollercoaster style ride in this area was called The Run Away Train.
Market Square:

A great way to start your day if you have never been to Chessington before is on the Skyway Safari. Like a mini train in the air the Skyway takes you over the park and with a great voice over points out areas of interest.

A great area for younger children is also the Hocus Pocus Hall & The Events Stage that have things going on in the height of the season.

Photos:
They seem to take a photo of you on praticaally every ride you go on now, these photos can be viewed after you have got offthe ride. They are priced at £6 each or you can buy 4 for £18. Personally i feel they are over priced.

Zoo and Animal Attractions

Chessington has a wide variety of animals and now offers a Zoo Only Entry pass, animals include:

Animal Land:

Sea lions, feeding time is 12pm and 3pm everyday, we didn't get to catch the show but i have done in the past and i remeber is was great fun to watch.

Penguins, feeding time 11.30am & 2.30pm, no pwquins where around on the day we went beacuse they were cleaning the pool.

Trail of the Kings:

This area includes some great animals including Lions, Tigers and Gorrilla's.

Monkey & Bird Gardens:

Within this area you are now given the opportunity to walk through the Spider Monkey enclosure, they are so small and cute but be warned they might snap at you so you are told not to touch them or take in any food.

Creepy Caves:

We did not venture into this ection as we are both very afraid of spiders, but we did get up close and persinal witha snake. Some of the team where walking around with snakes and it gave us the opportuinty to storke one. They don't feel slimy like you would imagine infact they where quite soft.

Food Court & Picnic Area

If you want to bring your own food then a large grassed picnic area is available, I know that when we where children my mum always used to take along a big packed lunch. We would leave it in a cool box in the car and go out and get it when we decided to eat, and then put it back when we finished. As it can become a very expensive day out I would suggest this as a great idea for family’s with a car.

If you are not quite as organised as that then there are plenty of choices available including the following;
KFC, McDonalds, Fish & Chips, Café’Nero and Oriental Express.

Conclusion:

I thought it was a great day out and a place that i would take children too. Having been to Thorpe Park as well i would say the Chessington is more child friendly and that out of the two it is more attarctive to walk around.
In the future Chessington are planning to delevope a beach area with slides and flumes making it even more family friendly.