Chessington World of Adventures Resort

Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex within close proximity to London.

We went to Chessington in the school holidays. It was very busy and we had to park in an overflow car park which was in a field so we had a long walk to push the buggy to the entrance.  There is also an additional £3 parking charge.

The park is well themed from Pirates, Asia, Africa, Aztec and Dragons, set out in different lands over a vast area.  There are meet and greets with the animals, talks, stage shows and rides.

The queues for their most popular rides can reach over an hour long at peak times, however, there is the option to upgrade your ticket to a Fastrack ticket for an additional cost.  When the park is busy I would recommend.  There was little or no queues at the fast track areas. You can make the most of your day and it eases the boredom if you have small children.

The park is well laid out and spacious so you can escape the crowds if you want to. It really is a family park with something for everyone.

We loved riding the mono rail and was a good way to find your bearings.  There was a queue but in the summer holidays this is going to happen.  There were some interactive games while the children are in line, a bead on winding metal for the children to move along.

The girls really enjoyed the Madagascar Live on stage show within the Africa section of the park.  There are several shows on at certain times of the day. They also enjoyed Toadies Crazy Cars and Penguins of Madagascar Treetop Hoppers.

The Sealife centre was absolutely amazing. We saw lots of sea creatures including sea horses, sting ray, jelly fish and many brightly coloured fish.  There was the chance to interact by holding a starfish.  The tanks were cleverly designed and the children could crawl underneath and put their head in for an optical illusion.

In the Mystic East section there was a long wait for Peeking Heights a Big Wheel as it stops to let people on and off without continuous flow.  There are good views of the park and surrounding area from the top.

Tomb Blaster in the Forbidden Kingdom is fantastic shooting game and very similar to the Toy Story Mania ride in Florida.   The ride is very popular and fastrack tickets are available.

Market Square area was great for little ones with a Carousel and Tiny Truckers.  We didn’t have a chance to explore the 4D Hocus Pocus Hall.

Seastorm and Black Buccaneer were good in the Pirate Cove area of the park.

The Jungle Bus in Wild Asia was about the only suitable ride in this section for little ones as there were many thrill rides located in this section of the theme park.

The children’s favourite rides were Sea Dragons and Griffins galleon in Land of the Dragons.  There was a soft play called Dragons playhouse but we did not get around to going here but The Flying Jumbos ride was great for little ones.

The jeep safari can be found in the Zufari section of the park.  It was nice to see the giraffes and rhinos.  The only disappointment is that the ride has a height restriction of 1 metre tall to ride and my youngest daughter was not permitted to ride.

The Zoo was good, we loved Penguin Bay, nicely themed, loved the Gorillas, tigers, lions, monkeys, meerkats, lemurs and children’s zoo.

When we visited our girls were 2 and 5.  I would advise it is not for tiny tots as lots of rides have height restrictions.

Those with babies will be able to find Baby changing facilities next to toilets at Lodge Gate and a dedicated baby feeding room located alongside the Forbidden Kingdom toilets near the First Aid Centre.

We unfortunately did not stay at Chessington, there are two resort hotel the Safari and Azteca Hotels.  We would love to go back to review when the girls are older and stay in the onsite hotels to make the most of the experience.  Booking a short break in one of the resort hotels gets you 2 days park entry for the price of one, plus unlimited queue jump for the first hour the park is open on your second day.

There are plenty of places to have a snack or a meal. We did not eat in any of the restaurants as we had our own snacks and there were some lovely gardens areas to sit and have a picnic.

Top tips:

You can buy meal deal vouchers online before your trip which makes the cost of eating at the park cheaper. Also if you want a sit down meal the Zufari restaurant has a pleasant view overlooking the animal park.

You can also purchase a £5 refillable drink, which is good on hot days.

The attraction is expensive to enter but as this is a Merlin attraction, the usual cost saving tips are: cut out the two for one vouchers from Cadbury sweet packets, Kelloggs cereal boxes or Walls Ice cream.  You can also gain entry via Tesco Clubcard, this is what we did.  Booking in advance also saves you money.

Children under 3 years are free entry to the park.

Take advantage of the Adult and pre-schooler ticket, one day entry for 1 adult and 1 child up to and including 5 years is £20.60.  The ticket is available when booked at least two days before your visit date.

It was a great day out and had many lovely photos of the day.