I give chessington a 3 took my baby up there to show her animals n possibly go on few rides with her and my friends kids most of rides were closed very dissapointed would of had better luck in legoland for the same price im very upset on how rude some of staff was and shops closed very early and very dissapointed
Booked a 2 day pass + 1 night in the Glamping Explorer experience for May. The park has always been excellent for 5-12 year olds, possibly the best one for that age group (ours are 7 and 9). They have some very decent rides and for younger kids it feels a thrill for them. Not too superfast rides but theres a 2 or 3 that are definitely top drawer; Dragons Fury and Vampire spring to mind.
Whilst glamping was an experience and very well laid out, the weather very much dictates how the night goes. It rained and was super cold so couldn't do much once the park was closed. As it's also the other side of the park to the hotel you have to leave the park entirely to drive round to the hotel for the restaurants. Pre-book if you do want to go there for that.
Prices are to be expected of a park. Arguably slightly less than Alton Towers but still a premium. Don't be put off by bringing your own sandwiches if you want to.
5 stars for the park, 4 stars because of the glamping practicalities.
An awesome weekend away nonetheless.
Good rides no queues due to weather.
Food absolutely awful.
Meat meals greasy and overcooked, Vegetarian and Vegan virtually non existent.
Go for the rides and take your own food.
Staff very helpful and friendly.
Brilliant place. Booked 2 for 1 at the park, stayed in a near by Holiday inn. We loved it. Gruffalo water ride was amazing. The ques were massive though so good job we had 2 days to experience it properly as their is so much to see and do. Wanted to go on the zofari but the Que was far too long that we decided to leave it. Overall we were amazed by the park. I would definitely go back and also recommend.
I found the map a little tricky to use (some things not shown as a picture but just a number which made it difficult to navigate using landmarks) but to be fair I didn't try the app which may have been more useful to help get around. Other than that I can't fault it! We bought fast track tickets in advance and didn't need them at all. Total waste of money but only ourselves to blame! It was extremely quiet and all ques were under 20 mins all day. If you plan on drinking anything other than water, the refillable drinks cups are a bargain. We went on the hottest day of the year so only had water all day and did eventually find a fountain to refill our own bottles. (This would have been useful to show on the map!) On the whole much better value that similar places we have visited (mentioning no names but some I will never visit again!). I would say ideal for children between 7 and 11. Our 5 year old was a little limited in terms of what he could go on and knackered from all the walking but our 7 year old was just big enough to really enjoy it. Overall I would highly recommend it.
Stayed through a national holiday trip. Lovely room, especially if have kids. Gorgeous breakfast. Staff very friendly. Will be back.
The place is nice for children and adults looking for thrills. Personally, being 21 yo I enjoyed it. Thorpe Park would be too much for me due to my motion sickness and their rides are not exaggerated like Thorpe Park so I did have a good time trying all the rides without getting suck. Queue give you terrible foot ache. Very long waiting times.
Good day out but very long queues for rides longest being 2 hours so only managed four rides all day . Long exit time from car park.
Far too many people in the park, social distancing made impossible as a result. Lots of rides closed causing even longer queue times, visited two weeks ago when the conditions were far better. I understand the economic pressures though this doesn't excuse putting people at risk, queues resembled cattle at a market. Sadly the great British public are unable to follow simple guidance which compounds the problems.
Had a brilliant time with the children - stayed at the resort hotel which was very good. Being a quieter time we got on rides quickly (though occasional technical issues stopped some of them from running for periods of time) but did mean staffing levels were a bit low for some things. Worth going to guest services to get a height wristband if your child is right on a height restriction.
We had a great day at chessington overall. The parking is a little chaotic at first and theres a very bumpy road leading to the grass parking. We are merlin passholders but we weren't directed to specific passholder car park which I later found out there is.
The security checks and entry is slick and we were straight through the gates at 10:15.
It was a busy summer Saturday but we got on most things we could with a child under 1.2m. The queue times were inflated and we ended up queuing for less time than the estimate which was great.
The ride operations were slick and overall seemed like a very relaxed park.
We are used to Alton towers so everything being so close together was a bit of a novelty for us.
Going back in a few weeks.
Terrible time at Chessington. Poured with rain two hours into our day. I was really disappointed, as some of the rides were closed because of the atrocious weather. Was refused their rainy day guarantee as we chose to go on a day it rained. What a cop out, the weather forecast had said would be fine, supposed to be a blooming meteorologist now. They charge an absolute fortune, let far too may people in the park, queues are 90mins+long, made worse by the fact that for even more money you can purchase a fast track ticket. Meaning all the people queuing, just queue longer. Wouldn't go back. Chessington are Money grabbers!!!
great fun for all the family.... love it. always have a good time my smallest is now 1.3 and is able to go on most rides.
Really nice place to visit. My kids enjoyed it a lot.
Good day out for children, but queues are super long. One ride tool more than 2.5 hours of torturous standing in line.
Closer to the ride entrance, found why it was so slow, they had 2 more queues joining because these people had paid more for privileged access!
This is totally unfair. Everyone should be treated justly. There shouldn't be any fast track tickets as this causes people who have a lesser ticket suffer.
I wouldn't go there again unless it's on a school day or something.
Good variety of rides available for people of all ages! I would say its better for a younger audience (6-15 year olds say) due to the layout of the park? It is definitely tailored to attract a family crowd.
Really fun ! Great for family's with young children. But also very suited for family's with teens
Brilliant, stayed in the giraffe room. Everything about this place was great. Will definitely be back.
Good fun day out, seems a little all over the place now with no set layout. Food prices are ridiculous!!
Great couple of days spent here. The gruffalo ride is great for the whole family. My only gripe is that the advertised queue times need to be more accurate
Always a great day out. Forces day was amazing. Despite the drizzling rain.
Beautiful place, great day out with the kids, the only problem was when we visited there were not as much animals as advertised/shown on pictures and some rides got closed early for no reason.
I would suggest to book online and pay for the food online as you save alot more than if you go there and pay for food there.
It was good experience there. We did so much fun. Rides are great for children however Waiting time is too long. One day is not enough to go there.
Really good day out. Kids had a ball and we managed to get on loads of rides.
Chessington (along with other Merlin resorts) is not normally open for the winter but has recently begun offering limited opening hours for limited areas of the park over the Christmas period.
There aren't very many rides open at this time of year, but those that are open all have shorter height restrictions, making them suitable for the whole family. The biggest height restriction is 1.2m, for the Vampire, which ruled out our youngest, but not our eldest son.
The zoo and the Sealife Centre continue to offer weekend opening throughout the year, though to enjoy this you really have to be okay with the idea that large, wild animals are still held in small, unnatural habitats in the 21st century.
This resort isnt all that bad....I've given it 3 stars becasue 2 of the main rides were broken the majority of the day and the opening hours are terrible.....it opens at 10 and closes at 1700...7 hours flys by with toilet breaks and lunch, More
While there are lot of amenities and facilities at the park, the big disappointment is the poor maintenance of the rides itself. We queued up at the Kobra ride for 45 minutes, and the ride was put out of use. The staff didn't even bother updating us and we kept standing in the queue. We were asked to come back after an hour, queued up again and once again the ride broke down after a queue for an hour. Same thing happened at the Ramses revenge where we were kept waiting clueless for 50 minutes. Next we went to Rattlesnake ride next, the timer mentioned a wait of 60 minutes, but it actually took us close to 2 hours to get through.
So you end up paying for waiting in queue for rides that don't work, and poor staff not trained to manage the queues. 3 rides for a whole day hardly is worth the time or money.
They cared for disabled people like me very well iam able bodied but it was very nice day for me and family
Hotel is beautiful, great animal theme and fun for the kids. Rooms were amazing. Only issue was there wasn't much choice of meals in the restaurant and was expensive for what you got.
Great day out around the zoo.
Chessington did everything they could to be Covid-safe and government compliant, but disappointed by behaviour of some guests with social distancing and mask wearing.
Worst experience ever booked tickets in advanced online which saved us time average waited time on every ride is 50 mins. If you are with kids imagine waiting for 50 mins with small kids long ques because of corona precautions only few persons are allowed per ride which makes long ques. Waisted money authorities could have manage this better if ur allowing few persons per ride then you shouldn t be allowing many people entering or booking for the day. It can be exhausted for the parents coming with small kids if they have to wait for 50 mins each.
A great day out for younger to mid range families with lots if rides and fun. Slightly more daring than Legoland but not quite Alton Towers. Perfect for the under 12 thrill seekers. The staff don't seem to have the urgency (until it's almost closing time) you get at AT so queues can be longer than necessary, but don't always believe the queue times which seem set in order to con you into buying a fastrack. I went on a '65 minute' queue that took less than 10 and most seemed to over estimate the queue times.
Great day out, staff are really friendly only down side was non of the drink huts were open that are situated in the queues, weather was really hot and queues were long so would of been nice to buy a drink.
Zufari and the rides. Just perfect for kids over 1m height.
The new Gruffalo ride is very good (Disney quality) and there is a lot to do with little ones. Staff could be more helpful, my child was stung by a wasp on the lip but the staff didn't seem to care.
We have travelled from Yorkshire to visit Chessington world of adventure and if you have been to flamingo Land or alton towers I wouldn't bother, stay up north. The park was nice don't get me wrong but just really not worth the long drive! Every park we have visited in the London area has extremely long wait times even for the poor rides.
One good ride was vampire and the aminals are special but that's it. We've ticked it off our list of parks but wouldn't return.
Thanks for the experience though Chessington.
Not enough staff about to cater for how busy it was. Food areas were really poor and queued for an hour for a hot dog. Last two trips have not been very positive which is a shame as we enjoy going .
Not a very enjoyable experience, damaged my car trying to get out of a really bad car park. No social distancing at all half the rides closed and the others had excessively long cues. Had to wait 2 hours for one. Kids were not happy.
Great family day out. Perfect for 8-12 years who have outgrown Legoland but not quite brave enough for Thorpe Park. Good variety of rides and shows.
FANTASTIC PLACE TO VISIT WITH THE KIDS. I AM AN ANUAL PASS HOLDER AND HAVE BEEN FOR THREE YEARS NWOW. THIS PLACE IS ALWAYS IMPROVING AND BUILDING BETTER RIDES. MY KIDS LOVE IT
Great time, rides were great. However, everything is very expensive
Brilliant day out with the family. Social distancing didn't really work but if you go to a place like you bring a mask and have fun for a day and try to forget the world is in a pandemic. Most people had on masks except for a few numpties
Despite the rain great fun was had. The disability access was very good and all the staff were very friendly welcoming and able to answer any questions. Will definitely be going back
Great day out. Good rides for all ages. Tiger rock is Amazing.
A great day out with the kids. Lots of fun rides and a collection of wild animals.
Drove 60+ primary school kids there on a double decker bus. Fun place to go...
Good. But the fish and chips at captains fish and chips....was ruined by chips tasting a bit weird. The rides are great. And lions are scary.
Great customer service, but is a bit of a scam considering the park closes at 6pm in high season.
Most of the drinks dispensers were also not in service in ride queues, which is a little shameful; especially considering it was 32 degrees on the day we visited.
The fast track system is also flawed, as due to it normal visitors have to wait over an hour per ride, and considering that the rides are average at best it's a big ask. The best and smartest way to handle this would be to adopt the Disney Land Paris approach of giving all vistors fast track options after entry, with set times allocated for each ride.
Food services are basic, and to be honest the park should seriously consider lowering prices, as they simply force people to bring their own food, which cannot be good for profit margins.
I thought the zoo a decent experience. It is no Colchester Zoo but considering it's size it's not bad; and there are many interactive experiences for children and the zoo keepers are extremely polite, approachable and upbeat!
The beach part was pointless! Don't bother with the beach.
I considered giving a rating of 2 stars, but I gave it 3 due to great customer service through our the park.
Rides for all ages and on top of a theme park you got the zoo and sea life centre what more could you want for a great day out to keep kids happy
Great Park 15 years ago and still amazing today... A word of advice though, invest in a merlin pass and get fast-track
Looking a bit tired these days, and the waiting times were a mare.
Its really nice place for kids but too much wait for rides unless you have fast track
The rides and attractions are lovely - however I'm disgusted by the size of the enclosures - FAR too small, with very distressed looking animals :(. We were also put off by a couple of not-so-nice members of staff - hoping it was just a bad day and not a regular occurrence! - I'm very surprised about the prices of fast track tickets too - let alone the fact that they cost anything in the first place? I feel like the Disneyland system (free, but given a booked time space to ride) would be a lot better.
Wonderful visit to Chessington and fantastic stay in the hotel . And the park is working very hard with social distance rules. Well done
Great day out, friendly staff and plenty for the whole family.
Poor service.. park seems to be run by teenagers! The price its cost, could of had a week away somewhere else
Fun for the family and aimed at younger children, with good food and drink on site and a few faster rides to please the speed freaks
So Busy ,couldn't get on any rides unless you wanted to wait 60 to 70 mins..Lots of food places closed,lined up for an hour waiting to eat had enough as was starving ,so left early ,wasted visit. Too many people in not enough space .Total waste of money.
We had an enjoyable day out. The rides are hidden to an extent, I am guessing for the surprise factor but personally I like to see what I am letting myself in for.
Kids will no doubt will love this place, I think everyone should bring their kids at test once a year to this place.
Unless you pay extra for fast track passes, expect to queue for at least 60 minutes up to 180 minutes for the main rides. Only managed to get on 3 rides all day
Fantastic day out but could be cheaper as too expensive for average family,
Great place for the kids to enjoy a fun filled day out..I did think it was a bit pricey to get in though...
Great family day out. Queue times are always a nightmare especially when you have young kids but overall a highly recommended place to go
Excellent food service and friendly staff.
The best food offering you can get. The variety is vast. Pricey but nice.
Loved it The rides were lots of fun.
The staff were friendly.
Most of the ques were stupidly long, 75 minutes for the most popular and this isn't helped by the fact that there aren't many big thrill rides and also some not operating! I'm not really sure what age group this park is really suitable for, I have a 7 year old and 3 year old and there was a lot for the 3 year old but the ques for the bigger rides were far too long and there weren't enough!
Rides are so fun Recommend going here for a fun day out.
Great day out, take plenty of cash though as the cash machines charge a fee and some things are card only too, so take both.
My only complaint would be the huge amounts of wasps, enjoying any food or drink was near enough impossible without getting swarmed by them. Not the parks fault but I feel they should put up a load of insect lamps and wasp traps to try and combat it (I only saw 3 traps around the place)
Awesome for a family to stay in the hotel can't thought it
My 4 year old loved this place, she is an adrenaline junkie. It's a shame about some of the height restrictions when with an adult but great fun otherwise
Great experience. Apart from the lines for rides which is inevitable, chessington was fantastic and I had a great time. The staff were helpful and positive and if you want brave or family friendly rides, its definitely a place to visit.
Amazing theme park with plenty to do. Yes there were queues but no longer than you would expect.
Only negative was the staff in the restaurants looked completely miserable.
Rides and Park okay.
We ate at dirty fries fast food outlet. Jack the lad that took our order was very unenthusiastic and did not seem to care that pretty much everyone's orders were coming out wrong. Waited 20 minutes for drinks and then another 30 minutes for 2 portions of chips. One order came out wrong but due to the wait I just ate it anyway. Really put a downer on the day.
Another unfortunate customer waited near to an hour as his orders which were also wrong.
All staff could use some re training or employ some older staff that actually have common sense, manners and better personal hygene. These kids looked like a sweaty bunch who did not want to be there
Great for children, very friendly staff and a good choice of rides
Rides were great, reasonable priced food for a theme park. Very poorly organised Park. Parking when going in was a bit of a hassle and we paid for dispassionate online then took 25 minutes being sent to the wrong place to get the dispassionate wristband. luckily we paid for our parking on entering and I advise anyone else to do the same as there was a huge queue to pay for parking when leaving.
It's OK. There must be a better way for dealing with the queues. No ride is worth waiting 2 hours for. Not the best for disabled guests.
I have to say for such a big place I am shocked at how wrong they have got it. Tough to know where to start, too much of imperfection going on, the honest truth is its trying to be too much and being nothing at all spectacular, it's not a More
Poor social distancing, no additional provision for the heatwave.
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