We headed down South for our annual off-peak visit to one of the best UK theme parks, Chessington. It is always a delight to visit this park, especially during the quieter days. So let’s talk all about our visit and what we got up to!
Entrance:
For the first time in what feels like forever we parked in the hotel car park and entered via that entrance. The entrance to the park was pretty simple and felt a lot more organised than before. You scan your merlin annual pass & day tickets prior to security and the turnstiles. I’m not sure whether this is temporary as it does look as if the turnstiles could be new for this season. However, it worked really well and reduced the chances of the turnstile area becoming too crowded.
Queues:
There was not one queue above 5 minutes the entirety of our visit. Weekdays are perfect for those with pre-schoolers to visit and getting the most out of your day. You could easily blitz the entire park by 2 pm and then have 3 hours worth of re-rides and embracing those areas of the park you wouldn’t usually get a chance to experience during busier days.
The Rides:
I adore all the rides that Chessington has to offer, they are all fab in their own little ways. Vampire I found was perhaps a tad joltier than in previous seasons but we sat a lot nearer to the front than we usually do. Dragons Fury was running so beautifully I have fallen in love with it all over again and it now sits as one of the best family rollercoasters I’ve ever experienced. The spin we had was immense, little tip for you all if there is just two of you sit backwards up the lift for the most insane spin of your life. Tiger-Rock looked beautiful as ever and was running to match that too. Basically, Chessington is one of the sweetest parks we have the honour to have in the UK and has rides to match this too.
Croc Drop:
I am besotted with this ride in all honesty. Prior to riding, I knew I enjoyed Magma which is almost the same ride model so I had a rough idea of the fact that this would be fab. But it blew my expectations out of the water. Not to forget the lush theming and audio that companies the ride itself. I’ll be uploading a full review either before this blog goes live or not long after.
The Zoo:
The zoo was looking pretty lush. It’s nice to see some enclosures have received an uplift and changes to them. It seemed that some areas mainly within the Trial of the Kings were sadly closed off which I assume is down to the indoor restrictions currently. But it’s always a refreshing break away from your day of madness amongst the rides to take a stroll through the zoo.
Overall:
We had a lovely time at Chessington and really are excited to return once the dark rides re-open. It was definitely a large chunk of our day missing with them closed. The park is looking absolutely stunning with the new areas and rides that have been added over the years and it’s always lovely to see the investment being made. Chessington has grown so much since our first visit and we incredibly excited to see what is next.
Have you visited Chessington yet? Or are you planning to visit this season? I’d love to know!
Thank you for reading...