Ok so I'm talking Chessington World Of Adventures! As a family we like to visit CWoA once a year to spend "quality" time together. CWoA is a theme park and zoo based in Chessington, Surrey and is a great fun day out for the family. There are rides and attractions for all from toddlers to teens, ... Read review
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CWoA Away!
Advantages: Great day out, fun rides Disadvantages: Queue times & Cost's
Ok so I'm talking Chessington World Of Adventures! As a family we like to visit CWoA once a year to spend "quality" time together. CWoA is a theme park and zoo based in Chessington, Surrey and is a great fun day out for the family. There are rides and attractions for all from toddlers to teens, Adults and even seniors. I'm going to take you through a review of "my Chessington day out".
♣ How to get there ♣ ... .../>
My favourite section of Chessington as I adore animals. I love the Sea Lion Shows "I never miss feeding time" and the Trail of the kings which Features Gorillas and Big cats. They also have Creepy Caves which is a cave like building filled with tanks of creepy crawlies, Monkey and Bird Garden, Education Centre, Squirrel Monkey walkthrough and the Children's Zoo are also favourites of mine. Not forgetting that all this wildlife fun and ... more
Ok so I'm talking Chessington World Of Adventures! As a family we like to visit CWoA once a year to spend "quality" time together. CWoA is a theme park and zoo based in Chessington, Surrey and is a great fun day out for the family. There are rides and attractions for all from toddlers to teens, Adults and even seniors. I'm going to take you through a review of "my Chessington day out".
♣ How to get there ♣
This year we went by car, we got onto the M25 which is not to far from us and it took about 30 minutes until we made our exit at junction 9, from there it was about another 10 minute drive to the park. Once you have left the M25 (which is has a marked exit for CWoA) the roads are marked up with signs so it's pretty easy to find! More so easy for us to find as we had the sat nav, you can get their postcode for your settings from their website. Normally we would go by bus, we live in West Ealing, London we would take the local 207 bus to Ealing Broadway. Outside Ealing Broadway train station you can take the number 65 bus and go to the end of the line, which is Kingston bus station. From there you can stay at the same bus stop (there are toilets at this bus stop) and wait for the number 71 bus. Again you go to the end of the line, which is inside CWoA. A very simple route that takes you right inside the park, only downside is it took us more or less 2 hours from home by bus and only 45 minutes by car.
♣ Ticket pricing ♣
The ticket prices are a bit steep! But considering once you're in, you can stay the whole day and all rides are free it's not so bad. We were lucky we found an offer going on soft drinks. Bottles of Fanta and Oasis (probably more) were printing a buy one ticket get one free promotion, it saved us a considerable amount of money as there were 6 of us. I have also seen that local drugstore Superdrug are giving these vouchers out in books when you spend £10 or more. Ticket prices are as follows, you can save more if you buy them online.
Adventurer (12 yrs & over) Online: £27.00 on the day: £29.00
Young Adventurer (12 yrs & younger) Online: £17.50 on the day: £19.50
Disabled/Helper: £14.00
Senior: £18.00
Annual family and individual passes are also available, if you decide to purchase one the park will refund your entrance fee for you paid to get in.
**Express Passes**
Express passes allow you to enter at allocated times (no queues) these passes are limited and subject to availability.
Express pass - for pre-allocated times on their top 6 rides £6.00.
Family Express Pass - For a family of 4, Max 2 aged 12 years and over, for pre-allocated times on their top 6 rides £20.00.
ULTIMATE Express Pass - Per person, for unlimited express access to their top 6 rides (11am-5pm) £30.00.
I find these passes annoying, its gutting when you have queued for ages and when you get to the front you are held back while they let the express pass holders in.
♣ Rides and attractions ♣
There are 10 sections to CWoA, each given its own name. Let me take you through them on my experiences. I wont go into detail on all the rides, as I would be here forever! However I will add a few comments on the rides that "stood out" to me on my experiences. ---------------- Beanoland ----------------
Remember Dennis The Menace & pals? I love Beanoland though it's mainly for the little ones. At certain points through the day Dennis will put on a little show on top of the gift shop roof or up the tree house which is in the middle of Beanoland and yes! He has his sidekick Gnasher with him (these shows are people dressed in costumes) and on a good day he will catapult t-shirts into the crowd for the kids to catch I managed to catch one for my little sister last year. The rides in Beanoland are: *Billy's Whizzer* I love this ride, its like a carousel but instead it has swings hanging from the top. The top will then rise when everyone is seated and strapped and swing you around whilst squirting water at you. * Dennis's Madhouse* I have taken my sister into the mad house on one occasion. Inside there are three floors in a self explanatory warehouse looking building, on each floor there are air powered guns and the kids have to run about collecting the foam balls and shoot them through the guns at each other...I loved it in there. Other rides in Beanoland are: *Bash Street Bus* (for the little ones) *Roger The Dodger's Dodgems* (bumper cars) and *The Glade* (for private events). There is also the Beanoland gift shop and the Fizz & Burp cafe.
---------------------------- Land of the dragons ----------------------------
I haven't really spent much time in Land Of The Dragons though I have rode *Dragons Fury* A rollercoaster ride with 4 seats to a car (2 seats back to back) the ride is very "up, down and nearly upside down" and the 4 seats spin round on the car too. I found this ride very nauseating but fun! Then at the end you can buy that all important embarrassing ride photo for £4.50 I have to have those and compare them year after year. Other rides in Land Of The Dragons are: *Canopy Capers* *Griffins Galleon* and *Dragons Playhouse* I haven't been on any of these rides as they are targeted for the small kids. There is also a Café Nero in Land Of Dragons, so the "grown ups" can grab a cup of coffee and the children can have a soft drink.
------------ Toytown ------------
Oh dear... Toytown it's mayhem trying to get the little ones out of here! The main ride in Toytown would probably be *The Flying Jumbos*. A spider like frame with an Elephant car on the end of each leg. Inside each jumbo are 2 seats; one for Mum or Dad and one for the child, there is a button on the dashboard that the kids can push to make the elephant raise up and down! Not much fun for the adult but the kids seem to really enjoy it. Other rides include: *Toadies Crazy Cars* *Ribena Berry Bouncers* *Tiny Truckers* and the *Carousel* boy have I had many an embarrassing time on the carousel. Another gift shop... the Toybox Shop this time and for you chocoholics there is the Cadbury Castle selling nothing but Cadburys chocolate and there is another Café Nero for a well deserved pit stop.
There are only 2 rides in Pirates Cove. Firstly there is the *Black Buccaneer* A giant swinging boat. There are about 10 rows of seats which sit about 6 people a row and the whole boat swings backwards and forwards so at one side when your in the air you have direct vision to the ground and when your the other end you see the sky and everyone on the rows in front screaming as the look down to the floor... don't eat before riding the Black Buccaneer as you will only bring it back ;). The second ride is *Seastorm* a circular motion boat ride for the kids that starts off slow, and then speeds up. The boats also spin round to the opposite direction half way through. The only other thing in Pirates Cove apart from those silly fairground games where you can win a giant teddy bear but rarely ever do is the lovely greasy Chips Ahoy restaurant. Chips Ahoy serve up the typical "chippy" food i.e. fish and chips, battered sausage's, saveloys and mushy pea's... but remember to ride the Black Buccaneer First!
Home of the *Vampire* and my guilty pleasure, Imperial Leather's *Bubbleworks* The day I don't have a small kid to take in Bubbleworks will be a very sad one. I love Bubbleworks but as it is a kid's ride an adult can only get in if they are accompanying a child. Bubbleworks is a little circle boat that floats along a River along the way are little moving displays of Professor Bubleworks, his ducks, soap and bubbles. There is a small hill the boat climbs and then falls down to a splash to amuse the kids and at the end there are arches of water spraying over the boats track (kind of like a tunnel of water) with flashing lights and loud music that I think looks spectacular though I have found on the first couple of occasions my little sister found it a bit scary. Not forgetting the *Vampire* ride, due to my dramatic teenage growth I went from being not tall enough to being too tall so I have never had the privilege of riding. It's an overhead rollercoaster where the seats leave your feet dangling and does look fantastic! I would definitely have a go if I were not too tall. There is a Mc Donald's in Transylvania "yuk" though it is very nicely decorated like an indoor forest at night. The ceiling is dark blue with stars and there are fake trees all over the place there is also a hotdog stand and Refresh where you can buy fresh sandwiches at an expensive price.
----------------- Animal land -----------------
My favourite section of Chessington as I adore animals. I love the Sea Lion Shows "I never miss feeding time" and the Trail of the kings which Features Gorillas and Big cats. They also have Creepy Caves which is a cave like building filled with tanks of creepy crawlies, Monkey and Bird Garden, Education Centre, Squirrel Monkey walkthrough and the Children's Zoo are also favourites of mine. Not forgetting that all this wildlife fun and education is also included in you ticket and shows and feeding times carry on throughout the day. Oh I forgot the Capybara! The largest rodent in the world, ewwwww...but I like it.
----------------- Mystic East -----------------
Dragon Falls! my favourite ride is located in Mystic East. You may have heard of it being (I think) the most popular ride in Chessington for many years! Its a log boat that flows through a watered pipe and climbs a high hill only to throw you back down again and take a very embarrassing picture mid drop...Love it!!
Also in Mystic East you can find *Peeking Heights* (a Ferris wheel), *Pan for gold* - you pay for a basket for the kids and they go searching through long tanks of sand and water looking for little pieces of gold (not real lol) then at the end they hand it in and are given an I panned for gold medal. Then there is the Dragons Lair gift shop (yawn) a hot doughnuts and hotdog stand d(yum) and a restaurant called Oriental Express that sells Chinese Noodles which I cannot comment on as I have never tried.
Not a whole lot happening in the Forbidden Kingdom apart from it being home of the *Rameses Revenge* ride, this ride looks really cool and I'm gutted that I am too tall to get on (me topping 6ft 2 grrr) another attraction is *Tomb Blaster*, I haven't actually experienced tomb blaster but I think its a virtual reality type of attraction where you have to zap things with a laser gun?? Any comments on what you have to do in Tomb Blaster would be appreciated.
Forbidden Kingdom hosts the Casbah Cafe where you can get your self a fresh salad or a yummy sub sandwich.
-------------- Mexicana --------------
There are 2 rides in Mexicana, The first is the *Runaway Train*, I consider it to be a timid rollercoaster as it's not very scary! It's probably more adrenalin pumping for the younger riders. *The Rattle Snake* is the second ride which feature's a 4 seated car that moves very quickly on its tracks, it's called the rattlesnake because it takes twists and turns rather quick and unrepentantly. For me, I found The Rattlesnake more painful than exciting but I think once again it comes down to me being too tall and having to ram my legs in really tight.
The Mexican Diner can also be found in Mexicana, as you would expect it serves up Mexican food, food that unfortunately I cant comment on as I've never eaten there but it is always crowded and very busy looking from the outside.
*Western Portrait Studio* is situated in Mexicana, last time I checked you could pay £19.99 to dress up in western style cowboy like clothing and have your portrait painted, not something of interest for me though probably for others as it seemed quite popular. There's also the *Paw Prints* Studio, much the same but instead you can have yourself painted into a wild encounter... nice! And finally the *Virtual Reality Theatre* featuring virtual reality arcade games... I love the skiing one though I am dreadful at it.
Hocus Pocus Hall* I found hilarious, It's a hall with a lot of mirror's that makes it confusing to know which way to go with little scares like faces lighting up through the mirrors and shock noises. I found it funny watching it fright my little sister though its not too daunting! A must with the little kiddies.
Safari Skyway* it excellent, although the kids want to run off and throw up straight away I like to pop on here first before the queues build up. Its a little train that runs slowly above the park and it takes you over all the animals so that you can get a birds eye view. It's brilliant when you're above the Sea lions as you can see the gliding beneath the clear blue water.
Greedy Goblin Inn is the first thing you see once entering, it's a nice friendly family pub with a nice beer garden. I once enjoyed a nice cold jug in here when I came with a few friends... Not till we were about to leave though.
There are quite a few gift shops, eateries and food stands on Market Square including: KFC, Pizza Hut, Waffles & ice cream and a fresh hot doughnut stand. Gift shops include: Sweet Shop, Smiffy's Joke Shop and the main Chessington Shop.
♣ Dining and restaurants ♣
Unfortunately the parks restaurants are not something I can really review as I have always taken a packet lunch! I know it sounds weird but I like to know what I am eating. I can say that to my naked eye all eating services look clean but the food is something you would have to try, saying that I think we can all review KFC, Pizza Hut & McDonalds ourselves.
As mentioned there are several hot dog stands around the park, large hotdogs are £3.50 but I advise you not to take the onions, as they are soggy and rank.
Fresh Hot Doughnut stands... there are about 3 around and it cost's 3.00 for 6 hot sugar doughnuts which are delicious and full of calories, I don't care though I got to have them... just this one day!
Café Nero, several of the are spaced out the park, quite a nice coffee shop to get you cappuccino's, latte's and mocha's they even do iced smoothies which are nice but give me brain freeze and some slices of cake and confectionary that are well over priced so I leave them there. Café Nero also gives you a loyalty card. If you or you group buy a coffee at anyone of their outlets the give you a stamp and when you have collect 9 you get 1 free cuppa... yay! Something for free.
At most of the Hot Doughnut Stands you can buy a large 1 litre Coca Cola sports bottle with straw and filled with any soft drink for £5.99, there after as you have purchased the bottle you can get a free refill as many times as you like all day for free, you can get your refill at any drinks stand, doughnut stand and "Chessington" eatery (i.e. Chips Ahoy) I think that's very good value though probably not a great idea to pump so much fizzy drink into the kids on one day.
♣ Rest room facilities ♣
I can only speak for the gents but am always amazed at the cleanliness of the toilets. They even have a plaque on the wall telling you the last time it was cleaned which is pretty often. They also have mother and baby rooms that can be a godsend for those messy situations. There are approximately 8 toilet huts around the park that are very well situated, as one is never that far away.
♣ Gift Shops ♣
As with every attraction there are over-priced gift shops. At CWoA there are 6 gift shops allocated around the park with the large "main" shop located in market square. The usual can be bought like: T-shirts, teddy bears, key rings, mug's, stationary, toys, ice creams, sweets and disposable camera's. You would expect such shops to be overpriced but to be fair some prices are quite reasonable and some even run 2 for one offers. I bought a t-shirt for my little sister and got a free teddy bear - that sorted my girlfriend;). The other 5 shops are spread about the park including one in Beanoland, Toytown, Transylvania, Animal land and Mystic east. Also positioned in Marker Square is the "Sweet Shop", I love this shop as you can buy the weirdest sweets including giant gob stopper, dummies, toffee, fudge, rock, pic 'n' mix and much more.
♣ My personal summary ♣
A fantastic day out to enjoy with the kids or as a group of adults, both fun and educational not just for the little ones but also for us "grown ups" too. All rides are free as paid for in your entrance ticket though there are additional charges for things like portraits and ride photo's. We have never been disappointed with a visit though have felt nauseous and quite sick but suppose that is something we should expect. I will usually have a groan At the end of the day after realising the amount of hard earned cash I spent but then I would grab a coffee, some hot doughnut's and a stick of rock from the sweet shop to get my sugar fix for the journey home.
Advantages: Great rides, big cats and lots of fun Disadvantages: Price if you don't have vouchers
...Paradise Park, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures on consecutive days. I have already done reviews of both Paradise park and Thorpe Park so I though I would tell you all about Chessington World of Adventures.
How do you get there?
Starting from Basingstoke made it very easy to get to Chessington - it was almost on our doorstep. It is situated 12 miles from London on the A243, 2 miles from the A3 and M25 - junctions 9 and 10. If you ... ...on how to get to Chessington using public transport on their website www.chessington.co.uk
How much will it cost to get in? Well as you might guess it's going to be expensive if you pay full price for your tickets. The price for an adult entry in 2007 was £29 and £19 for a child. There were discounted tickets for disabled visitors and their helpers plus a range of family tickets, group tickets and tickets combining a visit to Thorpe Park with a ...
SusanLesley 12.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chessington World of Adventure
Advantages: Great Theme Park Day Out Disadvantages: Not So Much For Teenagers
Chessington World Of Adventures !!!!!!!!
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Opening times: ---------------------
10am until 6.00pm.
Prices:
---------
12 years and over £29.00
Under 12 years £19.50
Disabled £14.50
Senior £18.00
Don't forget your map on entry to the park!
There is a bus stop right outside the entrance.
Annual Pass:
------------------
Annual pass is £255 for a family of four or £85.00 per person. This ... ...creams, sweet shop, joke shop, chessington shop and donuts. And we are back at the entrance having gone round in full anti clockwise circle.
On the map it shows clearly where there are:
Disabled toilets, toilets, lost children, medical centre, buggy and wheelchair hire, guest services (any queries you may have like the old man), lockers, no smoking in queue lines, vegitarian meals, credit cards, ride photos, fuji film photo trail - good photo opportunities, ...
ailuj34 18.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chessington World of Adventure
Advantages: Ideal for the younger theme park crowd Disadvantages: Poor catering
Chessington World of Adventure was the fifth and last destination owned by the Taussauds Group that we planned to visit this year, making use of our annual passes. My eldest who is 13 is really into thrill rides just like his Dad but my youngest who is 11 is not quite so confident and so Chessington was ideal for her as it is aimed more at the younger theme park visitor rather than the other ones like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park which are definitely ... ...the fact that Chessington boasts a small zoo within the site which provides a welcome break from the queuing for rides and again fits in with the target audience of the 5-14 age group.
Getting There
The park is located about 12 miles outside of London. It can be accessed by leaving the M25 at either Junction 10 or 9 and is sign posted from both junctions. On the way there coming from the North we exited at J10 however be aware that when you leave ...
atticusuk 08.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chessington World of Adventure
Advantages: Fun rides, great animals, good food Disadvantages: More thrill rides please!
Chessington World Of Adventures is perfect for a family day out with lots of rides and attractions you just don't know where to start!
Beanoland
For young ones there's the Bash Street Bus, and for older ones, Billy's Whizzer and Roger The Dodger's Dodgems. In Dennis's Madhouse you have to fire foam balls at everybody! Try not to get hit! To grab a bite, there's the Fizz And Burp Caff where you can get hot dogs and cokes.
Forbidden Kingdom
Do ... ...Resort, Legoland Windsor, Thorpe Park, Chessington World Of Adventures & Zoo, Madame Tussauds, The London Eye, Warwick Castle, Sea Life, Sea Life Sanctuaries and the Dungeons.
Individual £150.00
Family Of 4 £400.00
Family Of 5 £480.00
Overall, Chessington World Of Adventures is great for a family day out but is aimed for children up to 12. There could be more thrill rides for thrill-seakers. But good for a family day out! ...
AlexanderBanks 27.10.2008 (29.03.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chessington World of Adventure
Advantages: Good fn, great rides Disadvantages: Too much for one day, queus too long
...been a huge fan of Chessington World of Adventures. I was taken there every year by my Mum when I was younger, and so was my sister - although it was mainly just a zoo when my sister was really young.
So, now I have kids of my own, when we started talking about theme parks - for me, Chessington was my hands down choice. We went a few times with our, now, Eldest from when he was around 4 or 5 - and he always had a really good time. We welcomed our ... ...to book two days in Chessington and a night in the hotel, just outside the exit.
If you are planning on going with the kids, I would really recommend doing what we did - as it meant we did not have to rush around everywhere. The other bonus to this as well is that Chessington opened their doors at 9am - however the rides don't start until 10. So you can go round all the other bits before the crowds get there. We were able to wonder around the new ...
paulgood529 12.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chessington World of Adventure
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Advantages: Brilliant value for money, visit all the UK's top attractions. Disadvantages: Restrictions... (this doesn't bother me).
Merlin Annual Pass
I found out about the Merlin Annual Pass when I was at Legoland Windsor with my mum. We were going there to renew our Legoland Windsor "Restricted Pass"s. But to our surprise, the team member said they were restricting it even more. We couldn't visit in the August bank holidays, half term, or any of the popular no-school days. Then the member of staff told us about the Merlin Annual Pass. (I already knew about this.) So me and my mum decided to get them. (My dad got one a few days after).
What does it do?
The Merlin Annual Pass enables you to visit the UK's top attractions for twelve months.
These are the attractions you can visit:
# Legoland Windsor
# Thorpe Park
# ChessingtonWorld of Adventures
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# The Dungeons
# Warwick Castle
# London Eye
# Sea Life
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Advantages: lots of rides for all ages, lots of places to eat and drink Disadvantages: some rides have long queues, not all rides working
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Advantages: larger than average rooms with good facilities, comfortable beds Disadvantages: Poor food, Poor Service, Can be expensive
I stayed in this hotel in August 07, it had only been open for about 6 weeks so everything new, chose this hotel as it was advertised as being next dor to Chessingtonworld of Adventures (where we were spending the day) plus it had a swimming pool, offered playstations in the rooms (we didn't have one, hotel said there was a problem with network!) plus with it being rated 4* I expected the food to be very good as experienced in other hotels of this type abroad. I have stayed in many of of this type of hotel both in the UK & abroad & I have to say there is room for improvement. The room cost £100 per night (they do have some good rates at the moment from £50pn Nov 07) so a little more expensive than others in the near vicinity but I opted for this one as it had a swimming pool (thought it would entertain my 5 year old in the evening if he ...
