Chessington World of Adventures sits just outside London in Surrey and is one of those theme parks that seems to hit the sweet spot for families with children who have outgrown the gentle rides, but aren’t quite ready for the full-on intensity of places like Alton Towers or Thorpe Park.
After six consecutive years of visiting Paultons Park in Southampton, we decided to shake things up and head a little further North from Somerset and make the 2.5 hour journey upto Chessington. Our two boys are growing up quickly and we realised that if we didn’t take them to this classic UK theme park soon, that we’d probably miss our chance altogether.
So, for Jude’s 12th birthday, we woke up early, packed up the car and headed off for an adrenaline-fuelled day at Chessington World of Adventures.
Thankfully it turned out to be a brilliant choice and Chessington delivered a fun-filled day that kept both the kids and us entertained from start to finish.
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Tickets and discounts for Chessington World of Adventures
Theme park admission at Chessington World of Adventures is fairly similar to other major UK theme parks. If you book online in advance you’ll usually save a little money compared to buying tickets on the gate, so it’s worth being organised and planning ahead.
If you book ahead, tickets for anyone over 90cm tall cost £29.75 each (instead of £34 at the gate) But if you have children under 90cm tall, they can enter for free.
It’s always worth keeping an eye out for special offers too. You’ll often spot 2-for-1 promotions on Kellogg’s cereal boxes, and if you’re a Tesco shopper, you can get particularly good value by converting your Clubcard points into reward vouchers.
That’s exactly what we did, and our £60 worth of Clubcard points instantly became £120 of reward vouchers, which covered the cost of our day out.
Chessington is also part of the Merlin family of attractions, so if you have a Merlin Annual Pass, don’t forget to check whether your pass includes entry on your chosen date. Some passes have restrictions and blackout dates, so it’s worth double-checking before you travel.
Parking and Security Checks
Unfortunately parking at Chessington World of Adventures isn’t included in your admission ticket, and they’ll squeeze an extra £15 out of you to park here for the day. You can sort at the same time as booking your tickets online or settle it before leaving the park.
All the car parks are around a five to ten minute walk from the park entrance depending on where you’re directed. Most are fields rather than traditional hard-standing tarmac car parks, and each one is named after a different animal.
We ended up in the grassy Giraffe car park and luckily found a space right near the front. After taking a photo of the sign (so we’d actually remember where we’d parked) we headed towards the entrance and passed through a quick security check before our e-tickets got scanned.
The whole process was straightforward and efficient, and within a few minutes we were through the gates and heading straight towards our first coaster with two excited boys in tow!
Bigger rides at Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures has a great mix of attractions for all ages, from toddler-friendly rides right through to family thrill coasters.
As we visited with older children (age 10 and 12), we only made use of the bigger rides, so here’s a closer look at the ones we enjoyed most.
Vampire
Vampire was probably my favourite ride of the day, and a firm favourite from the rest of the fam.
I seem to have a soft spot for suspended coasters and despite showing its age a little, Vampire still delivers plenty of fun. It’s not the smoothest ride you’ll ever experience – its a little rough in places, but the track swoops through the woodland before gliding out over the pathways, giving you the feeling of flying above unsuspecting park guests below.
We only managed to ride it once, which was such a shame. Had the queue been shorter later in the day, all four of us would happily have gone straight back round.
Min height requirement: 1.1m tall (children between 1.1m and 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult aged 16+)
Mandrill Mayhem
Mandrill Mayhem is the newest rollercoaster at Chessington World of Adventues, and it’s located within the World of Jumanji area.
This winged boomerang coaster looks fairly tame from the ground, but don’t let appearances fool you. This short but sweet ride packs more punch than you’d expect, and is currently the only ride at Chessington that includes an inversion.
I’m not normally a huge fan of boomerang coasters, but this is easily the best one I’ve ridden. The first launch catches you off guard, the inversion is smooth and fun, and the helix section as it spirals up to the top gives you all the adrenalin as you’re left hanging almost sideways before reversing back along the length of the track to the station.
It’s a short ride thats over very quick, but it’s a very enjoyable boomerang coaster thats well worth a giving a go. We all really enjoyed it.
Min height requirement: 1.2m tall
Dragon’s Fury
If you enjoy spinning coasters, Dragon’s Fury will be right up your street.
Each car seats four riders and spins freely throughout the course. Exactly how much spinning you get depends on where everyone is sitting and how the weight is distributed. Myself and James always sit diagonally from one another to try and prevent it from spinning into a tornado like a crazy Tasmanian devil.
Some riders seemed to glide around fairly gently, while others emerged looking like they’ve just spent a few minutes inside a washing machine. Thankfully, we landed somewhere in the middle and all enjoyed the thrills from this ride.
The ride area isn’t quite as immersive as some of the newer themed zones here, but the ride itself more than makes up for it. It was easily one of the most fun rides in the park and definitely worth queuing for.
Min height requirement: 1.2m tall
Tiger Rock
We all love a log flume and Tiger Rock genuinely surprised us.
Looking at the drop from ground level, it doesn’t appear particularly impressive. However, once you’re actually sat in the little log flume boat and heading towards the drop, it suddenly feels a lot bigger.
The splash at the bottom was excellent and we all got pleasantly splashed rather than completely drenched, a lovely little cool down on our sunny visit. I also liked the theming where you pass through the tiger’s mouth on the final drop. If you’re worried about getting too wet, they do have poncho vending machines inside the ride station.
Admittedly, riding Chiapas at Phantasialand has probably ruined most log flumes for me forever – that ride is in a completely different league of its own. But Tiger Rock was still great fun, and comes in my current second place.
Min height requirement: 1.2 and 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult aged 16+.
Croc Drop
Croc Drop is Chessington’s drop tower ride, but its nothing scary. The tower rotates slowly as it rises, offering some nice views across the park and surrounding area.
Despite its impressive height (25 meters), the drops themselves are really quite gentle. You get the sensation of falling without that stomach-dropping feeling that some larger towers create.
It’s a good stepping stone for children who want to try something a little more adventurous without diving straight into the bigger thrill rides.
Min height requirement: 1.2 and 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult aged 16+.
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake was the one ride I actually remembered from my one and only visit coming to Chessington as a child.
I grew up in a family of non-rollercoaster enthusiasts, but somehow I convinced my mum to ride this one with me and I vividly remember her screaming from start to finish and hating every second.
This old tin mine coaster throws you through a series of sharp bends, sudden drops and unexpected bunny hops. It’s not especially tall or fast, but it feels wonderfully chaotic and all four of us came off laughing. It’s just a lot of fun.
Min height requirement: 1.4m tall
Tomb Blaster
This dark ride takes you on an adventure through ancient Egyptian times, where you have to blast scarab beetles and creepy mummies with your laser gun. There’s nothing too scary in here, and we saw plenty of little ones giving this ride a go. It’s not the easiest to see where you’re actually pointing your laser, which made racking up points a little tricky. The effects in here are rather dated, but its still worth jumping on and giving it a go, especially if its a walk on like it was on our visit.
Min height requirement: anyone under 1.1m tall must be accompanied by an adult aged 16+.
New Attractions Coming Soon
Theres a couple new areas coming to Chessington World of Adventures. If you have younger kids you’ll probably end up spending some time in the new Paw Patrol land thats just recently opened.
Most of it was still hidden behind screens during our visit, but we could spot the iconic Paw Patrol lookout tower standing proudly in the middle of the construction site. I suspect this could become Chessington’s answer to Paultons Park’s hugely successful Peppa Pig World, as this is likely to be a massive draw for younger visitors.
Looking even further ahead, Chessington has announced plans for a Minecraft-themed area due to open in 2027. My boys are already keeping a close eye on that development! I hope it includes a new family thrill ride for the pre-teens to enjoy.
Do you need fast track at Chessington World of Adventures?
We visited on a Saturday in March and decided against purchasing Fast Passes. Queue times ranged from around 20 minutes up to roughly 70 minutes for the most popular rides. But despite not using Fast Passes, we still managed to experience all of the major rides during our day.
Obviously we could have squeezed in more repeat rides with a Fast Pass, and a second go on Vampire and Mandrill Mayhem would have been very welcome. However, the additional cost soon adds up, particularly for a family of four.
Personally, I’d say Fast Passes aren’t essential if you’re visiting outside of peak school holiday periods and are happy to spend some time queuing, plus it doubles up as a great lesson for the kids to learn some patience!
If your budget allows though, less time in queues means more time on rides. So if you’re happy to splurge the extra cash, fast track will set you back between £15-£75 per person depending on the package. £15 per person gives you the bronze package where you’ll get 3 fast tracks. £29 per person gets you the upgraded silver package which gives you 6 fast tracks. Finally the gold package which costs £75 per person, gets you unlimited fast passes across 23 rides all day long.
Gift shops
No family theme park visit would be complete without a little stop in the gift shop. We managed to find a Chessington World of Adventures pin to add to the boys growing collection. Alongside pins, there were plenty of soft toys, magnets, keyrings, clothing, mugs and other souvenirs available throughout the park.
On site restaurants at Chessington World of Adventures
There are plenty of food options dotted all around Chessington, from Vampire Burger Kitchen, Pizza Pasta, Drop’n Chicken, and Dragons Lair Cafe to sweet treats like Donut Express and Dragon’s Delight for a freakshake, so you certainly won’t go hungry.
We opted for a late lunch/early dinner at the Smokehouse BBQ, which allowed us to avoid the busiest time of the day. In fact there were only a couple other tables in use at that point. Of course theme park food is never going to be the cheapest meal you’ll eat, but the quality was actually very good for fast food.
James went for a pulled beef burger, while Jude had the kids burger (it wasn’t much smaller), and myself and Jasper chose chicken tender kids meals. Ordering was done very easily on a tablet at the table, and the food was brought directly to us once it was ready.
Service was quick, everything arrived hot, and most importantly we had nice full bellies and enough energy for a few more rides.
Chessington Zoo and Aquarium
One thing we simply didn’t have enough time for was properly exploring the zoo and aquarium. If you’re visiting on a weekend and want to experience all of the major rides as well as the animal attractions, I’d strongly recommend either getting fast passes, staying overnight, or accepting that you may need to prioritise.
We did manage to spend some time watching the penguins waddling around their enclosure, but there was so much more that we didn’t get to see. They even have a Zoo experience where you can enjoy a safari-style truck ride around parts of the zoo.
Staying at Chessington World of Adventure Hotel
If you’re travelling from further afield, staying overnight at Chessington can make a lot of sense. The resort hotels allow you to turn your visit into a mini-break rather than trying to cram everything into one day. Many of the packages include park entry, and hotel guests can often access selected attractions before the main gates open to the rest of the day visitors.
Given how much we missed in the zoo and aquarium, I can definitely see the appeal of stretching the experience across two days.
Download the free app
One thing I would absolutely recommend before your visit, is downloading the free Chessington World of Adventures app.
The app includes a detailed interactive map, live queue times and useful information about every attraction, including height restrictions and ride details. We used it constantly throughout the day, and rather than wandering aimlessly around the park trying to decide what to do next, we could quickly see which rides had the shortest queues and plan our next move!
The app is really user friendly and so worth getting to help you plan out your day the best way possible.
Tips for Visiting Chessington World of Adventures
- Arrive before opening time if possible. You’ll get a head start on some of the most popular rides before queue times begin to build.
- Download the app before you arrive and keep an eye on live queue times throughout the day.
- Bring your own drinks, snacks and lunch if you’d like to keep costs down. We packed plenty of snacks and even brought a slice of Jude’s birthday cake in with us too.
- Carry a refillable water bottle and make use of the free water refill stations around the park.
- Book tickets online in advance or use Clubcard vouchers to save money.
- Wear comfortable footwear. By the end of the day you’ll probably have walked more than you realise.
Final Thoughts
We had a brilliant family day out at Chessington World of Adventures for Jude’s 12th birthday, and I’m really glad we squeezed in a visit before our boys outgrew this stage of family theme parks.
I’d say for children aged roughly 5–13, Chessington gets a lot right. It offers enough thrills to keep older children excited without crossing into the territory of the huge, intimidating coasters found at some of the UK’s larger thrill parks.
All the rides here are quite short but they’re fun, varied and well suited to families. The theming throughout the park isn’t incredible by todays standards, although the newer themed areas, like Jumanji, really up the game.
The theming certainly cant compete with somewhere like Phantasialand in Germany. But what Chessington does exceptionally well is provide a complete family day out. With a mix of the rides, zoo and aquarium, there’s enough variety here to keep everyone entertained.
The upcoming Minecraft land has certainly caught my boys attention, and if it arrives with a decent family thrill coaster attached, I suspect we’ll find ourselves making one final trip back before they’re too old.
Before you go …
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