Chessington World of Adventures (Chessington World of Adventures)

Member Name: bunnie1982

Product:	Chessington World of Adventures
Date:	18/10/08 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean, Good Selection of Rides, Friendly Staff

Disadvantages: Upper height restriction of rides

I recently visited Chessington World of Adventure for only the second time and felt I wanted to comment on what a fantastic day I had.

Chessington World of Adventure is a Merlin owned theme park and zoo located in South West London, off junction 9 of the M25 (well signposted) The theme park is open from March through to October and entrance is £32 for adults and £21 for children. However, I fully recommend using a 'buy one get one free voucher'.

When we arrived we parked our car on a grass car park and headed for the entrance which comes into the park next to Dragons Fury and nearby to Beanoland. Similar to the likes of Alton Towers, Chessington is split into zones and you are provided with a free map allowing you to navigate around the park.

I know Chessington Zoo and Sealife Centre are available, however I unfortunately did not visit on this occasion so not really able to comment on this area of the park.

We started off in the Land of the Dragons area and headed for Dragons Fury. This is a ride manufactured by Maurer Sohne and is similar to Spinball Whizzer at Alton Towers, however Chessingtons version is extended. Also in this area are many childrens activities and rides including an indoor and outdoor play area.

Following our ride on Dragons Fury we headed into Beanoland, this is themed similar to the Beano Comics and the rides are named after the characters like Billy's Whizzer (Wave Swinger) and Roger the Dodgers Dodgems. As a general note, if you want to stay dry stay on the inside of Billy's Whizzer as you generally avoid the fountains of water.

The next zone, Mystic East, is an oriental themed area and contains the Dragon Falls log flume which has two drops. It also contains a Ferris Wheel which was relocated here from Thorpe Park.

Forbidden Kingdom is home to Tomb Blaster and Rameses Revenge. On Tomb Blaster you sit on a large train which is taken into the tomb, each rider is armed with a laser gun and the idea is to shoot the lit up targets around you. Rameses Revenge is a Huss Top Spin (similer to Ripsaw at Alton Towers) you are secured onto the ride by over the shoulder restraints and a lap bar. This ride is spun round by two arms and at the end of the ride you are lowered face first into jets of water, if you don't fancy getting wet then it is probably best to sit right at the end of the row.

Mexicana is themed on a far west environment and is home to two rollercoasters which are the Rattlesnake and the Runaway Train. The Rattlesnake is a steel wild mouse featuring sharp unbanked turns, sudden drops and rigid brakes, I think this is one of a few rides on the park that has a height restriction of 1.4 metres. The Runaway Train is a powered rollercoaster aimed at the whole family.

We also ate in Mexicana in a restaurant next to the Runaway Train, having one of the chicken fajita meals which was lovely and came with a drink and potato wedges, my only complaint was that the tables outside were a bit sticky.

Pirates Cove is home to the Black Buccaneer pirate ship which is larger than usual pirate ships you see at theme parks. It is also home to Seastorm, a circular ride where riders sit in small boats that bob up and down as they are rotated round, the boats also go round backwards during part of the ride.

Transylvania is home to two rides, the Vampire and the Bubbleworks. The Bubbleworks is an indoor rapids ride, however you don't get wet, you get taken on a tour of the soap factory. Vampire is a rollercoaster that has suspended swinging cars as it glides around the track.

On most of the rides around the park there is quite a low height restriction, however as a note for tall people there is a upper height restriction on the rides of 1.96metres.

One thing I noticed more than anything around Chessington was how friendly the staff were and also how clean the park was. I would definitely recommend this day out for families. This park is one to watch for future developments.

Summary: A top notch family day out