Chessington - right on queue (Chessington World of Adventures)

Member Name: Daz_S

Product:	Chessington World of Adventures
Date:	28/09/02 (208 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well-maintained, Wait times advertised

Disadvantages: Pricey, Long queues

This is a whinge. Chessington at the height of summer is a world of queues. I, as a miserable sod, left the place feeling weary and ripped off. Others would probably have had a great time and, if you don't mind spending upwards of an hour shuffling along looking at the back of someone's head in return for a three-minute ride, it's great. But that's not my idea of an adventure...

Call me an idiot for going in August, but if you've got kids, that's often unavoidable. It took an hour to get from the start of the two-mile traffic queue to the parking space in a field. An uphill trek through weeds and bushes took us to the pay plaza, and a short but slow-moving queue. After half an hour's wait as the booth operator struggled with the infinity of different offers and vouchers being tendered, we were in. It cost £41 using a voucher. Full price would have been £64 for two adults and a child.

Even arriving relatively early, waits for some rides were already over an hour. My seven year old daughter could be placated with a few kiddy rides for a while, But anything promising any kind of excitement was effectively off limits.

The park is divided into a number of 'worlds': Mexican, Zoo, Chinese etc. And the relatively new Beano-themed area. Here you have the added treat of periodic appearances by an oversize Dennis the Menace (looking alarmingly like Gareth Gates). This area is good fun - colourful and with a high risk of being squirted with water. An old-fashioned swings-on-chains type roundabout is the highlight. Even this entailed a half-hour wait.

Elsewhere, the biggest and fastest rides - the big rollercoaster; the water flume etc, had queues of over an hour, or had height restrictions which ruled them for my daughter. I got the impression that the park operators - the ubiquitous Tussauds - don't care, as long as they can pack as many people in as possible. The only consolation is that the wait tim
es are clearly advertised. Biggest disappointment was the rollercoaster in the Tex-Mex zone. My daughter had been allowed on an identical ride at another park only days before, but was deemed not tall enough to ride at Chessington. She did enjoy several goes on the big pirate ship swing ride, and its relatively short 15-minute wait.

I imagine if you go in low season, and are teenage or older, the park is probably fun. It is pretty well maintained overall, if a bit careworn in places. The rides are nothing out of the ordinary. You'll see the same things in different guises at most other parks. If you've got under-12s and want value for money and quality, go to Legoland instead.

Summary: