Theme Parks / Zoos National
Offers
Reviews
 |
Chessington World of Adventures
by loopy-lou33 I must confess that I was very lucky to receive cheap tickets to this theme park courtesy of the charity Action for Children, as I have a son with Autism. The charity provided tickets for our entire family for £20, which was excellent value. The gate prices are as follows for 2012: Adult: £39.60 Child: ... £28.80 Family of 4 : £120 Senior: £25.20 The prices seem a little more expensive than most of the big theme parks, but this may be due to the fact that this attraction is London-based, whereas we tend to visit the theme parks near where we live in the Midlands. Chessington was roughly a 3 hour drive from where we live, and the majority of the jorney was by motorway. The park was well signposted from the motorway and easy to locate. There was ample parking space for cars near to the entrance, which meant that we didn't have to walk far to get into the park. Themed Zones The park is themed on "adventures", with most of the areas having the theme of a particular part of the world. As well as rides, the park also has a zoo and a sealife centre. I will run through the various areas and explain what is in each area. The areas themselves are quite small. I am used to Alton Towers, where the themed zones are quite large and contain several rides. However, at Chessington, the areas were considerably smaller, with some only containing a single ride. This meant that it was a lot easier to travel around the park, with minimal walking time between zones. The park is not particulalry big, which makes it particularly good for families with young children. Most of the rides are geared towards young kids and there were not many youths or teenagers in the park. I was quite happy to let my 9 year old daughter and her friends walk around by themselves, which is something I would never do at Alton Towers, which has many youths and young adults visiting. Chessington has a friendly family atmosphere which puts visitors at ease. Wild Asia The Wild Asia area is mainly themed on the Jungles of India. It contains a large play area called the Temple of Mayhem, which is suitable for kids over 4 years old. Our favourite ride in this area was called the Monkey Swinger. It was a variation on the traditional swing ride, as it lifted the riders high above the ground at an angle and jets of water would squit up at the riders on the outer chairs, causing everyone to scream. it was a good job we visited on a hot day, as we got quite wet! The area also contains a jungle bus ride for younger kids and a huge spinning track ride called the Kobra, which we avoided to to the massive queue. This area has a cafe which serves noodles, a nice change from the usual fast food outlets. Land of Dragons = I love dragons, so this area was right up my street! The dragon area was dominated by a large coaster called "Dragon's Fury". The coaster was one of the newer types, with a waltzer-like chair that spins and turns during the ride. Not one for the fainthearted! There was a large soft play area nearby, which my little boy (aged 7) loved. It was full of clibing frames and slides and was a nice and shady place to retreat from the beating sun. It could have done with a few chairs for the parents, though. We then played outside on the "canopy capers" area which Involved a little climbing and crawling through nets. Parents, you have been warned! Not dignified at all! The area had a sandwich cafe , which was nice and quiet, as well as a toilet block. There was also a kids water ride and a pirate-ship type of ride, although I can't quite work out the dragon connection with the latter. Transylvania This area was so small, it was like blink-and -you'll-miss-it! It is a shame, because with this spooky theme, they could have done so much more than they have done. The area contains a Burger King restaurant, which seemed a bit out of place. Surely a spooky cafe would have been better? There was also a cafe called Refresh and a large gift shop. There were only 2 rides in this area. One was a large spooky coaster called Vampire, which was a nemesis-style coaster, although it did not have any twists or go upside down. The other ride in Transylvania was the cutesy Bubbleworks, which seemed very out of place, but was one of my favourite rides. Riders sit in a little boat which goes around the soap factory and through fountains of water. It reminded me a bit of Disney's "Small World" ride. Africa There were two rides in Africa: Toadies crazy cars and the jungle Bouncers. The main attraction in this area was the arena area, home to the Madagascar show . The show was great and featured all the characters from the film. The audience were laughing, dancing and clapping their way through the show. My kids loved it. Pirates Cove This is another teeny area. It contained two rides, a pirate ship and one of those little pirate ship carousel rides. Pirate cove also has a chip shop. In my opinion, they should have done something similar to Alton Towers and incorporated the Sealife Centre into this area and had a few more pirate-themed activities on offer. It was quite near to the Sealion Show, though. Mystic East This was one of the larger themed areas. It was a Chinese themed area and looked amazing with it's red and gold decor. The landscape was dominated by two big attractions: Dragon Falls, the log flume and Peking heights, the big wheel. This area also contained severeral paid-for activities, including bungees, trampolines and zorbs. These activities were a bit pricey at £5 a time, but I did let the kids go on the zorbs, which they thoroughly enjoyed. I think people who pay full price for entry would resent paying extra money to go on these rides. Forbidden Kingdom This area is Egyptian-themed and unfortunately for us, the main tomb-blaster atraction had broken down. The area also has a big coaster called Ramses revenge and a flying elephant ride. The Forbidden Kingdom has a fried chicken restaurant, a bazaar area and a first aid centre. Mexicana I loved this area because it was home to my favourite ride, the runaway train! It reminded me of Big Thunder mountain at Disney, which is a great coaster. There was also a bigger coaster in this zone called Rattlesnake, a "wild mouse" type coaster and a bit of a bone shaker! There is a Mexican themed restaurant in this zone. Market Square Market square is the main central area containing most of the shops and service areas. Guest services is located here. Market square has a pizza and pasta restaurant, which is probably the best option if you are really hungry. There are some kiddie rides in this area and there is also a monorail, which gives great views of the park and zoo. When we were on the monorail, the sealion show was on, so we had a birds-eye view. Zoo and Sealife The zoo has a good range of animals, from the large, such as tigers and gorillas, to the smaller otters and birds. In one of the areas, Lorikeet lagoon, visitors can feed the birds by hand. The zoo looks well maintained and the animals look well cared for. Many of the Merlin parks are opening their own Sealife centres, as they are owned by the same company. This creates an attraction withan an attraction. Chessington Sealife has an Aztec and Amazonian theme and also has a touch pool where visitors can get up close and personal with the exhibits, including starfish, anemones and crabs. Exit pass Disabled visitors can get an exit pass from guest services. You need to provide evidence of your (or your child's) disability and the park will issue the person with a red wristband. This bad entitles the wearer and up to 3 carers to queue up at the exit of each ride, so that they don't have to wait in line. We found it really useful, although admittedly, the longest queue in the park was only 30 minutes, which is pretty good for such a big theme park. This from someone who remembers queueing for 2 hours for nemesis back in the day..... The staff give you a card, which has to be stamped with a return time once you have been on a ride. this means that you can't just keep going on the same ride over and over again. For non-disabled guests, the park offers a fast track ticket, which riders purchase in order to bypass the queues. Summary: Chessington is a user friendly family theme park which is ideal for visitors with kids aged between 3 and 13. Older teenagers and young adults would probably find it a bit babyish. Despite being quite a small theme park, Chessington packs a lot of activities into a relatively small area and visitors will be hard pressed to do everything in one day. There is a hotel next to the park though, for those wishing to spread their visit over 2 days! The large central picnic are provides a retreat from the hustle and bustle of park life and you are free to do as much or as little as you want. My kids, aged 7 and 9 loved it and I am planning to take my 12 year old son next time (he was sick on the day we went). The park is well maintained and clean and the staff go out of their way to help. This is a lovely place to spend a day and I was surprised how quiet the park was despite the fact that we visited in the school holidays and given its proximity to London. I visited Legoland in the past, whcih was a lot more crowded than Chessington. In conclusion, we loved our visit, but I think that in a few years from now, the kids will be too old for it. It is also a bit pricey for the average family, so if I go again I will be looking for offers or redeeming clubcard points to get in. Read the complete review |
 |
Marwell Wildlife Park (Winchester, Hants)
by Bunnyhop2 Before starting our family Marwell Wildlife near Winchester, Hampshire (formally known as Marwell Zoo) used to be somewhere we visited at least once a year. As it had been a few years since our last visit I was really looking forward to our first family trip there. We arranged to meet up with my sister, her husband and my nephew (12) and ... niece (8). The weather forecast was looking good for the Saturday in August we had chosen to go and so after lots of singing 'we're going to the zoo' to the twins and practicing animal noises we were ready to go. Booking tickets On the Friday before we were going we booked our tickets at Marwell.org.uk. It is really easy to book your tickets online and you get a 5% discount. When purchasing your tickets you have a choice of prices one with and one without a donation. If you pay the with donation price Marwell are able to claim gift aid if you are a UK taxpayer. As our twins are under 3 they were free so we just purchased 2 adult tickets with donation @ £18 each. My sister paid £60 for the 4 of them including a donation. A full list of entrance prices can be found on their website http://www.marwell.org.uk/planning_your_day/times_prices.asp?css=1 Another advantage of booking online is you get to go through the fast track entrance avoiding any queues. We had to print the tickets off at home and just hand them in at the entrance, nice and simple and far better than queuing. Parking Marwell opens at 10am all year except Christmas day and we arranged to meet with my sister in the car park at half 10. We were travelling from different directions but both had good journeys and had no problems meeting in the large car park. Once in the zoo At the entrance we were given a map of the zoo, details of the talks happening at different animal enclosures and there was also the option of an activity sheet for younger children. Having visited lots of times before we know our way around but there is a suggested route on the map provided if it is your first time. It suggests you allow 4 hours but I feel you would be rushing to cover the park in this time and want to take a break for lunch. Penguins We always set off in a clockwise direction and the first enclosure we reach is the Penguins. These are one of my favourites and you are able to see them both above and below the water. Our twins enjoyed pointing to them through the glass and there was plenty of viewing room even though the park was busy. We quickly found that the girls couldn't see much from their pushchair so we had them out, one walking on reins and the other who has a delay with her walking was carried. The double pushchair was then put to good use carrying the picnics. Savannah tracks This was new since our last visit and is home to 3 Cheetahs, we managed to see one but it is a nice enclosure for them but quite steep to walk up with a pushchair. Opposite to this enclosure were the Flamingos who seemed to be lacking in numbers compared to previous visits. To make it appear as if there were more birds mirrors have been placed in the enclosure. Heart of Africa This is usually one of my favourite parts but we were all disappointed by the number of empty enclosures we walked past with no explanations as to where the animals were. After 15 minutes walking through the 'Heart of Africa' we still hadn't managed to find the Giraffes, on the way out there was a sign saying that if you hadn't seen them to try near the Cafe Graze. This was also new to us so we carried on hoping thst we would find them at some point. Meerkat We got to the Meerkats at 12pm which was when the talk was and the staff member doing the talk was great. She was very knowledgeable about them and introduced us to them all. My nephew really likes Meerkats and particularly enjoyed this. Time for lunch As we had bought a picnic we just did a quick toilet stop at the Cafe Graze on the way to finding a picnic spot. The toilets were clean and well stocked with toilet paper. The cafe itself appeared to have a good selection of food with hot mains, snacks and a kids menu. It also sells a good range of drinks. It was very busy and I was pleased we'd bought our picnic with us. On the way out we spotted the Giraffes way off down a field. I was disappointed that the girls didn't get to appreciate how tall they were as they were too far away. All the picnic tables were busy but we had blankets and found a nice sheltered spot under trees next to the Tigers. We were probably being eyed up as lunch but we got to see a tiger close up which was nice after the previous disappointments. Aridlands, Desert Carnivores, Przewaiski's horses, Zebra & Coati After lunch we headed round the top of the park taking in the above. This also involves walking past a large children's adventure playground with lots for younger children to do. Cold blooded corner and Encounter village My nephew was keen to see the reptiles and as it was a hot day it was lovely and cool in here. The encounter village changed from being a farmyard into an Australian bush walk several years ago. This was a big improvement and we enjoyed walking through the Wallabies and birds. There is a Bush Tucker Bites eating area here and another children#s play area. Missing Monkeys There is an island where the Macaque live, we saw a couple but were mainly inside as it was a hot afternoon. So yet more missing animals! Lemur World Getting into here with a double buggy was a bit of a challenge as it is a very steep slope, too steep to attempt with a wheelchair I would have thought. Some of the Lemurs were off being fed by a group who had paid for this. Did feel we had paid to see them too but it wasn't all of them as there is large collection of different Lemurs at Marwell. Marwell Hall is located near here and is a Grade 1 listed building. It is available for corporate events and function, full details can be found on their website. Time for ice cream We reached an ice cream kiosk so decided to have a break, this turned out to be longer than we planned due to only one person serving on a busy afternoon. The ice cream was locally produced and lovely! Tropical world As it wasn't possible to take the double pushchair in here I waited outside, it is also very hot and I was quite warm enough. Tropical world is home to a wide range of plants, crocodiles and leaf cutter ants which are fascinating to watch. Snow Leopards Sadly they were in hiding when we were here so we didn't get to see them. I love seeing them so once again was disappointed and so quickly visited the Pygmy hippo and Anteaters on our way to the exit. Trains We didn't go on either but Marwell has both a road train which is free and railway train which you can ride on for a different view of the park for £2. Gift shop A must visit for myself and my niece, lots of lovely toy animals and gifts to choose from. Would I recommend? Yes but I didn't enjoy the visit as much as I have in the past and this view was shared by the other members of our group. Marwell has a wide range of animals but too many were 'missing' for the amount we had paid. Marwell is a lovely well kept wildlife park but I think we'll leave it a couple of years before visiting again and maybe go on a cooler day. Read the complete review |
 |
Bewilderwood (Norfolk)
by Phil Cox Tree houses, adventure park, swings, story time, den building, slides, maze, zip wires; it doesn't get any better! We left our 16 month old with the grandparents as still a little young to benefit properly from what the park has to offer and meant we could both go around with the 4 year old as she needed reassurance and support for some ... of the bridges and larger slides. It's good fun for big kids of 29 and 30 too! I feel it represents pretty good value for money, £13.50 for those over 105cm and £10.50 for those under (to reflect the fact they cannot go on the main zip wire - although there is a smaller zip wire for them to enjoy) - under 92cm are free. The staff were brilliant, the story tellers incredibly enthusiastic and great at getting the kids involved; our daughter went to all 3 stories that were told on the day and really enjoyed them. We didn't take any food but wished we had as there are a couple of really nice lawned picnic areas as well as picnic tables and benches to use. And thankfully the whole site is non smoking and there are signs reminding people what a horrible habit it is. The people serving food were extremely polite and efficient and whilst the prices were customarily on the high side, they were not too dear and the food was of good quality. My daughter had a lunch box for £4 included a small ham roll, really tasty apple (I know as she didn't want it), small bag of crisps, tube yoghurt and a carton of juice. Mineral water was £1 per bottle and a very nice egg mayo sandwich was £2.95 with a large bag of crisps 90p. Unfortunately we didn't realize there was a separate food outlet, which sold hot food and took card payments near the Slippery Slope (we should have paid more attention to the map!). Here you get a baked potato for £2.25 with each filling charged at £1. As I said not cheap, but good quality and to be expected where you don't have a choice. Go here and not to Pettitts - see http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/ theme-parks-zoos-national/pettitts-animal-adventure-park/1654574/ Read the complete review |
Theme Park / Zoo National |
||
|---|---|---|
|
5 reviews Address: Hayley Townsend / Theme Park / Zoo National / Scalby Mills / Scarborough / North Yorkshire / YO12 6RP / England - Come see the strange, beautiful and fascinating creatures that live beyond the deep blue! |
|
|
15 reviews Theme Park / Zoo National / Amusement ride at Thorpe Park, Staines Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8PN, England. |
|
|
15 reviews Theme Park / Zoo National / American Adventure Theme Park it's an exhilarating mixture of great rides, live shows and themed attractions. The choice is simply astounding. |
|
|
1 review Address: Queen Elizabeth Forest Park / Theme Park / Zoo National / near Aberfoyle / Stirlingshire / Scotland - High Wire Forest Adventure! |
|
|
2 reviews Address: Hamerton / Theme Park / Zoo National / Nr Sawtry / Cambridgeshire / PE28 5RE / England |
|
|
1 review Address: Newball / Theme Park / Zoo National / Near Langworth / Lincoln / LN3 5DQ / England |
|
|
1 review Address: Cabus Nook Lane / Theme Park / Zoo National / Cabus / Preston / Lancashire / PR3 1AA / England - Take the kids out for an adventurous day on the farm. |
|
|
4 reviews Blackpool Pleasure Beach / Theme Park / Zoo National / Adventure Ride. - Embark on a watery journey through ice, fire, wind and snow on Valhalla. The effects are breathtaking and the drops thrilling. |
|
|
1 review Theme Park / Zoo National / A sanctuary for all breeds of tortoises in Cornwall, England. |
|
|
1 review Address: Glenmore / Theme Park / Zoo National / Aviemore / Inverness-shire PH22 1QU / Scotland - Come see Britain's only Reindeer herd. |
|
| Theme Park / Zoo National recommendations 1 ... 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ... back next | ||
| dooyoo Results 91 - 100 of 246 | ||
