Our visit to Chessington World Of Adventures during our UK Tour 2023

Get your backpacks ready because we're heading for a short stay in the United Kingdom to visit 9 theme parks. We know some of them, but many will be new discoveries. For the first park of the trip, we're taking you to Chessington World Of Adventures, a theme park from the Merlin Entertainment group located west of London.

Maxime has been here before, but it's a discovery for the rest of the group. This visit is also an excuse to take a closer look at the new Jumanji area with the new Mandrill Mayhem rollercoaster, whose opening we unfortunately missed by just a few days.

General atmosphere of the theme park

The first impression is very good with a very green, well-maintained park and attractions for the whole family. The more we explore, the more this impression is reinforced with a very pleasant, quite spacious park that allows the crowd to be well spread out. To compare it, we could make a link with Bellewaerde because it also combines animals, but Chessington is a step above in terms of decoration and theming.

It is notably on the latest additions that the park adds a lot of decoration and atmosphere. The small drop tower Croc Drop, despite its lack of thrills, becomes interesting due to the universe built around it.

At the back of the park is an Asian zone with tigers. It's truly superb with the enclosures that pass above the pathways, but it's underutilized. This is a point for improvement for the park.

In the video, you'll see, we passed through the second entrance right next to the big 2023 novelties of the theme park.

Chessington Attractions

Chessington is a family theme park and therefore has attractions for the whole family. You won't find huge machines or extreme thrills there, but everyone can find something they enjoy.

Chessington's Rollercoasters

Vampire was one of the attractions that Maxime absolutely wanted to ride because it was closed during his first visit. After a somewhat dated but atmospheric queue, you arrive at the station with an animatronic playing the harpsichord, and it's quite well done. Then comes the moment to board this suspended swinging coaster, of which very few remain. With its 2 lifts, the turns flow well with good sensations and a layout that holds up well despite the coaster's age.

Dragon's Fury was our first attraction. It's a spinning rollercoaster with low capacity. The queue is of no interest, and you are weighed when you arrive at the station, so the number of adults per car is limited according to weight. In a way, that's not so bad because an unbalanced car spins much more :) Once launched, it started spinning, really a lot, maybe even too much. Everything happens super fast, and you don't really understand what's going on anymore. It's a very good rollercoaster of this type, super fun!

Kobra is a classic disk-o-coaster. The decoration around the attraction could be more substantial because apart from the vehicle and the 2 pillars, it's quite sparse.

Rattlesnake is a Crazy Mouse type rollercoaster. Even though its layout is not very original, it is integrated into settings that give the impression you're going to hit walls. It's always fun to ride and well integrated, so don't miss it.

Scorpion Express is an e-powered rollercoaster in a mine train format. Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit.

We end with our frustration because we saw it running but the area wasn't open yet. The Mandrill Mayhem rollercoaster is the first propelled wing coaster. As the park is family-oriented, the layout is adapted and includes one inversion. Since you ride the course in one direction and then the other, you will have 2 inversions :) It's a B&M, it looks super smooth. The trains are super nice, we can't wait to go back and try it.

Other pleasant surprises at Chessington

Croc Drop is a small drop tower that the park opened in 2022. Even though the tower isn't very high, its integration makes it super interesting. Before riding, you are prepared for a sacrifice to appease the crocodile. The doors open, you take your seat, and tribal music reminds you why you're there. "Brave the drop, release the curse". A bit of smoke and off you go for the ascent with a nice view of London.

Tiger Rock is a log flume ride that takes you right next to the tigers. You pass by the enclosures in this really beautiful area. At the top of the lift, the view is again superb with London, and you have time to admire it. Then comes the final drop; it's high but ultimately doesn't get you very wet.

Gruffalo River Ride Adventure is a very cute indoor boat ride for children. You go to meet the Gruffalo with a mix of physical sets and screens; it's well done.

If you fancy a bit of Animal Kingdom, this attraction is for you, it's Zufari. In this attraction, you take a seat in a vehicle and go on safari in the enclosures of giraffes and other animals. It's quite short and ends with a tunnel whose effects need reviewing. Overall it's fun, but only if you don't wait too long. As it's located in a rather hidden dead end, there are generally few people.

Tomb Blaster, an interactive dark ride. You set off into ruins with a gun, with sets that are quite well done despite the attraction's age.

Finally, for the little ones, but we found it incredibly well done, Room On The Broom. This little tale featuring a witch uses effects where you move from room to room discovering her adventure with interactive elements.

Dining at Chessington

For this day, we took advantage of the refillable mug and the Coca Cola Freestyle machines, but you can also bring your own bottle as filling stations are available throughout the park.

As with all Merlin parks, you'll find the Pizza & Pasta buffet which offers good value for money.

On our part, we indulged in the Cronut Burger, a hamburger where the bun is replaced by a donut. It doesn't look appetizing, and you're right. It doesn't have much appeal, but we tried it. It's available in the restaurant next to Vampire, and the location was quieter with plenty of space to relax a bit.

Our general opinion on Chessington Theme Park

This is a park we really enjoyed. With a strong family focus, the offerings allow for an excellent day out. Investments continue to provide new experiences, notably with the World Of Jumanji land featuring slightly more intense thrills. With regular events in the park and a Glamping site, the park has great assets. The park is clean and well-maintained. In short, we recommend you check it out if you're passing through the London suburbs.