As soon as I told Smallest Child we were going to review Chessington World of Adventures the daily countdown started. She was soooo excited! Sadly the boys weren’t free that weekend and we’d been invited along as part of the launch of the new Wildlife Defenders Yoto Card collaboration so we couldn’t change the date. On the plus side, it meant that 1) I didn’t have to do any of the scary rides 2) I can tell you if it’s worth visiting with younger children.
We were gifted admission to Chessington World of Adventures as part of an affiliate event but they did not see my review prior to publication and had no input into its contents. Tickets are cheaper when booked in advance via their website and they offer a rainy day guarantee (now called the return promise). This means that if rain, heatwaves or other circumstances stop play for over an hour during you visit you can return for free in the next 9 months! Click the link above for all the details.
Chessington World of Adventures Hotel
I’m going to start this review where I started my day; at the Chessington World of Adventures Hotel. There’s technically two of them – Azteca and Safari. We didn’t actually get to stay in the hotel (sadly) but we did get to have a quick look around and it looks soooo cool. There’s themed (and standard) rooms, an awesome pool and lots to do around the hotel. Depending on the package you get you can have animal experiences, reserve & ride, photo passes and more! Plus if you stay in the hotel you get early access to the park so can go on the most popular rides early!
I’ve already asked hubby when we’re going. You can find out more about the package options here (affiliate link)
Are Reserve & Ride Passes worth the money?
If you download the Chessington World of Adventures app you can see how long the queues are for the rides at any given time. I found a funky website that tracks the average wait time for each ride. Apparently Dragon’s Fury has the longest average queue of just under 40 minutes. It helps you to plan what you’re doing next, but bear in mind travel time between rides.
Chessington World of Adventures is only open from 10 – 5 and it’s surprising how quickly the time goes just walking between rides. The site is quite big. We had passes so didn’t have to wait that long for any of the rides. I think our longest wait was about 10 / 15 minutes and it made the day go soooo much more smoothly – we got to do all of the rides that we wanted to do. We did 20 rides in total, including some of them twice!
There’s only a few rides that have long queues. So many of them we either walked straight up or got on within a couple of rides, even without the passes. You might not need them if you’re going on a term-time weekday, but I would recommend getting the passes if you can. Especially if you’re going in peak season or have people that won’t do well with queuing.
Chessington zoo and sealife centre
One of the things that makes Chessington different from most theme parks is that it has both a zoo and a sealife centre. Our very first ride was the Zufari which is so good. You get really close to the animals and there’s even a waterfall!
There’s lots of other animals on site too. Most of them are over near the hotels but there’s more in the wild woods. The river raft has got a couple of animals and when we were going through Tiger rock we were greeted by an actual tiger just sitting there watching us!
Unfortunately I completely lost track of time and we didn’t even try to go into the sealife centre until 5pm – by which time it had closed so I cannot tell you what it’s like in there. Oops.
The rides
There are some REALLY cool rides here. Smallest Child’s favourite ride was hands-down Vampire. She loved it. We went on it twice. My favourite ride was Tiger Rock. Surprisingly I didn’t get as wet as I thought we would – we actually got wetter on the River Rafts.
Tomb Raiders was brilliant – but I think it’s just as good to watch it without shooting the targets because it’s actually a cool ride anyway. I didn’t try Mandrill Mayhem or Dragon’s Fury because I’m a wimp and they looked way to scary for me! I had the excuse of them “not being suitable” for Smallest Child – but I guarantee the boys would have loved them.
It’s not just about rides though
There’s other attractions beside the rides, although I’d say a lot of them are suitable for tweens and under rather than older kids. For instance the Temple of Mayhem is only for children up to 1.4 meters tall (and accompanying adults) and it’s soooo much fun.
There’s also some amazing playground areas. One has a rollercoaster that goes around it. Then another has a rope walkway that goes through the monkey enclosure! That’s pretty cool!
There are soooo many rides here, plus other attractions as well. And they are for a decent range of ages. There was plenty for Smallest Child to do (she’s 6 and 125 cm), but I also know that there would have been more than enough to keep my 12 & 14 year old boys entertained all day as well.
Are there any size limits to the rides at Chessington World of Adventure?
As a slightly larger lady I was concerned that I wouldn’t fit on the rides! Thankfully on the website and the app they tell you which rides are not suitable for taller or larger people. People taller than 1.95 meters might struggle on Vampire and Dragon’s Fury. If you have a chest measurement of 51 inches you might struggle on Dragon’s Fury, Rattlesnake, Jungle Bus, KOBRA and Vampire. The limit is 45 inches on Monkey Swinger. What I will say is that these restrictions don’t tell you that the moulded seats on some of the rides can be a bit squishy too if you’re not exactly slender!
I also STRONGLY recommend if you have young children that you check their height on any of the dozens of height charts around the site. I saw one parent who hadn’t measured their child being refused access to a ride. The poor kid was beside themselves whilst watching their siblings enjoying the ride – but it could have been avoided.
Is Chessington World of Adventures worth visiting with young children?
If your child is over 120cm then you’re golden – they can go on loads of rides. If I’m honest, I was nervous about Smallest Child on Vampire but she was fine. If they’re under 90cm then they’re free anyway. So there’s a 30cm gap where the number of rides available is limited. I checked the app and there are 14 rides/activities they can do, although sometimes accompanied by an adult.
This review of Chessington World of Adventures is based on our experiences at the time of our visit. Things can change over time, including the facilities available. If you have any specific requirements such as access it’s always best to check with the site directly before visiting. If anything I’ve said in this review is no longer accurate then please do let me know. Thank you.
Our Chessington World of Adventures review
Smallest Child spent most of the day running around saying it was the best day of her life (although to be fair she does say that a lot). There is a LOT to do here – easily more than you can do in a single day. And that would be the case if you didn’t have to queue for any rides at all. There’s a good variety of things to do for people of all ages, and all fear levels. Even if you’re a wimp like me.
Admission cost
Prices vary according to dates and optional extras. It’s much cheaper to book online. There’s quite often offers through partnerships such as Cadbury and Kellogs (but be careful as it’s not always actually cheaper than booking online!).
Most of the time you can also get cheaper tickets if you’re a member of KidsPass – they’re doing a £1 30 day trial
Parking / How to get there
Parking – There’s plenty of parking on-site. You can either pre-book online or pay on the day.
Address – Whittingham Avenue, Princess Mary Gate, Halton, Buckinghamshire. HP22 5GU
Toilets
Plenty on-site, including baby change and changing places.
Food
There’s various restaurants and carts on site. They’re all expensive. We took a picnic and water bottles. There’s places to fill up your water bottle.
What else is there to do nearby?
You’re right at the bottom of Wendover Woods. There’s also a couple of other playgrounds such as the one at Witchell Meadow and Aston Clinton Hub.
If you’ve found this post useful please consider supporting the future of blog by buying me a coffee. You can either click the blue coffee icon in the corner, or the blue button below. It’s quick, secure and very much appreciated!
You can get all of the latest reviews, what’s on guides and discounts sent straight to your phone by following my WhatsApp channel. It’s completely confidential; no-one (other than your contacts) can see that your number or that you follow – including me. Click the button above to follow.
Hi, I’m Vicky. My husband and I live in Aylesbury with our three children; a 14 year old son, an 12 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. I (mostly) love spending time together as a family. We visit all kinds of places and we’re quite happy to drive a fair distance for a decent day out. A few years ago I decided to set up Free Time with the Kids as a way to share our experiences of these family days out.
You’ll find the essential information you need to know before your visit that can be surprisingly hard to find out. Where do I park? How much will it cost me to get in? Are there any discounts available? Are there loos? Can I take a picnic or get food? My aim is to be your go-to guide for all your free and cheap family days out across Bucks, Beds, Oxon, Herts & slightly beyond. I really hope you find the reviews helpful. If there’s anywhere that you’d recommend please get in touch contact@freetimewiththekids.com or get in touch via Facebook