Our Chessington World of Adventures Guide will help you plan your visit to the park.
Chessington World of Adventures is both a theme park and a zoo. The park originally opened as a zoo in 1931. The Tussauds group developed the place into both a zoo and theme park in 1987. The park is now owned by Merlin Entertainments. The park itself is split into a variety of themed lands which are all loosely based on a range of world cultures.
Location
Chessington World of Adventures is located just 12 miles southwest of central London. The park is accessible by train from central London. Regular services run from Waterloo, Clapham Junction and Wimbledon to Chessington Station which is just a 10 minute walk from the park entrance.
Address
Chessington World of Adventures
Leatherhead Rd
Chessington
Surrey
KT9 2NE
Time needed at Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures is a full day park. However, unlike some of the larger parks in the UK, we would not recommend that you plan on visiting the park for more than a day even if you are taking your first trip to the park.
Attractions at Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures is home to many great attractions.
New for summer 2023 is The World of Jumanji- featuring an all new inverted wing coaster, two flat rides and a maze!
In addition to this, the park has 4 rollercoasters, a log flume and an incredible dark ride themed to the popular children’s book ‘The Gruffalo’. Dragon’s Fury, a steel spinning coaster, is the most thrilling coaster at the park. The other coasters at the park are; Vampire, a suspended coaster, Rattlesnake, a steel wild mouse, and Scorpion Express, a steel family coaster. These coasters are not huge thrill rides, instead they are designed to be suitable for the whole family.
Tiger Rock, the park’s log flume, is built around the park’s incredible Tiger exhibit and offers the unique experience of seeing Tigers while taking a ride on a log flume. The park has two dark rides; Tomb Blaster (indoor shooter attraction) and The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure. The Gruffalo ride opened in 2017 after the park rethemed the classic Bubbleworks attraction to tell the story of ‘The Gruffalo’, a popular children’s book. The ride itself is a slow moving boat ride. The theming within the attraction is excellent and makes it arguably the best dark ride in the UK.
Another stand out attraction at Chessington World of Adventures is Zufari: Ride into Africa! This off-road safari truck experience gives guests the opportunity to see animals such as Giraffes, Rhinos and Zebras.
Chessington World of Adventures also has a good selection of flat rides and child friendly attractions. The stand out flat ride is the brand new Croc Drop, a well themed family drop tower.
Zoo at Chessington World of Adventures
The Zoo has over 1,000 animals, including Western Lowland Gorillas, Sea Lions, Penguins and Sumatran tigers. The zoo itself is split into several areas, these are; Trail of the Kings, Sealion Bay, Children’s Zoo, Amazu, Penguin Bay and the Wanyama Village and Reserve. The Zoo is also home to a Sea Life Centre.
FastPass
Chessington World of Adventures offers a paid version of Fast Pass called FastTrack. A variety of FastTrack options are available, from unlimited rides on all major attractions to a single ride on one coaster. These can sell out on busy days so we would advise you to buy in advance online if you are going to the park on a very busy day.
Food at Chessington World of Adventures
For a British theme park, Chessington offers a good variety of food options from sit down dining to fast food, like fish and chips, to sweet treats. The four main restaurants at Chessington World of Adventures are; Pizza Pasta, Smokehouse BBQ & Bar, Tortilla (Mexican food) and The Vampire Burger Kitchen. Out of these options, our favourite option is the Smokehouse BBQ.
Events at Chessington World of Adventures
Howl’o’ween- Usually running in the last two weeks of October, this spooky Halloween event is sure to give you chills. This event offers spooky events for those of all ages and is the park’s biggest event of the year. The park is decorated with spiders, grave stones, voodoo dolls, skeletons and cobwebs. Some actors roam the park, however they are more interactive than frightening. The event does feature one live horror house which must be booked at an additional cost. The house at the 2020 event, Creepy Caves: Resurgence, is intense and won Best Halloween Scare Experience at the 2021 ScareCON Scare Awards.
Winter’s Trail- This Christmas event runs from the end of November to the start of January. At the event you can meet Santa and his Reindeer, encounter Elves in the Toy Workshop and even enjoy a selection of rides.
Eggsplorers!- Get ready for a ‘cracking’ time with an Easter Animal Trail and Easter bunny meet and greet.
Wilderfest- Croc ‘n Roll at Britain’s WIIILDEST family music festival!
Mardi Grra!- Get ready to throw your beads in the air, because it’s time to hit the streets and bring on the celebrations at Mardi GRRRA!
Hotels
Chessington World of Adventures has two, four star, on-site hotels and a Glamping experience. The Safari Hotel opened in 2007 but was heavily refurbished in 2014. The hotel features African theming, views of the Wanyama Reserve and the check- in area features a large reptile enclosure.
The Azteca Hotel opened in 2014 and is themed to an ancient Aztec temple. This hotel has three floors, each themed to a different temple. The hotel’s restaurant is particularly impressive as it’s built around an impressive water fountain and special effects show. Around the perimeter of the restaurant features a trail of leaf cutter ants.
Chessington’s Explorer Glamping site opened in 2016 and offers 31 standard and 4 deluxe tents.
Stuff to do nearby
With Chessington being located so close to central London it’s not difficult to find other things to do nearby. London is a great city full of history, shops, restaurants and other tourist attractions. LEGOLand Windsor and Thorpe Park are not far from Chessington, making the three parks easy to visit in the same stay for theme park fans.
A Go Ape adventure course is also located on-site at Chessington World of Adventures.
Chessington World of Adventures Top Tips
- Remember closing time is the time the queue to the ride will close – but not the ride itself.
- Book tickets in advance to save money and time on the day of your visit.
- Avoid going to Dragon’s Fury or Vampire first as this is where everyone heads.
For more information, visit the official site of Chessington World of Adventures.
Please also check out our guide to Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Thanks for reading our guide to Chessington World of Adventures.
