I went to Chessington world of adventure last week AMA

[twiddlingthumbs69]

Absolute hell on a stick!! Never again

Hi Op - in a nutshell, what went wrong? Too crowded?

I went a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it

That was the first theme park I'd ever been to as a child and I loved it! That was a while ago now though so maybe it's run down these days? Or extremely busy? Or very expensive and then when you get in half the rides are closed? (I had this at a different theme park😭)

We got there at 10.30. Already 1.45 hr queues.
29 degrees.
They tell you there are water stations, there isn't!
Food is outrageously priced. £14 for a burger.
The zufari wasn't worth the wait, 5 mins (if that) trundling round in a circle. Saw one giraffe.
So, overpriced, noisy, busy, hot.
We left when it closed and only got on 3 rides.
Been to Thorpe Park and that has a much better system in place, still expensive but worth it

Theme parks aren't my thing anyway but what did you want them to do about the heat? Surely the temperature can't have been a surprise in late July?

@Waterboatlass true! It just compounded the misery though

I had a similar experience at Thorpe Park a couple of years ago (none of which came as a surprise- I knew I was going to hate it but wanted to treat my teenagers).

The only time I have not had a fucking awful time at a theme park is at theme parks on the continent (cheaper, quieter, shorter queues, much better food).

Hope you have a nice relaxing day today!

I had the opposite. Was at Thorpe and Chessington last week, we're in Scotland so schools already broken up.
Thorpe was a nightmare, hour long queues for every ride because coaches of kids allowed in first when everyone else had to go through bag check. Kids then vaped in queues and skipped in large groups without being challenged. Two girls physically fell on me in one queue because one was trying to sit braces between 2 barriers and another sat on her.
Chessington was busy but there were other things to do like the animals, queue jumpers were challenged if seen, and it was more pleasant to walk round with shade and seating.
We've got Merlin passes but Thorpe was so bad we might not go back even though it would effectively be free.

I went about 2 months ago ( and I am not a huge theme park lover ) and I thought it was ok - my DD12 loved it. Yep it’s pretty expensive but you can mitigate that by taking your own food. I bought some fast track passes which eased the pain of waiting although they have a tier system for them too. ( and I only bought the lower level). They only have a few rides at the “ full on” level so if that’s what you want then other places are probably better. They seem to be catering for that 4 -14 age category pretty well though. 2 things did outrage me - firstly being charged £8 for a bubble tea and being charged £10 parking on departure - I was clueless about that.

Would it be worth the fast track then? Thinking of going in August. I thought Thorpe park would be then next age-range up, chessimgton for pre-teens?

We go to the US theme parks which are so much better and it's because the staff speed up the loading times. They gamify loading times on some parks. When we queued in chessington they got about 30 people on a ride in 30 mins, as bored, probably underpaid teenagers wave people casually through. It would have been 10 mins in the US.

I must say they did come down hard on the queue jumpers and the vapers at Chessington. If I went again, which I won't, I'd definitely take a picnic.
I felt the zoo was more of a forgotten extra really. Felt sorry for the animals with all the noise going on around them.

I have posted on this topic before. I don't know how the big theme parks can justify taking so much of your money and then giving their customers such a shit experience. It's not just the money either, it's the disappointment and the wasted family time being stressed when we should be relaxing together.

I have a 6yo who, unsurprisingly, struggles to wait over an hour in a queue for a 3 minute ride and so, despite having been to Chessington twice, we have never made it onto any of the "big name" rides for kids. Both times, we ended up in the rather unspectacular soft play and I paid out an (additional) fortune for the pay-for activities (basketball hoops, ships etc) dotted around

My children are younger so easier to please I guess (as long as no/small queues!), so we either do funfairs or go to places like Hobbledown, Bocketts Farm, Fishers Farm or railway centres for days out. Things would have to change a lot before we set foot in another theme park again.

And of course the theme parks know that what they offer is shit. Look at the online reviews.

I have a friend who took her 7yo to Legoland for his birthday and they left at lunchtime as it was so bad (one ride the whole morning) and went bowling and for pizza in the afternoon to try to fix the day for him.

DS went to Alton Towers last week with school.

3 hour ques. He got on 2 rides.

£26 per ride 🫤

All theme parks are like this .. I'm amazed people still go . Sooo busy!

The exact reasons you gave are why Disney was a horror movie, would they not drop prices a bit in these places given you’ve probably saved for years/ sold your house to get in? Sorry it didn’t go well

I have posted on this topic before. I don't know how the big theme parks can justify taking so much of your money and then giving their customers such a shit experience.

Exactly this. Yet people still buy the tickets (including me two years ago!) so I imagine they will keep on with what is obviously an absolute goldmine for the owners and CEOs (less so the actual on-site staff, I imagine).
I will be surprised if I go to a UK theme park ever again.

Just awful - those poor kids. They'd probably have had more fun just going for a walk somewhere.

I saw school trips (admittedly primary age) at Chessington and I felt very sorry for the teachers.

Yes, take kids up a hill or to a beach or whatnot. Almost all kids, even surly teenagers, respond well to that sort of thing as long as they’re with friends. Physical exercise and the open air is good for everyone. As kids we would always moan about Dad’s enthusiasm for family hill walks, but we always enjoyed it in the end (even if we’d never admit it at the time!) Fond memories of Youth Hosteling in the Lake District 💚

Having been twice now (and the second time only because I was given discounted tickets after complaining about the first time), I feel justified in saying "never again!". I was worried that my DC might be missing out on this fantastic childhood experience, but actually it was hot, chaotic, overwhelming, stressful and a bit boring for them. It promised so much and delivered so little. We had a better time sat in our garden at home with the paddling pool the next day. There are so many better places to go where you actually get to relax, wander round and try things with your DC without having to pay extra or wage a military campaign to get on a ride.

I think the golden age of theme parks has passed. We'd always assumed we'd do Disney World when our kids were old enough for the flight, but actually the thought of it makes me want to hide in a dark cupboard.

For anyone who is going, I recommend sticker books and those little folding stools for the queues.

You do have to be a bit strategic to do theme parks well. Getting there 30 mins before it opens and knowing exactly which rides to head to. Using lunchtime to get on busier rides for smaller kids as everyone heads off to feed their screaming children. Staying late to do the busier rides and making the most of rolling rides which have quick queues etc. go on rainy days and out of school holidays if you can. These things can make the difference between a 3 hour queue and walking straight onto every ride.

A couple of years ago I went to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, £43, and I went on everything, 13 times on Icon.
I know Blackpool isn't a very Mumsnetty place but I had a great time and it was absolutely worth the money.

I went in June and the queues weren't that bad. The longest we queued for anything was 30 minutes for the mini log flume (because it was boiling and everyone was trying to get cool). Most things we could walk on, but my daughter wasn't doing the big rollercoasters which there were longer queues for.

We did find the food expensive but sort of expected that. The worst thing I thought was at the time they had the whole Tiger Rock area closed, so the big log flume, restaurant etc but the toilets were showing up on the app. So at one point when my daughter needed the loo the app said they were the closest toilets so we went and found them shut. My daughter's 7 so could hang on until we could walk to the next loo, but a younger child or someone with a disability might not have been able to.

We are in the fortunate position of being able to go to theme parks in term time. You couldn't pay me to go to them in the summer holidays.

I did not enjoy legoland at all

Was so happy to leave