Chessington World of Adventure
Child-friendly servicesChessington WOA was recommended to me by someone at Thorpe Park as being very geared-up to the needs of parents and toddlers in particular. And we did find this to be the case. The theme park's website has very helpful section called 'Plan Your Day' so you can organise yourself before you even set foot in the park. There are suggestions for what to do according to the age(s) of your child(ren) and a list of rides that are suitable for them, as well as a downloadable map so you can try to orientate yourself before you enter the gates. There is also an informative 'Toddler Tips' page, including everything you need to know about toilet locations, baby changing facilities, and food outlets and baby food, if you need it. As anyone with young children knows, planning is paramount to an enjoyable day! Chessington has also thought of virtually every possible need of a parent, falling short just on offering surrogate parents to look after the kids for an hour so you can hop off alone and have some fun! Seriously though, the park offers:
Things to doWhile Chessington offers several scary, nerve-wracking rides that are only suitable for older children and adults, much of the theme park has been designed with toddlers and younger children in mind. In Animal Land, we saw animals such as gorillas, lions, tigers, and monkeys, and then watched the sea lions and penguins being fed. We didn't make it to the children's zoo this time but it sounds well worth it as there are all sorts of birds, animals and insects to see. You can also get a bird's eye view of this section of the park by jumping on the Safari train ride, which takes you on a mono-rail above the animal enclosures. It's perhaps not the best thing to go on if you're scared of heights though! Toytown is great for little ones as it has several rides that are just right for toddlers. Holly insisted that we queue for half an hour for the Tiny Truckers ride but in the end I think I enjoyed it nearly as much as her! We also went on the carousel so Holly could pretend to be Mary Poppins in that famous horse riding scene from the film. The carousel is my favourite (although I always mistakenly choose the horses that don't go up and down). We didn't brave the queues for the Flying Jumbos or Toadie's Crazy Cars though, as they were pretty long. The new, headline-grabbing ride for this year is the indoor Bubbleworks ride, whose design, from the Chessington website, looks like it was inspired by the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film. It was with this ride, and its disclaimer of 'Completely meaningless research conducted by rubber ducks' that I tempted my friend to come along for the day. However, because we visited on Easter Sunday, and there were apparently no other theme parks open in the surrounding area, the wait for the ride was an hour at best, which just wasn't appealing. Eating and drinkingA theme park wouldn't be a theme park without the ubiquitous burger joints, and McDonalds has a popular presence here. My husband and daughter partook in a meal from them while I opted for a healthier feta cheese salad from a café that sold sandwiches, soups and jacket potatoes. There are healthy options, if you can tear your kids away from the lure of fries. The prices weren't too bad, although a meal for two at McD's worked out cheaper than my fancy salad and Coke. My advice would be to either buy lunch early or late: we went at 11.45am and 15 minutes later there were no tables to be had. The park also has stalls selling ice cream, muffins, doughnuts, tea and coffee, though they are all quite pricey. If you can be organised beforehand, you can do what many other families there did and bring a picnic, though you would then have to lug a cooler around for the entire day: not so convenient. How much does it cost?A day out at Chessington does not come cheap. We were very kindly invited by the park to be their guests so we didn't have to pay the on-the-day entry fee of £29 (for anyone aged 12 or over), although this can be reduced to £27 if you book online in advance. In addition, one child under 12 years of age goes free with each paying adult, so that saves some money. For an extra £4 you can get an Express Pass, which gives you pre-allocated times on the top six rides. On a busy day, it would be worth the extra amount. One thing I was impressed with is the Savvy Saver ticket, which is available on off-peak times and must be booked in advance online. It costs £18 for an individual or £49 for a family ticket. The park also offers a Parent and Toddler Group, which gives information on forthcoming family attractions and offers a mid-week get-together for you and your friends for £11 per ticket, on certain days. If you're near the area, it would definitely be worth the trip - you also get a free coffee!
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Fancy
a day out that's fun for all the family? Sam Pope visited Chessington
World of Adventures (WOA) with her husband and three-year-old daughter
to see what was on offer.
We
also spent a fair amount of time in Land of the Dragons, which has a huge
soft-play area (worth remembering if it rains) and fantastic outdoor adventure
area, which Holly loved (even though we were terrified as she launched
herself down the spiral slide!). She also went on two of the rides here:
the Sea Dragons, which are mini-Viking ships that go round fairly quickly,
to my rollercoaster-loving husband's surprise, and Griffin's Galleon,
which I wouldn't go on as I thought it would make my stomach turn. I was
quite nervous as I watched Holly jump in the boat with my husband and
our friend but they had a whale of a time and she tutted at me afterwards
for being such a wuss!
The
pros and cons 
