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Chessington World of Adventures Resort

George W said:
Could see this having a somewhat bad impact on the amount of guests visiting
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I shouldn’t think that too many people have a diesel car from pre-2015 at this point, and even if they do, I’d imagine that most people who can afford to visit Chessington in the first place, particularly if visiting as a family, can afford to pay a £12.50 fine on a single occasion.
 
Given the average age of UK cars is around 8 and a half years, and over 10 million vehicles from 2008 or earlier are still on the roads, I wouldn’t be so sure in assuming everyone is driving around in a 2015+ model (though I grant you, the number of petrol vehicles will likely be a higher percentage of that than diesels).

Will it have a noticeable impact on the number of visitors to Chessington? Unlikely. Will it be yet another unwanted expense on an already expensive day out? Certainly.
 
Going back to the Waterpark, it does seem a bit of a missed opportunity. It’s indoor credentials are smaller than Alton Towers yet it has a massive catchment area unlike Alton Towers Waterpark (and we all know how stupidly busy AT’s Waterpark can get).

The outdoor area looks more interesting than AT’s but other than that I have to confess myself disappointed.
 
As @Dave implied, it depends on what part of the country, or possibly even what part of London, you live in.

If you live in South London or the Surrey/West Sussex-type area, I imagine it is quite easy.

For me in Gloucestershire, however? According to TrainLine, Lydney to Chessington South would take me a minimum of 4 hours and result in a minimum of 3 changes (Lydney-Newport, Newport-London Paddington, London Paddington-London Waterloo, London Waterloo-Chessington South). Even if I went from Bristol Parkway rather than Lydney, it would take me a minimum of 3 hours and result in a minimum of 2 changes (Bristol Parkway-London Paddington, London Paddington-London Waterloo, London Waterloo-Chessington South). A return train would also cost me a minimum of £103 from Bristol Parkway or £115 from Lydney.

By comparison, the drive time from my location to Chessington is currently showing as 2h 9m (albeit I think this is probably at the faster end of the scale; I imagine traffic is relatively light at 11pm).

Once you're at London Waterloo, it seems pretty easy to get to Chessington via public transport. The problem is that you've got to get to London Waterloo in the first place, which for much of the UK population is easier said than done.
 
I do Chessington regularly by train from West Sussex. The point is you can actually get there without a car.

You wouldn't travel there and back from Gloucester. However if you wanted to stay in London or Epsom or Dorking or wherever then it's possible to do that trip without a car. You cannot do that at Alton Towers.
 
Alsty said:
I do Chessington regularly by train from West Sussex. The point is you can actually get there without a car.

You wouldn't travel there and back from Gloucester. However if you wanted to stay in London or Epsom or Dorking or wherever then it's possible to do that trip without a car. You cannot do that at Alton Towers.
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Ah, sorry... I think I misunderstood you a bit there.

In which case; yes, I agree. Chessington certainly looks more doable without a car than, say, Alton Towers. Alton Towers is a little bit quicker by train from my area (albeit not a lot), but problems arise once you leave the train station...
 
Matt N said:
As @Dave implied, it depends on what part of the country, or possibly even what part of London, you live in.

If you live in South London or the Surrey/West Sussex-type area, I imagine it is quite easy.

For me in Gloucestershire, however? According to TrainLine, Lydney to Chessington South would take me a minimum of 4 hours and result in a minimum of 3 changes (Lydney-Newport, Newport-London Paddington, London Paddington-London Waterloo, London Waterloo-Chessington South). Even if I went from Bristol Parkway rather than Lydney, it would take me a minimum of 3 hours and result in a minimum of 2 changes (Bristol Parkway-London Paddington, London Paddington-London Waterloo, London Waterloo-Chessington South). A return train would also cost me a minimum of £103 from Bristol Parkway or £115 from Lydney.

By comparison, the drive time from my location to Chessington is currently showing as 2h 9m (albeit I think this is probably at the faster end of the scale; I imagine traffic is relatively light at 11pm).

Once you're at London Waterloo, it seems pretty easy to get to Chessington via public transport. The problem is that you've got to get to London Waterloo in the first place, which for much of the UK population is easier said than done.
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I've had this issue coming from the southwest as well. It's actually nigh on impossible to get to Chessington using public transport without going into central London. I tried doing this on a Friday in September (didn't want to drive for complex reasons!) and the cost for a train from Bristol Parkway/Temple Meads was over £100 (one way), more if I wanted to arrive before 10am. Then I would still have had to get myself across London from Paddington to Waterloo which is yet more expense and also takes time out of the day.

Coaches to London Victoria were more affordable but took ~3 hours each way; the train down to Chessington then takes around 45 minutes, so you're looking at about 4 hours travelling - making for an exceptionally early start if you want to get to the park at opening time.

In the end I got an airport coach to London Heathrow and was kindly given a lift to the park. A taxi would have been over £40.

Wouldn't bother doing it like that again, basically you need a car!
 
Thameslink Rail said:
Thing is Chessington is really easy to get to on public transport anyway. Half-hourly service from London Waterloo: Adult £4.50, 11-15 80p. Under 10s Free.
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Of course because everyone has great bus services and live next to a train line. Personally I would like to charge all Londoners £12.50 everytime they use the beach roads as they are the ones leaving it ankle deep in rubbish every day.

Another tax to keep lower income families outside of London poor.
 
SuperMuscleMan said:
Of course because everyone has great bus services and live next to a train line. Personally I would like to charge all Londoners £12.50 everytime they use the beach roads as they are the ones leaving it ankle deep in rubbish every day.

Another tax to keep lower income families outside of London poor.
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Ah of course, because everyone in London is wealthy and poorly behaved...
 
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