Alsty
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Matt N
TS Member
Interestingly, it’s actually the joint lowest rated UK Merlin park alongside Legoland Windsor, which is also 3/5 (that one surprises me, for some reason). Thorpe Park is higher at 3.5/5, while Alton Towers is the highest at 4/5.
Bowser
TS Member
Not to play whataboutery but the Christmas offering the past 2 years has been far better than AT (and TP which stays shut). Only Lego has more, obviously with the benefit of more indoor attractions.
Yes it would be nice if everything was open but the reduced entrance fee seems a fair compromise. Plus visitor numbers indicate a comparatively low appetite so running full operations likely wouldn’t be profitable.
I don’t think a DLP style Xmas in an existing UK park is a realistic prospect, we’ll have to rely on Universal for that.
I’m probably biased towards CWOA as it’s my sons favourite but I think that in itself speaks volumes.
Thameslink Rail
TS Member
Having looked back, I concede that 2023's lineup isn't too bad. Unfortunately prior to then the lineup wasn't great, 2022 they advertised Vampire and Gruffalo then neither opened, most years before then they usually had 6-8 rides open. I would note that Paultons are also capable of a near full opening with 6/7 coasters open.
Chessington needs a season or two of investing in fixing what they have, rather then building new. When we went for passholders day it was clear that while the central bit looked shiny, the further away you got the more run down it was.
That said. My 8 year old loved it so much. It’s literally his favourite place now, so they must be doing something right
That said. My 8 year old loved it so much. It’s literally his favourite place now, so they must be doing something right
BooMT
TS Member
Took my youngest to Chessington yesterday.
High Points:
- We paid the Enchanted Hollow Upcharge which was worth it for another charming, fun interactive walk through (we also did Christmas), great use of scent pods & plenty of chocs (2 large Cadbury bars, 2x Creme Eggs, 2x Chomps, 2x Fudge for our party of 2). The actors were spot on, very engaging with the children, some over-the-head parent humour & lovely costuming.
- The new Seatopia show was one of the best I've seen at Chessy in recent years with great costuming, high quality singing, frequent use of the stage effects & games while you wait. Puppets were brought into the audience too which was lovely for those of us at the back.
- Easter Bunny show at Adventure point was cute, high energy & interactive - seemed to draw a big crowd and added to the atmosphere.
- Queues were decent for a school holiday. Despite RAP being sold out (we sorted ours eventually), there was no more than a 5min wait on anything we went on.
- No noticeably long down-time throughout the day. Some rides were listed as closed on the app initially but we brought to life very quickly.
- The giraffes came right up to the truck on Zufari!
- Croc drop was spinning all day
Low Points:
- There's so much work to do. As we know, nothing really new added this year (other than fresh paint and new flooring which is nice to see) and no noticeable major improvements that add more to the 2023 experience. With a couple of rides under planned closures, some practically running under end of life care... Chessington is crying out to have some of the main areas updated. Hopefully this is all in the plan.
- Zufari is really not reaching it's potential. The cave 'rave' was working but so confusing... we went in with the doors open until the lights and bizarre rumbling finished, then the doors closed and we sat in awkward darkness & silence for a few minutes There's a huge potential area for significant development there. They either need to really overhaul Zufari (including station) or scrap it ASAP. I'd say 80% of guests on our truck were disappointed.
- Not thrilled with the current state of some enclosures. There were a few animals looking unhappy, especially in Wanyama Village. I don't doubt for a second the keepers love the animals and care deeply about their welfare but investment & focus is needed to really raise the bar. It's worth noting, other enclosures are excellent, stimulating and filled with obviously happy animals!
- It felt like a lot of the food outlets were closed or had uninspired choice for varied dietary requirements? I'm Pescetarian so headed to Captains Fish & Chips around midday which was a disaster. Lots of staff, all shouting at each other and looking confused, items unavailable, messy/dirty in the customer areas, very greasy fish, soggy chips and poor tasting. But... they had salt! I've had some decent meals at Merlin since the Aramark partnership... this wasn't one!
Overall - we had a great day, far better than anticipated for a school holiday but will probably leave it a while before our next visit as there's nothing really drawing us to travel 3hrs each time when we have Paultons who offer (in my opinion) superior ops, availability, maintenance and overall experience just 1.5hrs away. As @Alphe86 says, they could really use a few seasons to focus on bringing their existing product up to scratch - I'd rather see this than Project Bruce right now.
All said and done... I'll always have a soft spot for Chessy
High Points:
- We paid the Enchanted Hollow Upcharge which was worth it for another charming, fun interactive walk through (we also did Christmas), great use of scent pods & plenty of chocs (2 large Cadbury bars, 2x Creme Eggs, 2x Chomps, 2x Fudge for our party of 2). The actors were spot on, very engaging with the children, some over-the-head parent humour & lovely costuming.
- The new Seatopia show was one of the best I've seen at Chessy in recent years with great costuming, high quality singing, frequent use of the stage effects & games while you wait. Puppets were brought into the audience too which was lovely for those of us at the back.
- Easter Bunny show at Adventure point was cute, high energy & interactive - seemed to draw a big crowd and added to the atmosphere.
- Queues were decent for a school holiday. Despite RAP being sold out (we sorted ours eventually), there was no more than a 5min wait on anything we went on.
- No noticeably long down-time throughout the day. Some rides were listed as closed on the app initially but we brought to life very quickly.
- The giraffes came right up to the truck on Zufari!
- Croc drop was spinning all day
Low Points:
- There's so much work to do. As we know, nothing really new added this year (other than fresh paint and new flooring which is nice to see) and no noticeable major improvements that add more to the 2023 experience. With a couple of rides under planned closures, some practically running under end of life care... Chessington is crying out to have some of the main areas updated. Hopefully this is all in the plan.
- Zufari is really not reaching it's potential. The cave 'rave' was working but so confusing... we went in with the doors open until the lights and bizarre rumbling finished, then the doors closed and we sat in awkward darkness & silence for a few minutes
There's a huge potential area for significant development there. They either need to really overhaul Zufari (including station) or scrap it ASAP. I'd say 80% of guests on our truck were disappointed.- Not thrilled with the current state of some enclosures. There were a few animals looking unhappy, especially in Wanyama Village. I don't doubt for a second the keepers love the animals and care deeply about their welfare but investment & focus is needed to really raise the bar. It's worth noting, other enclosures are excellent, stimulating and filled with obviously happy animals!
- It felt like a lot of the food outlets were closed or had uninspired choice for varied dietary requirements? I'm Pescetarian so headed to Captains Fish & Chips around midday which was a disaster. Lots of staff, all shouting at each other and looking confused, items unavailable, messy/dirty in the customer areas, very greasy fish, soggy chips and poor tasting. But... they had salt!
I've had some decent meals at Merlin since the Aramark partnership... this wasn't one!Overall - we had a great day, far better than anticipated for a school holiday but will probably leave it a while before our next visit as there's nothing really drawing us to travel 3hrs each time when we have Paultons who offer (in my opinion) superior ops, availability, maintenance and overall experience just 1.5hrs away. As @Alphe86 says, they could really use a few seasons to focus on bringing their existing product up to scratch - I'd rather see this than Project Bruce right now.
All said and done... I'll always have a soft spot for Chessy
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I'm here today and on top of all the other points already made, vampire is somehow running on two trains. Still slow AF loading and dragons fury is just up and down like a yo-yo.
Park is very busy, gold lanyards as far as the eye can see. And the fish and chips place has loads of salt in the proper chip shop shakers..
Park is very busy, gold lanyards as far as the eye can see. And the fish and chips place has loads of salt in the proper chip shop shakers..
Nah it's down south so they have posh heinz malt vinegar sachets.
Surprised to see gravy this far south of Watford gap though...
Seatopia is pretty good, although feels quite short by Chessington standards - can't complain really though, nice to sit and watch while eating. The shows have been pretty good recently, particularly liked the Carnival Spectacle and Panto last year.
Agreed. The misery that is the queue line, to then have your bones shaken around all to see a few animals that may or may not make an appearance. Our son absolutely loves it, I have no idea why, otherwise we wouldn't go on it. Think they need to put the whole ride out of it's misery.
Chessington's xmas ride lineup wasn't as good as Legolands, but they had quite a few other things going on that filled the time, admittedly there was an upcharge for Santa/Enchanted Hollow, but they had the shows and the cookie thing. Did miss the walk through the Christmas tress with the fake snow blowing that they had the year before. It was pretty quiet as well, especially after Christmas and before New Year - we visited just before New Year for the afternoon and it was one of our best trips there - panto, cookies, chocolate, rides in the dark and hardly anyone there.
Also, the kept Enchanted Hollow open between Christmas and New Year and it was free, or free to passholders - can't remember. You could, in theory have gone round a few times and come away with quite a lot of chocolate - not that we did that of course
Blackhole_Sun
TS Member
It’s not often on one train. Usually happens around September time when they tend to mess about with the trains. Needs three, Merlin won’t pay the money.
Bowser
TS Member
We went on Xmas Eve and it was amazing, it was so quiet by dark that they were letting people do re-rides on Mandrill. Really hope they have Mandrill and Vampire running for this years.
Agreed. But, this is Merlin so no doubt they will change it and somehow make it worse.
Reb
TS Member
Chessington is held together by the old pieces of the park, and sadly, the only way it gets investment these days is through IP, which is something I very much detest.
Apparently, vampire was due to receive the room on the broom IP, which I guess would have made sense thematically since it's right next to the gruffalo, but man... It's so disheartening to see that the park has a direction in mind that's so far from what I would want...
Apparently, vampire was due to receive the room on the broom IP, which I guess would have made sense thematically since it's right next to the gruffalo, but man... It's so disheartening to see that the park has a direction in mind that's so far from what I would want...
Bowser
TS Member
I’m going to politely disagree with this.
My son loves The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom rides. Would he have enjoyed them as Bubbleworks and another original IP? Perhaps, but that initial coming to life of the things he recognised was priceless and takes them to the next level.
However I do think that only really applies to Dark Rides which are tailor made to accommodate IP, especially beyond very young children.
Rebranding Vampire would have been sad from a nostalgia point of view but I also think it simply wouldn’t have been an effective use of the IP. For it to work would have required a massive restructuring of the station and entire themed area, which isn’t realistic.
Equally I think World of Jumanji is a bit… rubbish. It could just have easily been an original jungle theme and there is little immersion in the movies which at the very least would have required the licensing of the actors.
KolonelKlink
TS Member
Sure, but they haven’t built new this year and apart from some new flooring there’ve been no discernible improvements - with woeful ride availability caused by a mix of decay and seeming disinterest in customer satisfaction (hi Aramark).
Merlin obviously aren’t going to get rid of CWOA which makes you wonder what level of neglect guests are prepared to tolerate before they vote with their feet.
Zeock
TS Member
I enjoyed CWOA today, especially since my 6 year old brother is now 1.2m tall.
On the other hand, Tiger Rock looked in a complete state. There was also an overflowing bin in the Mandrill Mayhem queue.
The park wasn't too busy today. I only waited 35 minutes for Vampire, which was definitely good, since it is usually much busier at this time of year.
On the other hand, Tiger Rock looked in a complete state. There was also an overflowing bin in the Mandrill Mayhem queue.
The park wasn't too busy today. I only waited 35 minutes for Vampire, which was definitely good, since it is usually much busier at this time of year.