Jul 24, 2024
Adventure Day Out - Me and my 12 year old son had the most amazing day.
Longest we waited for a ride was 60 minutes for vampire but was worth it, we just ate some of our picnic whilst we waited.
Lots of choice of rides, Play areas, and animals to see.
Animal talks on throughout the day, we really enjoyed to sealion talk.
Lots of area to refill our drinks, we brought the refillable cup via arriving which I recommend to save money. Also we purchased parking before arriving again this is to save money.
On the day I paid £25 to be able to have all the photos from all the rides that take our photos, these are definitely worth it especially if your in a group.
Staff was friendly throughout the park and helpful to find toilets ect.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 18, 2024
Chessington is OK - TERRIBLE THEME PARK. Firstly, me and my friends, we are all teenagers, tries to go on tiger rock but the staff said we were too young and short and needed an adult. The height limit was 130cm and me and my friends are CLEARLY well over 160cm. Secondly I think that the gruffalo water ride was actually very enjoyable however it REEKS in there. Furthermore, the theme park is EXTORTIONATELY expensive so do NOT go if you are tight on money. A plushy the size of my quite small hand was £17 and a slightly bigger plushy is £33! I literally brought a water and it was £2.80. For WATER. Another minor annoyance is that in the zoo they do not have all the animals they say they do I was particularly excited to see the capybaras but I searched everywhere in their enclosure and could not find them anywhere. Finally, the last negative I have about the theme park is that i saw a child wee whilst waiting to go into a ride, may I clarify he had a pre in PUBLIC. How GROSS. Moreover the incredibly long waiting times can be a bit tideous and annoying but that is part of going to a theme park. However one of my short list of positives about the park is that it is extremely clean and nice to be in. The staff to do a VERY good job of making the park as clean as possible which is nice. I also really enjoy some of the rides established ecially the gentler rides such as the gruffalo rides and Elmo ride as they are nice and relaxed. Overall the park is OK at best. I am on the fence on whether to recommend this theme park to others. I had a bit of fun at the park.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 31, 2024
Not was good as it used to be - Same as the contributor beneath. I’ve been here before and bitterly disappointed by today’s experience.
The long queues weren’t helped by many rides leaving half full. I’ve attached a photo showing this.
Massively overpriced shops and queues considerably longer than first anticipated because of fast track families turning up.
Bins full to bursting.
Also, we were stuck on the rotating swing ride for ages due to a malfunction yet didn’t even get a token to get us to the front of the queue for anything else.
It was an ok experience but not what it once was unfortunately.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 26, 2024
Better alternatives for a young family... AVOID - Despite suggesting that they consider adults as those over 12 years old, they really consider adults as anyone over 0.9m... or at least charge them as such. My 2 year old, who was unable to ride on the majority of the attractions, was charged the same as me - a 39 year old, 6"2 man. Doesn't seem reasonable or even sensible...
Any 'competitive benchmarking' they do is flawed if it doesn't consider the age of the children / extent to which they miss out on the attractions. There are multiple smaller amusement parks (Bocketts Farm / Fishers Farm) which are available at a lower price point and don't prevent younger / smaller children from riding on any of the rides.
There is also the issue of children between 0.9m and 1.1m / 1.2m. There are so many rides they cannot enjoy, and yet they are charged as if they can. The only thing that annoys me more than profiting off young families during a cost of living crisis is the constant defence of their practices on these review sites.
I actually don't mind the egregiously expensive food as that is optional, however park entry is not; they need to do better as they are failing families.
We will not be returning to any Merlin attractions until they create a fit for purpose 'child' category / concession.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 26, 2024
Appalling Customer Service - It is one of the worst run hospitality establishments I have ever been to. Staff are completely clueless, very poorly trained and unprofessional. This includes entry gate desk, food stalls and shops.
The managers showed very poor attitude in handling the issue we have had at the time. The after-experience customer service took over one month to address the issue, which subsequently became unresolved.
We will certainly not be returning to Chessington theme park and will warn our friends and relatives about appalling customer service.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 22, 2024
AVOID!!!!! Please report poor food standards to their local council! - Disgusting hotel. Awful food. Hygiene agency been alerted due to unhygienic practises seen.
Over priced for everything. Rides breaking down throughout the day, park is tired, staff clueless and rude.
Wrong allergen information given more than once and if you are celiac then take your own food as there are NO gluten free alternatives in the hotels for any meals!
AVOID!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 4, 2024
Waste of money. Terrible service. - We have been to Chessington annually for over 10 years. We were absolutely shocked to find out how much it has gone downhill. Whether it’s new management or prices cuts the place is tired, poorly managed and it costs ridiculous amounts of money for poor food, products and add ons.
We stayed at the hotel and the restaurants had very questionable hygiene. We saw a staff member leave the toilet in blue hygiene gloves and he didn’t wash his hands or change his gloves and then handled “clean” cutlery to lay on tables!!! We promptly left the restaurant and filed a complaint. This wasn’t taken seriously and our complaint was not heard. They just defended their hygiene practises. The food was worse than school dinners and cost a lot of money. Poor options for a buffet. The park itself was clean and has some good rides yet a lot were shut and queue times were really long. If our complaint had been handled fairly and with respect then we would have most likely tried to return yet their customer service is shocking. Argumentative and full of excuses. We will never ever return.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 18, 2024
40+ minutes wait on each ride, ridiculous!!! - I don't mind paying £34×5, but I do mind waiting 40+ minutes to get into a ride, the wait is just ridiculous. It's not worth it and my advice is go on a rainy day. I have been on 5 rides with- in the 7 hours and I strongly feel I need to get some of the cost back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 9, 2024
Ridiculous to leave - don’t do it - We have been stuck in stand still traffic trying to leave for the last 2 hours!! Overall park is ok, but completely ridiculous not to let us leave. Especially for a family resort, expecting kids to sit in car on exit for so long isn’t reasonable.
Other parks are far slicker. Avoid.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 3, 2024
Dreadful experience - Run down, shabby, more expensive for games/drinks/food than Disneyland. Queues completely ruin the day even apart from all that. Avoid it, kids' excitement quickly turns to disappointment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
see more
show less