It was strange walking back into Chessington world of adventures after a gap between visits of nearly 15 years. Part of me wanted all the rides that I used to love to still be there, while the other half didn’t want to ruin the great memories that I had of the place. I wasn’t disappointed.
I have to confess that I always loved Chessington. I had a friend who lived near there and I used to go a lot. It was one of my favourite places and I would defend it against all comers (particularly people who tried to talk up the benefits of Disneyland!). In my mind the top 3 rides were in order: The Black Buccaneer, Professor Burps bubble works and the Dragon Falls log fume. As I walked through the gates I noticed that I was nervous, would these rides have all been moved to Thorpe Park with most of the adult rides? Would they even still be any good?
The other reason that I was nervous was that this was the first time that I had visited a park like this with a family. I was accompanied by some of my oldest friends and their children. The kids were both under 6 and I had a nightmare thought that they wouldn’t be able to go on anything. All my fears evaporated by the time we reached the first rides.
For the first hour we discovered new rides and attractions that threatened to break into my all time top 3. We seemed to be stuck in a time warp firing foam balls in Dennis’s madhouse. I’m sure we entered at 11 and didn’t leave till after 12. After trips to bumper cars, big wheels and water fountains we happened upon the first of my big 3; Dragon Falls. It’s still good, the kids still loved it and yes the people at the front of the log still get soaked.
By this time we were all hungry and there was a surprisingly good amount of space to have a picnic in (we brought our own but most people seem to be buying food there). There was a field just by the pirate cove that served our purposes perfectly. It’s worth bringing quite a bit of spare change with you as there aren’t many cash points near by and the food bill can add up if you are trying to feed a largish group.
After lunch we didn’t feel like getting on a large flying ship and bypassed the Black Buccaneer. Instead we headed for the sea lion show and the sea life centre. There were quite large crowds here in the afternoon so it might be worth going here earlier in the day.
One of the highlights for all still seemed to be the bubble works. This had by far the longest queue of the day. Most of the people in the queue had younger families and its worth bearing this in mind. Try and avoid the hottest hours of the day as many people were trying to get there kids inside. The irony of this is that most of the queues for this ride are outside in the sun (so make sure you bring drinks and sun cream to the queue with you). I won’t ruin the surprise that waits inside, but you might want to take your shoes off and cover your cameras for “bath time.”
Everyone, adult and child alike, was tired at the end of the day but thoroughly enjoyed today. At the end I was pleased that one of my historic top 3 made it into the kid’s top three now. So the new list appears to be this; The sharks in the Sealife Centre, the bumper cars and of course the now legendary Dragon Falls. That’s it, That’s the list (well for us at least!)
Chessington World of Adventures is open every day until September 8th
Today though, I decided to start ignoring John.
Although I appreciate his friendship and advice for the past 20 some years, it is not making me rich.
In fact, even though he’s a millionaire, I’m still working hard for a living.
I have most of my life ahead of me, and I cant keep listening to him anymore.
http://www.proprietarytrader.biz,http://www.proprietarytrader.net, http://www.proprietarytrader.info
Posted by: Amarkepherogymobged | 22/10/2008 at 11:29 AM