Chessington World of Adventures Resort Bewertungen 721

Been to chessington so many times over the years and it’s always been a great day out! Food is over priced because it always is at these places. The queues are too long because they just are. Hundred of people wanting to go on the same thing is going to cause a queue. Wish they had the bubble works! The gruffalo isn’t as good. We visit every other year or so

Sadly this is not a good review. This is the first time we have booked Chessington for our annual Santas Grotto. We only do one per year as of course there is only one Santa! My children look forward to this from the begining of December. Unfortunately we have all been disappointed and would not book this again. The time of our Santa visit was scheduled for 2.45pm. We arrived on time and had a look around at the reindeers and had some food. At no point were we informed we had to hurry as the park closed at 3pm. Why would you offer a visit at 2.45 knowing we also had to visit the toy factory and Santa all within 15mins? We got to the grotto and were told Santa was not there. We were then not able to vist the toy factory as this had also closed. Numerous staff members were around the village and not one person explained what we needed to do or where we supoposed to go. I have written to the park to express my disappointment and whilst they are apologetic they have denied any form of refund. My children were extremely disapointed.
I would not book this again.

We booked tickets today based on your website, which clearly states the park is open from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. We arrived the carpark at noon, only to find the gates locked, no staff, no visitors—nothing but an abandoned area. Even now, your website still says the park is open. This is completely misleading and unprofessional. Selling tickets and failing to notify customers of closures is outright unacceptable.

I would say this is probably the worst experience I’ve had in a theme park. We went to the ‘Winters tail’ and it was pelting down with rain (which I understand is uncontrollable) but about 70% of the rides were closed due to this. There were only two places to eat open and we chose the pizza place. £33 for an adult and a child to eat frozen pizza! As it’s a buffet we went for pizza but found a lot of them were completely cold on the inside and the cheese was still frozen/chilled on top. The food was disgusting!

Now for the winters tail - the “pantomimes” are complete rubbish. One of which was a screen with the words for Christmas carols with two women in colours hopping around. They didn’t make any provisions for rain so everyone was outside fighting Gail force winds whilst sitting watching these two women jump around whilst Christmas songs were playing. The santas grotto was a let down, the children loved meeting Santa (very awkward exchange as he didn’t have much to say and was asking a baby questions and seems to be awkwardly waiting for a response before moving on) . But Santa was nice overall, however the photos were extortionate. You can’t just buy the photo, you have to buy a package and the lowest price is £25!

The reindeers looked quite slim and sad with sticks clearly stuck on their heads. The elf toy shop was literally walking through an alley with toys stuck to the wall - no activity whatsoever for children.

I don’t think this review is half of the mess we encountered and the rainy day thing is a waste of time as it doesn’t include the Winters tail. So we paid £47 each for walking around in the rain with most of the rides closed and seeing Santa like you could in a shopping centre. So don’t waste your money! Could be better in the summer but not worth it to pay for the Winters tail, especially buying tickets in advance when you’re not sure of the weather.

Only plus point was the elves staff were nice

We visit chessington today 30/11/24 for the Christmas village and winter trail, we were not disappointed, the village was beautiful set out and had lots beautiful trails and opportunities for pictures, while we waited for Santa we had headphone
s for a silent disco. The elves were fantastic so enthusiastic, really stayed in characters and made my 6 year old daughters experience extra special. The jumanji rides were open, no ques only 10 min wait max. We went on the Mandrill 4 times! Never be able to do that on a normal day. There were a few other rides open pirate ship, room on the broom, grufalo, carousel and other ones for the younger kids. Panto was entertaining, zoo was open we had a really excellent day. I've been to Chessington at christmas previous years. This was by far the best!

Stayed at the Safari hotel on a blue light deal £189 for a family room had x2 charges £194 blocked on my card was told even though it was their error it would take 5-10 days to release. The additional £5 on advertised rate is an admin charge. It was not clear that breakfast or the swimming pool had to be pre booked. When we eventually saw this the pool on day of arrival was fully booked and we could only get 7am for breakfast in the adjoining hotel. Neither tvs worked in the room. We were told we would have to wait for someone to look at it when they weren't so busy . They came up hours later ..still didn't work. Both occupants of the bunk beds couldn't stop itching? Breakfast wasn't a bad selection but the hot selection was cold. Managed to go swimming before going into the park itself. Water was cold. The shower lock was broken. The shower itself was on a very short timer and every time it came back on was freezing. The park itself was really disappointing . Really expensive sub standard food. What rides that were open had huge waiting times . The park entry was in addition to the cost of the hotel add on to that the ULEZ charge and the cost of food it was a really overpriced experience. The final killer for me was I know this is animal park but as someone who has a real fear of rats I didn't expect yo see them running on the paths. Never going back. Such a disappointment.

We Visited chessington on the 09/11/24 through the blue light away day. We booked this months ago on the 23/01/24 so 10 months in advance as a birthday surprise for our daughter . The booking was made using my blue light card and the occasion was for our daughter’s 19th birthday. One day in the park and a night in the chessington hotel.
The stay went downhill from the time I booked.
We could not access any WiFi on this day in the park.

We got to the chessington park and I had to collect my ride access pass so I went to book vampire ride I use a walking stick and was sent around the houses walking for ages because of poorly signed directions of where I go to get the Q code scanned and because 3 crew staff had no idea where we go for this so they sent me all over the place.

Finally we find where to get it stamped but the queue was 30 minutes standing wait with NO staff around to ask any questions or guide me to a seated area apparently they would be inside before I got on the ride so after 20 minutes standing and leaning on my walking stick not sure if going straight on the ride or after such a long wait of o would have to come back at an appointed time because no one around to ask. Anyway we came out of the disability access queue due to my pains.

We went to buy food in the park but were told all card machines were down so couldn’t buy anything we were advised to go back outside the park to the cash till get money and come back to buy food for cash. This was a long walk for me already in pain with my disability. We get there and the queue to withdraw money was huge for obvious reason. We agreed to leave the food at least try to get on another ride as we have a 6pm dinner reservation at the Aztec restaurant and I put that we are celebrating a birthday. We figured let’s look forward to that.

So hungry and tired and me in pain we all walk back into the park my family agreed to go to dragons fury ride while I sat down but dragons fury just broke down they came out the que and went to cobra waiting 50 minutes only to be told that ride has stopped so they had to come out of that que. They tried a couple more rides ALL were down.
I contacted chessington to say I wanted my entry money returned as I informed them we would not be returning to chessington park so visit again tickets were of no use to us. They refused.

We then went to chessington hotel and had such poor customer service we ended up cancelling the rooms and driving back home the same day. Absolutely terrible experience at both places.

This review is for the Blue Light Card Weekend. NEVER AGAIN.

Please do not book this thinking you are getting a bargain because ‘Home Bargains’ will offer a better resort & hotel service than this place. Having looked forward to this trip for months we have been left completely deflated by the very poor service, rude management and immature park staff who breached safety rules on a children’s ride and said “Ooh well I didn’t send it so I don’t care”.

ULEZ - We arrived at the park to find out from our Google satnav that Chessington is in the ULEZ zone, a nice extra charge you’re not informed off by the park when you book despite the fact they have your address and know you’ll be travelling from some distance. Why not pop it on the bottom of the booking email?

Cashless - Chessington makes it very clear how their park is CASHLESS ONLY. But no, they had a minor WiFi connection issue (clearly no backup) with thousands and thousands of people attending the Blue Light Card event. So food was pretty much unobtainable (and unbelievably expensive - £9.50 for a hot dog which came from the bottom of the Aldi freezers). The queue for the Cash Machine was longer than most of the rides.

Staff - Staff were simply too young for responsibilities, walk around with head down to avoid eye contact with you, scruffy as hell and more interested in chatting about their nights out than engaging with guests. On the Safari Cars ride a car came back with two many people inside it and the young, rude, swearing, immature lad working (15:10 hours) said “Ooh well I didn’t send it so I don’t care” when challenged by his other staff member. Right in-front of my two year old. No interest in safety of riders, this is a children’s ride. Staff throughout the park are also very VERY slow at everything. The food, making a coffee, getting guests through to the rides, just the lot.

Hotel - This is NOT four star, do not be fooled. Bar and grill booked up completely so got take out for our room, no room service at all. Whilst the girl was taking our order a rude manager came up, got right in between us and started talking to her about something else. You could see how embarrassed she was as she was serving customers. Awful managers, rude to customers, rude to their own staff.
Price - booked a room for £119, arrive and it’s gone up to £124 for no reason.

DONT BOOK - Please spend your money elsewhere. This place truly isn’t worth spending your hard earned money on!
Will never return.

Was amazing experience and had a reasonable location for me and my kids to park.

Appalling. Ridiculous queues and filthy facilities. Everything is tired and needs renovating. Without doubt, the worst theme park I’ve visited.

What a waste of a day! The queues are ridiculous and not just on the roller coasters. 4 hours in and we only made 3 rides 2 of which where family rides. There is no ride management. Sapes left on the rides, not lined up before the carriage pulls in. All very frustrating when queuing with children who have no idea of time

What a disaster- expensive to get in, £10 extra for parking…are they expecting people to walk there? Unsure why this is extra. Over an hour in the rain without shelter waiting for all rides, even the ones for younger children. Disabled people in wheelchairs unable to park with no one stewarding the car parks. Limited signage and no mobile phone reception so we lost our group several times and had no way of contacting them. Filthy toilets. I’ve no idea why people come here to be honest- a money making company with no interest in customer experience. This is just about ramming more and more people in and making profits. A real shame.

There was a real issue that I'll get to in a moment but as a bit of background we have taken the kids to Chessington every Halloween since our 15 year old daughter was a toddler and it's always been great, we all have a great time, spend an absolute fortune on the day and the kids can't wait for next Halloween to go again.
Yesterday (Sat 26th Oct) we were all as per usual enjoying ourselves and as per usual we went for dinner around 5pm (dinner time for most).
We wanted to eat at the Pizza Pasta buffet but was told it was takeaway only as there was a safety problem with the gas, ok no problem we thought but looking through the window there was approx 6 families happily eating inside!
So we go next door to Smoke House BBQ & Bar but thought we'd have a look at the Vampire Burger Kitchen, we told the lady on the door we might be back in 5 mins if the kids didn't like the menu, she said ok - no problem.
Well we immediately walked back out of the Vampire Burger Kitchen as it was filthy with most of the tables taken up by half eaten meals.
We walked straight back to the Smoke House only to be told by a younger lady on the door that they're closing (it's 5.05pm!)
I said we were just here a moment ago and asked why they were closing at dinner time and she couldn't give me an answer, she just repeated I'm sorry but we're closing.
We asked to see a manager and she said there was not one available so I asked where customer services was, she didn't know and went to find out for me.
At this point a manager arrived, he went indoors and had a chat with them and arranged for us to be allowed in for dinner, he was extremely apologetic and very helpful, he also did not know why they were closing at dinner time.
He gave us a discount on the food as an apology which we're very grateful for and I'm sorry I never got his name but thank you so much for arranging this otherwise the kids would have gone without dinner.
The negative rating I've given is to hopefully get noticed by the relevant persons as we were very close to not returning ever again and you'll find the same review on Google reviews.

What's happened to Chessington!? It's tired and run down looking. The price of food in there is beyond a rip off. It's literally just taking the p*as with the prices. Overpriced and crap. Loads of the rides weren't working. The staff on the rides seem bored and unmotivated.

Shame.

We have been visiting the park and hotel on a regular basis for 8 years now. We are merlin pass holders, but that will be changing very soon. We have seen the park decline fast over the last 2 to 3 years. They used to be very good. But it has become clear that they are all about money and profit over customer experience. We have seen prices go up and them cutting back on staff and the park, thinking chuck a new ride in and that will sort it all out. Yesterday on the first of our 3 day stay, first ride the grufferlo. The boat filled with a good 8 to 9 inch's of water, nearly up and over the seat. Went to customers services and told its a water ride and I was complaining to the wrong office (very rude). So I went to the correct one to which I received this email.

Good morning Sam,

Thank you for leaving feedback for our park.

I am sorry to hear that you experienced stress during your ride on the Gruffalo River Boat Adventure, please know that this would not have been the intention. As I am sure you can appreciate this ride is a circulation water ride and with the additional of falls and fountains, it is commonplace for this ride to have water around the attractions and within the boats themselves. Nonetheless I can appreciate that if this if your first time on this ride this can be concerning, especially when there is a level to the water and not just splashes. Please be assured that our rides team regularly monitor all our rides and will always ensure that these are within safe limits for our guest. Having spoken to our Ride Management team, they have explained that due weight distribution on some of the boats and their timing on the rides this can make a few boats more prone to collecting this water. I do apologise for any stress that this may have caused.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us improve our services.

Kind Regards,
Callie | Customer Services Agent
Chessington World Of Adventures Resort

Basically they don't care. Go away !!!
The most iv ever seen in 8 years is 1/2 inch to 1 if your really unlucky. Never heard of a boat that it 50% full of water. Also when getting off said to the staff member "there's something seriously wrong with this one" reply was "we know"

On top of this we kept smelling this awful smell of old sick. Could not work out why it was following us round. To find out today that it was the bottom of my partners shoes and trousers. It must have been where someone was sick in the boat and then when she got soaked from the boat it dried on her trousers and shoes. Disgusting!!!

Over all the only nice thing I have to say about the place is the hotel restaurant. The rest just don't bother, and don't expect anything from customer services.

We visited on Sunday 6th October with our two year old grandson understanding that there was a zoo as well as rides for little ones. The rides for little ones were fun, enjoyed by our grandson - and his grandparents! The staff we met were friendly and helpful. That's as far as anything good we can say about the resort.
We were shocked and concerned with the zoo areas at how small and cramped they were for wild animals, both animals and grounds looking unkept, so much so that we are surprised Chessington has a zoo licence. The resort would do better to focus on the rides with no zoo and allow the animals to be transferred to other zoos and wildlife parks who have the space and expetise for them.
Food quality was very poor and expensive. We went to The Smokehouse. Don't go if you want a healthy, or partly healthy, lunch. We ordered burgers which were primarily carbohydrates. A tray full of culrly fries, enough for two or more people, a large stale bun, two large hashbrowns in the burger - why put hashbrowns in a burger?? - a reasonable portion of chicken with a little bit of tasteless coleslaw. All at an extortiate price. Not comparable to other resort food outlets, like Center Parcs.
I hope the management take notice of the reviews they receive. Chessington is not somewhere we would visit again nor would we recommend it to anyone.

AMAZING. MANDRILL MAYHEM TOPS

We are really disappointed. We booked our tickets a week ago for a visit for today. We have a ride access pass as I have a disability and there was no option to pre book with the Access card through the app as the day was full up, I looked everyday for week leading up to our visit to get a spot but I had no luck, I didn’t think this would be too much of an issue as this had been the case with LEGOLAND and other Windsor resorts so decided not to cancel out tickets as the manager seemed to sort this on the day for us. We had a 2 hour drive to get to the resort.

We arrived on the day to discover the manager would not help us get a booking for the ride access. As I am not able to stand in the queues for a long time this was not ideal, they told me that as the ride access was full we should hang around for 2 hours as there are often cancellations, I came back to the hut after 2 hours and was told there were no cancellations and there was nothing that they could do, (Even thought the reserve and ride were Available to buy for £500 so there were obviously spaces as they would have quite happily taken my money) it also seemed that many other people with the ride access had the same issues as us. The management did not care, did not even try to do anything to help, we were basically told that we should have booked in advance ( there was a 12 week wait for the ride access) so anyone who is disabled or has the ride access passes are not able to use the park for 12 weeks. I was given 2 options by the manager. Wait the the queues (which I cannot do) or go home and receive a refund. They said if we decided to stay in the park and complain once we had gotten home then we would not get a refund. They would not give a refund there and then and ‘took my details’ to issue the refund, they said I would get an email once I have left the park to advise this had been processed. (Still no email to be seen after 6 hours of leaving the park) I was escorted out of the park by management and security, I honestly felt like a criminal, the security guard seem to find the situation quite funny and I think he felt big and cleaver, this was actually all quite frightening for my 4 year old nephew.

Basically is you are disabled or have a ride access card that you have been able to successfully used at the other Windsor parks, I would either booked 12 weeks in advance or not bother at all. I would not given any stars at all if that was an option.

NOT DISABILITY FRIENDLY!!!!!
I’m sure it’s a lovely day if you don’t have any disabled people in your party but if you do beware, a member of our party has a Merlin disability card and so should be able to access reserve & ride (still have to wait but not in the line) and so tried to access this service but for disabled users it is all blocked out for over 10 weeks of weekends (only applies to disabled people, paying people can have access!) and was told there are to many disabled people in the park,
So we can wait and see if someone cancels and they might get us access to the service but if we wait all day waiting for access we won’t get a refund!
We waited 2 hours as they said they get an update at 12 o’clock, still no spaces.
At this point they advised us to leave the park and they will process a refund as if we keep waiting and complain after even tho deserved they won’t listen and won’t give a refund (During our wait I observed other disabled customers give up and get marched out the park like criminals including a 7 year old disabled girl on her birthday balling her eyes out)
We gave up and decided to join them and receive a refund. so security and a member of staff marched us out of the park for the crime of having a disabled member in our party.
I turned my phone camera on and was filming as you wouldn’t believe the discrimination.

The app itself kept dropping out, other customers complaining they have been trying to get access for weeks in preparation, it’s a terrible system that doesn’t work. The manager (Joy) even said we can’t make an exception for you because then we have to help all disabled customers……. YES! That’s exactly what you should do

All other Merlin attractions have been amazing but at Chessington you will be met with arrogance and a vibe that they want you out the park.

Absolutely Terrible Experience for Disabled Visitors

I can’t believe how disappointing my visit to Chessington World of Adventures was. As someone who requires accommodations due to a disability, I was shocked to find that they offered absolutely NO support at all.

From the moment we arrived, it was clear that accessibility was not even on their radar. The queues were completely inaccessible, making it impossible for me to wait in line for any of the rides. We eventually managed to get on just one ride, and it was a huge letdown considering the high price of admission.

For the amount of money spent, I expected a far more inclusive experience. Instead, I felt forgotten and ignored throughout the entire day. The lack of basic accommodations made our visit not only frustrating but truly terrible.

If you have a disability, save your money and skip Chessington World of Adventures. It’s not worth the hassle or the heartbreak.