Chessington World of Adventures Resort

[Morgan]

Queue times at Halloween are usually much bigger, with Vampire peaking at two hours. Sundays should be quiter, and the first and last day

[Starlight expresser]

How busy has the park generally been? Coming tomorrow and dreading school trips being there ready for holidays :yikes:

Andy

[Dom]

Can anyone tell me what is the best day to visit during howl'o'ween? I'm looking for the shortest queue times for my first visit.

If their halloween event runs on weekdays as well as weekends, then weekdays would probably be the better days to go. But if your planning on going on a weekend, or the event days are only at the weekend, than it might be worth saving up for fastrack before your visit. I have heard it can be busy during the event.

How busy has the park generally been? Coming tomorrow and dreading school trips being there ready for holidays :yikes:

Andy

The park can vary but as your going on a week day i would imagine it wouldn't be as busy as you expect. Yes there will probably be a lot of school trips, but i imagine the main attractions will go a bit quieter around lunch time, as they all seem to lunch about the same time. The best thing to do is play it by ear and try and get on the main attractions first thing or towards the end of the day. Most school trips leave a bit earlier, if i remember correctly.

[lewis97]

Chessington have released two videos on Facebook over the past few days, linking to something 'newly uncovered at the resort'. They've also referred to them as "spook-tacular" so they could be clues to a new attraction at this year's Howl-o-Ween event.

Video 1
Video 2

[Morgan]

Either Halloween or return of Abdab. Maybe an Abdab bit in Hocus Pocus instead of Cleopratra.

[BenBowser]

You can almost guarantee that Abdab isn't related. Mostly because it's not exactly politically correct to call an Arab such a name nowadays (and it wasn't exactly well received in the late 90s either). Secondly, the management don't actually know who Abdab is, so I'd be very surprised if the look of that skeleton is nothing more that coincidence.

[Dom]

According to Chessington Buzz, Captains Fish and Chips restaurant is now open!

[lewis97]

The latest video to be released directly associates the 'something new' with the Howl 'o' Ween event, with the promise of a full announcement soon.

[Ladyofthelake]

Plans have been submitted for a new glamping site at Chessington World of Adventures. SouthParks news has full information, but in brief it is proposed to be located to the west of Wild Asia with 35 tents - 31 regular and 4 premium - to accommodate up to 148 guests a night between May and October.

It's interesting to see Chessington looking to introduce a third form of accommodation. With the success of the glamping at Warwick Castle it seems Merlin are trying to use a similar model here, plus it gives the resort additional capacity during the main season. I've never experienced glamping, but I can imagine it being very popular at Chessington, especially with families.

What do people think about this latest idea?

[Dom]

Do we know what the potential price point will be? This actually sounds like a very good idea for the park, considering its not just a theme park and has a zoo side and likes to use words explorer.

[Ladyofthelake]

No word on price point yet - I guess that will be confirmed if/when permission is granted. At a guess I'd imagine it would be in line with Warwick Castle's prices.

[Morgan]

I did think a while back that Lodges that look like Mud Huts would be awesome, and I definitely approve of this!

[Dom]

A standard tent has appeared on the lawns by the Sea Life Centre, showing guests what they can expect from the new accomodation. Theme Park Guide have Pictures.

Also a page has appeared on the Chessington Website.

http://www.chessington.com/glamping/

[Dom]

Details for Howl o ween have been revealed. Feature 2 new attractions, Curse of the lost tomb and Trick or treat wood.

Recommended for those over 10 years of age. Additional charge applies.

In the brand new Curse of the Lost Tomb maze explorers are encouraged to delve into the secret lost tomb of Genghis Khan.

Will all be revealed, or will the cursed tomb claim those who dare to enter?

NEW! Trick or Treat Wood
For those who prefer their scares a little sweeter

Younger Adventurers must choose which path they'd like to take past the bewitching tree - will it be a tempting treat or a troublesome trick?

Enchanted fairies and ghostly goblins will guide little explorers on their way, with plenty of tricks and treats suitable for families of all ages

Also Vampire: The Haunting in the Hollows is back by popular demand.
Here is all the details

[archie.mm]

Additional charge applies.

[paige]

Is the Mystery of Hocus Pocus Hall not returning or am I being somewhat ignorant? It's a real shame if it isn't, it's such a nicely themed attraction.

[lewis97]

Is the Mystery of Hocus Pocus Hall not returning or am I being somewhat ignorant? It's a real shame if it isn't, it's such a nicely themed attraction.

It hasn't been listed anywhere on this year's lineup so it doesn't seem like it.

[DavidRock]

Has anyone tried to swap them with the staff? I read that you are able to do that apparently.

You sure can swap them with staff. We collect Pin Badges and was gutted when we got told they don't do any so come 2pm we started on Pop Badges and within 3 hours we managed to get at least 20.

Also staff at Thorpe Park do swap Pop Badges and I managed to bag me an Alton Towers AIR pop badge from a staff member at Stealth woohoo

[Altontowersbarlow]

I'm sure the new accommodation will be a good investment and match the standards of other accommodation options at Chessington. Despite this I don't feel that the Theme Park has developed enough to justify a new accommodation site.

Chessington's last major attraction was Zufari in 2013 and therefore the park won't have seen a large visitor number increase in 2014 or 2015. On top of this, Chessington already has two main hotels and therefore I think it's unescessary to add another at this current stage of the parks development.

I would like to see money spent on two major attractions in the next 4 years before any hotel is considered.

[lewis97]

Judging by the photos Scruffy Dog Group Ltd uploaded to Facebook earlier on, it looks as though they're working on the theming and props for 'Trick or Treat Wood'. More photos can be seen here.