Chessington World of Adventures in London

Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel in South West London, England. It lies 12 miles (19 km) south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987. In 2010, the park attracted 1.4 million people.

This theme park has it roots in Chessington Zoo, which opened in 1931; it was started by Reginald Goddard, who had bought the estate to showcase his private collection of animals. In 1946 when Mr Goddard died, the Pearson Publishing Company took over the zoo and managed it until 1978, when the Tussaud Group took control of the park (Tussauds was a subsidiary of the Pearson Group). In 1984, due to the zoo's declining attendance, Tussauds's Director of Development, Ray Barratt commissioned John Wardley to come up with plans to revitalise the park, and the decision was made to open an amusement park to complement the zoo, and so Chessington World of Adventures was born. The park opened with a new monorail, a powered coaster, log flume and a dark ride (all supplied by the German ride manufacturer Heinrich Mack GmbH & Co). The new rides were to operate on a pay-one-price admission basis, and replace the existing pay-as-you-go fairground rides. The monorail, named the Safari Skyway, opened early in 1986 to give the visitors a foretaste of the new attraction. "Chessington World of Adventures" opened as a theme park in 1987. The attractions were all heavily themed with emphasis on atmosphere and effects, meaning Chessington was one of the first true theme parks in Britain.

On 22 May 2007, The Tussauds Group was taken over by Merlin Entertainments Ltd, which owns other brands, including the Sealife Centre, and The Dungeons. This meant that Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Madame Tussauds were also taken over as well. As a result of this purchase Merlin became the second largest entertainments operator in the world, ahead of Parques Reunidos and second only to Disney.

The park has a large selection of attractions. It also has over 1,000 animals, many of which can be seen from the Safari Skyway, an elevated monorail around the Zoo. Chessington has been in the same ownership as nearby Thorpe Park since 1998, and since 2007, Legoland Windsor.[1] Since Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park are located within 20 miles of each other, its owner Merlin has made efforts to market the two parks to different age groups: Chessington World of Adventures is meant to appeal to children while Thorpe Park strives to thrill older thrillseekers.

The Park

 The park is split into ten themed lands, each with its own location, setting and rides: Chessington Zoo, Wild Asia, Forbidden Kingdom, Land of the Dragons, Market Square, Mexicana, Mystic East, Pirate's Cove, Transylvania, Africa and ZUFARI

Wild Asia - new in 2010. Rides include the Kobra, Monkey Swinger, Jungle Bus, Tuk Tuk Turmoil Dodgems and Temple of Mayhem. Wild Asia also contains the Lorikeet Lagoon exhibit.

Forbidden Kingdom - Tomb Blaster shooting game and Rameses Revenge wet ride.

Land of Dragons - rides include Dragon's Fury, Griffin's Galleon, Canopy Capers, Sea Dragons, Dragon's Playhouse (soft play area), Sir Walter Squirtalot and Dragon's Tale Theatre for children.

Market Square - main food area. Rides include Safari Skyway, Hocus Pocus Hall.

Mexicana - with Rattlesnake and Runaway Train rides.

Mystic East - with Dragon Falls, Peeking Heights Ferris wheel and Extreme Games Zone.

Pirate's Cove - with Black Buccaneer and Seastorm rides.

Toytown - zone for younger children with Toadie's Crazy Cars, Berry Bouncers, Flying Jumbos, Carousel and Tiny Truckers rides.

Transylvania - with the famous Vampire ride and Bubbleworks.

Chessington Zoo - throughout the World of Adventures are different parts of the Zoo, which includes Wanyama Village & Reserve, Lorikeet Lagoon, Trail of the Kings (Western Lowland Africa), SEA LIFE Centre, Children's Zoo, Creepy Caves (reptiles and insects), Monkey & Bird Garden, Penguin Cove & Otters and Sealion Bay.

Chessington World of Adventures contains enough to keep the whole family busy for the whole day. Visitors must note that many of the rides have various age / height restrictions and that at peak times you can spend a lot of time standing in queues. It may also be worth taking a picnic as food inside is charges at a premium.