Didn't intend for the thread to become specifically about merlin but I'm happy for it to go down that path.
Out of the 3 merlin parks (no, legoland doesn't count). Chessington is the biggest disappointment of them all. As mentioned, I haven't visited in almost a decade. I think wild asia was the new thing at the time. What have we seen since? Zufari, which is a glorified jeep ride and a handful of rethemes. Ride reliability is apparently awful. Themeing has gone down the toilet. Overcrowded it seems. There used to be an undeniable charm about chessington around 15 years ago but has steadily gone down hill.