First visit to CWOA today since May 2009 (not counting a zoo day visit in 2010). Was told that it could be quite busy but didnt realise how much - perhaps in other peoples terms it wasnt too busy but I am not a huge fan of queuing ages for rides and assumed that as Easter hols were over, it wouldnt be so bad - guess a LOT of schools had inset days.
I love Chessington and always have, since my first visit in 1990. Despite the queuing I had a great day - I love the atmosphere of the place and the staff members were all very friendly.
Unfortunately, due to my sister taking a wrong turn on the way, we were a little late getting there and then had to queue to get in. I also wasnt able to get on many of the rides as I was with my niece and she was too short for Ramesis and Rattlesnake and didnt want to go on Fury. I was freezing cold the whole day so we didnt do Dragon Falls either which was a shame. No time to visit the zoo or sealife but we did sit and watch the sealions for a while which was lovely - they are amazing funny animals and entertained us while we sat for a rest.
My ride count was:
Peeking Heights x 1
Tomb Blaster x 1
Vampire x 2
Griffins Galleon x 1
Bubbleworks x 1
Jungle Bouncers x 1
Sea Storm x 1
I am not a huge fan of Peeking Heights as, well I hate heights but went on it (have been on before) - the ride op was very friendly and chatted with us while we were waiting - once we reached the top and the thing started swinging I can extremely close to vomiting - yeah I am a lightweight! Only had to wait about 10 mins for this ride which wasn't too bad
Havent been on Tomb Blaster for a good few years - am I right in thinking they have changed the snake thing (I'm sure it used to pop up out of nowhere?) - my score on Blaster was terrible but I blame it on my gun and I am pretty sure I have given myself RSI (if that is possible). We queued for about 20mins for this which wasn't too bad.
Sea Storm - 10 min queue - love the ride but dont particularly enjoy going backwards - but the contents of my stomach stayed intact
Griffins Galleon was a walk on - I really like this ride and think it is underrated - I wouldnt go on my own but having an 8 year old with me is good as it may look a bit odd for a 31 year old to ride it alone?!
Onto Vampire (my favourite ride) - first ride the queue was about 25mins - got quite bored in the queue line with no-one to talk to but the queue did seem to move quite quick which was good. Got on near the back and a lady came and sat next to me - had an interesting convo on the lift hill which was nice - she is a rollercoaster enthusiast so we were chatting about all sorts of things - she said she wanted to go to TP but her kids wouldnt go on the coasters there!
Second Vampire ride and I managed to persuade my niece to come on with me - last time she rode she was 5 and ended up in tears but 3 years on, she has grown a lot so I figured that she would tolerate it better. Longer queue line then we reached the gate where you walk through to enter the station and were stopped - technical prob with the ride but it gave us a chance to chat with a lovely ride assistant which passed the time. Waited about 10 mins and was hoping we would get on as we had already queued for about 40mins - ride prob was sorted so in we went. We joined a queue behind a group of people who, well I am not sure what planet they were on but they just didnt move for ages. Eventually they realised that you actually have to get ON the ride duh. Eventually we got on - my niece was panicking slightly so I held her hand and she was fine and loved it - afterwards I parted with £7 - £7!!!! for a ride photo, I must be mad!
Having not been to the park for 3 years there have obviously been some changes - this might sound a bit sad but I kinda miss Beanoland (I think maninly the music for the dodgems!) - Wild asia seems to be very gray but I guess that is the colour scheme they have gone for which is fair enough (not that I am picky ) Kobra looked fun but we didnt ride owing to the fact that after trying out "The Edge" at Paultons it was a miracle I wasnt sick and my sister was taking wagers with her partner if I would up chuck or not - nice. I think Kobra is a good addition to the park - and fits in well with the area.
Rameses looked like it was on a pretty intense setting at one point - I wanted to ride especially as there was no queue (I remember the days when the queues were backed right up over the bridge and beyond) - didnt ride this as my niece was too short.
Flying Jumbos.....ummmm......we went to queue for it but the queue was quite hefty so we gave it a miss - I know they had to move it to make way for the Madagascar Live show but it is so hidden away I'm surprised there was a queue at all because you can barely see the ride, I'm surprised anyone knew it was there!
Bubbleworks was ok - my niece enjoyed it but I still prefered it with good ol' Professor Burp - bring him back is what I say!
Am gutted that I didnt get to explore areas of the park such as the zoo, sealife, a ride on safari skyway and other rides - if I had an annual pass I guess it wouldnt matter so much but we used BOGOFs so paid £20 each - despite the low ride count, I do enjoy just being at a theme park and not necessarily constantly going on rides - there were SO many children there - not that I hate children, I just couldnt eat a whole one. The kids behind us in the queue for the Vampire were highly irritating, not only because they sounded like a bunch of teenagers but because they were shouting at the ride assistant and constantly asking questions as to when the ride would reopen - if my niece has spoken like that I would not have been too pleased - I always make sure that she says thank you to the ride assistants when we exit rides we have been on.
What really stood out for me was the staff - extremely friendly and I didnt come across a single staff member who looked bored, cheesed off or tired - I have always wanted to work at a theme park (mainly chessington) but since I got application forms back in 2000 I developed bad anxiety and was unable to complete the forms. I have a lot of respect for people working in the theme park industry - visiting a theme park is obviously hugely different to working at one, and dealing with the public I guess at times is probably quite challenging. I am usually extremely shy and hate talking to people that I dont know but actually chatted to lots of different people today - staff and visitors - not sure why, I kinda feel more confidant in that environment.
Am a bit gutted about the smoking areas but totally understand why these have been implemented - despite being a smoker I can see how smoking is not pleasant for people around you and lets face it, its a nasty habit! - it meant that my smoking intake for the day was a lot less than usual which can only be a good thing. The plus side of the smoking areas is that you get the chance to talk to other social lepers(!), sorry I meant to say fellow smokers - was talking to a lady who told me it was her first visit and she was asking me about the log flume - we chatted for a while and then she left and I said "enjoy the rest of your day" - I do genuinely love watching people having fun and enjoying themselves, part of the reason why I would love to work in the theme park industry.
So yes I am waffling - I am hopefully going to go back to CWOA again this year but also really want to visit TP as I havent been in 10 years. Am on a mission to persuade a friend to come with me - said friend has never been to a theme park or ridden a rollercoaster and she is almost 33
All in all a good day out, tiring after walking for what seemed like ages and not eating anything for the whole day but still enjoyable and I like the fact that they have staff at the gates when you leave asking if you have had a good day and saying goodbye.
