The excitement was palpable… twins Erica and Nathaniel, seven, and Timothy, nearly 11, being let loose at Chessington World of Adventures for the day.
Already theme-park obsessives at a relatively young age, the three of them, plus (who am I kidding?) us too, were looking forward to a day and overnight stay at Merlin Entertainment’s third most-visited UK theme park. Starting out as a zoo in 1931, Chessington opened in 1987 as a major attraction and last year scooped 'UK Theme Park of the Year' at the UK Theme Park Awards. And with the opening of its Jumanji -themed area in 2023, we jumped at the chance to scare ourselves silly at the spookiest time of the year.
Running on weekends in October right through to November 3, Howl’o’ween did not disappoint my thrill-seeking trio. Rather aptly, the day's first ride was the Vampire rollercoaster, which has been running since 1990 and is enough to put the frighteners on anyone of a nervous disposition. Soaring through Wild Woods, legs dangling just above the crowds below, it left us all blood-thirsty for more.
A quick dash through Shipwreck Coast took us to the World of Jumanji. The film is a favourite in our household, and the area hosts the new Mandrill Mayhem coaster, which wraps riders around a giant jaguar statue. Even more terrifying was my youngest son announcing he wanted to ride the new coaster, upside down and all.
Adrenaline junkies suitably sated, it was time to sink our fangs into lunch. Some food stands had extra Howl’o’ween theming, whether you fancied loaded fries slathered in blood ketchup or a Vampire slayer burger. However, the prices were also somewhat scary, so if you’re coming as a family you might want to bring a picnic. We had fries while the twins tucked into a Biscoff bubble waffle wrap (£7 each). Later in the day we got our eldest to try out the Midnight Fang Frenzy, a black waffle cone stuffed with black vanilla ice cream topped with fangs and strawberry sauce (£6.50). If the sight of his face afterwards was anything to go by, I think he enjoyed it.
We decided to book in for the Enchanted Hollow, a whimsical town bustling with friendly critters that’s opened just for spooky season (£10 child with treat bag, £5 adult, additional charge). Greeted by the Mayor of Mole Town Hall, we ventured through a burrow filled with doors for the children to knock on and fill their treat bags with goodies. Worth a go to keep younger kids entertained.
Next, after a terrifying plunge on Croc Drop, coupled with some amazing views of London, we headed over to the Pumpkin Patch with photos ops aplenty, including a display of different prize-winners, including the smallest pumpkin, the even smaller one, then the tiniest. My daughter, massively into mini-everything, said it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.
After a vertigo-inducing turn on Cobra in the park’s Wild Asia area and a drenching on the Monkey Swinger, we soon dried off as we watched the spectacle of Banyan - the Final Flame fire and ice show. Fully in character, dancers made their way into the crowds and had my kids staring awestruck.
The park was open until 7pm and the kids were desperate to eke out their time, so we headed back to Shipwreck Coast for the Blue Barnacle pirate ship, the scariest of many I’ve ever been on, then I took my youngest for a final spin on Vampire. A rather neat way to wrap up our park Howl’o’Ween adventure.
But there was no rest for the Halloween wicked as we checked into the park’s Safari Hotel, one of two on site along with Azteca. The reception was buzzing with post-spooked-out families, check-in made pain-free with self-service machines. Room keys in hand, we entered our very own land of Jumanji , in one of the hotel’s themed bedrooms – others include Room on the Broom, the Gruffalo and even Oreo and Capri-Sun rooms!
We were grateful for a relaxing green hue, rather than bright orange, while the children got to work playing a light-up game built into the wall, and switching on the glowing gem in the Jaguar statue above our super king-size bed. At bedtime, they were more than happy to hunker down in bunks with drapes plus a pull-out bed, which as a parent of three, is a rare thing to find - another family-friendly tick.
A standard double at Chessington with bunk beds including theme park tickets, early ride time, breakfast and parking is £439, checking-in tomorrow.
By booking a short break at Chessington, there are extra perks to be had as well – you can get exclusive access to the park before the crowds arrive, so we used the time to look at spider monkeys and penguins, and explore the Room on the Broom attraction not far from the Lodge Gate.
If you want to treat the kids this half-term, Chessington World of Adventures has entertainment by the apple-bobbin’ bucketload – visit chessington.com/short-breaks for availability. You won’t be disappointed.