Since we have been parents we have been on many kid friendly days out, but had never made it to Chessington World of Adventures. Last week, we were invited to attend during their Halloween extravaganza. We couldn’t wait to go and see what they had in store. Ava has been really switched on to Halloween this year, so she was super excited.
For anyone who hasn’t been before, Chessington combines a theme park, zoo and aquarium. Due to the size of the park they also offer glamping and hotel options, if you would like more time to explore all that the park has to offer.
We started off with the zoo and a trip through the African Trail, to see Gorillas, Lions, Tigers, amongst other beautiful creatures. Ava obviously wanted to see how big she was compared to a Gorilla, as you do!
We caught some of the Gorilla scatter feed and learned that this chap was actually born in Frankfurt before coming to the UK to live.
We can’t take Ava anywhere without her finding something to leap off!
This statue depicts ‘Ashok’, the first lion to be born in the zoo at Chessington.
We wandered over to the Sea Lions to learn they were just about to do a show, so we hung on and listened to the Baywatch music (obviously having a little boogie!).
The Sea Lion performing in the show we watched was Harley, who was 19 and an utter star. Harley was 19 and had been born at Chessington. I really wanted to take him home, but I don’t think he would have been too happy living in our bath! As well as being super entertaining, the show was also really educational and I enjoyed it so much.
Harley was such a character and I was taken back by how much he was just like an oversized dog, so intelligent.
Lunch-time was calling and Ava had requested a hot dog, so off we went in search of one.
When our bellies we full, the magical boat ride daughter her attention and it was Daddy who went on it with her. I was just praying her lunch wouldn’t re-appear! She loved it and her little face was so lit up when she got off.
Anything water themed gets her vote and she really enjoyed playing with the giant water pistols in the fairground section. Mr Hubby was trying to win her a giant unicorn on one of the fairground games without her noticing, unfortunately he didn’t manage it.
She then spotted the carousel, she adores them and we always have to have a go. This time it was my turn to accompany her.
She had such fun and even patted her horse when she got off!
There were plenty of Halloween decorations around the park, which elicited shouts of ‘Mummy/Daddy there’s a pumpkin’, every time we passed some…..
Ava and I decided to have an adventure and walk through Trick or Treat Wood. This was really fun, but unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photographs. There were characters along the way and at the end we were rewarded with a treat. I LOVED that the treat was an Organix bar and not sweets, as it was given directly to the kids.
From here we headed to Hocus Pocus Hall…..
I thought it looked wonderful, in all its Halloween glory!
Once inside we experienced a sensory treat. Given special glasses, which allowed us to see the illusions as we went on a spooky tour through Hocus Pocus Hall. Ava got a little scared towards the end, but she was happy and smiley when it had finished and she said how much she had enjoyed it.
Ava took this picture!
Our next stop was over to the Aquarium.
Ava was so excited when she thought she has seen Nemo and Dory!
Before we headed home we went to watch the ‘Pandamonium’ show, which was great fun.
We had such a fabulous time at Chessington; we all throughly enjoyed ourselves and we wouldn’t hesitate to head back again in the future, maybe for their special Christmas event.
Disclosure: We were gifted tickets in return for sharing our day with you all.