Chessington World of Adventures Howl’o’ween Review
Chessington World of Adventures Howl’o’ween
24 October to 2 November 2014
Reviewed by Jenny Bennett
Last night four fearless explorers travelled to Surrey to visit Chessington World of Adventures Howl’o’ween event which is running from the 24October to the 2 November and will be open until 8:00pm everyday.
We were met at the gate by the brilliant team who showed us round and kept us entertained. Fearlessly we declared ourselves to be ready for anything. Fearfully three of us stepped back when they offered us the chance to hold some creepy crawlies – thankfully one of us (Sophie) was slightly braver and got stuck in. She declared the cockroach to tickle as it moved and the stick insect to be surprisingly light. The keepers had loads of information on the insects and obviously care a great deal for the animals in their care.
We walked in and were immediately stuck by how brilliant it looks.
Pumpkins, spider webs and spooky eyes peering out from all the bushes along with different coloured. Toilets, lockers and directions to each area are clearly signposted and the space is open so you don’t feel penned in or herded at any point.
We stopped for some food at The Adventurers Chicken Shack and enjoyed chilli con carne with rice or jacket potatoes with a side of nachos. To drink we had some apple and passion fruit juice that was a perfect shade of ghoulish green for our Howl’o’ween adventure and was greatly enjoyed by all the children and adults. Dessert… was unusual. Dried crickets anyone? Crispy meal worms? Cupcakes with meal worms and ant icing? For dessert this reviewer decided to take a step back to document the experience rather than step up but thankfully fearless Sophie was on hand again to try her hand at meal worms. She later decided they tasted like bugs, surprisingly crispy and thankfully didn’t get stuck between your teeth unlike the crickets which apparently do. Chessington are offering a special ghoulish room service menu during the event which is fairly pricey but then they are room service prices so you’d always expect them to be higher.
With our appetites either satisfied or killed off forever we set out for the first part of our adventure which was a trip to the Pumpkin High School of Rock which was a live show featuring four students of the coolest school in the underworld who are holding a singing contest. The actors are lively, talented and got us all clapping along in no time – the music is varied and little ones in particular will love dancing and singing along.
We were then taken on a walk through the park to go to the special attraction for Halloween – The Haunting in the Hollows. This is a live action walk through telling the story of how Black Hollow has been taken over by the terrifying Count Dracula and the task is to make it through without being captured. Full of nervous laughter (me in particular) we lined up with our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us and made our way into the village. The actors must be applauded for never breaking character and even when you know the frights are coming they still make you jump – and jump we did. It should be pointed out this has a three bat rating and I would not say this is for little ones as it features vampires, graves, lots of talk of dead bodies and many things that go bump in the night. It also features strobe lights and not just a little, there is a section to walk through that is entirely in strobe which at one point is almost blinding. The most important thing to stress though is that this is an excellent little feature – lots of fun, lots of jumping and a bucket load of Halloween fun. Just maybe with slightly older children!
We then got to go on the Black Buccaneer which is a traditional galleon ride and so much fun – it looks spectacular all lit up in different colours at night and we all laughed a lot. I mean a lot. Like helpless giggles. So much fun.
As a brave party we moved forward and made our way to the Vampire Ride.
I’ll be honest, this was the one we’d all been looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. The Vampire Ride might not be the newest ride on the rollercoaster scene but it holds its own well – its fast, fun and swings you around the twists and turns until your throat is sore from screaming and your face hurts from laughing. We were lucky enough to go on this twice and came out giggling like school kids.
We then made our way through the park to The Mystery of Hocus Pocus Hall which with a two bat rating is a live action adventure more suitable for little ones. You get to solve the mystery of Sir Arthur who disappeared without a trace many years ago after discovering a special emerald that allows you to travel to different dimensions. During your adventure you’ll discover the emerald and get to travel to three different worlds to try and find him. On the way you’ll encounter people from different times who will help and hinder you on your journey. My highlights were the walk through the hall of mirrors and the room with the spinning walls. This is excellent family fun and despite (apparently) being grown-ups we had a great time and all came out laughing.
This was the end of our tour and we were genuinely sad to go.
Chessington World of Adventures is a great theme park – especially one for those of us with smaller children not quite ready for the bigger theme parks… or those of us who just like acting like children every now and then.
We found the park to be well laid out, clean and the Howl’o’ween decorations and lighting make it a truly excellent experience. It’s not the cheapest place to visit but as a one off family day it really is a treat for all.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information and the best ticket prices (from £25) visit www.chessington.com/explore/event/halloween.aspx.
Chessington World of Adventures, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, KT9 2NE
