Chesington or Thorpe Park?

melt71

I am thinking of going to Chesington or Thorpe Park for my birthday later this month but I can't decide which one. As the day is likely to cost in excess of £150 I want to get it right!

There will probably be 4 of us - me, my partner, my sister and my eldest daughter (age 11). All of us like a fair amount of rides and quite a wide variety so we're just as happy on a water ride or runaway train and the main white knuckle jobs!

Chesington sounds amazingly varied but I can't find much information about what rides there are. It does tempt me to take along our 16 month old as they have a zoo and sealife centre and seem to have LOADS of stuff for all ages.

Thorpe Park sounds very similar to Alton Towers and we went there (and had a fab time) only about 2 months ago, so this is putting me off slightly.

Can anybody give a honest opinion based on our family info above, do you think we'd prefer one or the other?

Thanks

*manda*

It depends how tall your daughter is as TP is very adult with it's rides and there are height restrictins. Not much else there if you can't get on the rides whereas Chessington has sealife centre, and things like the monorail which are family friendly as well as the minetrain, vampire, log flume etc which are good fun rides

Have a fab time!

melt71

she's nearly 5' so there is no problem with her getting on the rides, but she doesn't like the really extreme looking ones (she wouldn't try Oblivion for example) so I think we'll stick with Chesington as it sounds like there are more family rides.
Are there a couple of white knuckle rides though?

skintas_2

my kids are 7 and 9 two years ago i took them to chessington i found most of the rides where for teenagers. my kids love thorpe park to pieces we went in june it was so hit they loved it theyre as theyre is a beach they stripped off and got straight in the water

gabyjane

Hi haven't been to Chessington so can't comment but went to TP for my hen do and loved it!! really really looking forward to going back again with my sister at some point! only thing i noticed is there wasn't a great deal for my dd to do (she is 10) and she doesnt like the big rides tbh so may be a waste of time.
Have fun wherever you end up! x

*manda*

melt71 wrote: »

she's nearly 5' so there is no problem with her getting on the rides, but she doesn't like the really extreme looking ones (she wouldn't try Oblivion for example) so I think we'll stick with Chesington as it sounds like there are more family rides.
Are there a couple of white knuckle rides though?

There are a few yes, personally I wouldn't class any of the rides as white knuckle at Chessington but there are some that aren't too far off. Vampire used to be really good but it is slower than it used to be, log flume is quite good, rattlesnake that is a small rollercoaster type thing but it's really jolty so that makes it more scary as it twists and turns. Rameses revenge is good but wet, dragons fury was probably my favourite though.

It is a good all round day out though as there are other things to do there as well as the rides.

melt71

Thanks everyone for your replies. That's really helpful info.

Does anyone know what the queue times are like this summer? Alton Towers was horrific and I don't really want to have to folk out extra for the fast track passes if they have them at Chessington or TP.

helping_hubby

melt71 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies. That's really helpful info.

Does anyone know what the queue times are like this summer? Alton Towers was horrific and I don't really want to have to folk out extra for the fast track passes if they have them at Chessington or TP.

Given it's the summer holidays I would expect long queues. I usually go during the week when kids are at school.

Not been to Chessington since about 2000, but it was aimed at a younger audience. There are some fun rides though (Rameses, Bubble works - although the last time I went they had all sorts of rules about no groups allowed etc on bubble works), dragon falls, vampire ride is very tame.

Thorpe Park is excellent and IMO better than Alton Towers, but many would disagree with me. It has Nemesis (altho not as good as Altons Nemesis), Stealth, Colossus and now Saw (which I've not been on yet, but would say it's close to Oblivion) are the most exciting thrill seeking rides.

Don;t forget to check for BOGOFs as that could save you a lot of money.

melt71

WoW really? Better than Alton Towers? I am leaning back towards TP again then ooohhhh decisions decisions.

Can't do a school week as we wouldn't have a babysitter for our 15 month old - it will have to be a weekend and preferably before September, so I guess I'm going to have to lump it

blue_monkey_2

OP, there is a Holiday Inn right outside Chessington WoA and you can buy a package so you get hotel and tickets. Last year we paid £134 for 4 of us full english breakfast, hotel and park tickets. Always worth having a look on their website. I think Chessington is better for little ones as there is more for them to do.

Gosia

I posted a similar question less than a week ago, here are the replies that I got:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1853939