I love theme parks. In particular, I am a big fan of the Disney theme parks. Their attention to detail is amazing, and their approach to customer service is exemplary. I try to visit regularly to get a fix of Disney park fun.
As a cheaper alternative, this past year I decided that I would buy a Merlin Annual pass for the family. This would allow us 365 days of unlimited access to Chessington World of Adventures, Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, Legoland, Madame Tussaud's, The London Dungeons, Warwick Castle, the London Eye, the London Aquarium and the many UK Sealife Centres. Since Chessington is less than 5 miles from my house, it seemed like a really good idea – we could drop by and ride the rides whenever we wanted.
We've certainly had our money's worth at Chessington over the past few months, and that is before we even visited any other attractions. It has been great to see the kids riding all of the rides, and I think it has help them overcome some of the trepidation and fear they both felt about riding attractions when we went to Walt Disney World in Florida back in 2006. The pass is definitely money well spent, and I will definitely consider it again when renewal time comes.
But I guess I have been very spoiled by Disney. Despite having some fun thrill rides, I feel let down by the experience at Chessington. The decor seems tired and feels like it lacks the love and attention it needs to sparkle. Many of the "side" attractions require more money (on top of the entrance fee) to be spent to play; this gives the park more of a fairground feel. The employees feel like they are simply "employees" going through the motions, rather than Disney's "cast members" who are there to bring the fantasy alive.
The final straw for me was when I was queuing for the Vampire Ride the other day. All along the queue line are fun props that try and create some sort of Vampire fantasy as you queue; most of these require some attention. Even just some weeding of the overgrown areas would help enormously. I could forgive this. But, also situated along the queue line were a number of TV monitors. Instead of showing pre-ride film, heightening the excitement for the attraction and drawing in the audience, they were showing adverts! In our case, mostly for Kellogg's Frosties. Emblazoned underneath the advert was a big message saying "TO ADVERTISE CALL XXXXX XXXXXX". Such a shame. I can't help feeling that more attention to the experience would bring more guests, and negate the need to make money from advertising.
[Click the image to the right for a larger view.]