20 May 2023
A game for those who seek to find a way to world leave behind. Step inside the brand new area at Chessington World of Adventures in 2023 as World of Jumanji takes over the resort with 3 brand new attractions. Merlin Entertainments have partnered with Sony Entertainments to create an exciting new adventure based on the reimagination of the classic film, Jumanji.
For those who have never visited Chessington World of Adventures, this theme park was once known as just Chessington Zoo which opened all the way back in 1931. Since then, it has turned into a world of adventures combining themed entertainment and keeping it zoo heritage. The theme park is more notably known for its 40 attractions which include Vampire, Dragons Fury and Zufari. Outside the thrills of theme park, you can find over 1000 animals across the resort.
Chessington World of Adventures Resort has two hotels, a glamping offering and even a Go Ape. To celebrate the introduction of the World of Jumanji, the resort has added several premium themed hotel rooms based on the new Sony hit films. Tickets, packages and annual pass offerings can be found directly on the Chessington World of Adventures website, which we recommend taking a look at further for the most up to date offerings.
The World of Jumanji is the brand new themed area opening at the resort on May 15th 2023. Ahead of the official launch, we were invited to preview the new land and attractions they had to offer. Earlier this year, we were kindly invited to check out the exclusive behind the scenes tour of the construction of the area. You can find this review by clicking HERE!
Our visit was on Saturday 13th May, 2 days before the official opening of this new land. We had exclusive access from 2pm to 6pm in World of Jumanji to see everything they had to offer ahead of time. Heading to the resort and into the theme park from the explorers’ gate, you can already see the new coaster building excitement for what is about to come.
The new themed land has one main entrance point which is found close to the explores gate entrance. Heading underneath a Jumanji themed sign and the coasters Inversion flying overhead, makes for a very impressive entrance. Even better year, the main Jaguar centre piece wrapped in the coaster spiral track central and prominent in the backdrop of the land. The layout and design have been well thought through, giving that WOW moment as you step into the entrance portal.
As you venture into the World of Jumanji, the first thing you notice is the labyrinth of paths in the centre of the land, designed to look like the classic game board. A huge World of Jumanji logo also features within the winding labyrinths, making for a great photo opportunity in front of the Jaguar & Mandrill Mayhem. The area features many other detailed themeing pieces that immersive you into the parrel world of Jumanji. On your journey you may find the Bazaar market, an overturned lorry and board game pieces, amongst other details.
Exploring the jungle, you can find obstacle course elements aimed at younger guests. These include a balancing beam and tree trunk steps in the inner ring of the land. Supported by jungle foliage, the land has a range of new plants and trees throughout, whilst not fully developed, we hope they will grow overtime and develop with the area. You can also log themed benches dotted around to sit back and overlook the attractions.
Heading onto the attractions in the area, you have two supporting rides to the headliner, these being Ostrich Stampede and Mamba Strike. Ostrich Stampede is a jump and spin attraction that rotates around an egg and jumps up and down on the wings of an ostrich. Mamba Strike is a ride that takes explorers on a venomous adventure, taking you on a dizzying trip dodging the giant Mamba watching over you.
Both these rides are both made by SBF Visa and offer simple funfair fun. With this said, neither are large scale or thrilling, they do fit the younger family audience perfectly. They both offer a new sensation to the resort offering, with it fitting the family target audience. Both require a minimum height of 1.2m to ride with an adult and 1.3m to ride unaccompanied.
The headline attraction in the new land is Mandrill Mayhem. A winged coaster created by B&M which provides plenty of thrills for the family audience whilst bringing something different to what they already have at the resort. Mandrill Mayhem is the first coaster at Chessington that inverts / goes upside down, with its one inversion that goes over the entrance portal to the land. Guests must be 1.2m to ride and for guests under 1.3m require an adult. This is a perfect coaster for guests to get their first inversion and is a great step up from what is already on offer.
The coaster provides multiple launches at the start and half way through to give you the speed needed without climbing up a lift hill. From launching straight out of the station backwards, before head along the iconic sights around the new area and spiralling around the 55ft Jaguar. If getting to the top was not enough, you will be heading all the way back the same way you came but in reverse, as you tumble down and brave the route backwards.
The station provides a great audio and lighting sequence as you depart and for your short time spent in the station, offers plenty of themeing and fits decently for the land. Overall, we enjoyed our rides on the coaster in many different seats, with the front and back row being great, with also the 2nd from the back being super fun to ride!
Other features in the area would include the food & drink stand which you can find close to Ostrich Stampede. Offering different food from the rest of the park, you can find quirky foods such as a Turkey Leg or even a foot long hot dog. Prices were little on the high side compared to the rest of the park offering but if you want to try something different, it seems other guests were loving the new tastes.
You can also find a few claw machines, a strength test with themeing to some of the Jumanji film characters and some upcharge side games, such as knocking down the mosquitos with a ball. Whilst not any offering anything new, they are well themed and fit within the land. You can also find a new coke freestyle refill station in the land too!
The last main feature would be the shop and photo kiosk which is found at the ride exit of Mandrill Mayhem. Here you can see your photos of the screen and purchase them via a QR code, or take a look around the shop to buy a wide range of Jumani themed merch. This including the classic board game, backpacks, keyrings, T-shirts and so much more.
Overall, Chessington World of Adventures have created a fun packed, thrilling adventure in the new World of Jumanji themed land. Whilst not a large area, it has plenty to add to the resort with the 2 new funfair styled rides and the headline attraction coaster, Mandrill Mayhem. All the attractions add something different to the resort and for us, it means we could stay longer with the additional coaster to now ride on future visits. The launches were powerful and punchy, and we were surprised the on-ride feeling was so much more thrilling than seeing it off ride. So don’t be fooled.
It is good to note that to ride the new coaster, you do need to head over to the Chessington World of Adventures app and register in the virtual queue on the day of your visit. This is to help maintain the queues whilst the park trials out the new system. Once you register to ride, you will have a timer that counts down before you can enter the queue and ride the coaster. We have not tested out this system as it was not required on our preview but from seeing others’ opinions, it does seem like it assist and works most of the time, just watch out on busier days.
We loved our afternoon visit to the World of Jumani and thank you to the Chessington team for inviting our team of 4 to attend to experience this before the general public. The area is now open with the park and you can find this very close to Dragon’s Fury. If you have a visit planned or ridden the ride already maybe, then let us know your thoughts over on our social media!
@thrillnation Are you excited to experince the World of Jumanji at @Chessington World ofAdventures… it’s awesome - we loved Mandrill Mayhem! #worldofjumanji #chessingtonworlofadventures #london #mandrillmayhem #rollercoaster #new ♬ Jumanji -Welcome To The Jungle - Main Theme - Geek Music
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