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Park Queue TimesPQT

Chessington World Of Adventures
vs
Thorpe Park

Chessington World Of Adventures and Thorpe Park queue about the same on a typical day - 19 minutes against 20 minutes across 30 and 25 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

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01 · On a typical day

What you would normally queue.

Averages across recent weeks, so one broken ride or one wet Tuesday cannot decide it. This is the comparison to plan a trip on; the live figures below are the one to act on today.

Chessington World Of Adventures and Thorpe Park compared on their typical recorded queue times
TypicallyChessington World Of AdventuresUnited KingdomThorpe ParkUnited Kingdom
Average wait per ride 19 min (best of the two)20 min
Rides with recorded waits 30 (best of the two)25
Longest typical queue Chase's Mountain Mission37 minHyperia53 min
Shortest typical queue Canopy Capers5 minDobble Tea Party5 min
Average ride uptime Share of opening hours a ride is running89% (best of the two)75%

Averaged across every ride at each park with recorded waits. A ride that never opened is left out, so a park is not flattered by counting a shut ride as a queue of zero.

02 · Right now

Both parks, this minute.

Live queue times at both parks. These fill in as soon as the page loads, and keep updating while you are here.

Chessington World Of Adventures and Thorpe Park compared on live queue times
Right nowChessington World Of AdventuresUnited KingdomThorpe ParkUnited Kingdom
Average wait right now --
Rides open --
Opening hours today --
Longest queue --
Shortest queue --

These keep refreshing while this page is open. A closed park posts no waits, so its rows read as dashes rather than zeroes.

Verdict, on a typical day Chessington World Of Adventures and Thorpe Park queue about the same on a typical day - 19 minutes against 20 minutes across 30 and 25 tracked rides. Pick on travel time or on which rides you actually want.

03 · Choosing

Which one is your day out.

Every line here is earned by one of the figures above - nothing is a generic sentence with a park name dropped into it.

Pick Chessington World Of Adventures if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 19 minutes a ride
  • You want more to do: 30 rides here have recorded wait data against 25 at Thorpe Park
  • You would rather not find rides shut: Chessington World Of Adventures's rides run 89% of opening hours against 75% at Thorpe Park
  • Chase's Mountain Mission is on your list - it is Chessington World Of Adventures's longest typical queue at about 37 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Chessington World Of Adventures's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

Pick Thorpe Park if…

  • Queue length will not decide it: both parks average around 20 minutes a ride
  • Hyperia is on your list - it is Thorpe Park's longest typical queue at about 53 minutes, so it is the one to do first
  • You want Thorpe Park's own character - the rides, theming and atmosphere described below

04 · The parks

What each one is.

Chessington World Of Adventures

Chessington World of Adventures combines a theme park and a zoo on a 128-acre site in Chessington, Surrey. Originally Chessington Zoo, it reopened as a theme park in 1987 and now runs roller coasters like Mandrill Mayhem (the UK's first multi-launch family coaster), the long-running Vampire suspended coaster, and Dragon's Fury spinning coaster, alongside habitats for tigers, gorillas and sea lions.

Because the park draws families and school trips rather than hardcore coaster fans, queue times build around the major thrill rides and the newest additions. Use the crowd calendar to avoid peak school-holiday days, and check live wait times early - Mandrill Mayhem and Vampire tend to have the longest queues from late morning onwards.

Chessington World Of Adventures live queue times

Thorpe Park

Thorpe Park is the UK's premier thrill-ride destination, sitting on a lake-filled 500-acre site in Chertsey, Surrey. Owned by Merlin Entertainments, the park is built around adrenaline: Stealth rockets from 0 to 80 mph in under two seconds, Hyperia stands as Britain's tallest and fastest rollercoaster at 236 feet, and Nemesis Inferno, Saw and Colossus round out one of the most coaster-heavy line-ups in Europe.

Queue times at Thorpe Park swing dramatically with the seasons - quiet in spring and on weekdays, extremely busy during Fright Nights in October and summer weekends. Check live queue times before your ride priorities, and use the crowd calendar to pick a midweek visit if you want to hit every major coaster in a single day.

Thorpe Park live queue times

05 · Questions

Chessington World Of Adventures or Thorpe Park?

Which is better, Chessington World Of Adventures or Thorpe Park?

On queues there is nothing in it: both average about 19 minutes a ride on a typical day. Chessington World Of Adventures has 30 rides with recorded waits against 25 at Thorpe Park. Chessington World Of Adventures also runs its rides more reliably - 89% of opening hours against 75%. So pick on travel time, or on which park has the rides you actually want.

Which has shorter queues, Chessington World Of Adventures or Thorpe Park?

They are level. Chessington World Of Adventures averages 19 minutes a ride on a typical day and Thorpe Park averages 20 - close enough that the day you pick matters more than the park. See Chessington World Of Adventures best time to visit and Thorpe Park best time to visit to pick a quiet day.

Can I visit Chessington World Of Adventures and Thorpe Park in the same trip?

Yes - both parks are in United Kingdom, so a two-park trip is realistic over a long weekend. Split the days so you start at whichever opens earliest and drive to the other in the evening.

How many rides does each park have?

See the tables above for ride counts - or jump to Chessington World Of Adventures and Thorpe Park for the full ride lists.

Is Chessington World Of Adventures bigger than Thorpe Park?

By rides we track waits for, Chessington World Of Adventures is the bigger day out: 30 rides against 25. Acreage matters less than how many you can actually get on, which comes down to queues and opening hours.

Then pick
the quiet day.

Both parks have a crowd calendar with six weeks of forecast and the best day left to go.

Chessington World Of Adventures calendarThorpe Park calendarCompare other parks