Given that I absolutely adore both Chessington World of Adventures and Christmas events it was inevitable that at some point I'd end up visiting Winter's Tail. However, I've been putting it off for a while now. With a very limited ride line-up (just 10, including a play area), entertainment (rightly) aimed at children and a £20 charge to visit as a passholder the two hour drive never felt justifiable. But having been due to be in Orlando for my birthday weekend (cancelled for non-covid reasons) it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try some new theme park experiences! In case anyone else is on the fence about visiting, here's a quick run-down of what to expect if you visit Winter's Tail as a childless adult.
Entertainment
As you'd expect, there is festive entertainment spread throughout the day and across the entire park. We decided to skip a few things that were definitely Not For Us such as Elmer's story time but made sure to catch the headline show - The Wild Christmas Panto! I'll be honest, we didn't stay for the whole thing. Whilst the show was really high quality (so much pyro!) and the cast were wonderful, we once again felt a little awkward sat at the back watching this show clearly aimed at small children (who were having a blast of course!)
One thing I did try and catch as much of as possible were the fabulous carol singers! I loved the spread of stages throughout the park, meaning you were never too far from some very festive cheer. At the Wild Asia stage there were also some of the entertainment team dancing with children in the audience and the whole thing was just very wholesome and very festive.
Festive Experiences
In short, unless you have a kid these are a no-go. This may not strictly be true, as whilst the Christmas Kitchen had a sign outside specifically stating that adults were not granted admission without a child, this was absent from the Santa's Grotto sign. However, I just couldn't justify attempting to meet Santa. It's a shame, because the experience looked beautifully themed and I really wanted to ask if I could walk through and somehow bypass Santa. If anyone knows whether adults can do this, please let me know! Finally, there was the toy workshop that required a golden ticket from Santa to enter. This was another thing we didn't even try to access for obvious reasons.
Rides
Of the rides open, unsurprisingly we only ended up riding Vampire, Gruffalo, Blue Barnacle and Adventure Tree. I am also a big fan of Room on the Broom, but I've only ever experienced it back during full covid restrictions when you got the experience to yourself. I'm not convinced it would be so magical with lots of other families present. Anyway, the ride line-up is sadly the weakest point of the event. I understand the need for maintenance of course, and for families there does seem to be plenty to fill the day but there's no escaping the fact that with a few headline attractions closed (looking at you Tomb Blaster and Dragon's Fury) the appeal for adults is definitely lessened. I did also encounter a handful of families around the park, all with older children, ranting about the closures whilst they hunted for open rides (I mean, they should have checked the website but hey).
The highlight ride-wise was of course the opportunity for Vampire night-rides! I was hoping to get a few rides in but honestly with one train ops the 25 minute (very decent on paper) line was far more painful than it should have been and (I'm really sorry to say this) our ride was also so painful that I didn't really want a re-ride. I came off feeling like my ears truly had been savaged by vampire bats. Still, swinging through that forest in the dark will always be magical PLUS Christmassy details in my favourite UK station?! Heck yes! I also adored making the trek down to Blue Barnacle in the dark. I've always had a soft spot for this queue line, snaking it's way down in to a well-themed pit. Sure, the only lights supplied were flood lights but it still felt a little bit magical at night!
Animal Encounters
Without access to the festive attractions, the majority of our day was spent enjoying the animals across the park. For wildlife lovers like us, this was a very good thing! The event includes a really strong line-up of animal shows, including a festive version of the sea lion show which was very cute! The reindeers also feature prominently throughout the day, including taking part in an adorable procession across the park! Throughout the day we also caught the wonderful Animal Antics show (only performed once, in the morning, and not on the event map so do check the app), the reindeer Q&A, feeding at the children's zoo and Jingle Bugs (which was an opportunity to hold members of the bug collection!) With most of the exhibits closing at dusk, it's well worth making sure you get around all the animals early in the day.
Most importantly, I finally saw a Coati using the bridge across The Rainforest! Jungle Rangers has suddenly been upgraded to E-Ticket.
Food
Like any self-respecting Christmas event, seasonal food was available! Whilst there were plenty of huts spread around the park, there only seemed to be three options available: bratwurst, brownies or chips. Sadly, the bratwurst stand didn't offer a vegetarian option so I just ended up with a hotdog from Adventure Point (the best vegan dog at a merlin park tbf) but the bratwurst did get a thumbs up from my partner! We also shared one of the brownies and blimey they're good!
With an adult ticket to the event you also get a 'hot drink and snack'. I'm not sure if you can get different snacks from different vendors, but the only option in Wild Asia was a 'Viennese mince pie', which was a mince pie with a very dense biscuitty crust and not very much filling. Not brilliant imo. I did ask about the reindeer biscuits I saw people with but those are for children only sadly!
So. Was Winters Tail worth it? Honestly, I'd have to say no. At £20 for passholders I just don't think the event offers enough for an adult guest to justify the upcharge. But that's okay, this event just isn't meant for us. I still think it's really lovely, but with the majority of our day spent with animals we could probably have had a pretty similar experience for free at a Roarsome Weekend. However, with passholder tickets going down to £5 post-Christmas it's definitely worth a visit if you're relatively local. The park was pure magic at night, with beautiful lighting and music throughout. These few hours after sunset achieved the impossible: making me feel festive in the midst of all the rubbish in the world. So, maybe it was worth it after all.
Speak again soon,
Claire
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