Visitors to London who have kids with them or like to get an adrenalin rush have a number of theme parks around the edges of Greater London or a short journey out that they can easily get to for a day trip away from the main tourist centres.
Thorpe Park is located just to the southwest of Heathrow Airport and the town of Staines (home of Ali G), next to Junction 12 of the M25. It’s an amusement park set in 500 acres that has plenty of rollercoaster rides with names like Colossus, Stealth, Detonator and Nemesis Inferno along with a lot of water based rides. If you like travelling upside down at 100mph it’s probably for you. Thorpe Park is closed during the winter months and the closer it gets to summer the longer it stays open.
>>more information on Thorpe Park
Chessington World of Adventures is a park that’s aimed at the whole family with sections that are designed to entertain all age groups. For smaller kids there are ToyTown and softplay areas, gentle boat rides and various live shows throughout the year, for older children and adults there are larger water rides and rollercoasters, an Animal Land with gorillas, a selection of big cats including lions, tigers and leopards, a Monkey and Bird Garden, sea lions and a children’s zoo. There are a number of themed areas including Forbidden Kingdom, Land of the Dragons, Transylvania, Mystic East, Mexicana and Beanoland among others.
Chessington is located about 12 miles southwest of the London city center and it’s fairly easy to reach both by car and by train. More information can be found by clicking the link below, but one big piece of advice is to buy your tickets in advance online if possible since they cost much less this way.
>>more information on Chessington World of Adventures
Legoland Windsor is a sister theme park to Legolands in Denmark, Germany and California and as the name suggests is located near Windsor, just to the west of Heathrow. It’s mostly aimed at families with kids about 12 or under and has areas that include Miniland where 35 million lego pieces recreate famous European landmarks, Waterworks, Rattrap, a wood and rope climbing area, Orient Expedition, Magic Theatre and Enchanted Forest and others.
There’s a boating school, a balloon school and a Digger Challenge where kids can drive 10 full size mechanical diggers and a driving school where 6-13 year olds can drive electric cars. There are some larger rollercoasters, but the park is mainly for kids who come with parents. It’s fairly easy to reach either by car or by train, and they have good special deals for those who buy tickets advance on their website.
>>more information on Legoland Windsor
Adventure Island is in the seaside town of Southend which is about 40 miles due east of central London and very straightforward to reach. This might be a better choice than some of the other parks around London as it shouldn’t get as busy. There are over 30 rides to go on, 10 of which are restricted to a minimum height of 1.2m. It’s free to enter Adventure Island, and ride tickets can be purchased individually, but most people will prefer to buy a wristband that allows them on appropriate rides. Wristbands for smaller children also allow one accompanying person 14 and over on the ride. To get there by train take the One train from Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria station or the c2c train from Fenchurch Street to Southend Central. If going by car the A12/A127 or A13/A127 puts you right into Southend.
>>more information on Adventure Island
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