Disclaimer: We were invited to the Eggsplorers event with PR tickets, however we have our own Merlin Passes as we genuinely love visiting Chessington World of Adventures, and all words are our own opinions.
One of Lily’s favourite places for the last few years has been Chessington World of Adventures and she has spent most of the winter asking when we can go back again.
She always asks for birthdays or special events whether we can go to CWOA, so the minute she found out we were heading to their brand new Eggsplorers Easter event, I’m pretty sure our entire neighbourhood knew we were going – she was squealing with excitement at the top of her lungs.
Was it everything she hoped for? Yes, and more! Here’s why…
What is the Eggsplorers Event?
The Eggsplorers event is taking place for the first time in 2023, from April 1st – 16th. The theme park had recently reopened following the winter closure (the Zootastic weekends still take place while the park is shut), and so the buzz around the park was always going to be high for the first holidays following reopening.
Alongside all the usual awesome rides, there were Easter-themed events and shows from the awesome entertainment team at Chessington, suitable for all ages to enjoy.
The Eggsplorers Parade
The Eggsplorers Parade was a definite highlight of our visit. The Easter Bunny arrives in a float by the carousel and tours the courtyard, before stopping in front of the gift shop, followed by dancers and music along the way.
The team does various fantastic dances, before stopping to speak to some of the kids. We recommend checking this out for sure, and Lily literally could not stop dancing – she was in awe and SO excited to see the Easter Bunny on the float.
This took place three times throughout the day we visited – we recommend checking out the times on the app before heading along to plan your day.
Easter Games
Easter Games take place across the park throughout the day. Lily enjoyed everything from hula hooping to throwing bean bags while we were there.
The team were always so friendly and there was never any waiting around or queuing to take part.
Easter Bunny Meet & Greet
I think Lily was the first child of the event to see the Easter Bunny – she was SO excited! The Easter Bunny had a lovely bench area decorated near the SeaLife Centre / Penguin Bay where you could meet her and get cuddles and photos.
There were 4 chances to meet her throughout the day and Lily was buzzing after her meet & greet.
The Easter Bunny totally had bow goals too – we loved the giant Chessington bow on her head!!
Easter Trail
When you arrive at the park, you’re given a trail map and activity sheet for your day. You simply find the giant eggs around the park, scan the QR codes on each one for the clue, and then solve the puzzle.
Once you have solved it, you take your sheet and word to the entertainment team by the Room on the Broom ride who have your special egg prize for solving it!
The QR codes didn’t always work for us, but we managed to solve the clues and Lily was super excited to get her prize – just remember a pen for your trip if you’d like to take part!
Performances
In true Chessington style, performances take part throughout the day for you to get involved with, with fantastic dancing from the team.
Lily had great fun joining in and speaking to the team afterwards too!
Zooperheroes – Mane Stage
We always love to check out the show on the Mane Stage and so Lily was so excited to see it was superhero themed. We usually have lunch and a cheeky Costa while watching the shows and it was once again fantastic!
We also got to meet the Zooperheroes afterwards for a quick chat and photo, so hang around for a bit afterwards if you’d like to see them.
Tip: If you don’t want to get wet, don’t sit in the first 3 rows as there is a bit of water squirting!
Another great show from the Chessington team, so thank you!
Other activities
As well as the usual awesome theme park and zoo throughout the day, there’s also Eggshitbition egg games (although we couldn’t find this) and zoo talks throughout the park.
For the younger ones, you can also enjoy a show and meet & greet with Cocomelon & JJ, giving plenty for all ages to enjoy.
On top of this, there’s also the Safari Hotel to enjoy to make a full overnight adventure of it – we absolutely LOVE the hotel and Lily’s only disappointment was that I hadn’t booked 🙂
Conclusion
Incredibly, despite being a the first Saturday of the Easter holidays in April, most of the rides only had 5/10minute waits, and it was only a technical issue on Vampire where we had to wait a bit, so we managed to get everything we wanted to do done – as well as two rides on the Vampire (Lily’s absolute favourite ride in the whole world!).
From the moment we arrived at Chessington World of Adventures, we were immersed into the Eggsplorers event, with the entertainment team waving and dancing at the entrance to welcome you to the park.
Lily was in her absolute element by all of it and was bouncing around like a bunny herself all day.
She danced with the team, she sang to the song, she screamed on the rides, she explored the park for the clues, she laughed at the shows and played all the games – she could not stop smiling all day.
To everyone who made the event happen, thank you! We are massive fans of all the events and make sure we check them all out, and can’t wait to head back to Mardi Grrra, one of our favourites last year!
As it was the first time to Eggsplorers, we knew it would be great, just had no idea we would just be smiling non-stop all day, not to mention being back on the Vampire once again.
Everything was so bright and colourful, from the costumes to the decorations, and all the happy smiles. Eggsplorers was just fantastic and Lily was in her element all day – it was just the perfect start to spring!
We also took a sneak peek at the new World of Jumanji, and, well, just WOW! We are totally here for it and cannot WAIT to book again to come back again very soon!
The 3am Diary 