The event Howl’o’ween returns to Chessington for Halloween this year and brings to life two live-action scare mazes, an interactive walkthrough full of fairy’s and spiders, story time with Room on the Broom and new for 2018, a live action show in the Gruffalo Arena. Chessington has always been an introduction into roller coasters and larger rides for families and kids and with the addition of Creepy Caves Unearthed, everyone can now try a scary but fun Halloween maze.
Creepy Caves Unearthed: Normally for Halloween, you would go to places like Tully’s farm to experience scary and well-themed mazes however this year Chessington is home to our favorite scare maze. Creepy Caves Unearthed opened in 2017 with a 4 bat ratting, however, this year the park have ramped up the scares and the maze is back and is more terrifying than ever! Creepy Caves is a paid upcharge attraction however we feel like its well worth it!
We do not want to spoil what happens inside but the maze defiantly wins the award for the most amount of smoke we have ever seen used in a maze before. Transformation of Creepy Caves into this attraction is amazing; you would never have thought that just over 2 years ago this space used to be home to spiders and snakes. We toughly enjoyed the maze and cannot wait to see how Chessington develops this maze over the next few years, enter at your own risk…
Haunted Howl’o’ween Live Show: Chessington has taken another crack at live action Halloween shows, however, this year we feel like the park has got it spot on. In previous years the whole cast has been singing, however, this year the show consists of two main singers and a large group of talented dancers. Dancing and singing to songs such as “Off with his head” and “I put a spell on you”, the show is a great addition to the event. We thoroughly enjoyed the show we hope it returns next year!
Curse of the Lost Tomb: Back for 2018 with a new layout and a new scene the Curse of the Lost Tomb is still a firm favorite with guests. In the Curse of the Lost Tomb maze, explorers are encouraged to delve into the secret lost tomb of Genghis Khan. But beware don't touch the forbidden jewels or the guards will come back to life and seek revenge. As much as we love the curse of the lost tomb some of the scenes feel like they’ve been added in without any thought. The new scene added this year left our group very confused. Stood in a dark room all that could be seen was a black ball going around the outside of the room and then dropping into a hole unlocking the door. We feel like Chessington needs to revamp this maze for next year or replace it with something new.
Room on the Broom Spooky Story Time: Sit down for spooky story time with characters from Room on the Broom. Meet the witch with a very tall hat and find out if there is any room for you on your friends on the witches magnificent broom.
Trick or Treat Woods Topsy Turvy: For the younger guests attending Howl’o’ween at Chessington Trick or Treat Woods is the perfect place to visit. Enchanted fairies and ghostly goblins will guide you through the magical woods, full of tricks and treats along the way this attraction is for all ages.
From scare mazes to enchanted walkthroughs, Chessington has the best of both worlds this Halloween and if none of those interest you, all rides and attractions are open until 8 pm on selected dates. Nothing says Halloween like soaring above the trees in the dead of night on the Vampire or going for a spin on Dragons Fury.
One thing we noticed is park lighting is once again fantastic at night, due to the opening hours of the park you don’t get a lot of night rides however when it is dark the park looks fantastic. Even the Tiger Rock has special lighting for the event lighting up the new Tiger Rock drop rockwork. We haven’t attended the event Howl’o’ween at Chessington for a few years but the park has defiantly stepped up their game. We look forward to the park expanding on the event over the next few years.