Spending time with cousins is such a special thing. Jessica always adored spending time with her cousins Ebony and Erin. She was so excited about them coming to visit in the Easter holidays. We had some discount entry vouchers for Chessington World of Adventures that we’d been given at the annual pass weekend and the girls were looking forward to going to Chessington together for the first time. Sadly, it also turned out to be Jessica’s last day out as she passed away suddenly four days later. It was lovely though that she did get to enjoy that day out with her cousins that she had been looking forward to.
Parking on arrival at Chessington that day was a rather interesting experience. The car park fields were very boggy thanks to all the rain we’d had in the preceding weeks and we ended up having to park along the road leading to the exit. Trying to make our way along the rows of parked cars, and those still trying to park, with Jessica’s buggy was somewhat challenging! On the plus side, we didn’t have to pay for parking that day because of it.
As usual, the Gruffalo River Ride Adventure was our first port of call. We posed for a photo at the entrance to the ride as it was a good opportunity to get a photo of the six of us together. As the boats only hold five people, we had to split into two groups of three for the ride itself.
My nieces were keen to go on the Vampire ride afterwards. Jessica was quite tired from having been unwell on and off for several weeks so was quite happy to sit in her buggy, watching and waiting with me and Sophie while Auntie Fizz, Ebony and Erin went on the Vampire ride.
Having my sister there was great as far as Sophie was concerned. While Jessica was quite content to be out and about enjoying a day with her cousins, she just wanted to stay in her buggy rather than go on any rides. I was quite happy to stay with Jessica and take photos while Auntie Fizz took Sophie on all the rides.
Thankfully, other than the Vampire ride, the queues for most of the rides were fairly reasonable. I think our longest queue was about 25 minutes. Naturally Ebony and Erin were keen to go on some of the bigger rides but they were also happy to alternate these with the rides that were suitable for Sophie too.
On our family days out at Chessington with just the four of us, we tended to stick to the rides that we knew both the girls enjoyed. Being with her older cousins meant that Sophie got to try out quite a few rides that she hadn’t been on before and she loved them. She loved bumping into her cousins on Tuk Tuk Turmoil and getting a taste for rollercoaster rides on the Scorpion Express.
While Auntie Fizz and the older girls went off to enjoy some of the bigger rides, we took a break to watch the new Gruffalo Groove show. Both Jessica and Sophie really enjoyed this, and Sophie loved dancing along. It’s a lovely dance-themed show, taking the audience on a journey through the deep dark wood, meeting various animals from the Gruffalo story along the way. Each of the animals encountered has their own music and dance style. Of course, no journey through the deep dark wood would be complete without encountering the Gruffalo, who joins in the dancing fun at the end of the show.
I did manage to persuade Jessica to go on one last ride at the end of the day. She, Sophie, Auntie Fizz and I finished off the day with a ride on Tiny Truckers while their cousins opted for a much wilder trip on Dragon’s Fury. We had quite a good view of Dragon’s Fury from the Tiny Truckers queue and managed to spot the older girls on their first go on the ride. They loved it so much, that they got back in the queue as soon as they got off again and managed to squeeze in one more ride before the park closed for the day.
I’m so glad that the girls did get to enjoy that last day out together. We’ve had so many fun days out at Chessington over the last year and made so many happy memories. Being able to enjoy a day out somewhere that we love as a family with my sister and nieces was special. The days that followed have made the memories of it even more so.
I am a Chessington Blogger Ambassador, I was given a Chessington Annual Pass to do this review with my family and I was not paid to do this post. If anyone would like to confirm any details in the post, please email press.office@chessington.co.uk
Glad you had such a lovely day & made some happy memories xxx❤❤
Thank you Donna x
This looks like a wonderful day and so many cherished memories of all of them together <3
Thank you, so glad we did get that last day out
What a lovely day out and all the more special for all 4 girls and you and your sister to enjoy it together. Thank goodness no one knew of the tragedy waiting a few days further on. It must have been very hard for you to write this adventure up but will be a wonderful last fun day out to look back on for you all in time.
Thank you for sharing this special adventure with me on #CountryKids
Thank you Fiona. It was lovely to have that day out. It’s hard writing up all the last days out we had but I want to capture those memories too before they start to fade
Such special memories to look back on. #countrykids
They are indeed x
Such special memories for you all, it was so nice that you could all get together to enjoy this day out. The Gruffalo Stuff looks really good, I bet your girls loved it. xx
#countrykids
Thank you Anne. I’m so glad Jessica was able to have that day out with her cousins x
It looks like you made some really lovely memories….What a special day out.
#CountryKids
Thanks Kim, so glad we were able to make those memories x
Oh Louise, I can’t imagine how hard it must have been writing this, when everything is so raw. But it is so nice to see Jessica enjoying this time together with her cousins, and knowing that she had such a lovely time so close to her passing.
Sending you all lots of love!
#countrykids
Thank you Karen. It was hard to write it up but I wanted to capture it before the memories started to fade x
Oh what an emotional rollercoaster (excuse the pun). Such wonderful happy memories together as a family and beautiful pictures, a lovely way to remember.
We haven’t been since the Gruffalo things were put in and they sound really great – especially as my 4 year old niece loves the Gruffalo. And isn’t the queue for the Vampire ride always such a nightmare.
Thank you Joy. The Gruffalo themed bits are great and both my girls loved them.
What a terribly sad time for your family, to lose a young cousin must be heartbreaking. Happy memories made at Chessington together that will last a lifetime. #CountryKids
I am glad that we were able to make those memories and have that last day out with the four cousins all together.
What a great memory to capture, something to treasure for all the cousins. I can’t imagine how difficult this post would have been to write up! You’re braver than I! 🙂 #Countrykids xx
Thank you Sonia. It was hard to write up but I wanted to capture the memories of that last day out as the four of them did have a lovely time together.
What a wonderful last day out for you all with the cousins. Those memories will be cherished by you all forever. It was definitely meant to be. #CountryKids
Thank you. I’m so glad we did have that last day out.
How wonderful that you have a fantastic day out to remember with family. The memories will last forever
Thank you, it was a lovely day out.
It’s lovely that the theme park holds some lovely memories for all the family. #CountryKids
Thanks Helena. I’m glad we have so many memories to look back on.
So many smiles and such beautiful memories to have captured. My son’s cousins are all adults so he’s never known that bond, I didn’t have any at all. I’m so glad you got to enjoy that day with no idea of what was to come. My thoughts are often with you all xx #CountryKids
Thank you Mary. My cousins are also much older than I am so I didn’t have that bond with cousins growing up either. It was lovely to see such a strong bond between my girls and my twin sister’s girls in spite of the age gap. They made so many lovely memories together.