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Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a 128 acres (52 hectares) theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Central London. The complex originally opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931; the theme park aspect was developed by The Tussauds Group, debuting on 7 July 1987 as one of the first combined animal-amusement parks in the UK. The theme park, which features over 40 rides, is now owned by Merlin Entertainments, following its merger with The Tussauds Group in 2007. Under Merlin, Chessington has been increasingly developed into a resort and tourist destination, including two on-site hotels, swimming pools, a campground, spa and fitness facilities. The Chessington Zoo has over 1,000 animals, including western lowland gorillas, sea lions, and Sumatran tigers. It is split up into several areas; Trail of the Kings, Sea Lion Bay, Children's Zoo, Amazu, Penguin Bay, a Sea Life Centre and Wanyama Village and Reserve. Chessington World of Adventures was ranked (in 2019) as the fourth most-visited park in the UK, with an attendance of roughly 1.69 million guests. In 2020, due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the park experienced an unexpectedly short operating season and temporary closed its gates. Despite the park seeing a drop in attendance during the pandemic, Chessington still ranked as the fourth most-visited park in the UK for 2020, behind Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor. Chessington World of Adventures is separated into different themed areas, loosely inspired by a range of world cultures. ‘Adventure Point’ is a colonial English "market square",'‘Mexicana' borrows from the Wild West and Latin America, 'Shipwreck Coast' is a nautical harbour town, 'Wild Woods' is a Central European-styled area with Bavarian architecture, 'Forbidden Kingdom' mirrors the ancient Middle East, 'Land of the Tiger' reflects the Far East, and 'Wild Asia' is based on an Indian jungle. Major attractions include: Vampire, Dragon's Fury, KOBRA, Tiger Rock, Scorpion Express, The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure, Mandrill Mayhem, and Croc Drop. History The mansion at Chessington World of Adventures Resort known today as the Burnt Stub was originally built in 1348, in Chessington, Surrey. In the English Civil War it became a royalist stronghold, and Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary forces razed it to the ground. The Burnt Stub site was rebuilt as an inn, until the 18th century, when the Vere Barker family rebuilt it in neo-gothic Victorian style. Founding of zoo The resort has its roots in Chessington Zoo, which opened in 1931; it was started by Reginald Stuart Goddard, who had bought the estate to showcase his private collection of animals. It was once the largest private zoo in England. After Goddard died in 1946, the Pearson Publishing Company took over the zoo and managed it until 1978, when The Tussauds Group, a subsidiary of the Pearson Group, took control. Founding of theme park In 1984, due to the zoo's declining attendance, Tussauds's commissioned John Wardley to come up with plans to revitalize the park. Wardley had a huge influence on the rides being created at both Chessington and its sister parks Thorpe Park and Alton Towers. The decision was made to open a theme park to complement the zoo, and so Chessington World of Adventures was born. On 7 July 1987 Chessington World of Adventures opened to the public in a ceremony including Prince Edward. The park was built on a relatively small budget of around £12 million, to test the still-emerging theme park market. In its first year, the park opened with the roller coaster Runaway Mine Train, the log flume Dragon River, the monorail Safari Skyway, the dark ride The 5th Dimension, and the Chessington Railroad as the main attractions (all supplied by the German ride manufacturer Heinrich Mack GmbH & Co). Smuggler's Galleon (a swinging ride) reached heights of 20 meters; it was later renamed Black Buccaneer. The new park development adopted a pay-once price structure as opposed to the fairground's former pay-per-ride format. Other support rides were also opened and the park opened five themed areas: Calamity Canyon, Mystic East, Market Square, Toy Town and Circus World. The 1990 season expanded Chessington with the opening of the Transylvania area, featuring The Vampire (opening and still operating as the only suspended rollercoaster outside of America) and Prof. Burp's Bubble Works. Both of these major rides had a significant and positive impact on the park's popularity. By this time Smugglers' Galleon and the Smugglers' Cove area had been created. The 1995 season arrived with Rameses Revenge, the park's first inverting ride. Rameses Revenge was new in the Forbidden Kingdom area; an area which had opened the previous year in conjunction with the Terror Tomb dark ride. Also new for 1995 was Seastorm in Pirates' Cove, and the Carousel, located next to the explorer gate. By 1997, the park had a maximum capacity of 15,000 guests. In 1999, Chessington opened the hardcore thrill ride Samurai in the Mystic East. 1999 also saw the rename of Calamity Canyon into Mexicana, following the opening of Rattlesnake the year before. Beanoland, bringing two new rides to the park: Billy's Whizzer and Rodger the Dodger's Dodgems was built in 2000 on the former site of Circus World Development as resort On 22 May 2007, The Tussauds Group was taken over by Merlin Entertainments Ltd, which owns other brands such as Sea Life Centres. Besides Chessington, Merlin also purchased Alton Towers, the nearby Thorpe Park, and Madame Tussauds, which made Merlin the second largest entertainment operator in the world in terms of attendance numbers, behind Disney. As Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park are located within 20 miles of each other, Merlin Entertainments has made efforts to market the two parks to different age groups: Thorpe Park caters to teenagers and young adults, while Chessington World of Adventures Resort is for families and people of all ages. In June 2007, the park opened the Safari Hotel next to Chessington Zoo, themed to a safari lodge. 2008 saw the opening of the Chessington Sea Life Centre. Also in 2010, the Wanyama reserve was opened, giving the Africa-themed Safari hotel guests a view of animals. The Wild Asia area was also added, with its KOBRA ride. In 2011 the Ocean Tunnel and surrounding rooms in the Sea Life Centre were re-themed to Azteca. In 2012 a new land themed to Africa replaced ToyTown. In 2013, Chessington introduced Zufari: Ride Into Africa, with visitors touring the area in a safari truck. In the same year, the annual Halloween Hocus Pocus event included a new attraction, The Mystery of Hocus Pocus Hall, featuring projection-mapped visual effects. In 2014, "nearly £15 million" was invested in the resort as the whole, with a new wing built next to the Safari Hotel, advertised as a second standalone hotel, named "Az.... Discover the Ride Adventures popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ride Adventures books.