Chessington World of Adventures – Another Holiday List Tick!

Last Wednesday I took a day off work so we could tick another item off Holly's summer holiday "to-do" list. This time, it was a trip to Chessington World of Adventures.

Joshua decided to give this one a miss as theme park rides aren't really his thing, plus he had work early the following morning. Brandon's girlfriend Maia has a Merlin Pass, though, so she joined us instead, giving us a group of five—me, Tina, Brandon, Holly and Maia.

Tina had purchased two of the Gold Fast Track passes, and we actually managed to make them work incredibly well across the five of us. For most rides, two of us would go through on the Fast Track, followed by another two, and we'd rotate them around so everyone got plenty of opportunities to skip the queues. On some rides, we even managed to use screenshots of the passes rather than the app, which bizarrely allowed all five of us to go through together!

Now, Fast Track tickets are very expensive and go against pretty much everything I believe in when it comes to theme parks. I'm quite happy to queue and have always thought paying extra to jump the queue was a bit ridiculous.

However...

Those Gold passes were an absolute godsend!

We managed to go on pretty much every ride two, three and even four times during the day. Our longest queue of the entire day was for Vampire, which was only around 20 minutes.

The best example was the Tiger Rock/Tiger Canyon area, where we managed to get on the ride three times in under an hour. The normal queue was showing around an hour, so without Fast Track, those three rides alone could potentially have taken up half our day!

Needless to say, we definitely got our money's worth out of those passes.

Overall, we had a really good day and the weather was perfect for a day at a theme park. However, I did come away feeling that Chessington is increasingly positioning itself towards younger children rather than teenagers and adults.

There are only a handful of genuine thrill rides now and, with the exception of the Jumanji attraction, quite a few of them are starting to look and feel a little dated. We also experienced a few breakdowns during the day, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence when you're sat waiting for a rollercoaster to start moving again!

The park's newer expansions also seem to reinforce this direction. The latest additions include PAW Patrol and Minecraft, both of which are clearly aimed at a much younger audience.

I suppose this is partly a sign that our kids are growing up. What used to feel like the perfect family theme park is perhaps no longer quite as exciting for the older ones.

So, while we had a fantastic day and absolutely rinsed those Fast Track passes, I don't think we'll be rushing back to Chessington anytime soon. For the next few years, we'll probably be looking more towards Thorpe Park and Alton Towers for our thrill-ride fix.

And, of course, there's always the rather exciting prospect of Universal Studios coming to the UK...

That could well become our new favourite destination once it opens! 🎢

Tina and H on Dragon Fury.

Maia and B on Dragon Fury.

Holly made me go on Croc Drop about 3 times, not good for your stomach.

Maia has a Merlin pass so pretty much goes to all the theme parks each half term anyway.

First trip around on Tiger Rock.

The smaller of the splash downs - perfect for cooling down on a hot day.

The 5 of us on the Safari tour which is definitely getting smaller and smaller each visit.

We saw to giraffes on the safari.

Other than that we saw one deer and one rhino. Ride only lasted 10 mins at best.

World of Jumanji.

This was one of the rides the kids all went on at least 4x.

Action shot of Brandon and Maia hanging on for dear life on Dragon Fury.

This one churns my stomach so I was quite happy to let Tina take this one with H.

See Ya, I'll keep my feet down here.

Another shot of B and Maia on Dragon Fury.

A few pictures whilst doing our zoo walk at the end of the day.

Unlike Maia and Brandon who distanced themselves for the bench pic, me and T tried to at least look like we were a couple.

Never did like this ride since it changed from Bubble Works to Grufallo.

Tina and H on Gruffalo. I couldn't be bothered with this one.

Croc Drop (aka stomach drop) again - thanks H.

Another round on Tiger Canyon and time to flex.

And Croc Drop again, H really doesn't like me!

More from the log flume in Tiger Canyon.

Then some pictures from our photo pass.

Flexing again.

Oh don't they look happy.

Mandrill Mayhem is easily the best ride there now. But Tina doesn't like this one.

Tina and H on Bubble Works (yes it will always be Bubble Works to me).

Rattle Snake is still fun and a good chance to squish Holly on the bends.

Tina and H on Rattlesnake.

Splash down.

Brandon and Maia on Rattlesnake.

Yeh I got Holly to flex as well.

Brandon's hair going a bit wild there!

Tomb Blaster - another one I just can't be bothered with.

Whilst I waited outside for Tina and H a young kid having lunch was almost in tears when he found out I wasn't the real Superman (haha).

Vampire was the only one of the big rides that we only went on once.

That was because it was broken down all morning and they gave out loads of free tickets to those waiting. So they all went in the fast pass queue making it pretty much a normal queue.

Vampire is still the stand out coaster at Chessington though despite its age.

More from the log flume. Holly ducking the splash so it gets Tina.

More from Dragon Fury.

We even did a cheeky and sneaked all5 of us on using the gold fast pass.

How many sharks on this picture?

The clue is there is one less in this picture.

Joshua – A Disappointing GCSE Result, But Not the End of the Road

Yesterday was a big day for Joshua, with the long-awaited results of his third attempt at passing GCSE English. To say we were all nervous about the outcome would be a massive understatement.

Unfortunately, the result wasn't what any of us had hoped for. Josh achieved another Grade 3, falling just eight marks short of the Grade 4 pass he needed. He took it particularly hard, which was understandable given how much harder he'd worked this time around and how much more important he knew the result was. Having already failed twice, he genuinely felt that this time he'd done enough to get over the line, so the disappointment was understandably huge.

We've tried to stay positive and remind him that, while this result is important, it certainly doesn't define his future. There are countless successful people who have achieved far fewer academic qualifications than Josh already has. Yes, getting that Grade 4 would have made the next step into his Level 2 Electrical Installation course much easier, but failing this particular exam doesn't mean his ambitions or career plans are over.

We've reminded him that he's only 18 years old and has his entire working life ahead of him. He has plenty of time to learn, train, gain experience and build a career in whatever direction he ultimately chooses. One exam result doesn't change any of that.

We've also spoken to the college about what happens next, and thankfully there are still some options available. The current plan is for Joshua to work towards getting his CSCS card, which would allow him to look for electrical labourer roles on building sites and start gaining some valuable real-world experience in the industry.

Actually, when you look at what Josh already has behind him, I think he's in a pretty strong position to find that first opportunity. He's 18, drives and has his own car, which gives him a big advantage when it comes to getting to different sites and being flexible about where he can work. On top of that, he already has a BTEC Level 1 in Electrical Installation and a BTEC Level 2 in Engineering, so he's not starting from scratch. He has some relevant technical education behind him, a genuine interest in electrical work and, with the CSCS card, the opportunity to get himself onto a real building site and start learning how the industry actually works.

The hope is that getting that first job will give him something that college simply can't provide—real-world experience. He'll be able to work alongside people already in the trade, see how electrical work is carried out in practice, build up his confidence and hopefully start making some useful contacts within the industry. It could ultimately prove to be a very valuable stepping stone towards becoming a qualified electrician.

At the same time, he'll look at completing his Functional Skills Level 2 in English, which is equivalent to a GCSE Grade 4. If he can achieve that, it should allow him to progress onto his Electrical Installation course as an adult part-time student next year.

The important thing now is that the ball is very much in Josh's court. The college has helped him as much as they can, and the next steps are going to require him to take responsibility and make things happen for himself. That might sound daunting, but it could also be exactly the opportunity he needs to start taking control of his own future.

This might be one door that has closed for Josh, but it doesn't mean there aren't plenty of others waiting to be opened.

Setbacks are an inevitable part of life. Everyone experiences them at some point, and what ultimately matters is how you respond to them. Josh has his whole life ahead of him, and while yesterday was undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow, hopefully he'll look back on this one day as just another hurdle he had to overcome on the way to where he wanted to be.

Keep going, Josh. This isn't the end of the road—it's just a different route. ❤️

Brandon – First Year of A-Levels Complete!

Some great news last week as Brandon officially completed the first year of his A-levels, with a Pass in the exam and a Distinction in the coursework for his Information Technology Systems qualification.

I believe this is only the first part of the overall qualification, with the remaining elements being completed during Year 2 alongside the more challenging exams in Economics and Sociology. So there is still plenty of work ahead of him, but it's a great start and something he should be proud of.

That means he's now halfway through his A-levels!

Well done, Brandon! 🎉 One year down, one more to go. Keep it up! 💪

A Trip to Braintree

Another activity ticked off Holly's six-week summer holiday to-do list last week, this time with a little help from Brandon and Maia.

Now that Maia has passed her driving test, the pair took Holly over to Braintree to visit one of the large inflatable obstacle courses. Of course, they couldn't go all that way without using the trip as an excuse for a bit of retail therapy, so they also made a stop at Freeport Braintree for some food, coffee and a little shopping.

Unfortunately, Brandon being Brandon, he didn't take many photos and wasn't exactly forthcoming with the details either! From what I could gather, the inflatable course was apparently one of the largest around, although there isn't really much photographic evidence to back that up!

What I do know is that it was absolutely roasting hot, which made an hour of running, jumping and throwing yourself around on inflatable obstacles considerably harder work than it probably should have been.

In fact, Brandon didn't even manage to get any pictures of Holly! Instead, he somehow came home with a couple of photos of himself and Maia, taken by Holly. Priorities, clearly! 😂

So, unfortunately, this isn't going to be one of my biggest or most detailed blog updates as I've had very little information—or photographic evidence—to work with.

Still, it was really nice of Brandon and Maia to take Holly out for the day and help tick another activity off her summer holiday list. And with Maia now behind the wheel, I'm sure this won't be the last of Holly's adventures with the pair during the school holidays!

Don't be fooled in to thinking I went with them with the large Gorilla!

No Holly in sight.

But clearly the used Holly to get their couples picture for the "gram".

Priorities....