Chessington Winter's Tail

There are many ways to experience a festive day out to Winter's Tail! You can purchase an entry only ticket which gives you access to the Theme Park (selected Rides & Attractions), Zoo and SEA LIFE. Plus, a whole host of of festive fun from the Christmas Panto to a Festive Trail and Carollers. 

Looking for more festive fun? Book a Winter's Tail & Christmas Village ticket you'll experience all of the above as well as access to the Christmas Village where you can journey through a festive wonderland to meet Father Christmas in his Grotto and wish the Elves in Enchanted Village: Toy Workshop a Merry Christmas! 

Too much for just one day? Turn your magical day out into a short break in one of our themed resort hotels. When booking a short break, your stay includes entry to Winters Tail and the Christmas Village. PLUS, enjoy a delicious breakfast, FREE parking and hotel entertainment too! 

The Christmas Village combines Father Christmas' Grotto and Enchanted Hollow: Toy Workshop in one Magical experience. Your journey begins being guided by Father Christmas' Elves to a cozy woodfire lit Grotto. Then adventure into Enchanted Hollow: Toy Workshop where you find the Elves and their workshop where you may just receive an early Christmas gift! 

When booking your tickets to Chessington's Winter's Tail, you'll be able to select your time slot to visit the Christmas Village. This will be the time you can enter the Christmas Village, and will be shown on your ticket.

The Theme Park, Zoo and SEA LIFE open at 10am on the date of your visit. The time you have selected when booking your visit, is the time you can visit the Christmas Village. 

Please note, you can only meet Father Christmas when you purchase a ticket to the Christmas Village. Santa's Grotto is the first stop in the Christmas Village! Join the merry Elves as they guide you through our festive wonderland to meet Father Christmas.

Enchanted Hollow is located in the Christmas Village. You’ll make your way from Father Christmas’ Grotto to Enchanted Hollow: Toy Workshop where you will meet the cheeky Elves who are busy preparing all of the toys for Christmas!

You can see the Elves working away at the Toy Workshop in Enchanted Hollow, which is the second stop in the Christmas Village.

Father Christmas along with his Elves will be enjoying a well deserved rest after the 25th December to start preparing for Christmas 2026. The Christmas Village will not be available between the 25th - 31st December.

Selected rides and attractions are available during Winter's Tail. Rides include:

• Adventure Tree
• Amazu
• Blue Barnacle
• Canopy Capers
• Dragon's Playhouse
• Griffin's Galleon
• The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure
• Jungle Rangers
• Mamba Strike
• Mandrill Mayhem
• Ostrich Stampede
• Room on the Broom
• Sea Dragons
• Tiny Truckers
• Tomb Blaster
• Trawler Trouble
• Tree Top Hoppers

Rides and attractions are subject to availability and may change at any time. Check Chessington's mobile app on the day of visit for more details. Hotel Early Ride Time is not available during Winter's Tail.

Absolutely! Guests can buy a pre-Christmas day ticket from £22 per person. Annual Passholders can also pre-book their entry via the Annual Passholder page. 

Entry only tickets allows guests to enjoy select theme park rides and attractions, Chessington Zoo and SEA LIFE Aquarium, as well as Christmas Panto, Carollers, and Festive Trail. 

Ride Access Pass will be released closer to the event. Ride Access Pass will not be available for the Christmas Village.

Winters Tail & Christmas Village Experience​
Best for: Families who want the full Christmas experience​

Includes everything in a 1-Day Standard Entry ticket, plus entry to the Christmas Village.​

✅Standard entry to the Theme (selected rides & attractions, festive shows & trails, Chessington Zoo & SEA LIFE)​
✅Entry to Christmas Village (pre-booked time slot)​
✅Festive shows and interactive activities exclusive to the Christmas Village​
✅Meet Father Christmas in his Grotto​
✅Visit the Elves’ Toy Workshop ​

Christmas Village is open until to 24th December only. From 27th–31st December, you can still enjoy standard park entry, but the Christmas Village will be closed.​

Festive Short Breaks​
Best for: Families looking for a magical getaway​

✅ Overnight stay in a themed Chessington Resort Hotel​
✅Standard entry to the Theme Park (selected rides & attractions, festive shows & trails, Chessington Zoo & SEA LIFE)​
✅Entry to Christmas Village (prebooked time slot)​
✅Festive shows and interactive activities exclusive to the Christmas Village​
✅Meet Father Christmas in his Grotto​
✅Visit the Elves’ Toy Workshop ​
✅Breakfast, free parking, evening entertainment* & WiFi included​

Winters Tail Standard Entry (1 Day)​
Best for: Families looking for festive fun and a day at the park ​

This includes entry to the theme park with selected rides and attractions, Zoo and SEALIFE. ​

✅Standard entry to the Theme Park (selected rides & attractions, festive shows & trails, Chessington Zoo & SEA LIFE)​
🚫 Does not include Christmas Village (Santa’s Grotto, Toy Workshop).

To ensure a magical experience for all families, we limit the number of visitors in the Christmas Village at any one time.​

Your time slot is only for entering the Christmas Village (Santa’s Grotto, Toy Workshop, etc.).​

You are welcome to enjoy the Theme Park, Zoo, and SEA LIFE before and after your slot.

From 25th–31st December, the Christmas Village will be closed. However, you can still enjoy:​

• Selected Theme Park rides and attractions​
• Chessington Zoo & SEA LIFE Aquarium​
• Festive fun, including seasonal Panto shows and carollers

Not all – a selection of rides and attractions will be open:​

• Adventure Tree
• Amazu
• Blue Barnacle
• Canopy Capers
• Dragon's Playhouse
• Griffin's Galleon
• The Gruffalo River Ride Adventure
• Jungle Rangers
• Mamba Strike
• Mandrill Mayhem
• Ostrich Stampede
• Room on the Broom
• Sea Dragons
• Tiny Truckers
• Tomb Blaster
• Trawler Trouble
• Tree Top Hoppers. ​

Please note that rides are subject to availability and may close without notice.

Ride Access Pass will be released closer to the event. Ride Access Pass will not be available for the Christmas Village.​

*From £22pp refers to a Winter’s Tail entry only ticket on select dates between 22nd November – 31st December 2025.

£32 Per Person is based on a Winter’s Tail & Christmas Village entry ticket on select dates between 22nd November and 24th December 2025.

£53 per person is based on 2 adults and 2 children under 15 years staying in a standard bedroom in the Safari Resort Hotel on select dates in November and December 2025. 

^Exclusion dates, planned maintenance and seasonal attraction closures apply. Please check exclusion dates and operating calendar before making your purchase. Excludes paid events. For full terms and conditions and exclusion dates, visit: https://www.chessington.com/legal/terms-conditions/annual-passes/ 

† Complimentary access to the Savannah Splash Pool is subject to room type. 

*Terms and conditions apply. Offer valid for selected Winter’s Tail dates between 22nd November and 31st December 2025. Subject to limited room availability.

Valid for new bookings only. Offer is valid on all Winter’s Tail Short Break packages at Chessington World of Adventures Resort when staying in our Resort Hotels or nearby partner hotels sold through chessington.com. Only available on Winter’s Tail Short Breaks bookings including tickets purchased directly via chessington.com. Offer excludes stays on dates when Winter’s Tail is not operating, including 21st, 28th November, 5th, 11th, 25th, and 26th December 2025.

Offer only valid when booked as part of a Theme Park Short Break package and does not apply to Bed & Breakfast bookings. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer or loyalty discounts.

• Stay dates with 32% off Winter’s Tail entry include 29, 30 November, 06, 07, 24 December 2025.
• Stay dates with 31% off Winter’s Tail entry include 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 December 2025.
• Stay dates with 30% off Winter’s Tail entry include 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23 December 2025.
• Stay dates with 29% off Winter’s Tail entry include 22, 23 November, 19 December 2025.
• Stay dates with 27% off Winter’s Tail entry include 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 December 2025.

Not valid in conjunction with any other offer or loyalty discounts. Under 3’s enter free and therefore do not require a ticket. For the purpose of a Short Break at Chessington World of Adventures Resort, a child is 15 years and younger. No child or children under the age of 18 will be admitted to the Chessington Resort Hotels unless they are accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or over and such child or children whilst on site must remain under the control or supervision of an adult at all times. Merlin reserves the right, in its absolute discretion to change the age restrictions referred to in this condition, if any particular circumstances so require in the interests of safety and security.

All booking reservations are non-transferable, not for resale and will become automatically void on any transfer for value except as provided in the cancellation policy set out below. Bookings are only valid on the date printed on the booking reservation. Bookings will only be exchanged or refunded if Merlin, in its absolute discretion, chooses to do so. For the avoidance of any doubt, the total cost of a booking is non-refundable in the event that admission is refused or relinquished for any reason referred to in these Entry Conditions. Bookings made online will be delivered in accordance with Merlin’s delivery procedure.

Chessington World of Adventures Resort reserves the right to remove or amend this offer at any time. It is not valid in conjunction with any other offer. All short breaks at Chessington World of Adventures Resort are subject to attraction terms and conditions of entry https://www.chessington.com/legal/terms-conditions/ 

• All VIP experiences are non-refundable and non-transferable. ​​
• Any discounts can not be applied after purchase and partial refunds will not be given. ​​
• ​A promotional discount can not be applied on top of pre-existing discounts (e.g. Annual Pass). ​​
• ​We reserve the right to modify or cancel VIP experiences with no prior warning; all animals are subject to availability due to factors including, but not limited to health and weather restrictions. ​​​
• We reserve the right to cancel your experience if you fail to arrive at your designated meeting point by the time advised. In this instance the experience will not be rescheduled. ​​
• ​Some experiences may not be suitable or may present challenges for some guests with disabilities, and we strongly advise contacting the team in advance with any enquiries or concerns. ​​
• ​Expectant mothers are not permitted on any VIP experience. ​​
• ​Hands must be washed after coming in contact with any animals.
• Do not touch your lips, eyes or face while in these areas. Hand sanitiser & hand washing facilities are provided. ​​
• ​Staff must be alerted immediately to any cuts, abrasions or bites which occur during the experience. ​​
• ​All instructions given by the team must be followed. Any guests not following instructions will be removed from the experience and possibly the Resort. ​​
• ​Chessington World of Adventures Resort accepts no responsibility for any loss and/or damage while on our premises. ​​
• ​All Experiences have a strict minimum age. Young adventurers (under the age of 16) must be accompanied by an adult (aged 16+) with a VIP experience ticket for the same date/time/experience. ​​
• Any ​additional adults will not be able to observe the experience and will need to purchase additional day tickets if they would like to join the guests afterwards