If you have been following us for a while, you will know we have a serious love for Chessington World of Adventures Resort. Halloween, Christmas – We just cant get enough!
The lovely people at Chessington World of Adventures resort invited us to attend the launch of their new ride. Room on the Broom – A Magical Journey. This new attraction brings another one of Julia Donaldson’s wonderful books to life after the opening and success of The Gruffalo river ride adventure in March 2017. The Witch and her friends have moved into the old Hocus Pocus Hall.
Please note this post contains spoilers for “Room on the Broom – A Magical Journey”. It’s a photo heavy post, you’ve been warned!
Launch Day!
The morning of the big day and we were all extremely excited. When we arrived at the park, we were given a purple wristband as well a park map. We were then escorted to the restaurant where we were treated to breakfast. They gave us a mini cauldron of sweets and some flags. Molly spent the entire time waving the flags about like crazy and loved every second of it. Breakfast was amazing. Full of pastries, scrambled egg canapes, vegetarian skewers and more. There were fruit wands made of blueberries and an apple star on top for extra cuteness.
Once breakfast was over, we headed to The Room on the Broom ride. Just outside the ride, there was an adorable little Skunk. Molly loved stroking him and saying hello. The great Julia Donaldson herself was there and one of the first to experience Room on the Broom.
The exterior of the building remains very much the same as before, with only a few changes. The sign above the door is big, bold and bright, with the characters from the book. They have extended the line area and added a photo opportunity to brake up the waiting a little. You cast a spell – “Iggety, ziggety, zaggety, zoom!” – to create a Room on the Broom themed photo which you are able to view at the end. The attraction is also completely wheelchair friendly.
Room on the Broom – A Magical Journey
The Room on the Broom magical adventure is a really unique attraction. It is a walk though experience. You walk from room to room and you are encouraged to interact with the scenes that you encounter. It is an immersive story and it is amazing! As you enter through the large door, you can automatically see how things have transformed. You are now in an enchanted library that’s home to a large book and a bubbling witches cauldron. They have used animated footage from the story, sculptures and animatronics as well as some incredible lighting/projections and special affects to really bring the book to life.
It here where the Witch introduces herself, speaking to you from a video clip, while physically in front of you is a cauldron bubbling with smoke and bright lights. The Witch makes a spell and as she throws items into the cauldron, water splashes up from the cauldron. Once the spell is cast, smoke puffs up, and a sparkling light guides your attention to a hidden door that you proceed to go through. This perfectly timed pairing of interactive animation and real life elements created a fun atmosphere, thus setting you up for your magical journey.
From the library, you go through the door into a corridor, lit beautifully with twinkling fairy lights which represent the magic guiding you through the story. It’s these corridors that take you from room to room. One of them featured a revolving tunnel that goes around you. I can never walk in a straight line through these things. I used to love them when I was a kid. Molly was fascinated with it and just stared at the moving stars.
“They searched for the hat… …but no hat could be found.”
In the story, the Witch loses various items as she travels through the skies on her broomstick. Each time she heads down to the ground to find them, she encounters another animal who joins her on the broom. Each room you enter is themed around the animal that the Witch comes across. The first animal she encounters is a dog and we had to help the Witch her find her hat. There’s a book that tells you what you have to do to help her. In this room you have to jump up and down, then the hat “falls” out of the tree.
“The dog wagged his tail and the stormy wind blew. The witch laughed aloud and held on to her hat. But away blew the bow from her long ginger plait…”
“They searched for the bow… …but no bow could be found.”
We were lead through to the next room where we got to met the green bird in a tree. We had to search for the witches bow in the haystacks. Children were encourages to put their hands in the holes to try and find the bow. Once it was found we were led onto the next room.
“They shot through the sky to the back of beyond. The witch clutched her bow… …but let go of her wand!”
“They searched for the wand… …but no wand could be found.”
The last item we had to help the Witch find was her wand and we met the frog. This was by far the best animal encounter out of the 3. There are bugs that light up and you have to press them. As you press them they make a noise. You have to keep pressing them until the frogs mouth opens to reveal the Witches wand!
I will say, after each animal encounter, as you leave one room and enter another they have video footage of that animal boarding the broom and flying off. This is the only photo I got as it was the only bit I saw. I think the group we were in was a little too large because it was quite difficult to see bits as they were happening.
“Over the moors and the mountains they flew. The frog jumped for joy… …and the broom snapped in two!”
“I am a dragon as mean as can be…”
After the room with the frog, you enter a long dark corridor. Loud music starts to play and you’re met with a smoke breathing dragon! There were a few smaller children who were a little frightened by this, so if you have a little one, just be warned they may find this part a little scary. Molly on the other hand just kept trying to touch the smoke. She was holding out her hand and basically poking the air.
…and I’m planning to have witch and chips for my tea.”
There was then footage of a slightly cuter version of the dragon flying away before you headed into the mirror maze. In Hocus Pocus Hall, there used to be tape on the floor. You could use this tape to guide you round without walking in to anything. I am terrible at these things and will always walk into a mirror. I was sad to see there was no tape, and I walked into a mirror… twice! Molly loves her reflection and found it hilarious that she could see herself everywhere. She was waving her arms about and shouting with pure joy.
“Then she filled up her cauldron… …and said with a grin, Find something. Everyone, throw something in!”
With Hocus Pocus Hall, after the mirror maze, that would be it. That would be the end of the attraction. However, Room on a broom have a cute little scene where all the characters throw items into the cauldron, then with a “Iggety… ziggety… zaggety… ...Zoom! Then out rose… …a truly magnificent broom”. You get to see the actual new broom before the switch back to the animation. Then “they all clambered on. The witch tapped the broomstick… …and whoosh! They were gone”.
The End.
We honestly loved Room on the Broom! This really is a must for all those Julia Donaldson fans out there. It is suitable for all ages, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. Saying that, I would definitely advise making sure you stay near the front of the group in order to get the best possible experience.
As well as this amazing new attraction there will be two new “Room on the Broom ” themed rooms added to the Safari Hotel. They would make for an amazing addition to any trip whether you’re travelling miles or live just down the road. We are actually looking at doing a little “stay-cation” to hopefully stay in their Gruffalo room in the summer because Molly is obsessed with The Gruffalo. So, if this happens I will be sure to do a post on the rooms!
A massive thank you to the lovely people at Chessington for inviting us. We had such a lovely time exploring the new attraction. Everything we got up to the rest of the day will go up in a different post because this ones quite lengthy already!
Have you experienced “Room on the Broom – A Magical Journey” yet?
