Chessington Christmas 2026 opens on 18 days, 21 November to 24 December. Every date and time, grotto tickets from £32, a Cinderella panto and the 7 rides shut.
Christmas at Chessington World of Adventures runs on selected dates from Saturday 21 November to Thursday 24 December 2026. Tickets that include the Christmas Village and Father Christmas’s grotto start at £32 per person online. That is from the resort’s own Christmas page, checked on 25 September, 3 October and again on 9 October.
Updated 9 October: Chessington has changed its list of rides shut for maintenance. It now names seven, adding Barrel Bail Out!, Croc Drop and Seastorm, while Room on the Broom is no longer on the list. It has also named this year’s panto, Cinderella, and added PAW Patrol meet-and-greets. Earlier, on 3 October, the opening calendar confirmed 18 open days between 21 November and 24 December.
The quick answer
- Dates: 18 days, 21 November to 24 December (full list below). The Christmas Village is closed 27 to 31 December.
- Prices: Christmas Village and Theme Park from £32; Theme Park only from £24; under 90cm free.
- Father Christmas is only included with the Christmas Village ticket, and you choose a timed entry slot when you book.
- New for 2026: a Cinderella panto on the Mane Stage, and the PAW Patrol in winter costume.
- Parking: from £13 booked ahead, £15 on the day.
Chessington Christmas 2026 dates: every open day
These are the days the resort’s own opening-hours calendar lists between 21 November and 24 December, with the hours it gives for each. Any date not in the table is a closed day: the resort shuts on 9 to 20 November, and on several weekdays in early December.
| Week | Open days | Resort hours |
|---|---|---|
| 21 to 22 November | Sat 21, Sun 22 | 9am to 5pm |
| 28 to 29 November | Sat 28, Sun 29 | 9am to 5pm |
| 5 to 6 December | Sat 5, Sun 6 | 9am to 7pm |
| 11 to 14 December | Fri 11, Sat 12, Sun 13, Mon 14 | Fri and Mon 9am to 5pm; Sat and Sun 9am to 7pm |
| 17 to 20 December | Thu 17, Fri 18, Sat 19, Sun 20 | Thu and Fri 9am to 5pm; Sat and Sun 9am to 7pm |
| 21 to 24 December | Mon 21, Tue 22, Wed 23, Thu 24 | 21 to 23 Dec 9am to 7pm; Christmas Eve 9am to 4pm |
Weekdays are scarce before mid-December. There is no Monday to Friday opening at all in November, and the first weekday date is Friday 11 December. If your children are at school, the realistic choices are the six November and early December weekend days, or the last fortnight before Christmas, when the weekend days run to 7pm.
The calendar’s 9am is earlier than the park. The resort lists 9am opening on every Christmas date, but its Christmas FAQ says the Theme Park, Zoo and SEA LIFE open at 10am. Go by the Christmas Village slot on your ticket for the first hour.
After Christmas the park reopens, but without Christmas. The calendar shows the resort open 10am to 4pm every day from Sunday 27 December to Sunday 3 January, while the Christmas Village is closed from 27 to 31 December. Do not book those days for Father Christmas.
Tickets
| Ticket | From | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Village and Theme Park | £32 per person online | Christmas Village with Father Christmas's grotto; Theme Park, Zoo and SEA LIFE (select rides); Christmas panto and carollers |
| Theme Park only | £24 per person | Theme Park, Zoo and SEA LIFE (select rides); panto and carollers. No Christmas Village or Father Christmas |
| Christmas Short Break | £62 per person online, based on a family of four | Christmas Village, one day's entry, overnight stay in a resort hotel, breakfast, parking and hotel entertainment |
| Annual Pass | £64 online | Includes Christmas; passholders pre-book a Christmas Village slot separately |
Children under 90cm go in free on both day tickets. These are lead “from” prices, and the resort says to book early for the best price and availability.
What is in the Christmas Village
The village is a guided route with a passport, in this order:
- Elf Welcome, a short pre-show
- Letters to Father Christmas
- a festive Silent Disco
- Father Christmas’s Grotto, the fourth stop
- Toy Workshop in Enchanted Hollow, the last stop, where children with a Christmas Village passport receive an early present
Cookie Corner is also in the village. (Holly Jolly Bites, listed on the resort’s page in September, no longer appears on it.)
Chessington Christmas 2026: what is new this year
Three extras on the resort’s Christmas page, as read on 9 October:
- The panto is Cinderella. Chessington bills it as “new for 2026”, with Cinderella taking over the Mane Stage. It is included with both the Christmas Village and the Theme Park only ticket. Show times have not been published.
- PAW Patrol at Christmas. Chase, Skye, Marshall and Rubble meet visitors in World of PAW Patrol, dressed for winter.
- Jingle Voices, the resort’s carollers, sing under the Adventure Point Christmas tree.
The Zoo and SEA LIFE stay open too, and the resort counts “over 1,000 animals”, from giraffes to penguins and sharks.
Parking and getting there
Chessington’s postcode is KT9 2NE, just off the Leatherhead Road (A243). The resort’s parking page on 9 October listed:
- Standard parking: from £13 booked in advance, from £15 on the day, a 5 to 10 minute walk from the Explorer Gate. Blue Badge spaces are here.
- Express parking: £25, next to the Lodge Gate entrance on tarmac.
- Hotel guests park free, which is included in the Christmas Short Break.
- EV chargers, which can be reserved, are in the Safari Hotel and Macaw car parks. Bring your own cable.
The resort is inside London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, so a car that does not meet the standard pays the daily ULEZ charge on top. Without a car, Chessington South is the nearest station; check Kingston Christmas trains for the December timetable and engineering works.
Rules worth knowing before you book
- Your time slot is for the village, not the park. The Theme Park, Zoo and SEA LIFE open at 10am and you can go in any time from then. The slot on your ticket is when you enter the Christmas Village.
- Do not queue more than 10 minutes before your slot.
- Seven rides will be shut for maintenance over the Christmas season: Tiger Rock, Vampire, River Rafts, Zufari, Barrel Bail Out!, Croc Drop and Seastorm. That is the list on the resort’s Christmas FAQ on 9 October; in late September it named five, with Room on the Broom among them and the last three absent. The resort says it aims to keep most other rides running, subject to weather, and points to its app for same-day ride status.
- Annual passholders book twice. The Passholder Pre-book covers the Christmas Village only; Theme Park entry has to be pre-booked separately on the Passholder Hub.
- After Christmas: the Christmas dates end on 24 December, and the Christmas Village does not open between 27 and 31 December.
Before Christmas: Howl’o’ween
If you are planning a visit sooner, Chessington’s Halloween season runs on 3 and 4 and 10 and 11 October, then every day from 17 October to 1 November, with day tickets from £34 online. Details on our October half term in Kingston page.
Frequently asked questions
When is Christmas at Chessington 2026?
On 18 selected days from Saturday 21 November to Thursday 24 December 2026: every weekend from 21 November, plus Friday 11, Monday 14, Thursday 17, Friday 18 and Monday 21 to Thursday 24 December.
How much are Chessington Christmas tickets?
Christmas Village and Theme Park tickets start at £32 per person online, Theme Park only from £24, and under 90cm go free. Short breaks with a hotel night start at £62 per person, based on a family of four. Prices vary by date in the booking calendar.
Do you see Father Christmas with every ticket?
No. Only the Christmas Village and Theme Park ticket includes the grotto. A Theme Park only ticket gets you the panto, carollers and the rides that are running, but not the village.
Which rides are closed at Chessington at Christmas?
Seven, according to the resort’s Christmas FAQ on 9 October: Tiger Rock, Vampire, River Rafts, Zufari, Barrel Bail Out!, Croc Drop and Seastorm, all closed for maintenance. Ride availability can also change on the day because of the weather.
What is the Chessington Christmas panto in 2026?
Cinderella, on the Mane Stage. The resort calls it new for 2026, and it is included with both the Christmas Village ticket and the Theme Park only ticket.
How much is parking at Chessington at Christmas?
Standard parking is from £13 booked in advance or from £15 on the day, and Express parking by the Lodge Gate is £25. Hotel guests park free. The postcode is KT9 2NE.
Is Chessington open between Christmas and New Year?
Yes, 10am to 4pm from 27 December to 3 January, but the Christmas Village and Father Christmas are not open from 27 to 31 December.
Still to be confirmed
- per-date prices, which appear only in the booking calendar
- panto show times on the Mane Stage
We will check again at the start of November.
Getting there and parking: see Kingston roadworks and travel and Kingston Christmas trains.
Related: Kingston Christmas market, Kingston pantomime and Kingston Christmas lights switch-on.
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