Chessington World of Adventures opens Wanyama Village & Reserve

Chessington World of Adventures has opened its new Wanyama Village & Reserve, allowing guests at the Holiday Inn Chessington to wake up to views of African animals roaming freely outside the hotel.

The African "savannah" is located behind the Holiday Inn hotel, and is home to Sitatuna, Grevy Zebra and Scimitar Horned Oryx. As with the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World (though on a much smaller scale), guests will be able to view the animals from their hotel room windows and from various indoor and outdoor vantage points - in the mornings at least, with the animals likely to be housed indoors during the cool English evenings.

The new area is also accessible from within the Chessington World of Adventures theme park itself, with the entrance being close to the Runaway Train rollercoaster. As well as offering looking posts from which guests can view the animals in the savannah, the area also contains the African-themed Wanyama Village. The village is home to a range of smaller animals, as well as a number of educational exhibits such as a running track where guests can test their speed against that of nature's fastest animals.

In a further incentive to stay at the Holiday Inn Chessington, the park will offer exclusive "Wanyama Wild Factor" animal encounters every evening. These will include feeding sessions, educational talks and "meet and greets" with animals including snakes and meerkats. Room-plus-ticket packags at the hotel are available from £38.25 per person, per night (based on a family of four sharing a room) and can be booked via the Chessington World of Adventures website.

Photographs of the Wanyama Village & Reserve from Theme Park Tourist's recent visit to Chessington World of Adventures can be seen below:

You can find more images from Theme Park Tourist's recent visit to Chessington World of Adventures in our exclusive gallery.