Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park and zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 in South West London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It lies 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987. In 2010, the park attracted 1.4 Million People.
In 1984 Madame Tussauds Ltd., (later to become the Tussauds Group Ltd.

The Tussauds Group

The Tussauds Group is now part of Merlin Entertainments, the world's second largest leisure group, second only to Disney. It is based in Poole, Dorset from where it manages a portfolio of brands and over 50 attractions including the famous Madame Tussauds waxworks, Legoland Parks, Sealife Centres,...

) which owned Chessington Zoo decided the failing attraction, which was suffering declining visitor numbers, needed a radical make-over to restore popularity.