Chessington's quite worth getting to. If, as it appears, you are going to be leaving Britain in the near future I'd say to make time to visit it. It's got a lot to see and visit. Thorpe Park I can't speak to from experience. If we'd had a couple more days we'd surely have gotten there, though.

I've never seen those dryer chambers outside amusement parks, where there's plenty of chances to get soaked to the bone and need drying out. I guess it's the opposite of a misting machine.