| Product: |
London Dungeon |
| Date: |
28.05.08 (381 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Entertaining, informative
Disadvantages: Scary
London Dungeon
On a recent visit to London with friends, the attraction the two children most wanted to visit was the London Dungeon. I had been some time ago to York Dungeon, and assumed it would be a bit scary but bearable.
The London dungeon is located on Tooley Street and when we had got off the tube at London Bridge Station, we were able to find the attraction quite easily- it was marked out by red banners at right angles to the building so not hard to miss. We had gone during the half term holiday, and expected queues, but this was a queue like nothing I had seen- it seemed to stretch the full length of a very long road. Undeterred, we took our places and, clutching our discount vouchers, decided to wait. Forty five minutes later, it was starting to look a tad hopeless, and when one of the staff walking up the line told us that the wait was over an hour, we decided to bin the discount tickets and fast track by paying full price. The fast track queue was also quite big, but within 20 minutes we were inside.
THE DUNGEONS...
Once inside, we were immediately struck by how dark it is, and how damp. It was spooky straight away and Little Miss made it her mission to stand very close and not let go of my hand.
There was a long wait at the start, as we passed through the area of treachery and disease. Here, it seemed, the gruesome history lesson was about to begin. In every corner something seemed to be lurking, depicting some of the very worst diseases and tortures of times gone by. Add to this the screams and rattling of chains, and the rancid smells, and it was getting scary. In one of the closed off sections, depicting the bubonic plagie, the scene was even further emphasised because crawling around the models were live rats. Inside the doctors surgery, the doctor explained the ways in which they tried to cure diseases and as we walked out, we all jumped when the dead body suddenly sat up. It was all becoming a very jumpy experience.
This long wait as we meandered through this gruesome area eventually took us to the labyrinth of the Lost. As we walked through what was a maze of mirrors, we became quite disorientated with the dark, the noises, the screams, and as we looked through the mirrors, there were indeed ghostly figures wandering about.
The Dungeons also took us to the pie shop where there was a brief history lesson about Sweeney Todd. This led us into the barber shop where we were told to sit down, and so began the virtual hair cut. Some of us felt things touching our heads, and it felt as though the clippers really were clipping out heads, when suddenly, with a big bang which made even the most fearless scream, the chairs were tipped backwards. Although we were getting to the stage when we were expecting the unexpected, it was still a shock.
We also had an explanation on screen about the fire of London, which was of real interest to little Miss as she had recently been learning about this time in history. This was more interesting than scary, and as the story of the fire unfolded, so the flames and smoke around us intensified, as well as the shous of the people, so we had a real sense of something happening.
The story of jack the Ripper unfolded with an actor giving lots of information about the murders using on screen pictures. After this, we were taken to the local "pub"which was set out with tables and chairs. Invited to sit down, the landlord talked about the murders, and as the lights grew dimmer, jack the Ripper himself hurtled out of the darkness!
After the time in the courtroom, which manages to be really humorous, involving as it does lots of visitor participation, we were off on the traitor boat ride to hell. In pitch black, it was all very disorientating, with flying things touching us, and intermittent lighting showing us the horrors of the ride. As we travelled up and up, we knew we had to come hurtling down again, but what we didn't expect to do was do it backwards!
At the end of the Dungeon experience, we were put on the drop Ride to doom. This was a row of seats with a bar on the front. Children are measured to check they are tall enough, and I think Little Miss was quite disappointed that she was tall enough, although once it had finished, she did want to do it again. Once everyone is sitting on the chairs, you are taken up about 8 metres and there the judge and jury face you. Suddenly, with a flash of light, the lights go out, and you drop (body suspended in air for a fraction of time) quickly to the ground. Everyone really enjoyed this, and as we later found out, the flash was the camera, so there were some hilarious photos!
Once out of here, it was into the shop to buy some gruesome mementos, and then, feeling completely exhausted, we went out into the street.
OPENING TIMES;
These vary depending on the time of year, so it's worth visiting the website, www.thedungeons.com. It is open 7 days a week, apart from Christmas Day, so there is plenty of time to go get scared!
PRICES
I do believe these vary, and there are lots of vouchers on the go for half price and bogof tickets. However, because we got fed up of waiting, we paid for a double whammy, and got tickets for dungeons and Madame Tussuads for £35 for an adult and £23 for a child. Not the cheapest tickets, but no attractions are cheap, and this was nearly two hours long, with lots of variety and still Madame Tussauds to get to.
REMEMBER...
Not suitable for very young children or people of a nervous disposition. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
VERDICT
Although it is undoubtedly quite scary and in parts a bit gruesome, it's a great attraction for teaching children about the real history of London. The sounds and smells are probably no where near as bad as they were but it gives some inkling of life through the ages. The actors are all authentically dressed, and usually have scabs and scars or wounds on their bodies, so nothing is prettied up. The actors are also really good at keeping the pace going, and, where needed, involving the visitors, and there are lots of funny one liners and quips as well as some quite risqué remarks, although these go straight over children's heads.
Although it's not for very young children, Little Miss and her friend are 7, and although they clung onto us, the attraction was never so frightening that they were crying or asking to go out. They jumped when there were loud bangs, and naturally, when there were really dark bits, got nervous, but when they came out, they were totally exhilarated, and talked about all the things they had seen.
I would thoroughly recommend this attraction- lots of history, scares and thrills. Some parts you walk, others go on a boat, some bits are sitting room only; throughout it all, interest is maintained, and the banter and information from the staff continues.
Young children should be fine if reminded that it's just models and actors, although there was a lady there with a push chair and this I would not recommend.
An entertaining informative and scary couple of hours.
Thanks for reading.
Daniela x
Summary: Expensive but good couple of hours
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