Jump The Queue - Take A Cripple! (London Eye)

Member Name: witchwaysup

Product:	London Eye
Date:	15/08/01 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One of a Kind, Not Too Expensive, Exciting for Kids

Disadvantages: Queues

There are very few advantages to being disabled in general, more specifically when it comes to trying to see the sights in central London.

As my title suggests, I have found one, for wheelchair users at least!

I had a friend visiting with her two daughters, aged three and nine, recently. The girls had never visited London before, so they were very excited. Whatever happened we had to see buckingham palace.

I had long desired to visit the London Eye. So much so that I had saved up for ages to afford the horrendous taxi fare (thirty-four pounds total with tip) to go there.


~~BOOKING

When I went on the internet to book our 'flight', I was pleasantly surprised by the price. I am so used to seeing tourists being ripped off in London, I had expected the fare to be about fifteen pounds or more.


~~PRICES

Although it is now peak season, therefore the top prices, as a wheelchair user, I was entitled to a discounted ticket, 7.50p instead of 9.50p adult fare. Furthermore, my friend, as my carer (wheelchair pusher) was given a ticket free. YES, FREE! Her eldest daughters ticket cost 5.50p and the youngest, being aged under 5 was also given a free ticket! Therefore, even though I had to pre-book and pay 50p per ticket booking fee, I was still left with some spending money!


~~Collecting Tickets

Let me warn you. The queues for a ticket at the British Airways booking hall were horrendous. I would imagine that as most of the tickets had been pre-sold, those queuing for a ticket were probably unlikely to get their ticket within an hour, with the prospect of a long queue to board afterwards, not my idea of fun!

I had, however, (having no choice) pre-booked our 'flight', so I went to a machine (one of about five, no queue!) and swiped my credit card, lo and behold, my tickets appeared (so far so good)! (time saved = at least one hour).

I would imagine t
he reason so many folk chose not to pre-book is that with our lovely London weather, there is no guarantee of a clear day, therefore the best views from the 'eye', personally, in hindsight, I believe it is worth taking the risk and pre-booking tickets.

~~Queuing for your flight

Hmm.... you poor able-bodied folk, you will have a wee bit of a wait I am afraid! You will, nevertheless, get plenty of time to watch the 'eye' slowly rotating in front of you as you inch forward. Actually, you won't so much inch forward as stop and start. This is because a capsule reaches the end of it's 'flight' every three minutes or so, at which stage up to 24 people are alowed onto the capsule. British Airways suggest you allow up to 40 minutes for queuing for your ride, although ride times are only approximate, so if you get to the end of the line a little early it shouldn't be a problem!

Of course, for my little troupe, it was a doddle, we were waved forward to the front of the queue thank you very much! We felt like V.I.P.'s, nice touch BA! Time saved = about 30-45 minutes!


~~The Flight!

At last, you are there, at the front of the queue. You will have noticed the way the capsules do not actually stop to let folk on or off the capsule, rather they are guided off/on the slow moving capsule by attendants either side of the doors. This can be VERY nerve wracking for a wheelchair user, believe me. So, I will allay your fears, because, as is the nature of the V.I.P. treatment, you will find that they actually do stop the capsule for you to get on, via a sturdy wooden ramp. (Phew!). Sorry all the folk on the other capsules for the 5-10 second delay, but it was a good idea. (Wheelchairs are not known for floating!).


~~The Scary Bit!

For me, this was the second I foolishly looked down as I was being pushed onto the capsule. You see what had not actually occurred to me was that as th
e capsules are suspended above the River Thames, I would be looking down to the water, either side of that seemingly (but not really) narrow capsule doorway, some 50-80 feet below. AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHH! Aware that we had two kids with us I managed to hide my utter panic for that split second before I was safely on board!


~~Other Scary Bits and The Nice Bits

Once on board, I was pleasantly surprised at how roomy the capsule was. It wasn't too overcrowded and there was a nice large oval bench in the middle for those who preferred not to stand. I did feel incredibly nervous once we started moving, suddenly getting all worried about the safety of the whole thing -what an idiot! I have flown all over the world without the slightest problem, yet I was temporarily phased by the London Eye!

I pulled myself together and decided to enjoy myself. I had gone equipped with binoculars (never used before, had them for years- I knew they would come in useful one day!) and a zoom camera.

I got so carried away (no pun intended) that I spent most of my time looking through the binoculars instead of taking photo's, which I really regret now.

The movement of the capsule is nice and smooth, although the odd time it stopped for a few seconds did make things feel a little shaky, only a little though.

The kids were fearless, noses pressed to the glass, looking out over London with oh so much to see.

We saw Buck. Palace, The Houses of Parliament, St.Pauls, Teeny-Weeny toy-trains entering or leaving Waterloo, ants getting on or off dinky toy bright red London buses. Toy boats pootleing along a little trickle of water, the diddy post-office tower (coo, I can remember when that was the tallest building in London) and lots more.


~~Extras

One extra I had to buy was a film for my camera. It cost more than I wanted to pay as they only sold a 3-pack there, so buy one en-route if you need one.


My pal bought a programme/brochue of the London Eye, it cost her 4.50p, a bit steep but not by the general standards of most London attractions. It also contained a lot of useful information and a pull-out panoramic view of the view on a clear day from the top of the ride, so worth the money I guess.

Yes, another recommendation for all round family fun at a sensible price!

Summary: