We were invited to experience the fantastic Merlin attractions in London! We had the most fun filled weekend we could ever have imagined. We jam packed all 6 attractions into one weekend and now have a camera full of brilliant photo memories that we will cherish forever! The Merlin attractions cater for everyone and so it means all four of us have had laughs, cheers, fears and wows as we went along. So let me share with you what we did.
Madame Tussauds
The fun started with a visit to Madame Tussauds first. With over 150 wax figures to see we were ready for all the selfies!! At first, you would be right to ask yourself, are they real or not? Because in all honestly, the wax figures are so lifelike and realistic its quite fascinating! It takes around 3-4 months and over 20 very talented artists to make each one!
Did you know it all started with Marie Tussaud (born Marie Grosholtz in 1761), a talented and tenacious woman who began making wax likenesses at the age of 16 under the tutelage of Dr Phillipe Curtius. During the French Revolution Marie gained public attention when she was forced to create death masks of executed royalists. She later fled France for the UK where she began touring her collection of wax figures around the country, capitalising on the public’s penchant for notoriety, scandal and fame. Her pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit drove her to become a household name around the British Isles, with people clamouring to see the faces of the famous names they had only heard of. The first permanent home of Madame Tussauds was on Baker Street, just around the corner from the current site on Marylebone Road which was purchased by Marie’s grandsons in 1881.
Madame Tussauds has 12 themed zones for you to wander through. From movie and TV celebrities, stars from the world of sport and music, to movie characters and even Royalty! We took over 100 photos from our visit to Madame Tussauds, so have those cameras charged and at the ready!
You can upgrade your ticket to include Marvel Universe 4D – a fun show and the girls loved it. I couldn’t help but watch them and giggle as they tried to grab items that appeared to be coming out of the screens! I wont say any more though….I don’t want to ruin the surprise!
Covid rules applied for this visit so at the moment temperature checks were taken on arrival and masks had to be worn at all times. Thankfully they allow you to remove them whist you strike a pose! The Sprit of London ride was not working that day, but from previous experience this is a great little addition to your day and included in the price too.
Other things to mention:
- Location – Just by Baker Street tube station.
- Would suggest you allow 2 hours for your visit.
- Marvel Universe 4D runs all day every 15/20 mins so no need to book a time.
- You do need to book your date/time to visit Madame Tussauds - check your ticket rules.
- Bag checks on arrival (We all had a rucksack as we stayed overnight).
- Children under 3 are free but need a ticket.
- Buggies not allowed.
For more information on tickets that you can purchase for Madame Tussauds, please click here:
Shrek’s Adventure!
After around 2 hours of fun at Madame Tussauds, we jumped back on the tube and headed over to Southbank for our reservation at Shrek’s Adventure!
The journey begins when you board the DreamWorks Tours magical flying 4D bus driven by Donkey. You’ll even spot other DreamWorks characters whilst on board from films like Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar too! You’ll then make your way through the various rooms meeting characters such as Puss in Boots, Princess Fiona and Pinocchio to name a few! Each room will provide an ingredient towards your potion! It’s so fun, the actors are fantastic and the crowd participation is very funny! Even my husband was made to dance in front of us all!! (Unfortunately, I have no photo evidence of this as no photos are allowed during the tour). Then at the end, you get to meet Shrek himself!! Once the journey is over, you then enter a bright colourful room with brilliant photo opportunities with a few other DreamWork characters too!
Some things to note:
- Allow approximately 60-75 minutes for your visit to Shrek's Adventure London.
- No photos allowed inside the Shrek journey itself.
- Photo opportunities are at the end with photo props.
- Located on Southbank next to London Dungeons and Sea Life.
- There a few family photos taken by the professionals to purchase at the end.
- Date/time need to be booked – check ticket type for instructions.
- Under 3 are free but need ticket.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please do click here:
SEA LIFE
The final attraction of our first day was SEA LIFE! We headed in at our booked time slot and we chose to do this last as we love animals and marine life particularly, so it meant that we could stay as long we liked.
We spent nearly 3 hours here as they have over 600 species of marine life, and around 7000 marine creatures for you to see. It is spread out across 3 floors and each zone is just as awesome as the last. As soon as you arrive you walk across a glass window with sharks below, very surreal. You can also walk through the ocean tunnel where we admired the sharks, rays and even a sea turtle! Katie of course loved it when she found Nemo and Dory and Bethany was excited to touch sea anemone in the rock pools. From seahorses, jellyfish, piranhas, the list is endless, and it was wonderful to see them all up close. However, my ultimate favourite had to be the penguins!! I could have watched them for hours, jumping in, swimming past you, posing for a photo, and they even had an adorable baby too! With so much to see and do, you can see why it was a hit with our family. And at the moment they have an Octonauts trail which Bethany really enjoyed doing – you wander around solving many puzzles.
Things to mention:
- You can take a buggy or pushchair into the attraction; however, it must be kept with you at all times. It is fully accessible with lifts to all levels. They also have a ramp at the entrance which can be used for entry and exit into the aquarium ideal for wheelchairs.
- We spent around 3 hours here, but you can do spend as long as you like.
- The Oconauts trail is free.
- Sea Life is located next to Shrek - at the County Hall Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7PB.
- Bag check on arrival.
- There was not anywhere to purchase food/drink inside but there is a gift shop at the end. However, they do not allow you to eat/drink whilst in the Sea Life.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please do click here:
London Eye plus River Thames Cruise
River Thames Cruise
We began our next day in London with the River Thames Cruise operated by Lastminute.com and London Eye. This was brilliant!!! On arrival at our reserved time) they take your temperature like all other attractions. Once onboard, you can sit where you like. We were sat on the top deck as it was a lovely morning, but if it’s raining, they do have an indoor area at the bottom deck too. As we sat outside it was optional if you wanted to wear a mask too.
Our tour guide Vicky was fantastic. So informative and they shared many fun facts about London that were all new to me. They really kept you engaged and listening the whole time. You board right next to the London Eye and cruise up and down the Thames for 40 minutes. We were able to see St Paul’s cathedral, Houses of Parliament, Shard, the Tate Modern, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge to name a few.
Things to mention:
- There are toilets on board which is good to know.
- Each row seats around 4-5 people.
- Arrive just before your departure time to have a choice of where to seat (this time due to restricted numbers there was plenty of choice but I can imagine on busy days it may be a struggle for an upstairs/outdoors seat).
- This is an add on to your London Eye ticket and worth every penny in my opinion.
- Timeslot needs to be booked so do follow the instructions on the voucher to do so.
London Eye
The girls were so excited for this one! They spotted the London Eye the day before and were eager to get on it asap! I had not told them until we arrived that we had actually been given our own private capsule! How lucky were we!! So, we were able to skip the main line and head on to our capsule. The flight on the lastminute.com London Eye is 30-minutes long. It goes so fast!! The wheel stands 135 metres high and so whilst on board we took in the sights of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and of course the River Thames itself. The capsule gives the ultimate 360 degree view and having our own capsule we really made the most of it, selfies from all angles!!
Couple of things to note:
- There was a temp check and security check prior to boarding.
- In terms of face coverings, it is required for the full duration of the experience (children under 11 do not need to) - from boarding and to when onboard a pod, unless exempt. (although being in our own pod meant we didn’t need to wear them).
- There is a photo taken of you on board towards the end so be prepared for that if you would like to purchase it.
- As before, you do need to receive the date and time so follow ticket instructions.
- A pushchair/buggy can go on the London Eye but it must remain completely closed/folded throughout the experience, including on the entrance and exit ramps.
- There are other amazing upgrades, so not only can you have a private pod, but they also run champagne experiences and even a pub pod!!
For more information, click here:
London Dungeons
Having two girls aged 3 and 6, it meant that we did not brave the London Dungeons. The age guidance for this attraction is 12. But let me tell you more about it as for anyone over this age, it looks brilliant!
1000 years of history are brought to life over 90 scary minutes as you are guided through 10 live tales of hysterically horrible history and taken on a thrilling drop ride. Travel through plague-ridden streets, witness Guy Fawkes’ dramatic plot to blow up Parliament, travel back to Jack the Ripper’s bleak Whitechapel and hear the latest gossip and share a drink with the locals in The Tavern, the Victorian pub experience. There are many chillingly amusing characters to meet along the way including Mrs Lovett, the very good friend of Sweeney Todd, who will welcome you into her pie shop and London's maddest, baddest Judge, the right honourable Lord Wendy Farquar.
For more details, please see here:
Where to book:
I would highly recommend booking with AttractionTickets.com for quite a few and important reasons.
1 – They are the UKs number 1 ticket reseller.
2 – They are bound by ABTA which is always good to know, especially when booking hotels and tickets together.
3 – They have won multiple awards in the travel industry such as Travolution Awards and British Travel Awards numerous times. Recently they also won Travolution’s Brand of the Year for 2020.
4 – Founded in 2002 and served well over 4 million customers, with a high repeat business rate that is always reassuring.
5 – The team are very friendly and full of so much knowledge; you will feel rest assured you are booking the right tickets and in safe hands!
6 – For all tickets mentioned, you can print your tickets in advance or simply present them on your smartphone for instant access at each attraction
Click here to see the ticket options available but of course please do shout with any questions:
As always, I hope you have found this blog helpful and always shout with any questions you may have.
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