Posted April 22, 201510 yr comment_207818 So so this is all coming up soonish! Tickets have gone on sale for July already so opening very soon! I was surprised a topic had not been started about it in all honesty From what I have read and seen it looks very similar to what the London Dungeons provides but with a different theme and possibly target audience, it will be interesting to see what it has on offer when it finally opens! Here is the current site for those interested https://www.shreksadventure.com/london/
April 22, 201510 yr comment_207846 Should be going to this in mid July. Not sure I'll be able to take it seriously after the Shrek is love, Shrek is life video though
April 22, 201510 yr comment_207874 Damn you! I was literally thinking of starting this earlier Nice photos etc in that video, was wondering when they would appear online...
April 23, 201510 yr comment_207880 Hmmm not sure if I'm honest. I know it's not open yet and I haven't experienced it so I shouldn't judge, but it looks so... Merlin? Half of it looks like the I'm a Celebrity maze, complete with low ceilings which pretty much destroy the illusion of being in a forest/jungle. The other half it just the tavern scene from the old London Dungeons but with a still model behind the counter that doesn't move? The video (and the name of the attraction) feels like they're trying to recreate the WB Studio Tour in Watford but without all the effort. I know they have to make all the theming on this from scratch (I assume), but I just have a feeling it's going to look unfinished and not immersive in the slightest.
April 23, 201510 yr comment_207889 I know it's not open yet and I haven't experienced it so I shouldn't judge, but it looks so... Merlin? Half of it looks like the I'm a Celebrity maze, complete with low ceilings which pretty much destroy the illusion of being in a forest/jungle. The other half it just the tavern scene from the old London Dungeons but with a still model behind the counter that doesn't move? That's the main issue I have with the new London Dungeons, the ceilings are all the same height and are clearly visible, whereas in the old one each scene had a different height ceiling depending on where you were supposed to be. The low ceilings are also an issue in the Blackpool Tower dungeons, but not quite as much because they use lighting to hide it slightly better. For a themed experience, low unthemed ceilings are not good enough, it should be 360 degree theming.
April 23, 201510 yr comment_207895 I have always been quite a big fan of the Shrek series [perhaps my favourite Non-disney animated film]. Whilst I am quite excited about this new attraction opening up [giving us yet another Merlin attraction to do in London], I am fairly concerned that it will only be a half done job with lots details missing. I like the London dungeons, but even they have a few flawsincluding the method the drop towers work to the unthemed ceilings [which detracts from the experience a little].
April 23, 201510 yr comment_207901 I think a lot of the still figures you saw there will be replaced with live actors? I went to the old town hall (where all the london merlin midway attractions are par tussauds) and they said they were still building alot of it. It's fascinating though because some of the upstairs areas of the building have been completely blocked off. Now the only part of any of the attractions I was aware of having multi stories (going up the building rather then just having a deep basement) was part of the aquarium. Possibly some stairs, or a multi storey part then?
April 23, 201510 yr comment_207902 Pretty sure there will be actors! I think the video is just to give you an idea of what to expect It's definitely not anything like a studio tour - it's based around a new story which has been created purely for this attraction. And, what with the Dreamworks thing, it'd need to be a high standard of theming etc.
June 28, 201510 yr comment_212167 Ill be heading down to the opening on Wednesday. Ill try and take some pictures and post a review
June 28, 201510 yr comment_212169 Fingers crossed they fix the issues from today.What happened today?
June 28, 201510 yr comment_212170 The bus ride section broke for two sessions and some of the actors were a bit too fast with their script, not allowing guest participation, Cinderella in particular.
June 30, 201510 yr comment_212188 The bus ride section broke for two sessions and some of the actors were a bit too fast with their script, not allowing guest participation, Cinderella in particular.Good to know. Ill keep a look out on what happens when I'm there.
June 30, 201510 yr comment_212245 Good to know. Ill keep a look out on what happens when I'm there. Hope you enjoy it, the photo book (travel journal) is sorta worth it, few pics of you at different backgrounds - £25.
July 1, 201510 yr comment_212296 was down county hall today, and the queue for this was huge!! I suppose that's bcos its opening day, but still didn't actually go in it, my friends who live far away were with me and wanted to go dungeons, so we did that instead. the shop was pretty cool for this attraction tho lol, might get down to this eventually
July 4, 201510 yr comment_212449 Got my review of the attraction in progress. One word to sum it up Amazing!!!
July 6, 201510 yr comment_212566 I was sceptical; it worried me that Merlin were investing heavily in (what I see as) a dead Franchise. I didn’t see the point of it, but I went in with an open mind. Some spoilers below… We entered 15mins before our timeslot, there was no queue up until the photo point, where we were kept back to allow the next section to get less busy. The staff were great (ok, they were 4 days into their new jobs) and very smiley, chatty and great with kids. It was all themed brilliantly. The queue walls are covered in decals, these won’t last 5mins with the general public – which is sad – but I hope they are kept maintained. After the photo op the “short” queue to get into the lifts seemed to last forever, it was quite boring and the airport-style announcements were slowing driving us both crazy. The lifts (there are 2) hold about 5 people, and are used for both entering and exiting the attraction – not ideal. And not a great first impression. Once out the lift, there was another queue (yay!) but it didn’t last long. We then got our photo taken with Donkey (which the staff are happy to take them with our phones/cameras – which was brilliant) and then onto an over-enthusiastic host. After hearing the usual safety stuff, off we went. I won’t go through exactly what we experienced but all I can say is that even if you don’t like/care for Shrek, go for the bus! That was incredible. I’m 26, know how the theme park industry and it’s rides work, but for 3/4mins I believed I was actually flying. That tech is incredible! From disembarking the ride, everything was themed from floor to ceiling – was incredible. The kids loved the whole experience, all adults had smiles, and I loved it. I even fell for the ending, you truly believe you’re in the story. It’s a shame tickets aren’t selling at the moment, but I hope as reviews start coming in they’ll be getting more trade. In short – if you can go, just go! If you have kids, they’ll love it. There is much interactivity with the children, a few adult jokes and the way the actors interact with the CGI characters (including tangible props) is fantastic.
July 7, 201510 yr comment_212593 I agree the entrance area is too long - but the theming is fantastic. Where did you hear it's not selling? The midway attractions don't have queues coming out of the door now because of the timed entry system they all employ. I've heard it's selling incredibly well. It probably doesn't help that they're not allowing pass holders in - so maybe the crowds will pick up a) when the British school holidays start and b ) when the pass-holders are allowed in. My one reservation is that I hope they update the shows over time - at least in Christmas/Halloween they could add some different set dressing. The ride is a triumph, the theming is world class and the scripts were actually quite funny at times.
July 7, 201510 yr comment_212598 Where did you hear it's not selling? Internally, but mainly on the day. When we were waiting to go in, the staff were saying how they had 1000 tickets sold for Saturday, which was more than Wed-Thurs-Fri put together, so they were all a little nervous. I understand opening day wasn't as great as they had expected. But I think the more reviews that come in, the more attraction it will receive.
July 7, 201510 yr comment_212609 It's a very technical/effect heavy attraction, and I hope it won't fall in the same direction as the Dungeons, with so many effects broken so early on.
July 7, 201510 yr comment_212614 To be fair dungeons effects were mostly fixed upon my last visit, it was good to really see them working on the log flume
July 7, 201510 yr comment_212629 I won’t go through exactly what we experienced but all I can say is that even if you don’t like/care for Shrek, go for the bus! That was incredible. I’m 26, know how the theme park industry and it’s rides work, but for 3/4mins I believed I was actually flying. That tech is incredible! From disembarking the ride, everything was themed from floor to ceiling – was incredible. The kids loved the whole experience, all adults had smiles, and I loved it. I even fell for the ending, you truly believe you’re in the story. Merlin pulling off true quality in a dark ride, especially one that seems quite technologically advanced, bodes well for Whitechapel. Does anyone in the know have any idea if the same team that has put Shrek together is also going to be involved in Thorpe's development?
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