August 29, 20168 yr comment_240661 For those still curious about the original London Dungeons; with over half of the new London Bridge concourse now open, work (hoarding) has moved to the Tooley Street side and the former Dungeons entrance is now inaccessible to walk past. Imagine this view will gradually change over the coming months as they start to pull the facade down. Bye bye Dungeons!
August 29, 20168 yr comment_240663 Reading this made me feel a little sad, but the again it was a matter of time before the old Tooley Street building went under the knife. Never managed to experience the original one (regrettably) but remember walking past it once or twice. Certainly is gong to feel rather different when this view is gone.
August 29, 20168 yr comment_240687 It's a shame they had to move location IMO, the Tooley Street Dungeon had a fantastic atmosphere and actually felt like a dungeon, this was helped by the taller ceilings, varied room setups and overall feel of the place. The new Dungeon is good but IMO it lacks the ambience and detail of the old one; it feels too artificial if that makes any sense.
December 18, 20168 yr comment_246005 So yesterday's meet was the first time I'd actually done the London Dungeons, and I have to say that I was disappointed by it. Far too many dark spaces, no doubt there to go for the whole 'ooh it's creepy because it's dark and you can't see' vibe, when all it is is boring. Came across as a bit too disjointed as well which was a shame. And I really didn't get / like the Ripper Pub scene; like why are you going all supernatural, ghost haunting, on us? Drop Dead was really disappointing too. I liked the boat ride though, so that's something.
December 18, 20168 yr comment_246014 I thought quite the opposite, I found It to be like horrible histories in real life except adapted to a more creepy theme which I loved. I felt immersed from beginning to end, the actors were brilliant the whole time (especially with the adult jokes). The way the rides were swiftly part of the whole walkthrough was a smart decision. Apart from Olympia Looping, it was the highlight of my day! P.S. It was my first ever time at Dungeons yesterday too!
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246019 Boat ride? Hmph. Must have been broken today, however we weren't informed on arrival, just skipped past it. Mixed bag in the rest of the Dungeons, some actors were fantastic (in particular the Pie Shop scene) whereas others were less so, though overall was enjoyable. It still feels like a corporate building rather than a dungeon which isn't helped by the low and unthemed ceilings; the taller ceilings in the Tooley Street Dungeon added to the effect of being in a dungeon and made it a much more authentic experience, this is lost in the new Dungeon which is void of any atmosphere and feeling of immersion. I found that some of the rooms were too dark, which is probably to try to hide the ceiling, however it also hides the theming! Jack the Ripper scene was still poorly executed, the strobe goes on for too long and the sound effects aren't loud enough IMO. Too many screens!
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246023 Problem is that County Hall does not lend itself to a sensible layout (similar to Blackpool's really), so there's so many dead spots throughout of just walking from scene to scene... This can help with throughputs but at the same time it's just very much a drag due to the constant stairs and whatnot... What's actually wrong with the Ripper scenes now? I remember being much more impressed when it first opened there as they pretty much did exactly what the scene needed, opened it up to more scares that weren't obvious due to the fencing on the ledge... I also don't remember that many screens Jamie I must admit, unless its all the head projections for most scenes? Certainly an improvement over the bland talking man videos in the old place...
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246031 There seemed to be more screens than last time I did the new Dungeons (must be about two years ago now), e.g. the new Great Fire of London scene. I found that the Ten Bells Pub scene would have benefited from louder audio, as it doesn't build up the atmosphere enough Also, IMO the appearance of Jack the Ripper isn't great as the strobes are on for too long, and it was much more effective in the old Dungeon where he stood on the ledge and swiped out at the crowd, rather than walking around the room whilst the strobe goes off twice; before it had the effect of "did I just see that?" rather than "oh, he doesn't actually look that scary." Just my opinion though.
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246033 I've not been since the fire was added, so I'm gonna assume the screens are used as fire effects? Probably the best way to do them imo given they can't use real fire and other methods can look really cheap and awful...
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246035 45 minutes ago, Benin said: I've not been since the fire was added, so I'm gonna assume the screens are used as fire effects? Probably the best way to do them imo given they can't use real fire and other methods can look really cheap and awful... They show a scene overlooking London on fire, it's effective but when combined with use of screens in quite a few other rooms, it becomes a bit same-y IMO.
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246038 That's the only scene that uses a screen though ...unless you count the first part of the Jack The Ripper scene where the victims' photos light up on the wall? I actually thought the Great Fire scene used a lot of effects very well: heat, smell, lighting, smoke...and the loud explosions were actually quite scary And the screen they show isn't on through the whole scene - it only comes on once the fire has reached the building you're meant to be in, so I assumed it was meant to be a window or part of the building that had been destroyed by the fire. It's a damn site better than what the Tooley Street Dungeons did - the story being told by Tom Baker (a video that you stood and watched), and then that awful newer video with the guy yelling "FIYAAAAAH!" Honestly, it's received a lot of positive feedback and is definitely a good addition!
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246039 The Great Fire scene was one of my favourites! Thought it was very well executed.
December 19, 20168 yr comment_246049 There were screens in some other rooms I'm sure, e.g. the projected faces and one in the Sweeney Todd scene. I agree the new Great Fire of London scene is better than the Tooley Street one, that was awful!
February 10, 20178 yr comment_247363 If you're into this sorta thing, London Dungeons is doing a 'darker' tour on Valentine's Day to 'celebrate' the release of Fifty Shades Darker. Oh, and you get a little adult present at the end of it, courtesy of Ann Summers... https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fifty-shades-of-the-london-dungeon-in-partnership-with-ann-summers-tickets-31886413120?aff=facebook I'd go, but I'm tied up that evening...
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247489 Who's seen this?! https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/15/london-dungeon-deletes-apologises-valentines-day-posts-branded-sexist-misogynistic?CMP=fb_gu I'm lost for words as to how as supposed "professional," family-oriented attraction thinks it's okay to post such things on social media.
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247491 I'm lost for words about how soft the world is. It might be a 'family orientated' attraction to an extent, but these are real things from history and are themes covered in the dungeons. We going to pretend it didn't exist now because it's not all fluffy?
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247493 I don't believe this is anything to do with history, it is purely Merlin's self confessed style of "making PR noise" and I don't think they give a jot about real history anymore in the new Dungeons. They're probably getting a pat on the back for posting rubbish and offending people instead of entertaining them right now. The more sophisticated theatrical horror made the Dungeons so unique and great in the old days (it had plenty of dark humour and didn't hold back from realities of history much better too), but Merlin's interpretation is now just trash click baitiness it seems. I don't this is that people are too PC, it's that this is pure trash and unhelpful for anyone. Try-hard offensiveness on Facebook is desperate. People might be surprised at how much better The Dungeons used to be really, I'm thinking in the 90s (the Tooley Street version became equally naff in its later years in my opinion), shame really.
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247494 40 minutes ago, pluk said: I'm lost for words about how soft the world is. It might be a 'family orientated' attraction to an extent, but these are real things from history and are themes covered in the dungeons. We going to pretend it didn't exist now because it's not all fluffy? The themes are covered in the dungeons but not in such a bizarre, "in-your-face" way. This was a very strange marketing campaign to say the least and I can see why there is a backlash.
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247497 25 minutes ago, Coaster said: The themes are covered in the dungeons but not in such a bizarre, "in-your-face" way. This was a very strange marketing campaign to say the least and I can see why there is a backlash. It's a very simple one to get attention and they almost certainly intended to manufacture a big backlash from the start, to get PR attention. Being a fan of themed attractions now is like being a fan of a toilet, I don't get why once fun things have got so wEiRd and tRaShY
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247499 3 hours ago, Coaster said: Who's seen this?! https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/15/london-dungeon-deletes-apologises-valentines-day-posts-branded-sexist-misogynistic?CMP=fb_gu I'm lost for words as to how as supposed "professional," family-oriented attraction thinks it's okay to post such things on social media. At the end of the day any publicity is good publicity and they knew going into this that they would cause offence.
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247502 SHAPES OFFEND ME! In all fairness it's no surprise people are thrashing chains and whips on Merlin after doing this special one off. It's just the modern life we bond with sadly.
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247505 I've come up with a better PR stunt for the Dungeons to get people interested than posting idiot jokes, build a good attraction that is worth the entrance fee? (Ok I promise I'm not this grumpy really) Really the "offense" is not the content of the jokes but the stupidity. Genital wart rape threat jokes? So this is the London Dungeon "brand"? Stop trying to offend people with trash just to get sales up in your corporate soulless visitor attraction, get a life.
February 15, 20178 yr comment_247506 Dungeons is clearly more in the field of 'Horrible Histories' style these days, not a bad thing at all, and I've no real issue in how they look, run, sound, etc these days... This is very typical news stuff now though... Brand does PR stunt that some find offensive, blah, blah, blah... Boring really...
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