London Bridge Experience and London Tombs - 2012 Review
The London Bridge Experience and London Tombs have always been a bit of a divided attraction with the upstairs being dark and educational whilst the downstairs is even darker but scarier. It’s been a while since we had done the full experience as when we visited for Halloween in 2011, the show ignored the educational element and effectively used the whole building as a basis for its scare event. Therefore, as we hadn't seen the full show for a long time, we were really looking forward to some of the publicised changes.
In the past, the upstairs section has been quite slow as guests experience London through the ages. Although educational and interesting, some of the segments had a tendency to drag and in places weren’t quite as clever and/or witty as its neighbour across the road. A lot of his has now been changed and the upstairs now includes some fun scenes, some great gags and some actually genuinely frightening moments! (check out the photo below for proof)
In the past, the upstairs section has been quite slow as guests experience London through the ages. Although educational and interesting, some of the segments had a tendency to drag and in places weren’t quite as clever and/or witty as its neighbour across the road. A lot of his has now been changed and the upstairs now includes some fun scenes, some great gags and some actually genuinely frightening moments! (check out the photo below for proof)
The photo doesn't do justice to the full effect of the crashed train!
The crashed train is a master piece of design and the looks on our faces prove just how startled we were at that point! These new set pieces really help elevate the attraction along with other new scenes and effects. New for 2012 is Hells Portal which has to be one of the fastest spinning vortex tunnels we have ever experienced. It was virtually impossible to stay upright as the room span crazily round us and everyone had to hang on to the handrail to keep themselves upright.
The changes to the first half of the show makes the whole experience tighter and more cohesive, which meant our trip into the Tombs wasn’t such a mood change as it had been in the past.
The Tombs have always been one of our favourite attractions due to the sheer length and detail of the experience. A visit here is a long and extended fright extravaganza which throws just about every sort of scare tactic at its unsuspecting visitors. Today wasn’t any different with the majority of scares coming from the very lively actors scattered throughout.
When The Tombs first opened – the rooms were all very dark and oppressive with themes such as swamp, mausoleum, sewer dark forest etc and to be honest many of them merged into one. Over the years new rooms have been added which provide a nice contrast – the clown’s room, psycho shower room and the doctor’s surgery. These brighter scenes, amongst the other darker ones are great for confusing people and only highlight how dark some of the other areas are. Also – the new “pallet” section added at the end of last year is now much more claustrophobic than the chain link fencing that was used to line the path at this point.
Also – it is interesting to note that many of the animatronics have now either been turned or are used as background theming. We all understand that animatronics can be effective in places but it’s nice to see the attraction relying on live scares with the exception of some of the big set pieces such as the Hellevator, and the crashed train.
When we finally emerged from the Tombs we were exhausted from the sheer effort of laughing and screaming throughout and many of our group were finally able to relax knowing that they were safe. We had been attacked mercilessly from the moment we entered, through to a big group finale at the end. The enthusiasm and excitement of the crew was palpable throughout and as we walked to the exit we could hear their jeers and laughter echoing back at us!
The changes to the first half of the show makes the whole experience tighter and more cohesive, which meant our trip into the Tombs wasn’t such a mood change as it had been in the past.
The Tombs have always been one of our favourite attractions due to the sheer length and detail of the experience. A visit here is a long and extended fright extravaganza which throws just about every sort of scare tactic at its unsuspecting visitors. Today wasn’t any different with the majority of scares coming from the very lively actors scattered throughout.
When The Tombs first opened – the rooms were all very dark and oppressive with themes such as swamp, mausoleum, sewer dark forest etc and to be honest many of them merged into one. Over the years new rooms have been added which provide a nice contrast – the clown’s room, psycho shower room and the doctor’s surgery. These brighter scenes, amongst the other darker ones are great for confusing people and only highlight how dark some of the other areas are. Also – the new “pallet” section added at the end of last year is now much more claustrophobic than the chain link fencing that was used to line the path at this point.
Also – it is interesting to note that many of the animatronics have now either been turned or are used as background theming. We all understand that animatronics can be effective in places but it’s nice to see the attraction relying on live scares with the exception of some of the big set pieces such as the Hellevator, and the crashed train.
When we finally emerged from the Tombs we were exhausted from the sheer effort of laughing and screaming throughout and many of our group were finally able to relax knowing that they were safe. We had been attacked mercilessly from the moment we entered, through to a big group finale at the end. The enthusiasm and excitement of the crew was palpable throughout and as we walked to the exit we could hear their jeers and laughter echoing back at us!
New advertising at the entrance
Since opening in 2008, London Bridge experience and the London Tombs has seen a lot of changes for the better and the show just keeps getting scarier and scarier. With devious plans afoot for their 2012 Halloween product – Photophobia – we can’t wait to see what they bring us next.
For more details of The London Bridge Experience, check out their website
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