London Dungeon 2007
When the London Dungeon first opened, it was considered quite shocking as it laid bare our bloodied history of torture, execution and brutality through the ages. Wandering through the dark and smelly catacombs underneath London Bridge station, visitors would pass various waxwork tableaux covering such cheery topics as the great plague, beheadings, hangings, and other hideous delights.
Over the years the Dungeon has strived to evolve into more of an interactive experience with the introduction of live actors, sound effects, clever lighting and rides. This “evolution” was a conscious decision by the Dungeons management and started with the opening of Judgment Day. On this ride visitors were sentenced to death and had to board a boat, which took them down the banks of the Thames and through Traitors Gate where they met their maker with the help from a firing squad! Since then, more attractions have been added and many of the original waxwork figures have been sidelined as props between the scenes.
The Haunted Attractions team hadn’t been down to the Dungeon since 1997 and were not really sure as to what to expect anymore. After a lengthy wait to actually get into the first themed area, our mood was dampened with the thought that an equally lengthy wait would be experienced throughout the rest of our visit. Fortunately this was not to be the case and we subsequently moved fluidly through each area with no delay.
Our first encounter within the new style attraction was the mirrors and madness of The Labyrinth of the Lost. This was a small and compact mirror maze with a few surprises along the way. Well themed and laid out, we were surprised to find that there really wasn’t an obvious escape route as we all wandered around completely lost until a ringing bell summoned us to apparent safety.
The next couple of attractions were actor led and featured a Mad Doctor and a Torturer. Both of these had just the right sense of humour and yuck factor to appeal to everyone without offending anyone too much. It must be a difficult job interacting with new groups every 5 minutes or so (especially when many of them may be foreign speaking tourists) but the actors here all appeared to be relishing the roles they had been given.
The old Judgement Day ride has been effectively re-themed and is now called Traitor: Boat Ride to Hell. As before the group are humiliated and then sentenced to death by the Judge with help from his assistant. Taken in the right spirit this is quite a funny interlude before you are sent through Bedlam and down to Traitors Gate. We were not expecting the intensity of Bedlam, and with its strobes, smoke and actors, it was similar to a very short version of The Asylum / Freezer at Thorpe Park. Once on board the boat, we found the attraction to be much darker than previously but could probably still do with some effective scares on your way to the Gate. As for what happens beyond the gate well you will just have to find out for yourself. We strongly suggest that you hang on to your head though!
After surviving Traitors Gate, we were booked in for an appointment with the famous barber, Sweeny Todd. We were invited to sit in the salon and wait for him to appear and as the room was plunged into darkness, the Barber made his presence felt in a number on ingenious ways. This was another recent addition to the Dungeon line up and we are pleased to say managed to be very atmospheric and creepy. Saying what goes on once the lights are out will spoil any surprises but if you’ve visited Alien Encounter in Walt Disney World, you will have an idea of what happens next.
Up until this point all the attractions had been an exciting mix of factual history, humour and a few scares. Unfortunately The Jack The Ripper Experience and Great Fire of London exhibits that followed are more sombre offerings due to the very nature of their individual stories and now do seem somewhat out of place within in the whole Dungeons tour. The story of Jack the Ripper comes out of this slightly better as even in this day and age the story cannot fail to shock, and there is a fun moment of tension and surprise in the final room.
The owners of the Dungeons are keen to always add new exhibits and we would hope that the next area to get a makeover will be the Great Fire of London section. The effects in here appeared to be quite dated and the whole factual presentation of the story seemed too long after the shocks and fun of earlier sections. The main presentation room and the subsequent maze like passage through the burning embers cover quite a large area and as the original finale of the whole attraction it must have been slightly disappointing.
Realising this, the Dungeons have recently moved things around by removing the café and have built a thrilling finale to the whole tour in the shape of Extremis: Drop Ride to Doom.
On leaving the fires of London guests are taken to Newgate Prison, where they are informed of their fate at the gallows. Using drop tower technology that is popular in a lot of theme parks, guests sit on a row of seats that are then lifted to the top of the gallows where a line of nooses await. After being sentenced, the seats then free fall 20ft to the ground. Conjuring up the right atmosphere with a great stomach in mouth moment it is a great finish to the whole Dungeon experience and people leave the attraction with a huge smile of their faces.
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Dungeon and would highly recommend it if you are visiting London. They have taken steps to bring the attraction up to date while remaining with its spirit in the past. The rides are fun and the actors acting as hosts and players enhanced the experience no end. We hope that in time the Fire of London exhibit gets replaced with something that’s as fun and thrilling as all the previous attractions. Even so – as a complete package it’s a great way to spend 90 minutes in London!
Over the years the Dungeon has strived to evolve into more of an interactive experience with the introduction of live actors, sound effects, clever lighting and rides. This “evolution” was a conscious decision by the Dungeons management and started with the opening of Judgment Day. On this ride visitors were sentenced to death and had to board a boat, which took them down the banks of the Thames and through Traitors Gate where they met their maker with the help from a firing squad! Since then, more attractions have been added and many of the original waxwork figures have been sidelined as props between the scenes.
The Haunted Attractions team hadn’t been down to the Dungeon since 1997 and were not really sure as to what to expect anymore. After a lengthy wait to actually get into the first themed area, our mood was dampened with the thought that an equally lengthy wait would be experienced throughout the rest of our visit. Fortunately this was not to be the case and we subsequently moved fluidly through each area with no delay.
Our first encounter within the new style attraction was the mirrors and madness of The Labyrinth of the Lost. This was a small and compact mirror maze with a few surprises along the way. Well themed and laid out, we were surprised to find that there really wasn’t an obvious escape route as we all wandered around completely lost until a ringing bell summoned us to apparent safety.
The next couple of attractions were actor led and featured a Mad Doctor and a Torturer. Both of these had just the right sense of humour and yuck factor to appeal to everyone without offending anyone too much. It must be a difficult job interacting with new groups every 5 minutes or so (especially when many of them may be foreign speaking tourists) but the actors here all appeared to be relishing the roles they had been given.
The old Judgement Day ride has been effectively re-themed and is now called Traitor: Boat Ride to Hell. As before the group are humiliated and then sentenced to death by the Judge with help from his assistant. Taken in the right spirit this is quite a funny interlude before you are sent through Bedlam and down to Traitors Gate. We were not expecting the intensity of Bedlam, and with its strobes, smoke and actors, it was similar to a very short version of The Asylum / Freezer at Thorpe Park. Once on board the boat, we found the attraction to be much darker than previously but could probably still do with some effective scares on your way to the Gate. As for what happens beyond the gate well you will just have to find out for yourself. We strongly suggest that you hang on to your head though!
After surviving Traitors Gate, we were booked in for an appointment with the famous barber, Sweeny Todd. We were invited to sit in the salon and wait for him to appear and as the room was plunged into darkness, the Barber made his presence felt in a number on ingenious ways. This was another recent addition to the Dungeon line up and we are pleased to say managed to be very atmospheric and creepy. Saying what goes on once the lights are out will spoil any surprises but if you’ve visited Alien Encounter in Walt Disney World, you will have an idea of what happens next.
Up until this point all the attractions had been an exciting mix of factual history, humour and a few scares. Unfortunately The Jack The Ripper Experience and Great Fire of London exhibits that followed are more sombre offerings due to the very nature of their individual stories and now do seem somewhat out of place within in the whole Dungeons tour. The story of Jack the Ripper comes out of this slightly better as even in this day and age the story cannot fail to shock, and there is a fun moment of tension and surprise in the final room.
The owners of the Dungeons are keen to always add new exhibits and we would hope that the next area to get a makeover will be the Great Fire of London section. The effects in here appeared to be quite dated and the whole factual presentation of the story seemed too long after the shocks and fun of earlier sections. The main presentation room and the subsequent maze like passage through the burning embers cover quite a large area and as the original finale of the whole attraction it must have been slightly disappointing.
Realising this, the Dungeons have recently moved things around by removing the café and have built a thrilling finale to the whole tour in the shape of Extremis: Drop Ride to Doom.
On leaving the fires of London guests are taken to Newgate Prison, where they are informed of their fate at the gallows. Using drop tower technology that is popular in a lot of theme parks, guests sit on a row of seats that are then lifted to the top of the gallows where a line of nooses await. After being sentenced, the seats then free fall 20ft to the ground. Conjuring up the right atmosphere with a great stomach in mouth moment it is a great finish to the whole Dungeon experience and people leave the attraction with a huge smile of their faces.
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Dungeon and would highly recommend it if you are visiting London. They have taken steps to bring the attraction up to date while remaining with its spirit in the past. The rides are fun and the actors acting as hosts and players enhanced the experience no end. We hope that in time the Fire of London exhibit gets replaced with something that’s as fun and thrilling as all the previous attractions. Even so – as a complete package it’s a great way to spend 90 minutes in London!
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