Today Jen, James, Chicken, Pepe and I had planned to visit what must surely be London’s most over-priced tourist attraction. At a hefty £16.95 for adult entry you are best advised to search around for discount. We thought we’d found one with National Rail’s 2-4-1 Entry deal. Unfortunately the deal had expired and no one had bothered to update the National Rail website. After coming up with various ideas to try and get discount entry, including Pepe and Chicken hiking mileage to the non-existent tourist info booth and then the library, Jen eventually came to the rescue with her BBC Club membership. I may seem like I’m making a big deal about the price but an £8.50 saving over 4 people adds up to a lot of Nando meals. 🙂

As for the London Dungeon itself after paying the first stop was getting our photos taken for that “special memory” and then with a “I hope you have a horrible time” from the photographer we were off. Let me warn you up front that you will do a lot of standing around waiting and wondering what is going on because your trip through the Dungeon is basically supervised as you are taken through some of London’s horrific history.

I think we first entered the Labyrinth. This was actually the favourite part of my day as we all entered these chambers with mirrors all over the place and it was enormously entertaining to see everyone trying to navigate their way out of there. Most people took a conservative approach with arms out in front to ensure they weren’t walking into a mirror but there were the odd few who took the gung-ho approach and walked forward without testing the waters first so to speak. These people were enormously entertaining to watch as they basically ended up in face-plant with the mirror in front of them! When you first go through you will absolutely swear that you’ve walked past certain areas before and I won’t give away the secret (easily guessed) but you will eventually escape!

And this is where the hugely interactive section of the tour begins. For the rest of the tour you meet a number of characters who will take you into some of London’s history: the Plague, Medieval Torture, the Law Courts, a wierd log flume type ride, Traitors Gate, a new Sweeney Todd attraction, Jack the Ripper, and the Great Fire of London. Most sections are extremely interactive and some members of the group will definitely be picked on. There will also be some frightening bits (actually less frightening and more shocking), gross bits and very corny bits but its all part of the London Dungeon experience I guess.

At the end of the tour you’ll suddenly find yourself in the photo shop where you can buy your official photos (the one from the start and the one from the log flume ride) before you of course have to make your way through the gift shop on the way to the exit. I think we spent maybe an hour, or an hour and a half at the most, in the Dungeon. So, if you’re paying full price, that is an expensive way to spend an hour.

I had actually visited the Dungeon before back in 2003 I think it was and I definitely remember it much differently. Back then entry was only about £13 and although you would expect some impact from inflation that’s a lot over just a few years. I think mainly the increase in price is to cover the cost of the increased labour costs from all the staff members having to coddle you through the tour. I remember doing a lot more looking and self-touring last time I was here. To be honest though having it this interactive probably makes it more interesting and then you’re not killing your eyes trying to read the information boards in the very dark Dungeon. Still, it won’t suit visitors who prefer to take their time to visit the exhibits and who prefer to read and absorb the information.

Overall I’m not sure I would recommend a visit to the Dungeon. Admittedly it tries to make history a bit more interesting but I’m not sure its worth the hefty price tag. But as James said its all just a bit of harmless fun. Oh, and if you’re afraid of the dark – the Dungeon is definitely not for you!