Shrek’s Adventure Review

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We are huge fans of the green orge and after watching the Shrek Musical, our house has gone a little Shrek mad! With the opening of the latest Merlin attraction in London last year, a visit to the Shrek’s Adventure was on my daughters wishlist for 2016.  I have heard mixed reviews of the attraction so wasn’t quite sure what to expect and whether the adults and children would enjoy the attraction. I needn’t have worried as we had a fantastic time.  We decided to include the Shrek Adventure, into the trip our 1V Scouts took to London.   Having visited the Blackpool Dungeons with our cubs I was keen to see how the two compared and what 18 children (8 – 10 year olds) thought of Shrek’s Adventure.  Here’s our Shrek’s Adventure Review.

Shrek’s Adventures is located next door to the dungeon and near the London Eye so is perfect addition to make a whole day out in the area.  Also, if like us you have Merlin Passes, the attraction is included within the passes and is a great way to have a little orge action in the city.

So what is Shrek’s Adventure?

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The adventure is a walking trail through some of the scenes of the Shrek movie, from the swamp to the dungeons and you get to meet some characters from the film and other fairy tales along the way.  The tour is a great mix of a 4D show, interactive characters, small gameshow like stints and a walk through the most confusing of glass labyrinths you will come across.  The adventure is very similar to the Dungeons and each new location offers a different aspect to the story.

The trail starts with a uniformed guard who has all the ground rules for the visit, including no photography and switching off the phones.  I loved how this explanation was in typical Shrek fashion, very tongue in cheek which made something very mundane and boring both funny and engaging which was a perfect start to the visit. For me, it set the tone of what we could expect over the rest of the visit.  When you buy the tickets you are given a time but the tour will start when there is about 20 – 25 of you in a group.  As we visited with such as a big group, once we entered, we were pretty much ready to go.  As you make your way along the trail you come across the likes of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, all the characters from Shrek and witches galore!  At the end of the tour the children are able to have a meet with the big man himself and can pose for photos with him and then go on to see others characters and scenes from other DreamWorks.

 

What did we think?

  • Firstly the most important critics of the visit were our children and they had an amazing time, with many of them choosing the Shrek Adventures as their highlight of the trip.
  • I think the trail is perfect for a family audience as there is enough dark, creepiness and tongue in cheek humour for the slightly older children and enough recognisable characters for the younger ones.
  • There is plenty of laughs for adults, I loved the Cinderella part with her talking in modern day lingo and made our teenage leaders laugh so much.  I love attractions which have something for the whole family.
  • There was plenty of interaction at each stage with the audience and this always makes a visit that much more memorable.  I loved that the actors call upon the children and the glee when you are picked is always much more fun!
  • Each stage offered something a little different from waking Sleeping Beauty and trying to help her remember to answering the questions to save Pinocchio.  Sometimes when you have young children there attention can begin to wane something carries on for sometime.
  • I would say that children under the age of 6 years old may be a little frightened with the witches, chase, labyrinth and it was very dark in places etc.  If you have a nervous child or an over imaginative one, it can be quite a scary experience so remember to think about this before you visit as most bookings are non refundable
  • At the end of the trail there is a number of activities that the children can do from colouring in some masks to free face painting.  I think this is a great touch as its a nice ending to the attraction.
  • The experience is easily done within 1.5 hours maxim if you do the additional activities at the end and would be even shorter if these were skipped and you arrived just as a tour was about to set off.  We all really enjoyed the walk but it is an expensive activity for the length of time you are actually there.

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Tips for visiting

  • I would watch the films in advance of visiting.  I told our cubs to watch the films before our London trip and it was really nice to have them know all the names and characters.
  • Keep the bags that you have with you to a minimum.  It is quite cramped in the different locations and having big bags can be really cumbersome.  Anything bigger then a normal day bag would be too big.
  • Inside the attraction is quite warm so I would wear only thin coats as you could end up having lots of coats to carry.
  • Pushchairs are not allowed on the trail so if you have a babe in arms, I would recommend a sling or baby carrier.  It is a lot of carrying around and it will be most comfortable for you all.
  • I recommend that the kids have had a a snack or eaten before the activity as hungry kids make for unhappy children.
  • If you have Merlin Passes and want to visit on a certain time, I would prebook online for £1.  Makes it so much easier and ensures that you have your place booked instead of leaving it to chance as family members have turned up and have been unable to gain access on the day as all the time slots were sold out.
  • There is a discount if you want to book Shrek and the other Merlin attractions so its worth checking out the options online before you book.

Overall, our cubs had a fantastic time and it was definitely aimed at the children we attended with.  Having visited the dungeons with the same group, the children were much more impressed at this.  I would recommend the attraction for 6 – 10 years old as the older ones would enjoy the attraction but unless they are big Shrek fans the Dungeons may be a better option.

Nisbah

I am a traveller, mother and blogger. We love to go on adventures (big and small, near and far) and strive to show our children how amazing and beautiful the world is! I caught the travel bug many moons ago and despite having three little adventurers, I still suffer from "itchy" feet. We love the great outdoors and one another. Come and join the fun :)

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1 Response

  1. I didn’t even know about this attraction – sounds like lots of fun. We’re buying Merlin passes next year so will definitely be visiting then.

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