London Dungeon is located on the South Bank of London and is a popular tourist attraction for its unique concept of creation. It is made to take the visitors into past London's deathly and frightening events. These events are recreated in humorous styles by using a mixture of live actors, special effects and ride.
The London Dungeon is one of the iconic tourist attractions in the capital city of the UK. Opened on 15th September 1974, this place currently brings in the history of London’s dark life, which has been perfectly blended with entertainment. If you're planning a Europe tour, make sure to include a visit to the London Dungeon in your itinerary for a thrilling experience. The place has 360 sets, each having an interesting story to tell.
There are 19 interactive shows and 2 rides, featuring 20 actors. These talented actors give live performances in some scarily funny shows which have been further enhanced through stunning special effects. The actors perform as some of the most infamous characters of London such as Jack the Ripper, Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Mrs.Lovett and Sweeney Todd.
In the form of these shows, some of London’s history, such as the Black Plague attack and the Great Fire of London has been brought alive. A glimpse into the torture chamber of 1605 and the courtroom of the 18th century is also included. In the shows, the visitors are not just silent spectators but are also made to enact as characters.
Be it running to safety escaping from the great fire of London or a walk through the rat-infested tunnel, the visitors are kept involved in each drama that unfolds in front of them. In some of the sets, they are suddenly shocked to find the floor below them moving or the chair they are sitting on, shaking. Also, the two rides, a boat ride, and a drop ride are thrilling, scary and add to the fun.
At the end of this high voltage tour, visitors get the chance to cool off at the Traven. It is a pub that offers drinks and beverages to visitors with piano music in the background and interesting tales if one cares to listen. For those still looking for fun, there is even an option to join the game of rat hunting.
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• The London Dungeon has 18 shows, 3 rides and few real actors which portray the 1000 years old history of London in just 90 minutes.
• Tyrant Boat Ride is a ride through the dark chambers with the sound of rats walking, wavy waters and many more to experience.
• You will be confronted with the inhumane criminals of London’s history, like Guy Fawkes, Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd.
• Witness how the Dungeon carves in the form of drama of the deadly and worst era of the past: The London great plague.
• Visit the chamber named as torture chamber, which is capable of sending the currents of fear through your whole body.
There are several ways to get from London City centre to London Dungeon:
1.By Walk: One can walk from London City centre to London Dungeon by following the signs for the South Bank and cross River Thames either at the Waterloo bridge or Westminster bridge. The distance for walking is around 2kms and it will take 30 mins to reach there. One can hire cycles and reach in 16 minutes.
2. By Bus: There are buses available from New Oxford Street to Waterloo. The buses which stop at the London Dungeon are 211, 77, 381 and RV1. It can also be reached as a stop on the Big Bus Sightseeing route.
3. By Metro: There are also underground metros, where visitors will need to get down at Waterloo station and walk for 4-5 minutes.
4. By Railway: A mainline railway station is also there at Waterloo mainline station if the visitors travel by railway train. From the station, it is a 4-5 minutes walk.
5. By Car: One can go there by car but the London Dungeon does not have a car parking of its own. However, one can park at Q-Park Westminster car park just a short distance away.
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If you want to save yourself from crowds, then the best time to visit London Dungeon is around 10 am in the morning(opening time), while in the afternoon you must go at 4 pm before closing.
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There are three events in London Dungeon -
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1. For the Tyrant Boat Ride, there is a height restriction of 1 meter. Children below this height cannot go for this ride alone. Also, this ride is not recommended for those with back or neck pain, having any injury in the legs or are a pregnant woman.
2. Drop Ride is not suitable for visitors having heart complaints, pacemakers, back or neck pains, broken limbs or is pregnant.
3. A few items, which cannot be taken inside the London Dungeon are large bags or suitcases, motorcycle helmets, skateboards and rollerblades, tripods, baby buggies which cannot be folded, and any sharp object.
4. No outside food and drinks are allowed inside.
5. There is a restriction on photography.
6. The place is deemed suitable for children of 12 years and above but parents, at their discretion, can take younger children along as well.
7. The tours run only in English.
8. There are 90-110 minutes of walking during the tour. Visitors having a problem with walking may opt for a wheelchair. The place allows one wheelchair per hour.
9. Purchasing tickets online can get visitors a discount of 20%. Moreover, visitors can select their convenient time of visit. This helps in avoiding the queue at the ticket counter and the waiting time for entering the tour.
10. The place does not have any provision for storing visitor’s belongings
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The tour starts with a ride in an ancient lift which takes visitors to the bed of the river Thames. There will be Lift Lester who will prepare visitors for the 1000 years of the horrible history of the dark side of London. The lift has been designed to depict the year 1536.
The year 1536 boat ride in which the visitors are made to act as conspirators of Anne Boleyn who had to face the wrath of Henry VIII and was sentenced to death. The whole enactment along with the boat ride makes it a thrilling experience.
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This is from a story of the year 1605 when the plot was made to blow up the parliament and Guy Fawkes was made to live in the rat-infested tunnel for 10 days. Visitors will pass through this rat-infested tunnel which also has gunpowder explosives in certain places.
Back to 1783, it's the Newgate Gallows. This thrilling long drop is an ultimate end to the dungeon journey.
Now it's time for an 1889 pub - the Ten Ball Pubs where Jack the Ripper’s victims used to drink. The landlady of the pub, Mrs. Waldren will tell the visitors the story of Jack the Ripper.
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Yes. The original dungeon was founded by Annabel Geddes in 1976 and was later moved to the location of South Bank. It is one of the eight dungeons around Europe and America. Although never actually used as a dungeon, it gives visitors a picture of how dungeons in ancient times looked like and what used to happen there.
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Although the place is open to all ages, those visitors between the age of 12 to 18 will enjoy it more. The children below the age of 12 may find it too scary and the adult may think it to be less scary for them.
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The London Dungeon is not included in London Pass. However, being a Merlin property, visitors can avail of Merlin’s London Pass. This pass has options of covering other Merlin attractions such as The London Eye, Madame Tussauds, and Shrek’s Adventure along with London Dungeon. Visitors can also purchase London Explorer Pass which allows the option to choose 3,5 or 7 attractions from a list of 20. The pass includes a free map of London along with complete information about the opening hours as well as directions as well as the London Underground map to help visitors plan their itinerary.
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London Dungeon is an experience in a dark environment with scary sounds which children below 12 years may not enjoy. Some of the shows have a floor which will move or a chair which will have some effects, which can scare the children.
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No, it is not completely underground. The tour covers two flights of stairs as well. The tour starts with an 8 meters descent to the bank of River Thames. Then it travels up the two flights of stairs in the form of various scenes of the shows and then comes the final ride, the Drop Dead ride which is a vertical descent to the ground level.
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There is no restriction from the Dungeon management for child visitors. However, if they are below 17 years, they need to be accompanied by an adult over 18 years of age. However, the management does not recommend the place for children below 12 years.
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The London Dungeon is a 90 to 110 minutes tour through 19 interactive shows and rides. It is better to take at least 2 hours in hand while visiting the place, as one may plan to spend some time in the Tavern, at the end of the tour. It is fascinating to listen to the ghost tales from the East end landlady and henpecked landlord.
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Yes. The place was initially opened at Tooley Street in 1974 by Annabel Geddes. It changed hands several times between 1974 to 2013. When Merlin group took over in 2013, they moved the place to County Hall, South Bank to bring it near to some of their other attractions as well.
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The place is 7km (4.3miles) away from Madame Tussaud’s. It takes around 13 minutes to reach London Dungeons from Madame Tussaud's if one goes in a car. One can also take a train from London Marylebone station and go to Waterloo station, which is 5 minutes walk from London Dungeon. This will take around 30 minutes. There is also the option of the London Underground, where one can reach Waterloo underground station in 6 mins and walk for 5 mins to reach the Dungeon. A bus journey between the two places will take around 30 minutes.
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