This tourist trap next to the London Eye features displays about the gorier aspects of Britain’s history with exhibits on Guy Fawkes, Jack the Ripper, the Great Fire of London, the plague and torture.
The London Dungeon uses theatrical sets, live actors and special effects as well as ghost train-style rides. There is also Drop Dead: Drop Ride to Doom, a free-fall ride staged as a public hanging. The format features 17 shows spanning 1000 years of London’s history.
The Dungeon’s shows include characters including Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd and chronicle historic events including the Black Death, the Great Fire of London and the Gunpowder Plot.
The London Dungeon experience is a bit like a cross between a carnival ghost train and the sort of show you see at a tacky theatre restaurant with some history thrown in for good measure. It’s cheesy and expensive, but a popular attraction if you’re travelling with kids.
Like the similar London Bridge Experience, it is a tacky tourist trap that appeals to the fairly narrow 12–16 year old demographic. Anyone younger will find it too scary and anyone older will find it too childish. If you’re travelling with kids in that age bracket then it is worth a look, otherwise, give this a miss.
![London Dungeon (Photo: giggel [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)](https://englandrover.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/london-dungeon.jpg)
Visiting London Dungeon
The London Dungeon is part of the cluster of tourist attractions near County Hall that include the SEA LIFE London Aquarium and the London Eye. It is equidistant from both Waterloo and Westminster tube stations, both a 5–10 minute walk away.
Entry is rather expensive, but you can also get free entry with the Merlin Annual Attractions Pass, although buying this pass usually only makes sense for people who live close to one of the Merlin theme parks (which include Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park).
Although the London Dungeon is wheelchair-accessible, capacity is limited and only one wheelchair user is admitted to the attraction each hour (at quarter past the hour).
Other attractions nearby include the Coca-Cola London Eye, SEA LIFE London Aquarium and the Florence Nightingale Museum, all located within a five-minute walk and just across Westminster Bridge are all the Westminster attractions including the Churchill War Rooms, Jewel Tower, Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament).
The London Dungeon experience takes around 1½ hours.
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One review
Keeley
Good
Went here this week I had previously been to the York dungeons and liked it. It is the same style as York dungeons with actors playing parts in each room and picking people out to take part in various bits. It is dark all through the dungeons and pitch black in parts with a few flashing lights in parts. There are 2 rides one at start other at end. Boat ride is first which is similar to a ghost train with a small splash at end where you get a few drops of water on you. There is one room you get sprayed with a few drops of water too. The last ride is a drop ride which I was not looking forward to at all but was going on just so I didn’t miss anything. It’s a drop in pitch black which wasn’t any where near as bad as I expected. I don’t like the feeling of falling but didn’t get that feeling on this and it only dropped once so wasn’t worth missing. Both rides are optional & have safety guidelines. Basically if you are healthy and able to get on and off the ride by yourself you can go on. Also if you are epileptic with flashing lights or photos you can’t go on drop ride but if you are epileptic with flashing lights you would need to miss certain other rooms as well. I went in with a friend who has epilepsy but not effected by flashing lights and he was fine and went on both rides.
16 September 2022