Madame Tussauds, London

The concept of Madame Tussauds is straightforward and a bit odd all at the same time – famous people in wax. Madame Tussauds has a 200 year history of creating figures out of wax, each year getting more and more sophisticated.

Check out our post – Things to do in London with kids

It is hectic, crowded, and not recommended for claustrophobics. However, it is a great deal of fun.

Madame Tussauds is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. The queues can be horrendous, and if you’re not in to this sort of thing, then look away now. Go to nearby London Zoo instead. However, if you love your celebs, royals, sports stars, and historic figures mixed with good old’ cheesiness, then Madame Tussauds is ace.

We met…..

Kate Winslet. In wax.

Russell Brand. If you want to lick his face (not officially permitted), you might need a step. Not that I’d know.

Emma Watson. A recent addition. The Harry Potter loving 8-year old was very excited.

There are photo ‘opportunities’ in pretty much every section, where there is an official Tussauds photographer. The photos are £10 each, or you can take your own. These included ET………..

…..and this very clever Spiderman scene.

In the sports room, we saw an excellent model of Tom Daley

And we tried our superskillz on the football game

Then straight in to the Royalty room where we met Princess Di. And I answered a lot of ‘Who’s she?’ type questions.

Then we saw this lot, and sadly, Prince Philip was on his best behaviour.

Here are a few more pictures which show only a handful of the models inside Madame Tussauds. There are literally hundreds spread over lots of themed rooms. I took almost 100 photos on our visit. There is something for everyone.

Shrek. He’s ma-hoo-sive

Justin Bieber. The ignorant little popsicle. Not. A. Word.

The Beatles

SCREAM! is recommended for 12 years and over only and not for pregnant women. We haven’t reviewed this section. I’m a big wuss at the best of times, and the children with us were too young anyway (phew!). This is a chamber of horrors where the exhibits are not all made of wax. You can bypass this bit.

The next room is very interesting. It’s a small exhibition that shows you how the wax models are made, including their eyes and hair.

The penultimate attraction is the Spirit of London ride, where you sit in a carriage and get a tour around the history of London (in wax) with scenes depicting the great fire of 1666, the rebuilding of St Pauls, World War II, and the swinging sixties. We didn’t queue for this as the ride moves continuously and the staff are very good at getting people on and off quickly.

At the end of the tour is the Marvel 4D film starring characters like Wolverine, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. It’s very, very good but I think, a bit scary for the younger ones. The 4D effects include a water spray in your face, and knives digging in your back from the seat (not actual knives, but it is a bit disturbing for more wimpy souls. Like me). The eight-year olds in our party loved it and weren’t scared too much, but we didn’t take the 5 and 4 year olds in. The wait was about 20 minutes to get in and seated. The film itself was about 15 minutes.

The Hulk. This one needed a lot of wax.

……and relax!

Exit down stairs through the very crowded gift shop, there is a coffee shop at the exit, but lots of places to eat nearby on Baker Street itself.

Information:-

Tube station is Baker Street.

Baby buggies are not permitted and have to be left in a buggy park. There are height restrictions on the Spirit of London ride. In my opinion, this attraction is not suitable for toddlers and babies but is great for anyone old enough to recognise the people depicted in wax. Teens will love it. In fact, it’s full of them from all corners of the globe.

Tour time – about 2 to 4 hours. Not including queuing to get in (which was up to 2 hours on the day of our visit).

Tickets are £30 per adult with reductions for children and for advance online bookings. Under 4s are free. You can buy a combination ticket which includes The London Eye and the London Aquarium and gives a reduction on all three attractions. You can also get cheaper tickets if you go in the evening (after 5pm) but it doesn’t stay open long so it might not leave you enough time to look around all of it. You can pick up all sorts of deals such as two-for-one vouchers from cereal packets, or national newspapers. They are part of the Merlin group, and you can visit for free if you have a Merlin pass. You can also get tickets through Tesco Rewards. If you pay full price to get in, you are mad – if only because there are so many deals available if you look for them.

This review is about Madame Tussauds, London. We have not visited any of the other Madame Tussauds around the world.