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London Dungeons

pluk said:
It wasn't in - house, there's a few of them about in off the shelf theme varieties. Some of the media on this might have been more in house though.
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A quick Google, it was made by Alterface.

They're the same people making the new complex sounding Popcorns Revenge trackless dark ride at Walibi. If the reliability of this much simpler ride was as bad as I recall we should all wish Walibi the best of luck with that one!
 
I stand corrected then. I just assumed that nothing that dire could possibly be built by anyone other than Merlin's own morons.
 
Going to the dungeons tomorrow. does anyone know if the boat ride is back up and running?
 
There's a Vengeance type ride in Tusenfryd, didn't bother with it myself but was essentially the same thing I believe...

Fab noise when spinning though...
 
It would make the most sense that it was an unexpected thing but then I'm sure Thameslink had even longer planning and been in talks with Merlin? I guess we'll never know the real details. It seemed far too good to be true to have all the Merlin midways in one place, they did well there!

It seemed like there were operational problems with the original location too after it had kind of outgrown itself with what Merlin had turned it into. Don't know about behind the scenes, but just trying to get inside with the queue spilling everywhere and the 1-2 hour wait was a horrible experience.

It was a fantastic venue though and far better than the County Hall Dungeon
 
Laura91 said:
Going to the dungeons tomorrow. does anyone know if the boat ride is back up and running?
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They haven't listed it as 'Closed'on the website so they'll try and open it. Like any ride it might have downtime so it's never 100%. They put a sign up outside saying it's closed, not much help if you've prebooked tickets though!
 
Given County Hall is a mixed use building and there’s a hotel and other offices in close proximity, an attraction that makes as much noise as Vengeance did would surely be problematic...
 
I have a feeling that Tyrant's days may be numbered. It seems to be closed more than it is open these days. A shame as I've heard it's very good... saying that I've not been on it because it likes to spite me every time!
 
Merlin getting political

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...depicts-Boris-Johnson-stocks-locked-cage.html

Tourist attraction the London Dungeon has released pictures of a Boris Johnson lookalike mocked up to appear as if he was in the stocks.

The Prime Minister was also 'pictured' inside a cell after PR firm Stripe Communications, which works with the Dungeon, released the pictures to show what 'historical punishments' he may have faced.

The pictures have emerged amid calls for a calming on language used on all sides following the Prime Minister suggesting the best way to honour murdered MP Jo Cox's memory was to 'get on with Brexit

Tory MP Nigel Evans told MailOnline: ‘If we are looking for incitement then this sort of grotesque distortion may have started as a joke but it’s now a sick joke, particularly with the intensity of feeling that there is around politicians at the moment.

‘This is clearly not funny. I hope that they rapidly look to correct this. It is just not funny.

‘I have had an email through today saying someone is looking forward to my demise.

‘It is being promoted by depictions like this.’
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The Dungeon always pulls off these tired and reheated 'political' PR stunts every other month. They stole the (originally very funny) EU leaving drinks and Theresa May fields of wheat memes to make their own dull attempt at humour a few months back too. B o r i n g excuse to try get on people's radar
 
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Were those 2 really the best punishments they could come up with? Do they not still have the fine collection of manhood removers the dungeons were known for?

For the record I don't say this because it's Boris, I just like seeing the Dungeons be true to our barbaric past.
 
Does anyone here remember London Dungeon in the 70s / 80s? I'm doing research on it for a video project and would be great to hear more people's memories of the really early years

These were the days when it was all exhibitions under the exposed railway arches, cold, damp and smelly, very atmospheric and creepy. No route to take, just free to walk around and peer through into the scenes. I have lots of photos from the 80s but not totally sure which year they were from because things were always being changed.

Some of the exhibits were animated with moving figures and water effects but I dont think this was from the very beginning, I think they may have all been static when first opened?

There was also a huge walkaround exhibit called Pandemonium that you entered through the mouth of hell and saw a giant Satan sacrifice a baby! Im not sure when this opened or closed but was there mid 80s. Who remembers this?

A world away from the London Dungeon it became in the later 90s and even further from the current one!
 
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I loved the old dungeon. Better in just about every way from what Merlin turned it in to :( The closest thing to it these days is The Clink Museum
 
My mum went to the London Dungeon in the mid-1980s, and she says that she remembers Dr Cripping from when she went in that era. That was the only thing she could really remember.
 
My first visit as a kidling would have been somewhere in the late 80's - definately pre-1992. Went back in 2000 when it was transitioning to what we know today. Afraid I didn't become a regular visitor until the mid-00's. Let's see what I can remember...

There was a large open room near the start, with a guillotine in the middle. Beheaddings were nowhere near frequent enough.

The vignettes showing the various methods of torture and/or execution (let's be honest here, even a "minor" torture would probably have killed you) did indeed make use of water effects. The classic "vomit in a barrel" gag leaps to mind. Water splashes were also used for "blood splatter" from the guillotine. Most of them were static displays.
One or two of these waxworks could still be seen at Tooley Street in it's last days, in the area between the pay desks and the mirror maze.

The Great Fire Of London Expierience had several different scenes that you progressed through, and arguably was the model for what was to come. It made good use of classic theatre effects such as "ripple wheels" in front of profile spots to project flame. There was an animatronic housewife at the start (setting the scene before the fire began) who would empty a chamber pot from a first floor window onto an unlucky guest, with a cry of "OUT THE WAY!"
The sets for this lingered on, and you passed through them getting from Jack The Ripper (version 2) to Bloody Mary. I think the trommel was a later addition.

Roaming actors were free to interact with guests, chat, tease, scare, and even give actual historical facts. Not like the rigid script recitals we know today. Their favorite trick was to luck quietly behind someone who was looking at an exhibit or reading a plaque, then wait for them to turn round.

There was a small cafe next to the gift shop.

I'm sure there was some mention of "will-o-whisp" ghosts in there somewhere?
 
Did it and worked almost directly above it in the early eighties, just before Pandemonium.
Couldnt add more than diogo...my first experience of an ankle tickler in the rat cavern.
I think they got in trouble for putting rats below a perspex floor in that room.
I think pandemonium was a big rotating jelly pyramid thing with projections...but that may be a big lie.
The laser shows at the planetarium at the same time were discounted at the dungeon as well.
Tooley Street arches were spooky anyway, dark, damp and cold.
The noise from London Bridge station overhead ruined the dungeon effect a bit...
"The train pulling into platform two..."
 
The odd thing, now that I think about it, was that despite being a wimpy little kid, I don't recall any of it being "scary". It was all very lighthearted and fun. Suppose you could say the same for the modern Dungeons, but to me it feels like these days they really try to push the "hey teenagers: bring your girlfriend here and she'll freak out and hold on to you while you prove to your mates that you are a man now" angle.
 
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