Our Shrektacular visit to Shrek’s Adventure, London

The girls are massive Shrek fans so during our weekend break to London we visited Shrek’s Adventure on the Southbank.

What’s It Like?

We have visited Shrek attractions in Orlando but Shrek’s Adventure in London was even better.  This unique interactive experience created by Merlin Entertainments in conjunction with DreamWorks transported you straight into the fairytale world of Shrek and offered an interactive and immersive experience better than anything that we have encountered in Florida.

Pre Departure

At the start of the journey you are given a wristband with a unique barcode. This was used at various photo points throughout the adventure.  These photos are put very beautifully into a photo album at the end of your journey.

As you embark on what is called your ‘Shrektacular’ journey you walk through the dummy security scan area and into a magical lift that transports you into the world of Shrek and Dreamworks.

As the lift doors close, The Gingerbread man appears on the ceiling of the lift welcoming you to Shrek’s Adventure.  This fantastic attention to detail that is seen in the big theme parks of America is used throughout your Shrek experience.

As we walked out of the lift and through the corridors to catch our bus to Far Far Away there were gold framed pictures of iconic characters such as Shrek, Pinocchio etc.  This pre-tour area of Shrek’s Adventure is superbly themed with so much attention to detail adding to the realism of your journey.

Our Journey

The fun began when we were greeted by an air hostess working for Dreamworks Tours who welcomed our group (of around 30 people) onto the tour and quickly briefed us about the rules (no photos).  You will definitely come away remembering the word “Shrektacular”.

Before we got on board the bus we met Princess Fiona (one of the brilliant real life actors) and the fun began with a Shrek sing-a-long.  My eldest daughter was overjoyed when she was selected to stand beside Princess Fiona and had to press the button to start our Shrek story.

The first part of the tour takes place on Donkeys magical 4D flying bus and was a brilliant start to our adventure.  We sat in the front seats of the London bus and could see Shrek’s best friend Donkey in front of us who was our driver for the day.

The girls thought they were really on a magical adventure as we flew through the clouds from London to Far Far Away with the help of characters from How to Train your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda.

However, the twist in the story is we killed Rumpelstiltskin’s favourite witch on the way. Our chaotic flight crash lands in Shrek’s Swamp however Shrek is not there and we have to continue our adventure on foot to get back to London whilst trying to escape the wrath of Rumpelstiltskin.

You travel between a series of rooms with a different adventure in each, all linked by a story involving Rumpelstiltskin and his witches. Each room is hosted brilliantly by an actor dressed up as a character from Shrek or as an appropriate fairy tale character. The group was small enough that everyone could see, and children were encouraged to stand at the front for a good view.

Spoiler Alert – this next section describes your experience as you walk through Shrek’s Adventure.

We met Cinderella who told us how we could get home.   She told us to go to the fortune teller’s caravan but that we needed to give her some gold.
Eventually we found some but only after one man (daddy) was chosen to look in Shrek’s toilet. The sound effects were especially good at that part. My youngest daughter was not impressed that everybody was laughing as she can be a little sensitive but it was really funny and daddy was a good sport.

In Rumpelstiltskin’s carriage we met Esmeralda a fortune teller. The acting was brilliant and the level of interaction with the group was superb.  After giving Esmeralda the gold we looked in her magic ball and Shrek spoke to us before being interrupted by the scary Rumpelstiltskin.

Library Imagery for Shrek’s Adventure London © Mikael Buck / Shrek’s Adventure London

As we entered the Poison Apple pub, Doris the barmaid – one of the Ugly Sisters greeted me with “Hiya Toots” which made me laugh.  As you take a seat in the pub the way in which Puss in Boots is projected onto the walls of the pub, together with the surround sound gives the impression that Puss in Boots is shouting from around the room.  He coughs up a fur ball which cleverly shoots out of the wall and this is given to one of the audience to use in a magic spell later on in our adventure.  As the lights go off a witch appears and the bartender gives her a deadly drink.

The Wheel of Torture game show was brilliant fun as we tried to save Pinocchio and was one of my favourite parts of the adventure.  You choose your seat which have buzzers on the arm rests to answer the questions in typical game show fashion.   Pinocchio’s nose grows bigger as he is asked questions and the audience also have to guess the correct answers.

The mirror maze was very clever and again so much fun.  You really had to watch you don’t bump into the mirror wall as you try and find your way to the Muffin Man’s house.

Library Imagery for Shrek’s Adventure London © Mikael Buck / Shrek’s Adventure London

The girls really liked it here as the Muffin Man cooks up a magic spell.  The items that the children have been given along the journey are used and as each item is added to the cauldron it spurts out water splashing the children at the front.

Library Imagery for Shrek’s Adventure London © Mikael Buck / Shrek’s Adventure London

The journey ends with the star of the show Shrek helping us break out of the dungeon which was guarded by the evil witch and Rumpelstilskin.

There were 10 different stops on Shrek’s Adventure and the excellent use of props, technology and brilliant acting made you feel you were really on an adventure which was so much fun.

DreamWorks Tours Arrivals Hall

After you leave the Shrek story, a giant Shrek greets you for a meet and greet photo opportunity and the girls faces lit up when they could also meet Poppy from Dreamworks latest movie Trolls.

What was a nice surprise at the end of the tour was the Dreamworks area with lots of interactive exhibits to try out and a host of Dreamworks characters such as Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda that you could have photos with.

The Travel Journal & Dreamworks Store

Before you leave, you are shown your very own travel journal, priced at £25 ( Merlin Annual Pass Holder get a 20% discount).  Although the travel journal is not cheap given the price of the attraction tickets, it was good quality and was a lovely souvenir of our day.

Your final stop before the exit is the Dreamworks store, with a huge range of toys and gifts from the wide range of Dreamworks movies.

Overall

It might be a little scary and intimidating for younger children in some places, but ours were fine as long as we were close by.  We spent around 1 hour 30 minutes visiting the attraction and it really was amazing.

The attraction has been wonderfully themed transforming the old County Hall offices into a Shrek Adventureland.  Even if you don’t like Shrek you would love this attraction as it is that good, offering a fun filled adventure whatever your age.  From the ticket desk staff all the way to the end of your adventure, all cast members help to make the experience a Shrektacular one.

Tickets

I would recommended that you prebook a time slot by booking tickets online, to ensure you are able to get in at the time you require.  If you travel to London by train like we did you can get 2 for 1 entry to Shrek’s Adventure by visiting the National Rail Days Out Website and showing your train tickets when you collect your tickets.

You can find out more about Shrek’s Adventure here

Location

Shrek’s Adventure London is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames beside the Coca Cola London Eye, opposite the Houses of Parliament. The closest tube stations are Waterloo, Embankment, Charing Cross and Westminster.

Have you visited Shrek’s Adventure ?

We were guests of Shrek’s Adventure for the purpose of this review, all thoughts and opinions are our own.