Review – Meeting the stars at Madame Tussauds London

“Can I take a selfie with Kim Kardashian?” asks my nine year old daughter! Where else in London could you rub shoulders and strike selfie poses with Hollywood movie stars, politicians, sport and pop stars all under one roof.

We visited the world famous Madame Tussauds wax museum in Baker Street to check out their latest life-size wax replicas of celebrities and historic icons in themed galleries.

It’s been several years since our last visit and we were really excited to find out which new exhibits had been added.

Tip – Either arrive as soon as the attraction opens or later in the day (after 3pm) to avoid busiest times and long wait times.

Set over multiple floors Madame Tussauds is a self-guided experience allowing you to explore each of the themed rooms within the attraction at your own pace.

We began our experience in the party room the first of several themed zones which was full of the big name Hollywood and Bollywood stars.

Although this room was very busy it didn’t stop the girls getting past all the paparazzi to their favourite celebrities for a selfie including Harry Potter star Emma Watson and Kim Kardashian.


With over 250 lifelike wax figures on display some of the other highlights for the girls were meeting ET, Shrek, blogger Zoella and Tinkerbell who is also the smallest ever figure created by Madame Tussauds.

Tip – It takes about three hours to fully explore all of the exhibits, so plan your day accordingly.

That’s what we loved about meeting each character, it’s not a museum so you are actively encouraged to get close and even kiss the waxworks – which was not a tough decision when I met with my personal favourite Brad Pitt!

Each waxwork takes around four months to create at a cost of £150,000 the level of detail on each character was astonishing.

Every single detail is carefully recorded — from exact eye colour to their tattoos and beauty marks whilst actual human hair is individually inserted into the wax including the eyebrows and eyelashes.

We really had to take a second glance to check if they were actually real!

 


As well as being all about entertainment, Madame Tussauds was also great for learning, especially when the girls spotted Henry VIII who they had been studying at school.

Each waxwork has informative information boards providing extra insight and background about the person on display.

At the heart of a bamboo jungle we came face to face with Kong.

This was no ordinary waxwork, at 18ft tall this animatronic ape will blink, grunt, breathe and roar just like he did in the Kong Skull Island movie – it was so realistic that Holly didn’t want to get too close to him for her picture!


My daughters’ faces lit up when they saw the Voice experience. This is one of their favourite TV shows and we were able to sit in the replica chairs next to will.i.am.

To make the experience even more immersive you take part in a live music contest as we had to decide if we wanted to turn our chairs just like on the TV show – brilliant!


It’s not just waxworks to keep visitors entertained at Madame Tussauds which is why we loved visiting. The spirit of London ride took us on a 400 year history of London in a mini taxi and was a big hit with the girls.


The kids even had the chance to strut the catwalk with Cara Delevingne and loved making their own YouTube video Zoella style along with one of our favourites which was the Sherlock Holmes themed experience.


Inspired by the attractions location on Baker Street this actor-led interactive tour (this was an additional £5.00 per person which should really be inclusive with a standard entrance ticket) but was great fun.

We had to become detectives to try to solve a crime starting from 221B Baker Street which involved us collecting evidence and question potential suspects as we walked around the impressively themed Victorian London streetscape and buildings.

Part of the experience was taking a ride on a train where the “wall” of the train carriage is a curved monitor that exhibits a 3D film giving the impression that we were actually moving. It was so immersive it could be a little frightening for younger children but our kids had a great time becoming detectives for the day.

The nine minute 4D Marvel Super Heroes movie was brilliant and the best of the experiences on offer. We experienced a shaking floor, smoke and water during this fun filled 4D film as the Marvel Super Heroes save Buckingham Palace.


Before you enter the theatre you encounter an 18ft Hulk who has literally burst through the barricade along with other members of the Marvel Super hero team.


One of the most recent additions to Madame Tussauds is the really impressive Star Wars section at the end of our tour. It felt like we were in the actual movie as the theming and waxworks were so realistic.

We met R2D2, tried to convince Jabba the hut to release Princess Leia before facing up to Darth Vadar which was a highlight for Holly.

If that wasn’t enough we even got to co-pilot the millennium falcon with Chewbacca before hanging out with Han Solo in the Cantina.

 

This can get really busy as the crowds from the 4D experience exit into this attraction. I would recommend leaving the crowds disperse and you will basically have this section to yourself.

Overall

We had a fun filled 3 hours getting acquainted with some of the world’s most famous celebs at Madame Tussauds.

It’s a great family experience that both children and adults will enjoy. At 7 and 9 years old the girls were a great age to enjoy everything (apart from Alien Escape ages 15+) that was on offer at the attraction.

With so many places to visit in London it’s well worth adding a visit to Madame Tussauds onto your itinerary – just remember to bring your camera.

Tip– This is one of the most popular family attractions in London and gate prices are expensive, so I would recommend either booking your tickets online. If you are travelling by train you can take advantage of the National Rail 2 for 1 ticket offer or take advantage of your Tesco or Nectar reward points for tickets.

Tip – We had fast track tickets which I would highly recommend especially for peak periods such as weekends and school holidays. These tickets will get you into Madame Tussauds the quickest and the standard ticket queue was already starting to snake around the building when we arrived.

Where: Marylebone Road, London (nearest tube is Baker Street)

Open: 7 days a week, 9.30am – 7.50pm

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.