Inside: Shrek’s Adventure London Review & Guide. Press visit.
Whenever I visit London I like to fit in as much as possible and plan out our day so that we make good use of the time we have there. On a recent trip, we spent the day in London’s South Bank and went along to Shrek’s Adventure!
Shrek’s Adventure! is an immersive experience that takes you on a journey through Far Far Away, helping various characters along the way as you try to make your way to find Shrek. It lasts around an hour in total and is a nice add-on if you are visiting London for other attractions too.
As a family of 5, with children aged 5 to 11, it was just about right for us and in this post I will go through the experience with you, so you know what to expect.
What is Shrek’s Adventure?
The way I’ve been describing it to people has been that it is along the same sort of lines as the London Dungeon or York Dungeon, if you’ve ever been to either of those.
Run by DreamWorks Tours, it is a family-friendly attraction based around the story of Shrek and aimed at children, but essentially it is an interactive experience where you are taken on a walking tour as part of a small group. Moving from room to room you visit different parts of Far Far Away and meet favourite characters such as Cinderella, The Muffin Man, Princess Fiona and other familiar faces.
As a group you are very much a part of the storyline and the actors are great at getting everyone involved in the adventure.
What happens at Shrek’s adventure?
When you arrive, you show your ticket (or buy on the day if you are lucky enough to get a space) and walk through to get your bag checked. I can’t quite remember when, but past a certain point no pushchairs are allowed so you must leave them in the allocated buggy park.
Once inside you are then ushered into a lift where you get a glimpse of the Gingerbread Man before stepping out into a large corridor. This leads to a photo opportunity in front of a green screen where you are invited to pose for different shots.
At this point you have to wait for a little while (while the rest of the group have their photos taken) until it is your time slot. At the time I had no idea why we were waiting and would have appreciated some seating or an explanation as to what was happening.
Eventually a tour guide showed us into what seemed to be a bus depot, where we met our tour guide. We were told at this point that no phones or cameras were to be used throughout the experience.
The start of the tour begins with a magic bus ride, with Donkey as the bus driver. This is advertised as a 4D experience on the website but at the point of visiting (July 2022) this wasn’t the case. Looking on the website it seems that maintenance work was carried out earlier in the year, so perhaps they weren’t able to get it up and running again. It’s a shame as I’d heard that it was the highlight of the tour.
The ride was still fun though, with water splashes and other surprises – the children loved it. I’m sure they will bring back the 3D glasses back again to make the magical bus ride even more fun.
Once you arrive in Far Far away you are then taken through different rooms (from scene to scene) to meet different characters. My favourite part was meeting the fortune teller, who was very funny indeed.
You’ll also go through Shrek’s swamp, a mirror maze and have a chat with the barmaid in the Poison Apple Pub. Some of the rooms are a little dark and so younger children may well get a little worried and need a cuddle before realising the characters are friendly.
This is very interactive and the live actors are so engaging that you do feel as though you are part of the story. Be prepared for audience participation, with one or two grown-ups being invited to take part at various points. Children are also invited to help and my youngest daughter was able to help at one point – much to her delight!
At the end of the tour you have another photo opportunity with a special character and of course are then given the opportunity to buy the various photos at the end.
Once past this point you are allowed to take your own photos again and move through into a room where you find Dreamworks characters, such as Po from Kung Fu Panda, Night Fury and Light Fury from How to Train Your Dragon and a few more.
How long does the Shrek’s Adventure last?
The whole experience lasted just under an hour and then we made our way into the gift shop before heading out into the sunshine for the rest of our day. For what it is, it is just the right length. Any longer and I think children would become a little restless.
However, for the money, it doesn’t feel long enough at all. During peak season (correct as of July 2022), adult tickets cost £30 and child tickets cost £24 – unfortunately there isn’t an option for a family ticket.
Obviously you are paying for the Dreamworks name but I think as a result they should offer something after the main tour to make you feel as though you’ve had your money’s worth – storytime with Princess Fiona or something.
It definitely isn’t something you would come to London especially to see but is great as an add-on if you plan to visit other attractions in the area such as the London Eye or the London Aquarium. You can get multi-attraction tickets for various places and can save money that way too.
What age is Shrek’s adventure for?
The experience doesn’t have an age limit but they suggest ages 6 to 12 as a guide. I would agree with this as William, just under 6 years old, did find a few of the rooms and characters a little scary. You know your child best, so if they are a little nervous in character I would wait until they are nearer to 8 or 9, but equally if they aren’t afraid of anything then children aged 3 or 4 would still enjoy it.
Although under 3’s go free, with pushchairs not being allowed on the tour you may want to avoid taking toddlers who might run around and touch things they shouldn’t. Also, if you have a young baby you’ll need to remember to bring a sling so your arms don’t ache carrying them.
Final thoughts
If you are a Shrek fan then it is a great way to get up close to your favourite characters but worth keeping an eye out for deals and multi-attraction options.
It’s definitely a fun experience and something different that the whole family can enjoy – we had a great time and along with our trip to the aquarium it was another successful family trip to London.
After this fun-filled adventure, I’d like to create lasting memories with Custom Challenge Coins. Custom challenge coins can be engraved with Shrek and Donkey’s classic image together, or elements of London landmarks.
Find out more at shreksadventure.com
Disclosure: We were given press tickets to the experience in return for coverage on my Instagram account. This review was not part of the agreement. All words and thoughts are my own, as always.