Madame Tussauds and Planetarium, London

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Elliots 7th birthday treat !

Situated on the corner of Baker Street and Marylebone Rd , Madame Tussaud is one of Londons most visited attractions. Always busy , its a good idea to book tickets in advance. This year ( 2012 ) they have a Marvel Super Heroes exhibition with 4d movie .( Great for 7 year olds!!)

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With kids it had to be seen, but we found nothing new in the known quality of those wax figures reproducing famous persons. And everybody taking pictures with one of their idols.

The less noticed point is the imagination of some common figures that allow a slightly different amusement.

Like that gentleman interested in a child’s Portuguese story, or the lady that felt asleep in the middle of it.

By the time you obtain the expensive tickets which are £30 and £25 for adult and children respectively and queue for ages to get in, i think it is way overpriced for what you see. If you book on line in advance there is around £3 discount---wow, what a deal. Give this a miss, particularly if you are a family of four. Think what else you can do with your £100!

Visit Madam Tussaud's, wax figures
Lifelike statues of the famous and infamous. For those of you who do not immediately recognise her: the picture shows the famous TV-host and TV-celebrity Dame Edna Everage

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It took us almost 3 hours waiting in line to get inside Madame Tussauds. A lot of visitors both local and foreign proves to be a fan of this great wax art and I could say, the long line and waiting was worth it. Really amazing piece of art! So if you plan to visit Madame Tussauds wax museum, buy your tickets in advance and arrive there early. Don't forget your camera :)

The London Planetarium is adjacent to Madame Tussaud's, inside you are invited to discover the basics of astronomy under its green copper dome! With a wax work of Albert Einstein, hands-on stations, and the show itself 'Planetary Quest', the planetarium is not to be missed. The show makes you look at outerspace in a whole new light !

Entrance Fees
Adult: BP 21.99
Child: BP 17.99

make haste! Madame Tussaud's museum (the owner) took a decision (feb 2006) to liquidate it

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A place that I really wanted to visit in London, but I was rather dissapointed the last time I visited in 2008. They are allowing too many people in at once, so you cannot get to any of the displays, plus I was not that impressed with the displays on hand. Am I becoming too full of nonsence I am asking myself?

In 1835, Madame Tussauds’ exhibition established a permanent base in London as the Baker Street Bazaar - visitors paid ‘sixpence’ for the chance to meet the biggest names of the day. The attraction moved to its present site in Marylebone Road come 1884.
Madame Tussuad's is open at 9:30am, with last admission at 5:30pm, every day of the year. From 9am to 6pm at weekends and during UK school holidays, except Christmas Day.
Much improved in recent years - the ropes and barriers are gone and you can get close to the wax exhibits. As always with Madame Tussuad's across the world visitors from overseas will not be familiar with every wax exhibit - for example if you are not English you may not recognise some of the sports stars. However the Royal Family are there as are many A list international stars and something for everyone.
Buy tickets in advance to avoid queues and allow 2 hours for a visit. There is good disabled access and a Cafe Nero for refreshments.

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For me it’s just a tourist trap, if it is your first time in London don’t miss some top class museums (for free!) while this overcrowded wax museum asks for 25 pounds per person!!! I visited it on my 7th visit in London because some others of our group wanted to. The truth is that most of them had good time so maybe it’s just not my cup of tea. The wax figures are well reconsctructed but I didn’t like the installation, due to this really badly organized museum you will find yourself wondering with hordes of tourists pushing you while trying to catch a good spot for a pic. As you can understand everyone is in hurry here and you will hear from every possible corner screams like “I want a pic with Beckam, I want a pic with Angelina, look! I want one with the queen!).

After taking a dozen of photos of every famous people you may think of (it’s the only place you can see Beatles, Picasso, Bob Marley, Obama, Angelina Jolie and so many others at the same building so have plenty of space at your memory card) you will go the Scary Room. It’s just a dark passage where some people come out of nowhere screaming at you (they don’t touch you though). Some people started to scream but it was very boring for me. You may ask to skip it if you don’t like this kind of things anyway (but don’t go inside, it’s difficult to return back)

At the end you take a small train called Spirit of London Taxi ride. It’s like being in a theme park and you see the history of London. Nice touch for the end, the kids will like it for sure. The gift shop is expensive but has a big variety for souvenirs.

There are really long lines at the entrance (you may wait 1 to 3 hours!!) so book in advance for the premium entrance (we didn’t pay more, actually we payed 1,5 pound less!)

Well. for starters, I believe that the Planetarium, the only worthwhile part of this complex, is toast. So cross THAT off the list.

I recall being taken to Madame Tussauds as a child: the only thing that made any impression on me was the dummy of an attendant they then had on one of the stairs. Creepy., had me fooled for a while. The rest was just boring. I know they've jazzed it up with animatronics, but really....... and the dummies aren't that lifelike. They used to have a poster advertisement on the Underground featuring photos of dozens of the figures and you couldn't recognise half of them. The rest were only recognisable because of the hats they were wearing.

This is curious because they take great pains with the figures. I know, because I've been done. Not, I hasten to add, because I'm a celeb (whatever the sneck that means). Rather a friend of mine was working as a designer for them and thought that my face would fit for an 'extra' in some animatronic fantasia.

I was duly placed on a rotating chair, photographed from all angles, had measurements taken, casts taken of my teeth (Did the Queen have to do this?) and paid a fair days wage.

I've never seen the figure but I understand it has a full beard and set of whiskers.......

Still, some folks do seem to like it.

If queing's your bag, this is not to be missed.