When The London Dungeon closed its doors on Tooley Street after close to 40 years, there was much excitement about what surprises its new home in County Hall would hold. Those of us who have been to the new London Dungeon attraction have found it to be vast improvement over the old Tooley Street site, but there are a few facts that I think may be of interest!
SPOILER ALERT: There are spoilers in this article, so only read on if you’ve experienced the attraction or don’t mind knowing how some of the tricks are done.
1. The doors are as strong as they look
Like all good modern theme park attractions, the doors open automatically – which is a good thing because some of the doors are made of steel (coated in wood) to ensure excellent sound proofing. This is especially apparent between the Guy Fawkes’ Scene and The Torture Chamber.
2. A BIG elevator
The lift at the London Dungeon that descends you into the bowels of the Dungeon is certified to hold 120 people! Thankfully the tour groups are never that large!
3. No boat ride today?
When the boat ride is out of order, the lift only descends one floor (as opposed to its normal two) and will drop you off outside the entrance to the Conspirators’ walk. The boat ride, Gong Farmer scene and the Guy Fawkes introduction talk are all on the sub-basement level. Next time you go up the stairs from these scenes, you’ll notice the lift doors in the darkness.
4. No lift today?
When the lift is broken, its down to the old fashioned stairs to introduce the journey. This is where the actress really gets to shine because she has to entertain the tour group as they make their way down a rather boring set of stairs. Theming is slightly present on the stairs – mostly with hanging parchments on the walls similar to those in the entry hall.
5. A hidden rock star
As you exit the Sweeney Todd scene and you transition toward Jack The Ripper – to your right you’ll notice a figure lurking in the shadows. A little known fact is that it is actually a model of Bob Geldof from Madame Tussauds dressed up in Victorian regalia!
6. How much?!
The incredibly realistic looking dead doctor in the Surgery scene was made by the waxwork craftspeople at Merlin Studios in West London – for the costly sum of £100,000.
7. An excavation nightmare
For The Gong Farmer scene, construction workers had to cut through six feet of concrete to provide the almost 30 foot height in this scene. The neighbouring hotels in County Hall weren’t too happy…!
8. The scare’s in the timing
To ensure the perfect timing of the effects in the amazing Ten Bells Pub Scene (as part of the Jack The Ripper section) the effects (including light, sound and various jump scares around the pub) are all triggered by the actor playing Jack The Ripper as he’s waiting to make his entrance.
9. Rat runs!
In designing the new Dungeon, many more secret passages were included to ensure actors never interrupted scenes in mid flow – as was common in the old Dungeon at Tooley Street.
10. What was that sound?
If you’ve ever been in a Dungeon show and you’ve heard a mysterious moo or a tolling bell, that’s actually a trigger from the previous scene that the tour group are on their way and it’s a sign that the actor doing the scene must hurry up and get the group to move on!
11. The Great Fire Effects of The London Dungeon
Owner Merlin wanted to have a Great Fire Of London Scene (as per the Tooley Street Dungeon) but due to the restrictions of County Hall, it never appeared. The scene would take place in a house whilst London was burning outside and the actor running the show would open doors to lead the guests out – but one door, upon being opened, would activate a fireball that would go off. Sadly, this was never to be. Neither was the fire effect planned for the bottom scene of the Drop Ride as you were placed into hell.
12. How’d he know my name?
As you’re walking from the Conspirator’s walk to Guy Fawkes’ hideout, there is a member of the group who was given a letter describing the plot to blow up the houses of parliament. However, upon arriving at the Guy Fawkes scene – the letter is taken off you by the guard. However, the guard knows the perpetrators’ name when the group enter the room. How? Simple! The name is sent (via iPad) from the show scene downstairs to the Guy Fawkes scene upstairs!
13. No Scare Maze for you!
Due to the new target market of The London Dungeon, the plans to install a large full scale Bedlam Scare Maze were quickly scrapped!
14. There’s a wasted ticket desk
If you’ve been to the Dungeon you’ll notice that on the right hand side of the entrance is a ticket desk – that’s never been used! This was originally planned to be the pre booked ticket desk, thus enabling people to fast-track the corridor of misdemeanours entirely. It’s a big shame they never use it – as the queues are the biggest complaint the new attraction gets.
15. There’s room for more…
Of course it’s immediately apparent that the new Dungeon is much larger than its predecessor – but the new attraction was designed and built in such a way that there is much more room for expansion inside. We haven’t seen it yet, but there are many many more “black box” spaces ready for whatever “Scary but fun” shows the Dungeon keepers have planned for the future.
