The City Adventurers celebrated Marmalade Day with a trip to The Paddington Bear Experience
This immersive experience can be found on the South Bank, at County Hall near the London Eye.
You start by walking through the Grubers shop to the “Paddington” train station. Down the stairs (a lift is available) to the platform forecourt and you find toilet facilities and a cloakroom. This area offers the chance to get into the theme of the experience with its great decoration. It is also the last chance to take photos, as once you board the train photos are not allowed.
The train ride reminded me of a “trip to Santa” I took as a child, where you got into a train carriage and arrived at a new destination, having watched the scenery pass by the windows. Having taken the train across London, you arrive at Windsor Gardens and your adventure truly begins.
This is not just a walk through about Paddington Bear. No, this experience includes tasks to be completed. A sort of introduction to escape room activities suitable for small children. While immersive experiences are a lot of fun for an adult audience, often they can be too intense for small children. And, while some escape rooms are great for families, some are too difficult or scary. The Paddington Bear Experience has hit on the perfect immersive experience for families with primary age children.
(It minded me of when Ian and I were writing murder mystery party games (ITM Games). The children saw us hosting murder mystery dinner parties and wanted to be involved in the fun. So, we wrote mystery parties for our daughter and her teenage friends that had crimes but no murders. Then her brother wanted one so we had to write a few children’s mystery games for him and his primary age friends where they worked as a team to defeat a fictional villain – a bit like the Scooby Gang. Having said that, I think it can go both ways. Launchpad at the Science Museum used to have some impressive hands-on exhibits that a lot of adults would like to play! )
As we moved through the show, our (mainly adult) group were given tasks, sometimes reminiscent of escape room activities. We all got a chance to seek/solve/construct and play, and at one point, collaboratively take part in a work-the-machine activity.
At the end we were able to meet Paddington Bear (animaronic)
The actors threw themselves into their parts and the (mainly adult) audience threw themselves into participation.
The final destination is the Marmalade Day party. This is the café area towards the exit, with a photo opportunity and games area. There are more toilets and a lift to the exit. I am not sure if there was another lift within the show but someone did query the accessibility within the experience as we did have to go up stairs and down stairs at some points.
The Paddington Bear Experience has hit on the perfect immersive experience for families with primary age children. Tickets are available at https://paddingtonbearexperience.com/
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City Adventurers Membership includes invitations to adventures and travel mainly in the UK. If you are not UK based, or prefer online adventures, join the City Adventurers as an Armchair Detective.
