Madame Tussauds London

[Morgan]

Seems like they're trying to advertise everything at once...
Only relation between TP and MT is that they're both Merlin

[Owen]

Seems like they're trying to advertise everything at once...
Only relation between TP and MT is that they're both Merlin

Which is an extremely clever way to market it. Think, if Merlin are promoting attractions within attractions this will lead on potentially more visitors. You said you saw the thorpe thing yourself - to me that says the thing they are doing is working very well.
Also if you hadn't noticed Merlin are scared...scared of what's coming next, scared of 2020. Scared of Paramount Park, they are obviously trying to step up their game tremendously with Cbeebies Land at Alton Towers (decent family area AT was lacking), Thorpe with the huge new dark ride (what UK is lacking) Chessington with the Zoo expansion and General touch ups, MT with this MEGA brand in which many still love (I'm not a huge fan) and Dungeons being relocated to a larger area. The only attraction they can't majorly improve is Legoland due to restrictions but they are sorting issues out, they also applied for a new ride but it didn't get PP, and Sea Life has little to no competition currently.

What I'm trying to say is Merlin are using marketing to their advantage as well as getting as many people as possible to see this new attraction and that if the attractions are within close proximity idea h other then they are doing a very good job with it.

[Chaz]

Yeah, A Madame Tussauds version was sent, then a MerliN Group one and one for practically every Merlin attraction.

[Michelle]

While I think cross brand marketing is a good idea, especially as the attractions are not a million miles from one another, I do think that the email could cause some confusion.
The way the email is worded does suggest initially that the new area is at Thorpe, if people don't notice the MT logo. Aside from that it's good to see some investment in what will surely be a crowd puller and I'm looking forward to going to see it

[Ladyofthelake]

Completely agree with what Michelle has said. Whilst it is a good idea to get other attractions to help market new additions it is all too easy to cause confusion. Plus, as multiple attractions sent the email some people would have ended up with the same message several times - I received the email from Merlin, Sealife Birmingham, and Thorpe Park so had it three times!

That aside I do think it will be a good addition and is a very astute move from Merlin with the new film being released this year, plus two further Star Wars films in the pipeline. It's certain to draw people in - especially as Star Wars fans will visit who might not necessarily choose to go to Madame Tussauds normally. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out

[mark_h]

Disney own Star Wars (when they bought Lucasfilm), they may be happy for MT to use the IP but I doubt they would want any of the Merlin theme parks to have their name linked with the franchise.

[Chaz]

I can confirm Disney are happy.

The concept art looks good, this thing will bring in the crowds for sure. In regards to the local versions, its a marketing tactic which I think is clever for an initial 'gain interest' email but needs to be used carefully.

I so wish May 4th was on a Saturday this year - would suit an opening perfectly. I guess a London-based attraction could open on a Monday, but I reckon they would do another date. Maybe previews on the 4th?

[Owen]

To be fair I don't think MT are bothered by week days or weekend openings - it may get more people but firstly it's in London which is full of people, and secondly it would make Star Wars fans go nuts with excitement. Also marvel Super Heros 4D opened on a Monday Monday 31st of May 2010 to be exact :P
My mobile also states the 4th is a bank holiday

[Morgan]

It has been confirmed to open May 16th.

[Dom]

Found these pictures on Digital spy.







This is what the article says

The first images of the new Star Wars exhibition at Madame Tussauds have been revealed.

The London museum has announced more details of the multi-million pound extension to its displays in May, ahead of the release of Star Wars - The Force Awakens in December.
The exhibition will open Saturday, May 16 with 16 characters from the film saga on show, including Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

They will be joined by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Qui-Gon Jinn from Episodes I-III and villains such as Darth Vader, Darth Maul and the Stormtroopers.

Senior Sculptor Dave Burks, who is creating Luke Skywalker's figure, said: "I know if I get any aspect of this figure wrong, a generation of fans will have a lot to say about it, so it is a huge responsibility."

"Luke has a great face for a sculptor - big eyes and very expressive - but we are aiming to inject a sense of the character too, so I've got to ensure there's a certain intensity to him. His figure is featured in the final duel with Darth Vader when he's a bit older and battle worn."

[nickhutson]

Only Merlin would open this on May 16th...

[Fiyero]

Is this replacing another area or is it new space?

[Dom]

I'm not entirely sure Fiyero. I believe its a new space but i could be wrong.

[Chaz]

It's a new space, previously not occupied.

[Fiyero]

That's good that its more space, I always thought that there must be more space in that building!

[Aidan Lowe]

Small video featuring the inside of the exhibit from Theme Park Collective: " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Stan.H]

Is this new area any good and how long does it take to walkthrough, is it similar to the one at LegoLand Windsor??

[Danny]

Is this new area any good and how long does it take to walkthrough, is it similar to the one at LegoLand Windsor??

I visited two weeks ago. The Star Wars section might take 20 minutes to walk through, but in the holidays queues may reach an hour if you want to have a photo in each room. The Marvel 4D experience is roughly 8 minutes long, and is just before the SW exhibit.
I'm not a fan of Star Wars, but I still find the work they've done fascinating, and I felt immersed in a new world. I wouldn't of paid for it, but as its included that's irrelevant. If you like SW, like my fanboying step dad, then it's certainly worth it :lol

[nickhutson]

I am not a Star Wars Fan - but I've been with people who are and they've been blown away by the level of detail.

However - what I HATE about it is that if you booked your ticket at an earlier date (and have a wristband that's impossible to remove) you have to pay £3 extra. Now - this is a queue and batching nightmare because in the HORRIBLE pre-show area for the 4D film those with wristbands have to go to a certain section of the room to enter the cinema through one door and those without wristbands have to go to another to enter the cinema through a separate door.

To add insult to injury - when the 4D film ends - I won't say what happens - but it's not fair for those who haven't forked over the cash to see the star wars exhibit as it essentially says "Come and see our show BUT ONLY IF YOU'VE PAID!".

Typical Merlin mess up - making it more expensive and confusing for everyone.

I hope this is only a temporary measure as I thought the add-on price days were over at Tussauds (I remember when Scream was a few quid and then the 4D cinema was a few quid). They MAY just be doing it to avoid overcrowding in the first few months of the new area - but... there you go.

[Owen]

To sum this up - .

This area was honestly the biggest let down of my entire visit. That's not to say what was there was bad as such, but it wasn't great.

Firstly, you enter the 4D cinema experience, for us everyone was crammed through a single door and as you can imagine that was fun. Once the show had ended we were told "those who want to exit please come through the door at the front, those with tickets to Star Wars exit through the door on the left. Now, we had no clue that you had to have extra tickets to enter this section (much like many people in our group), and considering this was our main selling point to come, it was slightly worrying. We finally got past all the confused people who were turned away having not gotten an extra ticket and thankfully, our Merlin annual passes allowed us to get into this area for free. We moved through another corridor where we encountered some stairs. The fact there was a large set here featuring multiple characters not only meant that there was a queue backed all the way up the stair case, but that people were crammed into a small space. We then moved into another under sized area featuring Anakin. At this point my hopes had been plummeting faster and faster due to the misleading images that had me believe all the sets had been created to be fully immersive. They weren't. By the end the only sets that impressed me were those featuring Yoda and Jabba the Hut out of the few that were included. Another issue I had was how Chewbacca was advertised on the buildings exterior, however he was not included in the experience.


Overall, this area was a really huge let down and I would not recommend paying unless you are a real die hard fan. I hope that this isn't the same direction New York are going to be taking Ghostbusters, or any IP's for that matter.