Santa's Grotto at Shrek's Adventure London Review

S is for South Bank Shrek and Santa

I've wanted to go to Shrek's Adventure for years since I heard it arrived in 2015 right on Westminster Bridge Road overlooking the Thames tucked between the Coca-Cola London Eye, London Dungeon and The Sea Life London Aquarium. You can in fact currently book 5 attractions - Merlin's Magical London Pass - online for £63 (£70 if booked on the day)

The [Shrek Adventure] 2,000 square metre experience is based on an adventure written by the DreamWorks team. It features a Shrek interactive walk through adventure, a character courtyard where visitors will be able to meet Shrek and his swamp friends, along with characters from Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.

We were so lucky to be invited to the official launch of Santa's Grotto at Shrek's Adventure which we attended Saturday 23rd November. This was a star studded breakfast for celebrities and bloggers.

The wait is ogre to meet Santa :-)

We travelled from Bristol by coach with Snap Travel, straight after school Friday, staying that night with Grandma ready to be at Shrek's Adventure before it opened for our Santa's Grotto launch breakfast event at 08:30. The kids didn't sleep at all on the coach and we went to bed at midnight, then up at 6 a.m. Yet this was them, not a blink in their eyes, leaving early doors before sunrise, full of Christmas excitement in the dark. On arrival below just after we had our noses pushed up against the glass in anticipation of a great adventure.

Speaking of adventures, Shrek's Adventure was so easy to find being so close to Westminster station, right on the Thames over the bridge at the foot of Big Ben who's currently clothed in scaffolding.

Shrek's Adventure Begins

Shortly after walking through the entrance to Shrek's Adventure you enter a lift, with a screen in its roof, where Gingy the Gingerbread gives you a very warm and excited on screen welcome, which really gets the kids full of excitement for what's to come. This also acts as an introduction to how great the screens and animation are throughout the attraction. The standard of the cutting edge 3D projection, always popping up in surprising places is second to none like nothing I've ever encountered, with the onscreen characters even sometimes throwing things in such a way you find yourself doing a double take. So often throughout the tour I felt like I'd watched a Magician at work.

Anyway I digress, as for us the tour came later in the day, as first we went to the Santa's Grotto pre-opening Breakfast Launch and then off to the theatre and back to do the Shrek's Adventure tour at 2 o'clock that same day.

Once mingling over breakfast whilst the kids played and had face paint, Ruth, RocknRollerBaby spotted Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in the face paint queue, whilst I was still oblivious to the fact that there were even celebrities in the room. The standard of the face paint was exceptional, just look at Lottie. Aaron chose the Gingerbread Man. 

Baby Spice Again Meets Baby of RocknRollerBaby

In fact Ruth had already met Emma Bunton before, and her darling daughter beautiful 9 year old Florence had a photo taken with Baby Spice, back when she was a "baby". Well she is the original RocknRollerBaby after all boom boom! They recreated that precious photo yesterday at Shrek's Adventure:

Birds of a Feather

Having seen Ruth in action I was then brave enough to ask Linda Robson (who Ruth had to point out to me) for a photo, the modern day version of an autograph. She was so accommodating and so lovely. Just as you'd expect having spent years watching her on TV. I grew up watching Linda on Birds of a Feather with my Mum but of course know and love her in recent years from her regular appearances on day time TV show Loose Women.

That's The Way the Cookie Crumbles

We were a very merry bunch as Cookie (see below) was with us too and I also got a great pic of her with Linda Robson. There's fun wherever Cookie is.

Team Work Makes the DreamWorks

Being that this is a DreamWorks attraction there were also Kung Fu Panda features and all of our children love Kung Fu Panda - there was even a large Kung Fu Panda computer game.

Shrek's Santa and Santa's Elves - Sensational and Shrektacular

As we were at the Shrek's Adventure Santa's Grotto breakfast launch media event we mingled and ate for over an hour before we actually met the Elves and Santa himself, but ordinarily you will meet him at the end of your Shrek's Adventure tour, provided you have a grotto booking. Make sure you purchase the Shrek's Adventure ticket that includes Santa, or if you are already booked on a Shrek's Adventure tour you can separately add on your Santa's Grotto ticket. Going around Shrek's Adventure takes 70 minutes and then the Grotto is in addition to that. Santa is lovely and he gives each child an individually wrapped gift (really great value for money once you see that gift in the souvenir shop later).

Photo taken by Cookie and kindly shared with me - thanks Emma xxx

Whilst queueing for Santa there are many Elves on hand to entertain and they're all so fabulous with children. Having been to many Santas over the years I'm used to many Elves (even in Harrods) not staying in character but these ones were true professionals, so the magic of the Grotto stayed intact for the children. The scenery is exquisite too and perfect for festive cheer. I left there very more than ready for Christmas and with a warm festive glow in my heart. Despite arriving at 08:30 and leaving at 10:30 the children - my 2 and their cousin - were thoroughly transfixed in their element the whole time. Aaron's not as into Santa as he once was, being that he is now 9, but yet he was grinning from ear to ear in the grotto.

Come and Meet Santa at Far Far Away

The kids spotted that this snowman had ears like Shrek so insisted I captured this pic. Very sweet and later once we'd opened our goodie bags from the launch event, these three were also wearing Santa Shrek ears just like this which reminds me you can add Shrek/Character ears to your online booking.

We rushed off to the Theatre to see and review The Snowman after meeting Santa at Shrek, but we returned to Shrek's Adventure afterwards to do the full tour at 14:00hrs. 

Shrek's Adventure - the actual tour

Shrek's Adventure on youtube doesn't at all do justice to this great attraction as there are so many parts where you are not allowed to film or use a camera, a rule the whole of the crowd on our booking totally respected and stuck to. Meaning so much of it is a delightful surprise especially for someone like Aaron who thought he knew it all, until he realised there was so so much more than he was expecting. 

It took a team of over 40 over two years to bring to life the hilarious fantasy world of Shrek and Far Far Away, including more than 100 builders from 20 different trades, plus animators, designers, engineers, artists, script writers, theatre directors and costume designers

The biggest model in the attraction is in the Arrivals Hall, where Toothless from the DreamWorks Animation ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, swoops overhead with a whopping six metre wingspan.  

SOURCE: Shrek's Adventure London Fun Facts

Magical 4D Flying Bus Ride Driven by Donkey

After leaving the arrivals hall you board the flying 4D bus which is breathtaking and truly amazing. It's what takes you from London's South Bank to Far Far Away and every window of the London bus to your left and right alongwith the windscreen become an immersive 4D cinema to the point where you feel like you are on a real life flying bus. Except it didn't give me that tummy roller-coaster feeling thank God. Due to the cinema being ALL AROUND YOU there's no need to rush to the front row AND given that this is a pre-booked tour with dedicated time slots there is a seat for everyone. 

It's GREAT that the bus drive is narrated by Donkey given how much we all love his voice and character so so much.

Throughout the tour you go from room to room:

• to Shrek's Swamp
• to Rumpelstiltskin's Carriage
• to the Poison Apple Pub
• to Pinocchio's Wheel of Torture
• to the Mirror Maze of Insanity (don't worry you are rescued by Sleeping Beauty)
• to cook up a spell with the Muffin Man
• to Rumpelstiltskin's prison

finally to destination Shrek for a hug and a selfie.

When you consider that there are exceptionally talented costumed actors in each of the themed rooms above, this is a tourist attraction that is SO immersive and fun and doesn't at all disappoint. Fun for all ages. I was blown away by both the scripts and the sheer standard of the showmanship throughout the tour. Mind blown for sure. Just like the Shrek movies themselves there is humour for kids and adults alike.

The tour ends with you meeting Shrek himself and of course he dressed with the season to be jolly in mind as below. The kids were thrilled but Lottie was on her cousin's back as she's still at that age where she finds Santa scary. I remember Aaron going through that phase too but if I remember it only lasted one Christmas and then in the years after we'd meet several Santas a year and he'd always be grinning ear to ear, and actually at age 9 still is bless him:

What you need to know

Photos

There are several chances throughout Shrek's Adventure to have professional photos taken and you can purchase them at the end. You simply scan the barcode on your wristband which makes it possible to later view all of your photos before deciding which ones to buy.

Shrek Adventure Tour

You have to actually be booked onto a tour, which takes approximately 70 minutes. Shrek's Adventure is not a place where you can spend the whole day or just pay on the door and walk straight in. The tour is a walk through tour that shortly after commencing takes you onto an amazing bus for a 4D immersive cinematic experience, better than anything I've seen before. And actually there are on screen tricks and treats in all of the rooms the tour takes you through. I won't spoil it as you just have to experience it. It's so interactive that all ages that were there with us from tots to the elderly thoroughly enjoyed it and the same sense of humour that has adults loving the Shrek movies even more than kids was ever present.

Buggies

At busy times these must be left in a buggy park. 

Mobility

As there is quite a lot of walking it's worth bearing this in mind. Lottie had only had 6 hours sleep instead of her usual 12 and is only 3 and coped with the walking just fine. You're always shepherded from room to room by in character actors so the energy is high, and you're taken along by the crowds so no chance to remember tired feet. Also in several of the rooms you actually get to take a seat anyway and due to it being pre-booked there are always enough available yay!

Santa

After being thoroughly entertained by Elves you go through to a wooden lodge in which you privately meet Santa. He is lovely with a great sense of humour and takes all the time in the world to make children and adults very welcome. We were a group of 3 families and we all huddled in - what a buzz. Santa gives each child an individually wrapped gift which we all agreed was great value for money. The experience was right up there with the best of them (*coughs* been to Harrods Santa three times and to Hamleys so as sure as eggs are eggs I know my Santas) and I think both Santa and the Elves were very sincere whilst remaining in character. Adults can enter the Grotto with any paying child meaning adults don't pay to visit Santa yay, but at busy times it is limited to one adult per booked paying child.

Best Bits

The best bits for me were

• The 4D cinematic experience in the flying bus - glasses provided!
• The standard of the character acting of everyone we met throughout the tour
• Shortly after starting the tour you enter a lift and the gingerbread man talks to you from a screen on the inside of its lid. This really sets the excitement for the tour that's about to come. Shrek is brought to us via on screen cinematic movies and so much of the tour brings characters to life in the same way, complimented by great characters represented by real actors. It's not just the bus that is 4D...
• The mix of comedy, drama, thrills and suspense throughout the Shrek Adventure tour were paced and pitched just right. Aaron was more scared than Lottie I guess because he understood more of it. Scared in the sense that he was always wondering what would happen next, like a suspense with a great sense of excitement and trepidation. The walking talking equivalent of a page turner. This is not a tourist attraction where the adults are bored - not at all. Put your phone on silent and allow yourself to be carried away in a Shrek Adventure not to be forgotten.
• The narrators regularly use props that the audience take from room to room - I won't say anymore as what I loved about it was how much of it I didn't know to expect.
• The Mirror Maze of Insanity was a real highlight where we all got lots hitting dead end after dead end till eventually we got rescued. Everyone adults and kids alike, were in high spirits testimony to how good the tour is.

The only downside is that this is not an attraction where you spend the whole day but with the amount of Merlin Pass attractions all in one neat spot on the South Bank you don't have to. Make sure you book them all together as it's heavily discounted that way.

If you'd like to go to Shrek's Adventure the best prices can be secured on their website and book Santa to avoid disappointment.

Only at Shrek's Adventure!

• Christmas Grotto experience including Shrektacular gift!
• Selected dates from 24th November - 24th December

• Parents must purchase a standard Shrek's Adventure ticket and enter the Grotto with any paying child
• 
  

Our visit to the Grotto for breakfast and our visit later to the Shrek's Adventure Tour were gifted in exchange for an honest review. We honestly had a super time and I would highly recommend it. It greatly surpassed Aaron's expectations age 9, Lottie loved it age 3 (and didn't even get chance to think about being tired) and their cousin aged 11 was full immersed and engaged throughout too. A big hit all round. Us adults - me, Cookie, her hubby, Ruth and her Mum - all loved it too and had such a giggle and so much fun. Shrek's Adventure tour beautifully does justice to and complements the movies, which we've loved since before we even became parents.

Don't just take our word for it Cookie and Ruth have already reviewed the day too:
https://www.thatsthewaythecookiecrumbles.co.uk/2019/11/24/shreks-grotto-review/
https://rocknrollerbaby.co.uk/christmas-shreks-adventure-2019/

How To Be More Attentive When Driving

Driving can be stressful, whether you’re driving to somewhere completely new to you or a long-distance trip down the motorway, different types of stress may zap your concentration which can end up leading to a speeding fine, or potentially worse.  Add the complication of noisy children in the back of the car, the bad behaviour of some other drivers and well, it can be challenging  to say the least.

Here are some handy tips you can put into practice when you’re starting to feel your focus and patience wane:

Turn The Air-con On To A Low Temperature

This tip works just as well for when you’re feeling tired – by keeping the temperature cool your body feels more awake and alert. In fact, plenty of brand new cars include this as a safety feature – if you have one of Mercedes’ new models, you can use the voice command to say things like “Hey Mercedes, I’m tired” and it’ll change the ambient lighting, turn the air con on cold and the fan speed up. Alternatively, if you don’t have the luxury of air-con, you could always wind your windows down instead, providing it’s not raining of course! In our house I know that Daddy will do all of these things so even on the hottest day I bring cardigans and/or hoodies for us all as once the car is speeding along with all the windows open we soon need them and recently did on a car journey.  Once covered up (the kids even ask for a blanket) they soon fall asleep and then the journey is even easier especially after full tummies from a stop at services.  Yes, loo breaks are an essential of a pleasant car journey too!

Turn Your Music Down

Plenty of studies show that music has a direct influence on your reaction times, but those studies usually look within the lens of travelling at speeds of 30+ mph. For the times when you’re looking for a particular house number, street name or plan on doing a manoeuvre such as parallel parking or a turn in the road, turning your music down will increase your concentration immediately. This concept is backed up by a recent survey conducted by UK car leasing firm All Car Leasing, which found that nearly three quarters (72%) of the overall survey participants opt to turn their music down when they’re making a manoeuvre – so you’re not crazy if you do this habit already! If you want to read the full survey and supporting infographic, click here.

Keep hydrated

Dehydration in general will make you start to feel drowsy, so when you’re driving this becomes a much more serious issue. Plan ahead by having a glass of water or a cup of tea, you could even go a step further and bring a travel mug with you if you’re going to be stuck in stop/start traffic or on a long motorway trip.

Don’t Get Caught Off-Guard

Things like roadworks or harsh weather conditions usually present hazards on your journey such as road closures, light flooding or large branches that have blown off nearby trees. The last thing you need is to encounter these things when you’re unaware of them potentially happening. This can be avoided by checking the weather forecast the night before if you’re going to be commuting the next morning or even joining a local residents' page for your town, people are usually quite quick to let others know things happening in the local vicinity (though usually they’re mainly moaning about other people’s parking!).

Don’t Look At Your Phone

It’s 2019 so this should be obvious already at this point – looking at your mobile phone while driving is one of the largest contributing factors to road traffic accidents behind the likes of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It can be easy to get distracted if you’re feeling bored, but this is something you should absolutely avoid, if not out of fear of actually having an accident but also getting caught by the police.  The penalty for doing so is now increased. 

Penalties

You can get 6 penalty points and a £200 fine if you use a hand-held phone when driving. You’ll also lose your licence if you passed your driving test in the last 2 years.

You can get 3 penalty points if you don’t have a full view of the road and traffic ahead or proper control of the vehicle.

You can also be taken to court where you can:

• be banned from driving or riding
• get a maximum fine of £1,000 (£2,500 if you’re driving a lorry or bus)

Collaboration

Road Trips are Easier with Land Rover

Feels like the Land Rover has always been part of my life. My dad spent decades wanting one and then the very second he got made redundant that's what he couldn't wait to spend his money on - a Land Rover Discovery.  So excited was he, he even had a personalised number plate.  So whenever my Dad was near I knew it wasn't just any Land Rover it was my Dad.

The most hours we've ever spent in a car were when Aaron and I - pre Lottie - went on a road trip to Ireland with my Dad and his wife. We literally had to leave London, thankfully in the Land Rover Discovery at about 05:30 a.m. embarking on a long drive to Holyhead, Wales, broken up by a stop at services for lunch.  It was great that we stayed one night in a Bed and Breakfast in Wales, as we got to eat by the sea and go to the park. We then, with the Land Rover, boarded the boat over to Dun Laoghaire.  Saves you hiring a car when you  get there and means you can bring way more luggage than if flying.  Also better than flying as you get to walk around, have a meal and there are some shops where I fondly remembering buying Aaron a fire engine and all these years later Lottie does still play with it.  

You can also go up on deck which was really exciting for Aaron. He loved that there was a cinema and soft play area on board.  My Dad doesn't like the fast boat so we got the Stena Line with a sailing time of 3hr 15m and thankfully it was a smooth sailing as Dad also suffers from sea sickness.  After a pleasant ride across the Irish Sea we had a really long drive from Dublin to County Mayo where all of my family on both sides reside.  Being in the Land Rover made the journey comfortable, especially important given Aaron's age at the time.  We were so worried about how well he'd travel we invested in a portable DVD player especially for the journey.  We still have it and I still remember the movies he watched, on repeat: Curious George (yep and the play area on the boat was Curious George themed), Kungfu Panda and Ice Age

Aaron was easily pleased and a great little traveller to be fair. He was great company, funny and doesn't at all suffer from travel sickness.  I'm glad we didn't let the length of the journey put us off.  As long as he had his movies on, a couple of stickers books (Thomas and Friends and Spiderman) and was regularly fed snacks and watered he was an incredibly easy passenger.  Every now and again, which wasn't often he'd get a little restless and my Dad's wife played a game with him where they'd pick a colour car and spot them to count them.  

He did love the comfort of the Land Rover and the height you sit at and the view this benefited him.  I'd never until this point spent a great deal of time in one and was very impressed too.  Such a novelty was the interior space of the Land Rover and the fact that it was the same height as Aaron himself, every time Granddad stopped somewhere he'd take the chance to poke his head up through the sun roof as an excuse to get fresh air and stretch his legs.  In fact that was SUCH a nice way of getting to Ireland, that I think Lottie would enjoy, I think we should do it again! I'll  have to start working on Daddy.  We have a 4 wheel drive car which is similar to a Land Rover lol.  We can make do.

The Michalaks - pictured below - are my favourite You Tubers and they've worked with Land Rover several times so I feel like I always get updates on what the latest models are and my favourite video of theirs showcasing the Land Rover was their road trip around Scotland. They did the North Coast 500 road trip and the landscape is breath taking. Stef's cinematography  and editing helps of course.

My Dad had his Land Rover for many many years they really do stand the test of time. Quality spare parts for your Land Rover here bestPARTSTORE.co.uk

While researching this blog post I discovered that Stena Line no longer sail from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire and decided to focus on expanding their business with the Dublin Port so that's the end of an era. Times change I guess.

Anyway, Lottie has never been to Ireland so this is something we'll have to rectify in the near future.