The Paddington Bear Experience at County Hall London Review

DISCLOSURE – THIS EXPERIENCE WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST/S FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.

Reviewed by Amanda Dando

The Paddington Bear Experience based in County Hall, South Bank London is celebrating its 2nd year this summer. We travelled into London by train getting off at Blackfriars and taking a lovely walk to the attraction. It’s very accessible though from a variety of options.

On arrival we browsed the many gorgeous items in the Paddington Bear range in the souvenir shop, there are some really lovely items, Paddington himself, books, lunch boxes lots to choose from to suit a variety of budgets. Once we had our tickets we were given our wrist bands and told to catch the red train. In the ‘platform area’ there are toilet facilities, I would encourage and young children to use them, as once in the attraction there is no opportunity until the end!

This was our first time in an immersive experience, what a wonderful introduction for young children into the world of acting and story telling. The stationmaster welcomes you into Paddington’s world in the warmest of ways, the actors playing the Brown family, Aunt Lucy etc are extremely engaging, without over acting, very child friendly and most of all believable!

Paddington Bear lover or not, you are immediately drawn into the plot, to attend a very special occasion. It’s very well thought out and planned as you are taken on a journey through a variety of rooms, with each room having a different interactive dimension for everyone to join in with, yes mums dad, carers, grandparents, everyone feels included. I think for me my favourite room was the larder cupboard where the digital graphics were just magical, the children in the room just stood open mouthed with pure wonder and the sights and sounds playing out on the walls around them.

Each tour has maybe around 16 people in, so it’s a very personal experience, you all feel very included. I had expected to browse the attraction at my own pace, so it was lovely to be guided from room to room, meaning you were engaged in the story from start to finish. I would think children especially would enjoy the participation and feeling very included in the experience.

It’s not just play, it’s puzzle solving, one of the rooms has four large portraits and everyone has to piece them back together, the children loved this part of the tour and were delighted to finish them all. Each room has in effect a different interactive dimension and puzzles to solve to help Paddington enjoy his special day. The actors’ skills are second to none and they clearly enjoy what they do, everything is of amazing quality, including their costumes.

The experience is around an hour, finishing with bubbles, dancing and Paddington himself, it’s just bear tastic! We couldn’t stop smiling all the way round, and although a reluctant participant at the start I couldn’t wait for pictures with Paddington at the end. You even get the chance to buy Marmalade sandwiches!

There is a Summer Special ticket available from the 7th June to 6th September, this includes The Paddington Bear suitcase lunchbox, Paddington ears, Marmalade sandwiches, fruit shoot and a Paddington postcard. Tickets available for an additional cost.

Rating: 5/5
The Paddington Bear Experience is at County Hall, South Bank London
Tickets from £34 for Adults, £24 for children available from www.paddingtonbearexperience.com or call the Box Office 020 4592 8671