How to Use The 5 Attraction Merlin London Big Adventure Pass

Madame Tussauds, Sealife Aquarium, Shrek Adventure, The London Dungeon, The London Eye and Thames River Cruise

The passes in London are of great value for seeing the sights you want to see at a discounted price. I got the 6-in-1 Merlin London Big Adventure Pass to see Madame Tussauds, Sealife Aquarium, Shrek Adventure, The London Dungeon, The London Eye and a Thames River Cruise.

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If you plan on travelling around the UK, the best way to get around is by car. Not only do you get to see more, but you will find more hidden gems that the average traveller doesn’t see.

Need a Car?

If you want to book a car, you can try using one of these rental websites: EconomyBookings.com, DiscoverCars or Expedia.

Need Accommodation?

Try using these accommodation websites: Booking.com, Agoda and Expedia to find a comfortable place to sleep after your day of exploring.

Want to try the Big Bus Tour?

Don’t have time to see all the attractions London has to offer? Try a Big Bus Tour and see all of London’s top attractions from the top of a double-decker bus with audio commentary.

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All prices and times were correct when this was written or updated, but please check the websites when you wish to visit.

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Passes From Britain, Australia or New Zealand

As of March 2024, you can get a 5-in-1 Merlin Adventure Pass, which doesn’t include the Thames River Cruise.

You can tailor your pass to fewer attractions through this website in the UK, or if you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you can purchase your passes at the Visit Britain Shop.

Prices Through Visit Britain

• From £80

Prices Purchased Through the British Site

• From £79

Where to Use the Merlin London Big Adventure Pass

Madame Tussauds

Here, you can change your Merlin London Adventure Pass from an email to a ticket if you purchased it online.

Madame Tussauds never fails to impress. The lifelikeness of the wax works is amazing, and each area is set aside as a theme for you to go through. Marilyn Monroe greets you as you step off the elevator, entering a Hollywood Party.

There are interactive videos that show you dancing with a star, and you can mingle with the likes of Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and more. Have a selfie taken with George Clooney or Tom Hardy on the couch or wonder how lifelike Dame Helen Mirren is.

Professional photos are taken at certain points through the complex, with the first with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

From film to Royalty, musicians to Politicians, sportsmen and women, all the names in current world events are covered, living and dead. 

Sherlock Holmes and Alien: Escape are attractions that you pay extra for, but near the end of your tour, you watch a 4-D movie on the current Marvel characters saving London and Madame Tussauds.

Hours

Every day, 10 am to 3 pm.

Prices

If you want to visit Madame Tussauds, the following prices are as of March 2024. You can book through their website, which also has multi-attraction prices.

Sea Life Aquarium London

I used the Merlin London Big Adventure Pass at the Sea Life Aquarium next. When I visited, I had to get a time but only had to wait an hour to get in.

When you first step off the lift and move into a room, you think nothing is out of the ordinary until you look down and realize you’re walking on glass with sharks, fish, and stingrays below you.

With rockpools of stingrays, you can see these magnificent creatures up close, seeing how they glide through the water, seemingly flying.

There are tanks of many types of fish. From seahorses to clownfish, piranha to jellyfish, they are all on display for you to marvel at as they move through the water.

There are not only fish on display, but turtles, alligators, ants, bugs, and poisonous frogs are on display for the young to see up close. Some displays have bubbles kids can put their heads in to see what is happening even closer.

There are also many types of Jellyfish on display, and it’s amazing to watch them move through the water.

The most impressive part is the huge tanks that house the sharks, turtles, stingrays, and smaller fish. There are many viewing windows and a tunnel to see these huge creatures glide past or even over the top of you.

Hours

Check their website here for updated hours on the day you are visiting.

Prices

If you want to visit the Sea Life Aquarium, you can book through their website, which also has multi-attraction prices.

Shrek’s Adventure

Not only for the kids but also for the kids at heart as Shrek’s Adventure takes you on a ride to Far Far Away, where you must escape what Rumpelstiltskin is waiting in store for you.

First, there is the professional photo opportunity, followed by a 3-D movie or bus ride with Donkey as your driver.

From starting in the tube tunnels to soaring above London into the clouds, this is a great way to start your adventure.

Once off the bus, you go from room to room, meeting different characters from the movies as they try to help find your way back to London before Rumpelstiltskin catches up with you.

This is also interactive, with the kids helping to move potion ingredients from place to place and get us out of there.

In the end, you get to meet Shrek, and then this Shrektacular experience is over.

There are no photos to be taken on any type of device in this attraction.

Hours

Check their website here for hours on the day you wish to visit.

Prices

If you want to visit Shrek’s Adventure, you can book through their website, which also has multi-attraction prices.

London Dungeon

The London Dungeon takes you back in time to London’s dark days. Once again, a professional photo is taken, and then you queue to start stepping back in time.

As in the Shrek Adventure, you are taken from room to room with different people from the time who are educating you on the ways of the past.

Starting in the time of Henry VIII, you have been deemed a traitor to the King and must have your head chopped off.

You first take a boat ride towards the Tower of London. This is also interactive, although adults and children have been picked on at different stages through the centuries for special treatment.

From being a traitor to Henry VIII to a co-conspirator with Guy Fawkes blowing up parliament. Being there during the plague and the Fire of London and visiting Mrs Lovatt before being a victim of Sweeney Todd. It’s then off before the Judge in the Old Bailey and then visiting the streets haunted by Jack the Ripper’s murderous ways and the 10 Bells Pub.

In the end, you have a dead-drop ride where you go up to 10m and are then dropped quickly, only to go back up and down. You don’t have to do this ride, as there is the option to leave just before it.

There are no photos to be taken on any type of device in this attraction.

Hours

Check their website for opening hours on the day you wish to visit.

Prices

If you want to visit the London Dungeon, you can book through their website, which also has multi-attraction prices.
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The London Eye

Even if you have time, the queue is probably for 30-45 minutes at most. Everyone knows the London Eye, the first of the giant Ferris wheels that are now in nearly every city in the world.

Great views are had from the top, and it takes 30 minutes to make a full revolution, giving you plenty of time to see all of London.

Hours

Check their website for opening times on the day you wish to visit.

Prices

If you want to visit the London Eye., you can book through their website, which also has multi-attraction prices.

For VIP experiences, click here.

Each attraction takes about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. Expect crowds at all these attractions, but you must pre-book your time to ensure you’re not waiting in queues all day.  

Thames River Cruise

While in the area, a Thames River Cruise is a great way to end the day. A 40-minute cruise from the London Eye pier will take you up and down the River Thames with great commentary. Get in early to sit on the upper deck, where you will see all the buildings along the Thames and learn about their history and bridges.

The commentary is great entertainment and educational, and audio commentary is available for those who aren’t as comfortable with English (or the local accents).

If you’re really lucky, you will see Tower Bridge drawbridge up as I did.

Hours

Check the website for opening times on the day you wish to visit.

Prices

If you want to visit the Thames Cruise, you can book through their website, which also has multi-attraction prices.

Conclusion

The Merlin London Big Adventure Pass is definitely the way to go if you want to save money in this city or have limited time and still see a few attractions.

For just one price, you can see all these attractions, and with all but one attraction further away, you can plan your time more efficiently by knowing what to see and where to find them.

I hope this blog has inspired you to visit these attractions and explore London using the Merlin London Big Adventure Pass.

Where I Stayed

While in London, I stayed in four YHAs: YHA London St. Paul’s, YHA Central London, and YHA London Oxford Street.

All are near attractions, which is why I moved around. YHA London St. Paul’s is convenient for St. Paul’s, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London, but it is also convenient for getting up early to get those dawn shots as it’s so close to the River Thames and the Millennium Bridge.

YHA London Oxford Street and Central London are the best places to stay for attractions north and west of London, such as London Zoo, Madame Tussaud’s, and Buckingham Palace.

Facilities

YHA London Oxford Street

• Free Wi-Fi in common areas and Internet
• 24-Hour Reception
• Towels, padlocks and power adapters are available for rent
• Hostel Activities like walks, pub crawls, etc
• Meal Available
• Late check out
• Luggage Storage
• Laundry
• Bar
• Tours/Travel Desk
• Key Card Access
• Near bus stops and underground
• Vending Machines

YHA London Central

• Wifi and full mobile coverage
• Stylish cafe and bar at the heart of the hostel
• Self-catering Kitchen
• 5-minutes Walk from Oxford Street
• Self-catering facilities are available at any time of the day
• 24-hour access after check-in and 24-hour reception
• Ambulant and Wheelchair accessible
• Contactless payments
• Evening meals
• Licensed bar
• Near bus stop, train station and underground
• Water refill station
• Luggage store
• Vending Machines
• Unlimited Breakfast

YHA London St. Paul’s

• Free Wifi
• Internet Access
• Fully Licensed Restaurant
• Free City Maps
• Linen Included
• Common Room
• Security Lockers
• Hair Dryers and Towels For Hire
• Restaurant, Cafe and Bar
• Bicycle Parking and Hire
• Laundry Facilities
• 24-Hour Security
• Late Check-Out
• Luggage Storage
• Tours/Travel Desk
• Tea & Coffee Making Facilities
• Vending Machines

Where They Are

YHA London St. Paul’s is located in a former St. Paul’s Choir School at 36 Carter Lane.

YHA London Oxford Street is at 14 Noel Street, one block back from Oxford Street and between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road Underground Stations.

YHA London Central is at 104 Bolsover Street, a 5-minute walk to Great Portland Street Underground Station and Marylebone Road.

How To Book

If you would like to stay at the YHA London St. Paul’s, the YHA London Oxford Street, the YHA London Central or the YHA London Lee Valley, click on the links and get ready to start your adventure in London.

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Links

If you’d like to read more of my blogs on Australia, you can find them on the following links; Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Camping and Silo Art, or if you’re after New Zealand, the United Kingdom or Photography, you can click on their links.

Travel Resources

• Flights & Accommodation—You can search for the cheapest flights and accommodation using Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, and WayAway, which offers 5% cashback.
• Car Hire—Take to the open road with great deals from EconomyBookings.com, RentalCars.com and DiscoverCars.
• Train & Bus Tickets UK & Europe—Use Trainline to plan and book your rail and bus travel in the UK and Europe.
• Travel Insurance is the number one thing to pack when you’re travelling. Cover-More Australia, Cover-More New Zealand, EKTA, Travel Insurance Master, and Insubuy keep you insured during your travels.
• Attractions—buy before you leave home with these great sites: Big Bus Tour, Get Your Guide, GoCity and Viator.
• House Sitting is a great way to save on accommodation, and Trusted Housesitters offers house sittings worldwide.
• Photo Editing is a great way to bring your photos to life, and you can try Luminar Neo, which I use.
• Visa Applications—apply online for your visa requirements with iVisa.
• Sim cards—Try Airalo, the world’s first eSIM store, which solves the pain of high roaming bills by giving travellers access to eSIMs (digital SIM cards).

If you want more tips, try my Travel Links and Resource page.

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