Andy Mossack takes his grandkids to The Paddington Bear Experience and has almost as much fun as the kids!
London’s County Hall on the capital’s glorious Southbank has enjoyed its fair share of shenanigans in the 1980s when it was the Greater London Council’s headquarters. Those combative years of Ken Livingstone’s London Labour council facing down Maggie Thatcher’s Tory government policies meant never a dull moment ensued.
Fortunately for County Hall, it remains a place of lively entertainment (thankfully minus the politics) as the hub for several big entertainment productions. And, perhaps due to the movie and the west end show, none more popular than the Paddington Bear Experience.
Now celebrating its second anniversary, the Paddington Bear Experience is a fully immersive production spanning 26,000 square feet which includes live actors, themed rooms and plenty of audience participation. It’s an adventure into Paddington’s world to help him get ready for the annual Marmalade Day festival.
For my part, even though I have grandkids, I’m still a child at heart, so I was just as excited to see this as my grandkids were. After all, entertaining over 500,000 visitors over the last two years, I was confident it had to be something special.
And it didn’t disappoint. Not surprising really when you consider the Paddington Bear Experience is a collaboration between The Path Entertainment Group, StudioCanal Kids & Family and Lionsgate, companies with proper Hollywood pedigrees.
We started out at Paddington Station (obviously) where the kids were thrown straight into the action by the Station Master in search of Paddington’s lost suitcase. Once that was located (by one of my grandkids as it happens) we were put on the train to Windsor. A very lifelike experience it was too, with many famous London landmarks whizzing by the windows as we made our way across to the Browns’ house at No. 32 Windsor Gardens.
The street and house, so familiar to Paddington fans is faithfully reproduced here, and after a little bunting fun with Mrs. Bird (in advance of the Marmalade Day festival) we go inside the Brown house.
This is where the adventure really kicks in with live actors and some glorious room sets bringing us right into Paddington’s world. Without giving away too much and spoiling the fun, we got involved in all kinds of situations to avoid the calamity of missing the Marmalade Festival fun. Sorting out Paddington’s artworks in his paint splattered studio and helping Mrs. Bird bake cakes in the kitchen, to getting transported to the dense Peruvian jungle to seek out Paddington’s lost marmalade recipe.
Like all good adventures it ends happily with the kids getting some close up ‘me’ time with Paddington himself, before we all get to enjoy a wander around the Marmalade Festival to finish off over an hour of fun. There are plenty of marmalade sandwiches and drinks on offer plus a few fun games for the kids to play with no time limit before heading back into the real world.
The Paddington Bear Experience will clearly appeal to any Paddington fan, but from our experience, any child from around five to ten would find it very entertaining. And remember, I think I would fit into that ten-year-old category, so make that apply to young at heart adults too!
It seems County Hall is finally a lot more popular than it used to be thanks to a cute bear.
Imahes (C) Alex Brenner
Tell me more about The Paddington Bear Experience
The Paddington Bear Experience, Riverside Building County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road London, SE1 7PB.
Open 7 Days a Week from 9:45 am.
Ticket Prices
Adults (16+ yrs) From £34.00, Children (2-15 yrs) From £24. Babes in arms £0
Wheelchair and Access Tickets
From £24.00 Carer Ticket £0
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out these similar posts:
ROBA BAR AND RESTAURANT. Paddington’s delicious new foodie destination.
Tunisia for Multi-Generational Holidays. Discover an insider guide to the best tours.
The Capital Ring Walk. A joyous circular walking adventure around London
Guide to hikes through the heart of Shizuoka. Join an immersive journey.
