To think the London Eye is a complete rip off?

Are you going with another adult? Divide and conquer?

Try the London Ear, I've not done it myself but it sounds great.👂

And London Nose is not to be sniffed at either. 👃

You can get 2 for the price of one if you travel to London on Chiltern Railways - I'm sure other rail providers will offer similar.

I think if you actually live in London and want to see if you can see your house/school/park etc it would be interesting.
If you're obsessed with maps it might be fun to be able to see the roads and buildings laid out from above (although you can do that with Google Earth).
To just be able to point out "Oh there's Big Ben/St Pauls/Buck Palace" isn't really that exciting.
Conclusion.....I wouldn't bother.

Sky garden is free and you might even find shard is cheaper and you can stay up there as long as you want. River cruise is brilliant. Ours loved it and much cheaper. Ours also loved cable cars which were cheaper. Think there's better ways to spend your money to be honest.

Can you still Tesco voucher? I did about five years ago. Got it free.

M and M shop is brilliant, they kept handing us free samples in huge numbers, walked put with a bag full without spending a penny!
Lego shop opposite is also good, they gave us various freebies

Do the sky garden instead.

Horizon 22 is free. It's as high as the Shard but doesn't have a full 360 degree view. You can stay as long as you like and there is a small coffee bar. There is also The Lookout next door which is a bit lower.

The Tower Bridge walk is IMO better. Less stress, you can take your time, still some good views and interesting things to see throughout the tour.

The whole area around The Eye/Westminster Bridge/Houses of Parliament has become one big tourist trap - with accompanying rip-off tat-stalls, pickpockets and other scammers. [See also Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, Madame Tussaud's and Covent Garden]

Picniq tickets have family tickets (2 adults & 2 child) for £65

For sure it’s a ridiculous, expensive, not particularly enjoyable thing to blow money on in a wonderful city which is full of great cheap and free things to do, but so is Madame Tussaud’s or the M and M shop. Tourists appear to think these are indispensable parts of the London tourist experience in sufficient numbers to keep them running. Like the recent thread about being ripped off in Venice for taking a gondola from St Mark’s Square.

Of course it’s not a ‘rip-off’. The Eye’s prices are openly published online and everyone knows what the product is before they choose to purchase or not purchase. Nobody is being deceived, conned or misled.

You might think it’s too expensive or poor value for money. That’s your choice, but it doesn’t make it a ‘rip off’. It has been operating for 20+ years, so presumably the people running it understand levels of supply & demand, and price accordingly. That’s how visitor attraction businesses work.

How is it a rip off?

You know the cost, you know the experience you're going to get for that cost. You then choose whether or not you think it's worth the money.

That Willy Wonka thing in Scotland where the experience wasn't what was advertised, that was a rip off. This is just good business.

It's pretty shite tbh. It's really really slow and the view isn't all that exciting. It's better to go on a boat trip either down to Kew or up to Greenwich. Then you can go to the park or just look around. You get loads of scenery and you can have a drink!
The best bit was the 3d presentation thing you go into before the actual ride.

Have you got any tesco Clubcard points to use? You can double the value with the points to get vouchers so should be able to get it much cheaper.

You can get 241 tickets on the Days Out Guide website, there are lots of other activities on that site for various attractions. I’ve used it lots of times, never been asked to show a train ticket either!

Oh actually it’s a third off now, but may find 241 on others 😊

www.daysoutguide.co.uk/london-eye

Yes, it's expensive.
Yes, it's short.

BUT

If one of your children is really interested, then I'd say go.

Yes, you can do alternatives that are free and give a better view, imo. But if you're able to give your child an experience they want, then why not?

Ask if it's the view or the wheel they're more excited about. Explain there are alternatives. Ask if they'd prefer those.

There's usually offers floating about. It is pricey, whether its worth the cost depends on the individual, some will think yes and some no! It does cost a lot to run and maintain I imagine.

Oh and mine loved Tower Bridge which has a partially glass floor. We used the 2 for 1 tickets as part of National Rail. If you're not travelling by train then it's still worth buying a £4 train ticket to access the offers.

Sky Garden is free, you just have to be on the ball with booking it. Or Larch restaurant at the bottom of Sky Garden do a breakfast offer which includes tickets.

Monument is also fantastic if you're able to manage lots of twisty stairs. I did it 26 weeks pregnant with 2.5 yo in a sling on my back, fine on the way up but a bit hairy coming down 😂

Cable car at the O2 is significantly cheaper and just as exciting for kids.

Sky garden, horizon 22 - both free

It feels like a rip off if you go on a day when the weathers awful and you get a shit view.

It’s an experience that I wouldn’t expect to be cheap tbh especially as it’s aimed at tourists, but there are ways you can get tickets cheaper.

Wait until there is a special offer. There was one with the Lottery a while back and I think it was less than £20 for 5 of us. Horizon 22 and Sky Garden are free and give you great views too, I'd do those and spend the £100 somewhere else!