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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be disappointed with the Merlin Tower attraction at Warwick Castle

34 replies

Limara · 25/04/2011 11:03

I visited Warwick Castle on Saturday 23 April with my DH and DD and we purchased the Kingdom Ticket which enabled us to visit the Castle, Dungeons and The Merlin Tower.

We had a great day out at the Castle which was an amazing spectacle especially with all the re-enactments and the staff dressed in themed outfits. The weather was glorious too which
added to the whole experience but the Merlin Tower was AWFUL.

Where do i start?
We paid x amount of pounds to stand in one crowded sweaty room being talked at, the member of staff got a few children to hold a staff which lit up? Wow, great [unimpressed emoticon]

Then we sat down in another crowded sweaty room being told to prepare? For what?
The dragon identified a number of people in the room to have special powers we left the room and it was all over?

It was naff beyond belief, in fact I laughed intermittently all the way back to the car! My DH would look round and he knew why I was laughing. We kept saying, what would the American
visitors think of Merlin!!!

Has anyone else been there and been totally disappointed with this?

OP posts:

Bottleofbeer · 25/04/2011 11:11

Not been there but did go to something called 'tunnels through time' in Newquay once. It was run by a couple and to their credit what was there was pretty good (mock ups of the past) but it was also very small, set in a building about the size of a large-ish house so not terribly big for a tourist attraction. Yet the entry fee wasn't that much less than other, bigger tourist attractions in the area.

I think they realised this as on your way out they had a set of stocks which you could have a go of whilst your family threw sponge tomatoes at you. Me and the other half felt a right pair of wallies as this is literally on the front lawn in full view of passing traffic on a busy road. They really bigged it up and we were far too polite to decline this invitation :o

Bottleofbeer · 25/04/2011 11:13

Having said that it was like an immense, wonderfully exciting experience in comparison to that bloody awful day out to Sellafield visitors centre zzzzzz

HarrietJones · 25/04/2011 11:15

I thought Warwick castle was a rip off full stop.

saxony · 25/04/2011 11:16

I went to Warwick Castle last September and was very disappointed. I hated the whole day, far too crowded and commercialised. We have visited loads of castles but this was more like a theme park. There were queues for everything, no time to stop and look at things. Everything was overpriced.
I emailed Warwick Castle to complain and they sent me 4 free tickets to Legoland which we went to a month later.That was ok but as my 5 year old isn't really into rides I am glad we did not have to pay for the tickets!

Original poster

Limara · 25/04/2011 11:20

Sellafield visitors centre zzzzzz - big

You've got to laugh at this sort of thing haven't you! It was a 15 minute walk back to the car and I laughed the whole way back

I know I will be referring to this forever; when something else is crap we'll be saying "Ah, but it's not as crap as the Merlin Tower is it!"

OP posts:

Bottleofbeer · 25/04/2011 11:20

Problem is if attractions are resonably priced to get your average family into (mine isn't the average 2 adults, two kids either) there is either sod all to do/see or everything inside is well overpriced.

Then the likes of Alton Towers are ridiculously expensive. Last time we went there was just the four of us, a three and four year old and if I recall correctly the entry price was around £114 - I wouldn't even bother now those toddlers are teenagers and there are another two.

Bottleofbeer · 25/04/2011 11:26

In my defence I never CHOSE a day at Sellafield. It was a school trip. A friend who'd been eating strawberry chewits all the way there began to look distinctly green around the gills and knowing a shocking pink vomit was imminent I tried to persuade her to do it in the actual centre to liven the day up.

I had plans to begin shrieking about radiation poisoning - "Have you SEEN the colour of that? what HAVE you done to her?"

Sadly she did it in a bush.

Original poster

Limara · 25/04/2011 11:46

Bottle, i'm laughing hard at your last post! I think we share the same sense of humour! 'What have you done to her' lol!!!

still laughing!

OP posts:

AmyStake · 25/04/2011 11:48

I know what you mean, it's crap isn't it? Used to live in Warwickshire so have been to Warwick Castle many times. Only been in once since Tussauds bought it, it's like they're trying to turn parts of it in to the London Dungeon which doesn't really work with the rest of the castle? And they charge you even more money to get in to those parts on top of what you've already paid to get in!

Original poster

Limara · 25/04/2011 11:56

AmyStake, yes. Merlin fiasco and the dungeon is on top of the entry price. I remember going into the dungeon years ago and it was really scary without all the gubbins its got now. Honestly, Merlin was crap . I came out with my mouth wide-open in a state of disbelief . I wanted to shout-
"IS THAT IT!!?"

I honestly thought at one point it was a joke when it ended....thought someone would show us to another room of fun!

OP posts:

Bottleofbeer · 25/04/2011 12:00

Hahah! well if you have the same SOH as me you have to go and watch an American civil war re-enactment. We took the kids to Tatton park once, lovely sunny Sunday, me with raging hangover. They were holding one that day. They were completely in character even before the re-enactment, taking it all veryyyyy seriously and I got the giggles. Then during said enactment they were falling down dead, clutching pretend gunshot wounds - some of them died very slowly complete with tortured screams and groans while their womenfolk had the vapours and cried for their lost loves.

Oh god I laughed so hard I forgot my hangover :o

Tangfasticlady · 25/04/2011 15:33

I went with my teenage children to the castle last week and I have to agree with you OP, the Merlin tower was rubbish and we were expecting more after the dragon. The dragon picked out my autistic son who obviously couldn't grasp the whole role play scenario so needed heavily prompting on his answers which made us all chuckle. Seriously not worth the money.

vintageteacups · 25/04/2011 15:44

Yep - we went last week too.

Whilst we had a good day and enjoyed seeing the old bits of the castle, the whole Tussauds thing was just a money spinner.

Merlin thing was lame, although DD (9) was chosen to be the Dragon Lord so she quite enjoyed holding the staff/reading spell etc but I just knew it was going to be crap. The only good bit was the BBC Merlin theme whilst we queued and the bloke dressed in a very Merlin-like costume who actually was quite a good resemblance of Colin thingy-me-bob.

We live an hour from Warwick and had heard it was really expensive.

We bought the tickets online to save some cost but we roughly paid:

£5.00 car park
£68.00 entry tickets
£17 Merlin thing
£20 4 hotdogs and 2 cookies
£6.00 6 archery arrows for 2 kids
£20 fuel

So for one day out, about £136.00 for a family of 4 !!!!

Should have gone to Sunny Hunny like I said to begin with

vintageteacups · 25/04/2011 15:46

Oh and on entering the Dragon's Tower and having to have your photo taken behind the claw, meant another £6.50 if you boguht thr photo.

I laughed as he told me how much it was and we said no thanks.

Still wasn't as crap as Cadbury world though and at least there, we got free chocolate

QueenAbcinthiaXVI · 25/04/2011 15:52

I was planning on going to Warwick Castle this year. I absolutely loved going as a child but everyone I know who's been recently have just complained about how expensive and rubbish it now is.

vintageteacups · 25/04/2011 15:56

It was all very commercial but some bits were really good; falconry, Dragon Slayer telling the kids a story in the main courtyard, walking around the battlements and the original knight replicas and knight suits/weaponry etc in the Great Hall. However, you probably get the same effect visiting other castle, especially ones in Wales and Scotland, for a fraction of the cost.

Lovecat · 25/04/2011 16:11

We were there on Mothers' Day and they'd closed the Princess Tower (much to DD's annoyance), we didn't bother paying extra for the dungeons as I've been to the London one and felt very ill there. We didn't see anything about Merlin on offer (probably just as well - actually, is that what's replaced the Princess Tower thingy?!).

Apart from the Princess Tower not being available (a blessing so far as DH and I were concerned but a shame for DD), we really enjoyed it - the falconry was excellent, the rat-catcher let us try and chuck IKEA rats through a hoop on a stick (no cost), we had a brilliant actor-got-up-as-a-castle-servant who was really informative and funny showing us around the castle, the Royal Weekend Party exhibit was excellent and really interesting - the actor-as-a-chambermaid let DD ride on the castle rocking horse, so she was made up. The Kingmaker thing was good too, and the adventure playground is fab. DD also enjoyed the peacocks roaming around and being able to run round the gardens.

Plus, as a Mother's Day 'bonus', we got to gawp at Aleesha Dixon and some bod who won this year's Strictly, prancing about in tiny costumes. Not my cup of tea, but others seemed to enjoy it.

So not bad for a full day's entertainment and enjoyment. We took our own water bottles in and ate in the carvery which was quite good value - £7.95 for a full on roast dinner. If there was jousting on, I'd be there again like a shot!

vintageteacups · 25/04/2011 16:33

Merlin hasn't replaced the Princess Tower; it's just been moved and the Merlin Tower thing only started on the 17th April so that's why you didn't see anything about it.

MintyMoo · 25/04/2011 17:03

Vintage - Was the actor as gorgeous as Colin Morgan?

starts planning trip to Warwick

orangepuffle · 25/04/2011 17:17

Lovecat, we were there on Mother's Day also!

I kind of enjoyed the day. I did enjoy the Diary of a Scandal (?) weekend party thingy, although DC and I were quite scared by the actors who pop out of nowhere in costume. When we went up to the servants quarters and two actors were polishing cutlery and cleaning, whilst speaking to me as if they were proper servants, I felt like telling them not to bother doing it for my benefit. I'd be asking them about their day, and they'd be telling me that they couldn't speak to me as they were a different class to me...freaked me out.

We have Merlin passes and the DC wanted to go in Dungeon but I no way could afford to pay the extra money.

I think that Warwick Castle would have been better left as a Historical Castle, a factual experience. With the Merlin Group turning it into a theme park I felt it was too "pretend" and even I can recognise IKEA furniture strewn about in the hope of making it look "grand".

We only lasted four hours. there was nothing more to do that would have filled our day, so we hopped on the motorway and went to Alton Towers for a few hours!!

vintageteacups · 25/04/2011 17:36

We didn't do the Diary of a Scandal thing ; I have to say, I felt a bit harassed by the costumed people and spent the whole day making sure I ran away before they came and chatted to me. I really hate that kind of thing.

The only person we chatted to was the Dragon Slayer who was at the gate on the way in but he was kind of being himself and was nice looking so I was happy to chat.

I agree orangepuffle I think it'd be better off left as an historical castle and not the almost 'tacky' day it is now.

minty - I think they're on a rota so you might not even see him. I'm not sure he was as nice as Colin Morgan either although when he saw us later that day somewhere else in the grounds, he recognised us instantly and asked if we'd had a good time in the tower. Considering how many people he was ushering through, I thought that was quite impressive.

MintyMoo · 25/04/2011 18:14

Vintage

I'd find him somehow I'm sure it'd be great if it was the real Colin pretending to be someone else playing Merlin but I won't hold my breath!

Right, am off to watch old episodes of Merlin series 1 on i player. Need me a Colin fix :)

Lovecat · 25/04/2011 18:15

orangepuffle - the scullerymaid was chatting away to us like nobody's business - we must obviously have looked well lower-class!

vintageteacups · 25/04/2011 18:15

I'm more an Arthur fan myself

llareggub · 25/04/2011 18:20

It is even funnier when you see the castle workers wandering around Warwick High Street in their costumes, clearly on their lunch break.

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