As a SEN mum. No-one asked for this, but if a SEN mum Google the experience, I hope I can help ðŸ˜
So: Quite a bit of waiting around
You see a total of 7 or 8 dinosaurs - they are huge and 'lifesize'. Tour guides also bring out a few small dinosaurs which seem to be puppets controlled by their hand.
The tour happens in stages. Here they are:
Stage 1 - entry. Bag check and ticket check.
Stage 2 - queuing for the 'ferry'. Whilst you queue, you can have your photo taken and pay something stupid for the photo after, if you want. I did not, and opted for selfies with dd. We queued for 20 mins. There were no chairs and dd became distressed.
Stage 3 - the 'ferry". In actual fact, a room with two benches (so around half of the people can sit) where you hear some facts about the jurassic island. Takes around 5 mins.
Stage 4 - dinosaur room 1 - maybe 3 or 4 dinosaurs here. Very impressive, I was ticked off at this point due to the wait but was happy to see the dinosaurs. A tour guide brought out the first hand held baby dinosaur and talked about it.
Stage 5 - a room attached to the first (iirc) with a couple more dinosaurs. A photo booth and jungle vibe. Was okay.
Stage 6 - attached to the previous room, a 'lab' where you can see baby dinosaurs in a kind of incubator. Dd6 did not care one bit.
We were kept here for some time. So you could wander into each of the previous sections but couldn't go further, due to how they manage the event.
There was no seating. Dd became distressed because of another wait. I did manage to sit on the steps to the photo booth, but be advised, we were there for at least 10 mins, waiting to move on. They also brought out another baby dinosaur puppet and gave a talk.
Stage 7 - we were taken up some stairs (there was also a lift) but it was the kind of stairs youd find in an office and definitely broke up the 'jungle vibe' they were trying to sell.
A kind of holding room. There was a kind of 'sand box' where the kids could 'dig for fossils'. Dd enjoyed the sand but it wasn't very interesting for most of the kids. Another 'baby dinosaur' was brought out, with an accompanying talk. Held there for maybe 5 or 10 mins until we were allowed to move on.
Stage 8 - the last part of the experience. A t rex is brought out and engages with the tour guide, wanting to eat him. The dinosaur comes right out of the 'enclosure' and the 'scary' atmosphere is played up for the kids. This lasts for maybe 5 mins. Then we're hurried out and encouraged to run from the dinosaurs, and pushed right into the very overpriced gift shop.
Overall rating - 2/5
Physical disability friendly - 1/5 (zero seats but lift available and wheelchair accessible. Long walk from car park to event, approx 10 mins)
Autism friendly - 2/5 (dd is 6 with medium support needs. She was upset by the waiting around.)
No clear time frame of how long we would be waiting around. No seats. The ending was rushed. Overpriced gift shop. (For example, one dino teddy was around £26.)
The whole thing took maybe an hour.
For the price of entry, I wouldn't bother. At all. We paid around £20 for a child ticket, and I went as her carer, which was easy enough to organise. If I'd paid full price, I would've been very ticked off.
To organise a carer ticket, you have to contact Fever (the ticket company) and tell them that you need a carer ticket for the jurassic event at battersea power station, making clear your time and date preference. I also sent a copy of dd's DLA award letter.
They got back to me within a couple of hours.
Anyway, just my review so that other sen parents know what they're doing when they go there. There is no phone number to call if youre running late, but we were almost 2 hours late (nightmare traffic), and were let in fine.
💕