The York Dungeon

Product
Tested By Claire & Roger Pilkington – Callum and Lauren- 11 & 9 Years

Claire
& Roger Awarded The York Dungeons 4.5/5

Set
in the heart of York in an old building.
A spooky character was on the door to greet us. We entered via an old dark staircase in
anticipation of the fate that was about to befall us!! Set in an old red brick
building. The inside has been converted
into several rooms which tell a spooky story of part of York’s history. From Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot to
witches, Dick Turpin and even Henry VIII.
With the aid of human characters which do a great job of both involving
the audience and providing the real life frights. You
are taken through various "rooms” which are like 360 degree live theatres. The first room is a church and the lady was
fearful of a visit from Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries. A victim was chosen from the audience to hide
the silver in the stained glass window.
The plan goes wrong…It all goes dark.
Henry VIII’s arrival is imminent!!!
You along with your group (on our visit this was about 20 people) are
then taken on a journey of frights, gruesome horror, all done with a huge sense
of fun. The” actors” all do a fine job
of presenting the facts and involving the audience and creating a sense of
nervous anticipation. Expect to be asked
to participate at some point on your journey, whether you’re accused of a crime
in the courtroom and have to stand in the dock to defend yourself, or you’re
accused of being a witch and burned to the ground. My children are aged almost
12 and almost 10 and they both enjoyed the frights and the history. I would say that the age recommendation of
age 10 and upwards is exactly right. The
journey lasts just over an hour and ends in the gift shop (which is the only
reason that this attraction did not score 5/5.
When you cram 20 people into an area of this size it becomes really
uncomfortable & claustrophobic. At
the time there were 3 sales assistants behind the counter and one was quite
shouty. I had a photograph (priced at
£9.95) but I think most people left without buying anything. The shouty sales assistant tried to encourage
people to complete a computerised survey on a machine located at the side of
the room, but as I left noticed that there was a security guard standing in
front of it!! Good
quality. Some of the rooms were small
for the amount of people on our tour; I suppose this will vary depending on the
time you visit. We visited at approx.
11am on Sunday 29^th March.
You found yourself having to cram yourselves into a small space on lots
of occasions. This didn’t bother us too
much, but maybe something to bear in mind if you visit at busy times and don’t
like small spaces! Visit itself was fairly priced but some of the gift shop
items were quite pricey. I would visit in another location as the frights would be
spoiled if I went to York again! I would
recommend as ideal for groups of older children, couples or families with older
children. My son
liked the pub (sobs!) the shape of things to come maybe?? My daughter liked the apothecary show with
the leeches!! My husband & I liked
the instruments of torture (does that sound wrong??). We have never been to any of the dungeons
before as children were too young. We
felt that the staff were excellent, giving flawless shows and involving the
audience members. Without giving
anything away – be prepared to be literally on the edge of your seat for the
whole 75 minute tour. Worth the money. Excellent staff. Edge of your seat entertainment from the
moment you walk into the first room. You
are plunged into darkness several times on your experience, wondering what is
going to happen to you next. Gruesome
history is brought to life in this chilling experience. The only disappointment
was the gift shop which was small and cramped and brightly lit after being in
the darkness for over an hour! I felt
that this put people off buying things as they were desperate to exit into the
fresh air! Claire
& Roger Pilkington – Callum and Lauren- 11 & 9 Years

Product
Tested By Debbie Lowndes – Jessica 14 Years

Debbie
Awarded The York Dungeons 4.7/5

The
venue was informative and interesting. The Venue was appealing from the
outside,however, there were large queues, and this may have been due to
it being a bank holiday weekend. The overall structure for the attraction was good;the
scenes did run in a sequence. The quality of the venue was good. The
actors were very professional and impressive. I would say it does offer value
for money. You are inside the venue for a couple of hours. Regarding visiting again I think once you
have visited you are aware of the scenes and what to expect so this takes a
little enjoyment from the experience. I feel that my daughter was the
appropriate age for this visit. It may have been scary for younger
children. Mydaughter’s favouritescene was the onein the Golden
Fleece and mine was the court room. My favourite part of the day was being
given the opportunity to experience this with my family and seeing then cry
with laughter, being cautious about their environment. It was a fun
family day. The venue was easy to find and well signposted. I think if
possible better queue control could be implemented. My daughter did find
the mirror maze distressing, she became extremely anxious. There is no
option to avoid this unfortunately. On the whole I find this a great
venue and a fun family day out. It is value for money also. Debbie
Lowndes – Jessica 14 Years

Product Tested By Jeanette Parsons –
Charlie & James – 12 & 14 Years

Jeanette Awarded The York Dungeons
4.8/5

This is set in the main part of York
and you get a spooky feeling as you approach.
The added spookiness is heightened as you are greeted by an actor in
character which adds to the whole experience. The building itself has been
designed to showcase a spooky history from the plague, ghost of York, Guy
Fawkes, The Torturer, Execution and so much more. Each room has a theme and the actors are brilliant
and you live each experience. The whole
event is entertaining, frightening and fun at the same time and it is an
excellent venue for 2 young lads. You
are made to feel part of the history, scared, and also lots of audience
participation. My son’s loved the experience. This is a great day out for older children.
The venue is excellent and everything is done in a highly professional way and
the staff are great. The price is on a
par with many places of this nature and certainly for us great value for money. My son’s would like to visit again with a
group of their friends. I feel once you
have seen the show the frights and anticipation would be spoilt but would
definitely visit another similar venue in the future. I would highly recommend as great
entertainment, educational and great interactive fun for older children. My son’s
loved the Execution, The Torturer and Plague best of all. I liked the Mirror maze. The whole visit was a great experience and
highly recommend as very entertaining day out.
This is a fright trip well worth going to and we all had a marvellous
day. Jeanette Parsons – Charlie &
James – 12 & 14 Years