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Marvel 4D Exhibition at Madame Tussauds

I haven’t been to Madame Tussauds in the past. I’ve been living in London for almost eleven years and it’s the one touristy thing that I’ve not had the chance to do. When the invitation from the PR company came through to attend the brand new Marvel 4D exhibition I was - needless to say - overjoyed. Not only would I have the chance to get up close and personal with Wolverine, I’d have the opportunity to stroll around Madame Tussauds after hours, with a handful of other Press people. It meant no crowds and a very unusual opportunity.

The event started at quarter past six on Sunday and I took along two friends and my husband Mark. I think the event would have been a less enjoyable experience without them, to be honest. We were like small kids. And that was just standing in the queue!

One thing I didn’t realise was quite how large Madame Tussauds was. The rooms the exhibits were housed in were spacious and each wax figure had enough space around itself to accommodate a few people standing around it whilst others could pose with it.

We breezed through the Warhol’s Women room as it held little interest but then got totally blown away by the next room that held the Premier Nights wax figures. Here we had Robert Downey Jnr in his Sherlock Holmes guise, Marilyn Monroe with her floaty dress, Indiana Jones running away from the ball, Daniel Craig as 007 and Steven Spielberg in a directors chair for Jurassic Park / Regents Park. Shrek was a definite favourite too and several of the kids squealed when they saw him yet I spotted more adults taking photos with him.

Again we breezed through the Sports Zone and spent most of the time hanging around with some royals, Oscar Wilde, Jimmy Hendrix and Elvis. The politicians were odd to see face to face. I got to sit in the Oval Office and chat to Obama, which was pretty cool. There was no sign of Nick Cage though. I was disappointed.

A pair of doors opened and we were taken down to the Chamber of Horrors. I may or may not have screamed like a little girl as actors did their best to scare living bejeebus out of us. We made our escape - phew - and got a leisurely taxi-ride through the Spirit of London before going up to the real reason we were there - the Marvel exhibit.

A spiral staircase leads you up and as you climb you notice this pair of large legs and then you look up and there is this massive four storey tall figure of The Hulk in all his angry glory. I think I swooned a bit, or it could be the relief from getting away from the Scream / Chamber of Horrors in one piece.

These were the most popular exhibits by a long shot. Hulk, Spiderman and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) got pawed, cuddled, groped and stared down by a variety of visitors. It was so funny to watch. Our friend Veej threw himself into Spiderman’s arms as he is such a geeky fan. Upstairs were more figures, amongst them Iron Man in a part of Stark’s garage, complete with schematics and diagrams. The room also held the very scary and impressive looking Nick Fury as portrayed by Samuel L Jackson.

We were forced to partake various nibbles and drinks before being handed oversized glasses and popcorn and ushered into the spectacular domed theatre to watch the Marvel 4D movie.

People - It’s the most surreal experience. Whilst watching the movie we were sprayed with water, felt bugs crawl up our legs, had Wolverine poke us in the back, had the Hulk spray a sneeze over us, felt Spiderman’s web fling past our ears...in a word, it was sensational. In fact, we were so smitten, we stayed for a second showing. I think the movie is maybe nine minutes long and tells a completely self-contained story, incorporating London and Madame Tussauds. Sheer magic.

When we left we were handed goodie bags stuffed full of Marvel things. Now all I have to figure out is where to stick all my stickers!

If you’re in London and you’ve got an afternoon spare, do swing by Madame Tussauds. I really had such doubts before going in - I mean, really, wax figures? But it’s really enjoyable and the staff are always at hand to answer questions and give advice on how best to pose with your favourite star or superhero. I’m really pleased I went, it was a very special event, especially as I have begun to start liking superheroes again.

Written by Liz de Jager

http://www.myfavouritebooks.blogspot.com

Liz de Jager discovered her love for words through reading westerns as a small child. She graduated to fantasy, sci-fi, horror in school. Subsequently she met a biker who introduced her to D&D, action movies, superheroes and comics and somehow, has never been the same since.